The Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019)
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A family road trip leads a group of pets on a series of high-stakes adventures across the countryside and into a circus.
The story
Three years after the events of the first film, Max and Duke's owner Katie has married a man named Chuck and had a son, Liam. Max's resentful, then overprotective, feelings for Liam develop into an itch that leads Katie to get him a humiliating dog cone from the veterinarian, but his luck changes when Duke reveals the family is going on a road trip. Before Max leaves, he entrusts his favorite toy, Busy Bee, to his friend Gidget. However, Gidget loses Busy Bee in a cat-infested apartment owned by a cat lady, so she gets "cat lessons" from Chloe in order to sneak into the apartment.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Three years after the first film, Max and Duke's owner Katie has married Chuck and had a son, Liam. Max's overprotective feelings for Liam lead to him wearing a humiliating dog cone until Duke reveals the family is going on a road trip. Max entrusts his toy, Busy Bee, to Gidget, who loses it in a cat lady's apartment. Gidget teams up with Norman to retrieve it, unintentionally becoming the 'queen' of the apartment cats. Meanwhile, Max and Duke reach a farm where Max meets Rooster, a Welsh Sheepdog who helps Max overcome his insecurities and rescue a lost lamb named Cotton. Simultaneously, Snowball meets Daisy, a Shih Tzu who needs help rescuing Hu, a white tiger held captive by an abusive circus owner, Sergei. Daisy and Snowball free Hu but are tracked by Sergei's wolves. The pets eventually reunite to chase Sergei on a train. After a series of battles where Max shows bravery and Snowball fights Sergei's monkey, the pets are saved by Gidget and the cat lady. Life returns to normal, with Hu finding a home and Max letting go of his anxiety for Liam.
- First release year
- 2019
- Runtime (minutes)
- 86
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Chris Renaud
- Writers
- Brian Lynch · writer
- Cast and characters
- Patton Oswalt · Max; Kevin Hart · Snowball; Eric Stonestreet · Duke; Jenny Slate · Gidget; Tiffany Haddish · Daisy; Lake Bell · Chloe; Nick Kroll · Sergei; Dana Carvey · Pops; Ellie Kemper · Katie; Harrison Ford · Rooster; Pete Holmes · Chuck; Henry Lynch · Liam
- Genres
- animated; comedy; adventure
- Themes
- overcoming fear; family; bravery
- Tone and mood
- funny; energetic; shenanigans-soaked
- Premise and plot tags
- sequel; road trip; animal adventure
- Franchise connections
- The Secret Life of Pets
- Content notes
- animal cruelty
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics, with a weighted average score of 55 on Metacritic, but it was a commercial success, grossing $431 million on an $80 million budget.
- Reported review scores
- PostTrak · score: 4.5 · scale: 5
- Awards and nominations
- Outstanding Achievement for Voice Acting in a Feature Production · Annie Awards · 47th · Nomination; Outstanding Achievement for Editorial in a Feature Production · Annie Awards · 47th · Nomination; Panda · Golden Trailer Awards · 2021 · Nomination; Rooftop · Golden Trailer Awards · 2021 · Nomination; Graffiti · Golden Trailer Awards · 2021 · Nomination; Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award · Performance · Nomination; People's Choice Award · Performance · Nomination
- Production trivia
- The film features a sequel in development with Chris Renaud returning to direct.; The film was released in the United Kingdom two weeks before its United States release.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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