The SECRET LIFE OF PETS 2

directors Jonathan del Val, Chris renaud

cast (voices) Patton Oswalt, eric Stonestreet, Kevin Hart, Jenny Slate

THE FIRST Secret Life… film was a cute, prettily designed comedy about what animals get up to when their owners are out. That joke done, the sequel scrabbles around a bit for something new to explore. It settles on a few different stories that are all undemanding fun individually, even if they don’t add up to a great deal together. Max (Oswalt) is stressed about a child joining his family. Snowball (Hart) somehow gets pulled into a mission to rescue a tiger cub, and Gidget (Slate) has to learn how to be a cat to retrieve a lost toy. Much like the first film, it’s a good time with little to mark it out in a crowded genre.