‘DC League of Super-Pets’ Review
Features the voices of: Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Kate McKinnon, John Krasinski, Vanessa Bayer, Natasha Lyonne, Diego Luna, Marc Maron, Keanu Reeves, Thomas Middleditch, Ben Schwartz, Olivia Wilde | Written by Jared Stern, John Whittington | Directed by Jared Stern, Sam Levine
An animated adventure containing both talking animals and popular superheroes was always going to be a big money-maker, and so it has proved with DC League of Super-Pets, which went straight to the top spot at the US box office this weekend. It’s easy to see why – written and directed by veterans of the LEGO movies, the film delivers fun, fast-paced superhero action with knowing humour that caters to both adults and children alike.
The story centres on Krypto the Super-Dog (voiced by Dwayne Johnson), who came to Earth with baby Superman (John Krasinski) and now fights crime alongside his owner, as well as adopting the glasses-wearing secret identity of Bark Kent. However, when Superman is captured and Krypto loses his powers, he has to turn to a group of strays for help.
Fortunately, thanks to a chunk of Orange Kryptonite, the animals in question all gain super-powers: Ace the dog (Kevin Hart) becomes invulnerable, PB the pig (Vanessa Bayer) gains size-changing powers, Chip the squirrel (Diego Luna) gets electro-powers and Merton the turtle (Natasha Lyonne) gets super-speed. Together, they attempt to save Superman and take on power-hungry, purple-haired guinea pig Lulu (Kate McKinnon), who’s taken her former association with Lex Luthor (Marc Maron) somewhat to heart.
The animation is bright and appealing throughout, particularly in its take on classic DC superhero characters – the designs are distinctive enough to make them instantly distinguishable from other animated DC properties, while still retaining their own identity. Similarly, the action sequences are nicely staged, and it’s evident that a degree of thought has gone into the question of how a team of super-powered animals might fight together as a team.
In addition, the film contains an excellent mix of gags, catering primarily to children, but making sure there are plenty of big laughs for adults too, most notably in a TV news strap-line that reads “Wealthy Person Actually Goes To Jail”. The script also nails the key emotional moments, delivering a handful of strong central messages without overdoing the sentimentality.
However, the DC League of Super-Pets’ strongest element is its terrific voice cast. The leads are superb, with Johnson and Hart effortlessly recreating their live-action comic chemistry, and a delightful turn from McKinnon, who’s clearly enjoying herself. That’s just the beginning though, as the cast contains a wealth of comic talent right through to the smallest parts, e.g. Olivia Wilde as Lois Lane, Jemaine Clement as Aquaman, Busy Philipps as “Foofy Dog”.
That said, the clear highlight is Keanu Reeves as Batman, whose every line (“I miss my parents”) and appearance is an absolute joy – indeed, it’s worth seeing the film just for Keanu Batman alone.
It’s fair to say that DC League of Super-Pets isn’t entirely without flaws. The action gets a little repetitive at times and the film runs just a little too long at an hour and forty-five minutes. Also, it was probably too much to hope for that a film like this could get by without toilet humour, so there’s a fair amount of that too – if you’ve ever wanted to know what Krypto’s poop smells like, then you’ve come to the right place.
***½ 3.5/5
DC League of Super-Pets is in cinemas now.
