Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart bring us the summer movie event that has a little something for everyone in DC’s League of Superpets.
Krypto the Super-Dog (Dwayne Johnson) and Superman (John Krasinski) are inseparable best friends, sharing the same superpowers and fighting crime side by side in Metropolis. However, when the Man of Steel and the rest of the Justice League are kidnapped, Krypto must convince a ragtag group of animals to master their own newfound powers for a rescue mission.
When it comes to animation, there are few movies that let this part fall through the cracks. League of Superpets has a nice flow which allows the characters to move in that heroic style you’d expect. It’s smooth and doesn’t take shortcuts to get the shot and works well in matching the style of the character to the voice actor. It all works so well together to make the adventure fun and enjoyable to watch.
Voice acting is an amazing art form and so many people accomplished the directions they were taking in this movie. John Krasinski as Superman was exceptional in his fun and yet mature manner. Natasha Lyonne was probably my favorite performance of the bunch with her balanced humor and turtle like mafia voice. Kate McKinnon is a master of her craft and Lulu is no exception and is like one of her SNL skits come to life, only censored. If you love seeing and/or hearing her rants and overenthusiastic delivery, you are in for a real treat in this film. Kevin Hart pretty much plays his deck of cards that has made him so much fun to watch. Hart rants, does montages with same type of fire, and his comedy was very fun, but I loved seeing his vulnerable side come out which helped balance out the comedy and the character of Ace. His chemistry with Johnson is just brilliant and this movie keeps their friendship in real-life integrated into tier characters of Ace and Krypto in a very entertaining way. As for Dwayne Johnson, he will also be that same guy you love watching on screen and does a phenomenal job at bringing Krypto to life. Johnson delivers that kid humor element while nailing those overdramatic moments. All in all, this cast was amazing and played very well together making this film fun to watch.
This movie does have a lot of things that are geared towards a younger audience. The slapstick humor and annoying lines are in this film, however, this film surprisingly had some adult moments placed in as well. Merton the turtle is probably the best example of these adult themed moments had had me cracking up the whole time with the elevated jokes they wrote and put in to this film, the bleeped out cursing, references to history, and even some other experiences she thinks about in the film. It’s a nice balance and keeps the entire audience engaged and just just your kids.
It was a joy to see how touching this movie was and how many things they added in for character development that actually drove the story forward. I’m can’t say much here, but Ace and Krypto have the most focus on these moments, alongside a few others getting decent approaches to their characters quirks. This really helped elevate the movie past the kid element.
Kids movies are known for their slow pacing, doing their best to be flashy. They tend to shy away from character development and story for quirks and/or political moments hoping kids will want to rewatch things. But, League of Superpets kept things running well and didn’t sacrifice the storytelling elements that a good film has. This pace will appeal to both older and younger viewers.
This film utilized all their characters very well. Pretty much every character introduced had a significant impact on the film and it was nice to see it balanced so well, keeping them all apart of main adventure and brought some good elements to the film. This was no easy task considering how many characters that they had to juggle and it was amazing to see how they kept all the characters involved.
Overall, when it comes to animated movies this film was a nice surprise and I really enjoyed what they did here. It’s by far a kid’s film, but the team managed to craft something that appeals to all ages. The movie is balanced on a lot of levels, proving that you can have fun with the kids and still make a good story as well. League of Superpets has plenty to offer by means of fun voice acting, good laughs, and animation that uses a lot of things that we look for in a good movie. Even though I truly enjoyed this film, there were still a few things that the kid element has with it, mainly predictability. But despite those punches that didn’t need to be pulled, the movie was overall one of the better animated films that has come out this summer.
DC’s League of Superpets is now playing only in theaters.
What did you think of the film? Let us know in the comments below.
