The Secret Life of Pets 2

The Secret Life of Pets 2 is an American 3D computer animated comedy film produced by Illumination, directed by Chris Renaud, co-directed by Jonathan Del Val, and written by Brian Lynch. It is the sequel to The Secret Life of Pets (2016) and the second feature film in the franchise. The film features the voice talents of Patton Oswalt (replacing Louis C.K.), Eric Stonestreet, Kevin Hart, Jenny Slate, Ellie Kemper, Tiffany Haddish, Lake Bell, Nick Kroll, Dana Carvey, Hannibal Buress, Bobby Moynihan, and Harrison Ford.

The film was theatrically released in the United States on June 7, 2019, by Universal Pictures. It received mixed reviews from critics and has grossed $34 million worldwide.

Synopsis
Max faces some major changes after his owner Katie gets married and now has a child named Liam, up to the point he becomes overprotective. On a family trip to the countryside, Max meets a farm dog named Rooster, and both attempt to overcome his fears.

Meanwhile, Gidget tries to rescue Max's favorite toy from a cat-packed apartment, and Snowball sets on a mission to free a white tiger named Hu from a circus.

Cast

 * Patton Oswalt as Max, a Jack Russell Terrier.
 * Eric Stonestreet as Duke, a large, brown, shaggy Newfoundland mix who lives with Max.
 * Kevin Hart as Snowball, a white rabbit and former flushed pet.
 * Jenny Slate as Gidget, a white Pomeranian and Max’s girlfriend.
 * Tiffany Haddish as Daisy, a Shih Tzu.
 * Lake Bell as Chloe, a morbidly obese and apathetic grey tabby cat.
 * Nick Kroll as Sergei, an abusive circus owner.
 * Dana Carvey as Pops, an elderly Basset Hound who is paralyzed in his back legs.
 * Ellie Kemper as Katie, Max and Duke's owner, Chuck's wife and Liam's mother.
 * Chris Renaud as Norman, a guinea pig.
 * Hannibal Buress as Buddy, a laid-back dachshund.
 * Bobby Moynihan as Mel, a hyperactive pug.
 * Harrison Ford as Rooster, a Welsh Sheepdog.
 * Pete Holmes as Chuck, Katie's husband and Liam's father.
 * Tara Strong as Sweetpea, a green and yellow budgie parakeet.
 * Meredith Salenger as Crazy Cat Lady.
 * Henry Lynch as Liam, Katie and Chuck's son.
 * Garth Jennings as a hamster.

Production
On August 2, 2016, Universal Pictures and Illumination announced a sequel to the 2016 animated film The Secret Life of Pets with director Chris Renaud and writer Brian Lynch returning. Chris Meledandri and Janet Healy would produce the film. The Oatmeal writer Matthew Inman has been working on the film as a creative consultant.

In November 2017, it was announced that Louis C.K. would not be reprising his role as Max after being accused of and later admitting to sexual misconduct with five women. In April 2018, it was announced that Patton Oswalt would replace C.K. as Max while Hart, Stonestreet, Slate, Kemper, Bell, Carvey, Buress, Moynihan would reprise their roles. Additional casting includes Tiffany Haddish, Nick Kroll, Harrison Ford and Pete Holmes.

Release
The Secret Life of Pets 2 was released in the United States on June 7, 2019 by Universal Pictures. It was previously set for a July 13, 2018 release, and then on July 3, 2019. The film was released in the United Kingdom two weeks earlier on May 24, 2019.

Marketing
Leading up to the movie’s release, a few character trailers have dropped, which each features Max, Chloe, Snowball, Daisy, Gidget and Rooster. On April 11, 2019 (National Pet Day), the first official full trailer dropped. The final trailer was released on May 16, 2019.

Promotional partners for the film include General Mills, Ziploc, Bounty, and McDonald's.

Box office
In the United States and Canada, The Secret Life of Pets 2 was released alongside Dark Phoenix, and is projected to gross around $60 million from 4,400 theaters in its opening weekend. The film made $2.2 million from Thursday night previews, down from the first film's $5.3 million.

In the United Kingdom the film debuted to $4.1 million from 613 theaters. A week later the film expanded to Russia and made a combined $17.2 million between the two countries.

Critical reception
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 53% based on 93 reviews with an average rating of 5.67/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "The Secret Life of Pets 2 doesn't teach its animated stars any new narrative tricks -- but for fans of the original, this funny, energetic sequel should still satisfy." At Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 55 out of 100, based on 27 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A–" on an A+ to F scale, the same score as the first film, while those at PostTrak gave it an average 4.5 out of 5 stars.