DC animated films feel like an anomaly within their own genre. While the live-action features spend so much time trying to turn the lavishly ludicrous into something that needs to be taken very seriously (and this isn’t just a DC thing; they’re all like this), the animated films could not care less about such things. Batman: Return Of The Caped Crusaders, the LEGO Batman Movie, Teen Titans Go! To The Movies, not to mention the official DC Animated line; not only are these among the strongest superhero flicks of the last several years, they got to that point by just embracing the sheer fun that’s supposed to be the core appeal of these characters. And this latest release from the Warner Animation Group is yet another example of that.
The League Of Super-Pets is a concept from the Silver Age, back when Superman had about half a dozen different Kryptonian animals that kinda cut into the idea of him being the last survivor of his home planet, and when superheroes getting animal sidekicks was just part of the general sense-optional ethos of the time. It’s a fundamentally silly concept, and it’s played appropriately at that level here. Led by Dwayne Johnson as Krypto, it’s essentially a superpowered take on something like the first Secret Life Of Pets, where the geek-friendly references to DC’s printed history (and even that of Marvel) are balanced out by the occasional pun and ‘world from the perspective of animals’ dialogue.
Oh, and the animals are astoundingly cute; there’s that as well. Aussie CGI wizards Animal Logic, up to this point, are better known for their photorealistic work on the LEGO and Peter Rabbit films. Here, though, they’re going for a much more stylised approach with nice and chunky character designs. And it works incredibly well, both for the animals and for the humans. For the humans, it brings a certain Darwyn Cooke-esque retro aesthetic that fits with the titular concept, and for the animals, it gives the main characters a lot of visual personality while still looking recognisably and endearingly like real animals.
‘Personality’ is something that definitely comes through with pretty much everyone here, both in the writing and in the awe-inspiring casting. Putting Johnson and Kevin Hart together again works out quite well, and they actually meld into their characters rather than having their real-world charisma be the character as is often happens, while their would-be owners… I mean, John Krasinski as Superman is amazing enough, but bringing in Keanu Reeves as Batman, and introducing him in bad-ass one-liner fashion, is another freaking level.
As for the writing, the main cast are made of characters that could have gone just into singular-joke territory (Vanessa Bayer’s superfan pig PB, Natasha Lyonne’s speedster turtle Merton, Diego Luna’s lightning-wielding squirrel Chip, etc.), but it feels like some effort has been made to make them into more than just their powers or their animal identity. Their respective character arcs are unfortunately rushed through, but in showing their respective attitudes towards being newly superpowered and how heroism is reflected through them, there’s a surprising amount of detail to them. Merton in particular steals most of the scenes she’s in.
But again, depth isn’t really the name of the game here. There’s character growth, sure, primarily in Krypto learning to get along with others aside from Superman, but beyond all else, it’s the comedy and the action that reign supreme. On the former point, between the plentiful background gags and the dialogue with only a few duds (and even those never become truly irritating to listen to), this does well. But as action, I just love everything about this. The Justice League work well together as is, something that gets amplified by the equal amounts of interplay from the Super-Pets, and they’re both fighting against Lulu (Kate McKinnon absolutely killing it as the villain) and her army of mutant guinea pigs. Or, as a TV news report describes it, “Crisis Of Infinite Guinea Pigs”. Yes. Yes to all of this.
This is a true family film right here. Bright and colourful, with interesting characters and banter, all in service to a story so secure in its blatant absurdity as to highlight the kind of ideas that could only work in the world of superheroes. I had a lot of fun with this, more so than with either of the MCU’s efforts from this year so far, and beyond just being a good superhero caper, it’s undoubtedly one of the best talking-animal movies I’ve ever covered on here.
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