DC League of Super-Pets

Directed by Jared Stern, DC League of Super-Pets follows Superman’s (John Krasinski) pet dog (Dwayne Johnson’s Krypto) as he and a ragtag group of discarded pets, including Kevin Hart’s Ace and Vanessa Bayer’s PB, attempt to save several superheroes from a villainous guinea pig (Kate McKinnon’s Lulu). It’s larger-than-life subject matter that’s employed to periodically passable yet predominantly disposable effect by Stern, as the filmmaker, armed with his and John Whittington’s screenplay, delivers a geared-almost-exclusively-to-small-children endeavor that contains few elements designed to capture and sustain the interest of older viewers – with the distinctly juvenile vibe perpetuated by a frenetic pace and ongoing emphasis on loud, over-the-top jokes and action sequences. It’s clear, then, that DC League of Super-Pets‘ sporadically tolerable atmosphere is due to its agreeable voice performances and smattering of compelling stretches, with the latter represented most keenly by a fantastic (and all-too-short-lived) interlude wherein Batman (Keanu Reeves) recalls the circumstances surrounding his decision to become a vigilante. (It’s difficult, too, not to feel a twinge of emotion at the backstory for Hart’s rough-around-the-edges boxer, even if this flashback’s obviously been cribbed directly from Toy Story 2.) By the time the predictably broad (and prolonged) climax rolls around, DC League of Super-Pets has cemented its place as a typically underwhelming contemporary cartoon that squanders a premise rife with promise.

** out of ****

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