DC LEAGUE OF SUPER-PETS
Cert PG ★★★
In cinemas now
There’s a shortage of kids’ films in cinemas this summer, so parents will welcome the super-powered talking critters in this family animation. And, as it’s a sort of spin-off of DC’s Justice League franchise, it might snag a few big kids along the way.
It begins with a cutesy version of Superman’s well-worn origins story. As the planet Krypton is about to explode, an alien baby is plonked in a crystal crib to be shot off to Earth. But, before the lid closes, a cute puppy vaults in with him.
Years later, this loyal ball of fluff has grown up to become Krypto The Superdog (voiced by Dwayne Johnson), the Man of Steel’s crime-fighting wingman and adorable best mate.
Krypto has the same superpowers as his master (flight, X-ray vision, laser eyes) and boasts a similar pair of miraculous identity-concealing specs.
But their bond is tested when a nervous Superman (John Krasinski) prepares to propose to reporter Lois Lane (Olivia Wilde). Krypto is so busy whining over the prospect of being relegated from the bed to the couch, he doesn’t realise his master is in trouble. Along with the rest of the Justice League, Superman has been kidnapped by a guinea pig.
They say a film is only as good as its villain and the evil, hairless Lulu (an enjoyably hammy Kate McKinnon) saves this patchy comedy.
A former associate of Lex Luthor, she’s been trapped in an animal shelter trying to harness the power of “orange kryptonite”, a space rock that bestows pets with superpowers.
But the rock also powers up her fellow prisoners – Ace the hound (Kevin Hart), PB the pig (Vanessa Bayer), Merton the turtle (Natasha Lyonne), and Chip the squirrel (Diego Luna). When Krypto loses his powers, he must turn to these rookie superheroes.
The plot is predictable and the pet-based gags are decidedly creaky. As with the far funnier Lego Batman movie, the sharpest jokes are aimed at grown-ups.
“Batman works alone,” growls Keanu Reeves’s moody Caped Crusader. “Except for Gordon. And Alfred... and whoever Morgan Freeman played.”