In a refreshing break from the almost-predictable superhero films that have been produced in recent years, “DC League of Super-Pets” presents a new take on the genre with its hilarious, action-packed tale (tail?) about friendship and the unconditional love humans receive from their pets.
Directed by Jared Stern, the 105-minute feature recounts the origin story of Superman as the infant Kal-El is placed in a spaceship by his parents to escape the annihilation of their home planet Krypton.
In this version, however, Superman’s puppy Krypto jumps into the capsule along with him as his parents plead the pooch to keep him safe – a promise that forms the basis of the plot.
Years later, Superman (John Krasinski) and Krypto (Dwayne Johnson) are best friends, and it is revealed Krypto similarly possesses superpowers like his human, such as flying and X-ray vision.
Krypto also has a secret identity as the glasses-wearing Bark Kent. Heh.
Of course, every superhero needs a supervillain, even if the heroes in question have four legs. To that end, viewers are introduced to a hairless evil-genius guinea pig named Lulu (Kate McKinnon) – a former associate of Lex Luthor’s who was sent to an animal shelter and is now hellbent on revenge and world domination.
Fans will surely be familiar with green Kryptonite, which weakens Superman and his ilk. Here, an orange Kryptonite is shown to have the ability of giving superpowers to animals.
Naturally, Lulu uses it to empower herself, then uses the green version of the stuff to rob Superman and Krypto of their powers before kidnapping the Justice League team.
It now falls upon the powerless Krypto to save his beloved “Supes” and the others. The heroic hound is forced to recruit the residents of the animal shelter who, as it turns out, received superpowers while Lulu was using the orange Kryptonite. Jeng-jeng-jeng!
So, who’s part of Krypto’s team? There’s Ace the hound (Kevin Hart); a pot-bellied pig named PB (Vanessa Bayer); a near-sighted cheeky turtle named Merton (Natasha Lyonne); and Chip, the cowardly squirrel (Diego Luna).
Together, the new heroes undergo training to gain control of their newly acquired powers (montage alert!) before setting off to rescue the Justice League from being blown up by the nefarious Lulu.
For all its excitement, “DC League of Super-Pets” falls short when it comes to the origin story of the team of super-pets. Besides a short and emotional flashback into Ace’s origin, all viewers know about PB, Merton and Chip is that they are rescue animals desperately hoping to be adopted.
Perhaps they’re saving the backstories for the inevitable sequels…? Only time will tell!
Nevertheless, there are some great moments, one in particular being an adorable baby-voiced kitten with the ability to shoot explosives from its tail and cough up furball grenades.
And audiences will also feel immensely satisfied when each pet ends up with his or her superhero companion.
All in all, “DC League of Super-Pets” is a fun and enjoyable watch, especially when you factor in a terrific voice cast that includes Keanu Reeves as a uniquely pitiful Batman.
Its combination of adorable animals and superheroes is sure to be a big hit among children, while adults will enjoy the action, comedy, and many references to the DC Universe.
Oh, ya – there’s one scene worth mentioning that will definitely leave Malaysians proud: local actor Sean Lee voices an adorable Boston Terrier named Waffles, bringing a familiar touch to his character by giving the pooch a typical Malaysian accent that will have you cracking up in your seats.
Although it’s just a short scene, seeing Malaysian culture being portrayed in a Warner Bros film certainly calls for celebration! Bow wow!
‘DC League of Super-Pets’ is playing in cinemas nationwide.