If you’re the kind of superhero enthusiast who would like to ask, “Why so serious?”For the sad and depressing fanboys who believe in Joker memes and other grim-and gritty signs, “DC’s League of Super-Pets” is a goofy, colorful throwback to those comic books of the 1950s and ’60s that allowed no costumed avenger to go un-sidekick-ed.
Although not quite as outrageously funny or anarchic as the others, they are still hilarious. “Teen Titans GO! to the Movies,” this latest all-ages animated adventure from DC Comics and Warner Bros. nonetheless has — and offers — lots of fun with the four-legged counterparts of a Justice League that’s more “Super Friends”Snyder Cut.
We open on the final moments of the planet Krypton, where puppy Krypto (voiced by Dwayne Johnson) hops into baby Kal-El’s spacecraft to join him on his sojourn to Earth. Krypto becomes a faithful ally of Superman (John Krasinski), supporting him against villains like Lex Luthor (Marc Maron), the billionaire megalomaniac. Superman takes notice of Krypto’s resentful attitude towards reporter Lois Lane, Olivia Wilde. He suggests that Krypto get another dog.
They visit a shelter that houses a diverse group of animals. Ace (Kevin Hart) is a dog obsessed about escaping and taking his fellow prisoners to a magical place called “The Magic Place.” “a farm upstate”; a pig who is always optimistic (and a Wonder Woman fan) PB.
Lulu (Kate McKinnon), the hairless guineapig Lulu, who was unintentionally released from a LexCorp Lab but still considers herself to be a guinea pig, also lives in a cage at shelter. “colleague”Supervillain. Lulu makes a homemade ray to capture a piece of the Orange Kryptonite meteor Luthor is trying to bring down. What Luthor doesn’t realize is that Orange Kryptonite grants powers, all right, but only to animals.
Lulu, a newly telekinetic guinea-pig, captures the Justice League. She even tricks Krypto to eat a shard Green Kryptonite. This strips him of all his powers. (You can’t blame him; she hid it in cheese.) To save Superman and his teammates, Krypto must now rely upon the super-powered, Orange K–exposed shelter animals: Ace is now invulnerable, PB can shrink to teacup size or expand to state-fair blue-ribbon-winner, Chip can shoot lightning bolts, and Merton has super-speed. Along the way, Superman’s best friend will learn about dog things from Ace, from using his nose to learning how to let go when your pal falls in love.
It’s a tricky balance to concoct a plot with stakes and tension while never taking any of it all that seriously, but it’s a feat managed by director Jared Stern (“The LEGO Batman Movie”) and co-writer John Whittington (“Sonic the Hedgehog 2”). Granted, it might also help that the film’s executive producers include such veteran tone-jugglers as Glenn Ficarra and John Requa (“I Love You Philip Morris”) and Nicholas Stoller (“The Muppets”); either way, “DC’s League of Super-Pets”Knows how to be both involving and self-mocking.
The screenplay is also skilled at pitching jokes both to kids (there’s a “Paw Patrol”This gag will make four-year olds all over the world think. “I get that reference!”)And to adults (Winona Bradshaw voices the adorable but homicidal kitty Whiskers, who borrows catchphrases from “A Nightmare on Elm Street” and “The Warriors”She catches her prey.
The DC Universe is being presented here because the production designers and the art department are on the exact same page. Of the multiple Earths in the company’s narrative space, this is the one where Metropolis is a combination of mid-century skyscrapers and futuristic towers, where Luthor wears a bright green suit of science armor while shooting big purple beams into the sky. It’s an aesthetic that carries through the entire film, and it matches the breezy tone of the jokes and the vocal performances. The score by Steve Jablonsky is another element that occupies the space between the absurd and the epic. “Red Notice.”)
This film, like many others aimed at younger audiences, gets a bit bogged down when it tries to get serious. Ace is given a flashback, clearly intended to convey the poignancy of the story. “When She Loved Me”Sequence in “Toy Story 2,”But it doesn’t attempt to sabotage the tear ducts like Pixar. These activities are encouraged, thankfully, to be enjoyed by children rather than being dragged to the sidelines.
In true superhero-movie fashion, the film offers a few buttons during the closing credits – one sets up a sequel, the other indulges the star – but again, nothing that happens in “DC’s League of Super-Pets” feels like it particularly matters, or that it’s trying to build out several years’ worth of franchise follow-ups, and that’s almost exhilaratingly liberating in the current climate.
“DC’s League of Super-Pets”Opening in US cinemas July 29,