Film Review: The Secret Life of Pets

Animals run amok in wild, messy, manic children’s film.

Oh, the pet shenanigans!
Oh, the pet shenanigans!

I don’t really know what the point of The Secret Life of Pets was, but I know that children will love the film. The simple Toy Story-esque premise of ‘what do x do while people are gone’ (in this case where are pets) is amusing for the first five to ten minutes of the film, but it quickly spins out of control. The story devolves into an adventure featuring an assortment of animal varieties, of few of which are very rarely legally allowed as pets. The aforementioned adventure is wonderfully animated and truly manic, but the gimmicky premise fades fast and the rest is a hyperactive mess with lots of humorous bits and not a lot of heart. Not like any children will care, though, since they’ll be fully satiated by the maniacally laughing psycho bunny, voiced by Kevin Hart.

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Spinning Platters SFIFF Interview: David Zellner, writer/director — Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter

KUMIKO, THE TREASURE HUNTER
KUMIKO, THE TREASURE HUNTER

Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter has been spreading buzz around the festival circuit.  The Zellner brothers’ new modern fable is a sight to see, a surreal experience to witness, and a cinematic treasure to behold.  David Zellner, who co-wrote, directed, and plays a crucial supporting character in the film, sat down with me outside the theatre in which it was screening to discuss the film:

Can you give us a brief history of Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter?

Yeah, my brother and I heard about it [the urban legend] in 2001.  The urban legend began circulating online and this was before Twitter and Facebook, so it was through message boards.  It was very cryptic, basically saying ‘Japanese woman went from Tokyo to Minnesota for this mythical fortune’.  It was so mysterious to us because of the limited information and because the idea of someone going on a treasure hunt in the modern day world was such an antiquated notion.  It’s something from the age of exploration.  Especially in a time now where there’s less mystery in the world.  Information is more readily available.  Everything is mapped out, no uncharted land.  So we liked the idea of someone on this antiquated quest, but set in the year 2001.

Is that why ‘conquistadors’ are such a prevalent theme in your film?

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