Story
Following the events of The Secret Life of Pets 1, Max the dog (voiced by Patton Oswalt) faces big changes in his life when his owner gets married and brings home a new dog Duke (voiced by Eric Stonestreet). Eventually a baby, Liam (voiced by Henry Lynch), arrives too.
After the family gets settled into the rhythm of their new life, they take a holiday trip to the countryside. As neurotic Max fends off perceived farmyard threats to protect Liam, he must also contend with the gruff farm dog, Rooster (voiced by Harrison Ford), who challenges him to face his fears.
Meanwhile, the other pets – Gidget (voiced by Jenny Slate), Daisy (voiced by Tiffany Haddish), Chloe (voiced by Lake Bell), Norman (voiced by Chris Renaud), Mel (voiced by Bobby Moynihan), Buddy (voiced by Hannibal Buress) and Captain Snowball (voiced by Kevin Hart) – set off on an adventure of their own. Their mission is to rescue a captive tiger cub who has been forced to perform by the evil Sergei the Circus Master (voiced by Nick Kroll).
Themes
Courage; adventure; change
Violence
The Secret Life of Pets 2 has some violence. For example:
- Children and pets watch cartoons of superheroes beating up villains. This isn’t graphic.
- Sergei the Circus Master threatens animals with whips, a gun and a taser. He shoots a tiger cub with a sleeping dart.
- Animals attack each other. This isn’t graphic, but it might frighten very young children.
- Sergei the Circus Master is hit by a car twice. This is presented as funny rather than graphic.
Sexual references
The Secret Life of Pets 2 has some sexual references. For example:
- Gidget the dog is in love with Max the dog. She fantasises about kissing him.
- Captain Snowball the rabbit mentions how shredded his glutes are.
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
The Secret Life of Pets 2 shows some use of substances. For example, after Chloe the cat eats some catnip, she acts like she’s stoned. The song ‘White rabbit’ is playing in the background.
Nudity and sexual activity
Nothing of concern
Product placement
Nothing of concern
Coarse language
The Secret Life of Pets 2 has some name-calling and insults, including ‘jerk’, ‘stupid’, ‘heck’ and ‘idiot’.
Ideas to discuss with your children
The Secret Life of Pets 2 is a good-natured sequel to children’s comedy The Secret Life of Pets 1. In addition to being beautifully animated, this movie keeps the jokes rolling throughout.
Children under 10 years are likely to enjoy this movie most. We recommend parental guidance for children under 7 years because of the movie’s mild themes and mild animated violence.
Values in this movie that you could reinforce with your children include:
- facing your fears to be your own superhero
- helping those who need it, even when this is scary.
This movie could also give you the chance to talk about real-life issues like not touching or petting dangerous animals. For example, tigers are presented as tame, good-natured and easily touched in this movie, but this isn’t the case in real life.