Warner’s DC League of Super-Pets tries to carve out a superhero film for the family, but ultimately gives us a film that is, well, boring, despite a solid transfer.
The Production: 3/5
Krypto (Dwayne Johnson), after helping his master Superman (John Krasinski) and the Justice League defeat Lex Luthor’s (Marc Maron) plan of using orange kryptonite to give himself superpowers. But a shard of the orange kryptonite finds its way to a pet store where a group of misfit and discarded pets are awaiting adoption. The shard gives them all superpowers, including a hairless guinea pig, Lulu (Kate McKinnon), who was a lab animal of Lex’s. Lulu escapes in hopes of carrying out Lex’s evil plan, including freeing him from jail. Meanwhile, Krypto discovers that Superman is about to propose to Lois Lane (Olivia Wilde), and fears that he will lose his place with Superman. Lulu then manages to kidnap and imprison the entire Justice League, including Superman, and tricks Krypto into ingesting a small piece of orange kryptonite, which takes away his powers. Beaten and defenseless, Krypto wanders the streets of Metropolis, eventually meeting up with boxer mutt Ace (Kevin Hart), pig PB (Vanessa Bayer), squirrel Chip (Diego Luna), and turtle Merton (Natasha Lyonne). Can these misfits rally together as a team and not only defeat Lulu, but save the Justice League and the city of Metropolis?
The animation by Animal Logic (Lego Movie) is very good, but what is truly lacking here is an interesting story, which has been the case of many DC projects over the last few years. The outcome is predictable, and the action is not all that interesting. The movie does have an all-star voice cast, with the big surprise that has some of the best lines is Keanu Reeves as Batman. Unfortunately, all the positives are not enough to overcome what was essentially a fairly boring animated film aimed at kids, with plenty of bathroom humor. DC League of Super-Pets too often reminded me of Secret Life of Pets.
Video: 4.5/5
3D Rating: NA
As with most animated films, DC League of Super-Pets was likely rendered at 2K resolution and upscaled as a 4K digital intermediate in the 2.39:1 aspect ratio. Warner’s 2160p HEVC-encoded transfer includes HDR10 (Dolby Vision is available on the digital UHD version). The major improvement that the UHD provides is bolder and more vivid colors and increased contrast with deeper blacks. Other than that, there is really not a huge increase in overall fine detail.
Audio: 5/5
The default Dolby Atmos track (also available on the included Blu-ray disc) is excellent, on the same level as one would expect for an action film. LFE is strong, punctuating all of the crashes, explosions, and music tracks. Surrounds are very active, with additional overhead support as objects fly overhead. Dialogue is clear and understandable throughout. Warner has also included a redundant DTS-HD MA 5.1 mix on both discs.
Special Features: 2/5
All of the special features, aimed mostly at the younger audience, can be found on the included Blu-ray disc.
How to Draw Krypto (1080p; 6:48): Animation Supervisor David Burgess takes us on a way too simplified tutorial on drawing the movie’s lead character.
Behind the Super Voices (1080p; 14:39): A look at the all-star voice cast, including Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Natasha Lyonne, Diego Luna, Vanessa Bayer, John Krasinski, and Kate McKinnin.
Super-Pets Animation 101 (1080p; 8:18): A look at the development and design of the film.
The World of Super-Pets (1080p; 7:41): Using the DC canon for character building and story references.
Find the Easter Eggs (1080p; 3:39): Writers/co-directors Sam Levine and Jared Stern walk us through some of the many hidden references sprinkled throughout the film.
Deleted Scenes (1080p; 20:48): A collection of 12 unfinished scenes are featured.
Digital Copy: An insert contains a code to redeem a digital copy in UHD on Movies Anywhere.
Overall: 3.5/5
DC League of Super-Pets is a rather dull film, despite its excellent presentation on UHD disc.
Todd Erwin has been a reviewer at Home Theater Forum since 2008. His love of movies began as a young child, first showing Super 8 movies in his backyard during the summer to friends and neighbors at age 10. He also received his first movie camera that year, a hand-crank Wollensak 8mm with three fixed lenses. In 1980, he graduated to "talkies" with his award-winning short The Ape-Man, followed by the cult favorite The Adventures of Terrific Man two years later. Other films include Myth or Fact: The Talbert Terror and Warren's Revenge (which is currently being restored). In addition to movie reviews, Todd has written many articles for Home Theater Forum centering mostly on streaming as well as an occasional hardware review, is the host of his own video podcast Streaming News & Views on YouTube and is a frequent guest on the Home Theater United podcast.
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