*Since we have an adorable little pet terrier named Max, my wife and I decided to see the new film ‘The Secret Life of Pets’ out of curiosity to see how much of our dog’s behavior we could identify in the canine characters.
We were pleasantly surprised to learn that the main character was also a terrier named Max. It’s a great 3D computer-animated film which makes for some pretty surprisingly breathtaking moments. Judging from their laughter, the kids as well as adults in the audience loved it!!
Produced by Illumination Entertainment, the script is very well written, lighting is perfect, and the music soundtrack (I love Taylor Swift’s “Welcome To New York”) is terrific! I was thrilled that the producers included Bill Withers’ classic “Lovely Day.” It’s a perfect tune for the reconciling plot from which I drew some parallels of art imitating life.
To begin, with all the continued discussion about race in America in the aftermath of the police shooting of Alton Sterling in Louisiana, and Philando Castile in Minnesota, the pervading thought is “here we go again until the cameras stop rolling and the lights go out.” There’s much talk about what needs to be done, but no meaningful action ever seems to take place. The film depicts the different behaviors of pets in the presence of their “humans” (owners), and when their owners are absent. Max (voice Louis C.K.) says after his owner leaves home presumably for work, “where does she go?” He can’t seem to understand the exclusion as he waits all day by the door for her return.
Black America has been feeling a painful sense of exclusion far too long. This is not to say that other people of color don’t have their own issues, but the frequency of black men being shot and killed by police demands immediate resolution. The Minnesota governor said of the Castile killing that the outcome would most likely have had a different outcome had a white couple been pulled over for a minor traffic infraction. Some say the white officer demonstrated no sensitivity nor value of life before his trigger-happy finger ended an upstanding citizen’s life. Why can’t some policemen see people in the communities they serve as simply citizens – not white, not black, but simply citizens?
The film also delves into a sub-culture; the pets/animals who live underground in the sewers and tunnels underneath the city streets. They are the invisible discarded or disowned animals that live in the shadows and have a solidarity against all human-owned pets. The gang is run by a schizophrenic white rabbit named Snowball (an outrageous voice character by Kevin Hart!). So now we have three divisions: The humans (which I’ll call “the establishment”), the house pets who feel excluded from the humans, and the underground animals who feel excluded from the house pets. Then there’s a hawk that’s chained inside a cage on a rooftop who after conning the heroine Gidget (voice of Jenny Slate) into freeing him, lashes out at her until she wins him over with kindness and a purpose to help find the object of her affection, Max. Think of what a little kindness and consideration would do for all the incarcerated black men, who have a much higher recidivism rate than any other ethnic group because of socioeconomic issues that shape negative attitudes of resentment and bitterness.
Throughout the film, Animal Control is the common enemy of both the house pets and the underground. A wave of events causes them to become the change agent. The license plate on their truck reads “Gotcha.”
Some say the frequency of police-involved killing of blacks is due to lowered standards of police recruitment; some say it’s blatant racism. Hopefully the ambush killing of five police officers in Texas will serve as a change agent and set America on a real course of action to stem senseless violence, so that the officer’s selfless courage and bravery to protect and to serve will not be in vain.
Without giving too much of the story away, in the end both “house” and “underground” walk away with a better understanding of one another. They reconcile and have a big celebration! This film could very well be a teachable tool for this generation where life imitates art to help bring about understanding, empathy and sensitivity to all human (and animal) life.
The Secret Life of Pets is a must see!! 5 Stars!!
Larry Buford is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer. Author of “Things Are Gettin’ Outta Hand.” – E-mail: [email protected] / 213-220-8101
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