Comme des Bêtes

My son and the rest of the children in the movie theatre were screaming in excitement, while the adult audience did not have a hard time watching it, but just sit through it without any harm. In the opening fifteen minutes packed with gags, they even had a great time. But then the creators run out of ideas (and also effort) and switch to routine mode of a hundred times seen squeaking escapades with animal for the little ones, where the better moments are shamelessly stolen from other animated movies, namely from Toy Story to the full-length Sheep Shaun. The biggest stumbling block, however, is that in that excessive number of characters/advertisements for the plush toys only two characters have personalities (and therefore interesting), the rest of the characters have wasted potential (for example, the predator is basically the same character as Hank in Dory, but apart from his opening scene is only a makeweight). (23/08/2016)

A perfect second-hand animated film that took my breath away. It has a great idea that focuses on our pets and their secrets. The pets come with amazing characters and are played very believably. The gangsta snow rabbit is amazing, the tattooed pig that has bacon and ribs and the main central pair of dogs are also very good. The tale has a crazy pace, there's action and suspense and the scenes with the viper are delightfully scary, which will have kids closing their eyes every which way. On the plus side, the animation is also very polished, earning a fifth star thanks to top-notch detail (I haven't seen such cool underwater shots with waves and bubbles in a long time). You have to be very sharp when watching the film, because the details take it to great heights (e.g. when the dog looks into the cat's eyes, you can see the reflection of the dog from the eyes, and there are more details like that), and most of all, it's great fun. The filmmakers took a lot of care with the film and I'm sorry that it went unappreciated by the audience because they didn't catch half of it. 95% (08/11/2016)

In the first few minutes I found myself gushing over the beautiful animated New York City and giggling at the pets' perfectly polished behaviors and movements. If you have one, you'll definitely enjoy how much these pets resemble yours. Cute, funny, apt... that's how the film starts. After that, it's just the same old story about one group of animals trying to save another group of animals from the pound and more. Children will be fine with this story, adults will not. 3 stars. (13/08/2016)

This is Little League as animal animation goes (even my daughter wanted me to switch to a Pixar movie), but it was watchable. The New York fly-throughs are gorgeous, but the animal animation not so great, and the script is chaotic. The only really memorable character is the white rabbit with the modest goal of wiping out mankind. P.S.: He doesn’t manage to. (09/02/2022)

#6 Illumination. It's not exactly terrible, but adults won't enjoy it as much as kids. However, if you liked the jokes from the trailer, then indulge your kids. It has cats and dogs and fish and all kinds of cool animals. The Happy Meal had cute-themed toys too. (12/08/2016)

A very enjoyable animated film that gives you a good laugh (especially in the first half when you get to know the characters and during all kinds of falls, jumps, stumbles, etc.), but a deeper story or some kind of level would be hard to find (compared with last year's Inside Out or this year's Zootropolis), although the film did have some references to other films ("Dude, I'm a cat. - Well, nobody is perfect."), which I appreciate. In the end, it's a nicely spent ninety minutes, during which you revel in the animation rather than being offered any thought-provoking material. A film that will mostly entertain younger audiences and potential pet owners. (19/08/2016)

After the trailer, I was expecting a bit more. But what I got was a standard animated film, which at times transitions into very good animation, and at other times delivers absolutely fantastic gags that got me. But otherwise, there's nothing extra that blew me away. The story didn't grab me and I found it very bland as a whole. It has nice details. The rabbit is a cliché, but good. (15/08/2016)