Look up in the Sky. It’s Krypto! Superman’s best friend and his superpals are on patrol. Our JP gives us his thoughts on “DC League of Super-Pets.”
DC League of Super-Pets
Warner Bros. Pictures
- Directed by Jared Stern
- Written by Jared Stern, John Whittington
- Based on Characters by DC Comics
- Produced by Patricia Hicks, Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia, Hiram Garcia, Jared Stern
- Starring Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Kate McKinnon, John Krasinski, Vanessa Bayer, Natasha Lyonne, Diego Luna. Thomas Middleditch, Ben Schwartz, Keanu Reeves
Studio Synopsis:
Dwayne Johnson stars as the voice of Krypto the Super-Dog in Warner Bros. Pictures’ animated action adventure feature film “DC League of Super-Pets,” from director Jared Stern.
The film also stars the voices of Kevin Hart (the “Jumanji” and “Secret Life of Pets” films), Kate McKinnon (“Saturday Night Live,” the “Magic School Bus Rides Again” films, “Ferdinand”), John Krasinski (the “Quiet Place” films, “Free Guy”), Vanessa Bayer (“Saturday Night Live,” “Office Christmas Party,” “Trainwreck”), Natasha Lyonne (“Show Dogs,” “Ballmastrz 9009”), Diego Luna (“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” “Maya and the Three”), Marc Maron (“Joker,” “GLOW”), Thomas Middleditch (“Godzilla: King of the Monsters,” “Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie”), Ben Schwartz (“Sonic the Hedgehog,” “Duck Tales”), and Keanu Reeves (the “Matrix” and “John Wick” films).
In “DC League of Super-Pets,” Krypto the Super-Dog and Superman are inseparable best friends, sharing the same superpowers and fighting crime in Metropolis side by side. When Superman and the rest of the Justice League are kidnapped, Krypto must convince a rag-tag shelter pack—Ace the hound, PB the potbellied pig, Merton the turtle and Chip the squirrel—to master their own newfound powers and help him rescue the superheroes.
Stern, a veteran writer/consultant on the “LEGO®” movies, makes his animated feature film directorial debut, directing from a screenplay he wrote with frequent collaborator John Whittington, based on characters from DC, Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The film is produced by Patricia Hicks, Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia, Hiram Garcia and Jared Stern. The executive producers are John Requa, Glenn Ficarra, Nicholas Stoller, Allison Abbate, Chris Leahy, Sharon Taylor and Courtenay Valenti.
Stern’s creative team includes production designer Kim Taylor (“The LEGO® Ninjago Movie”) and editors David Egan (“Game Night,” “Vacation”) and Jhoanne Reyes (“Teen Titans GO!” “Young Justice”). The music is by Steve Jablonsky (the “Transformers” films).
Warner Bros. Pictures Presents A Seven Bucks Production, “DC League of Super-Pets.” The film will be released by Warner Bros. Pictures in theaters internationally beginning 18 May 2022 and in North America on May 20, 2022.
J.P.’s Take
In “DC League of Super-Pets,” heroism comes in many forms these days and who’s better to shine a spotlight on that than the pets of superheroes.
At least, in this case, Krypto, Kal-El’s pal labrador that stowed away with him as a baby in a life pod on their way to Earth. They escaped the destruction of their home planet of Krypton, where on the Kent family farm, the little pup had much to do with Kal’s upbringing.Many followers of DC Comics know the backstory of how Kal-El, a.k.a Clark Kent, came to be Earth’s greatest hero known as Superman. Yet, DC shifts focus toward Krypto, who also had a stint in the DC Comic world, as this is his time to shine.
In comparison, the lives of Krypto (voiced by Dwayne Johnson) and Superman (John Krasinski) are mirror images; both have similar powers and similar weaknesses. So when situations get hairy for one or the other, they have each other’s backs. That’s mainly the premise of this animated crusade as both Krypto’s heroics and loyalty are put to the test.
Krypto and Superman are best buds and do just about everything together. They play fetch, fight crime, go on walks together, fight crime some more, watch movies/TV on the couch … and again fight crime. Living up to the “man’s best friend” moniker has its downside it seems; this is where many of the jokes stem from in the first half of “Super-Pets.” For instance, when Clark Kent’s sweetheart, Lois Lane (Olivia Wilde), enters the picture, Krypto’s jealous streak rears its ugly head. Krypto now has to pour the charm pretty thick, even to the point of a saccharin sweetness. Krypto hams it up just to lure Clark away from his beaux. This initially sets up a chucklesome moment, when Krypto has a brief daydream about what he’d do when Lois comes over. A scene with him grabbing her by the ankle and using his super strength to toss her in the ocean pops into his head. It sounds coldblooded at first, yet the reality of course sets in, and this incident never really comes to fruition.
Other comical antics are of the K9 kind, with Ace the pitbull (Kevin Hart) expressing the pleasures of being a dog, like smell, which is the greatest ability dogs have as they sniff the ground and come up with images of what the scent is all about. Another pleasure: being able to lick any part of your body.
Being that Krypto is a super-powered dog, he also has trouble reconciling his alter ego as he tries to be an average dog. This is evident in a scene when Kryptos attempts a regular conversation with a corgi on the street, while Clark is in the shelter finding him a new friend to play with. He tries to appear inconspicuous, but the corgi isn’t buying it and the conversation goes south, which leaves Krypto to break out his super dog stories as a backup. This makes for some awkward moments for the two of them as his so-called average life is interrupted by the call of duty — a gaggle of pets escapes from the shelter.
Krypto to the rescue! You can see the super team up start to formulate here: Ace the pitbull, Merton the turtle (Natashia Lyonne), Chip the squirrel (Diego Luna), PB the pot-bellied pig (Vanessa Bayer), the soon-to-be diabolical hairless guinea pig named Lulu (Kate McKinnon) and a kitten.
Those silly moments go from quirky potty humor to heroism as the Justice League become the victims of Lex Luthor’s latest sinister plan. This requires the help of …yep you guessed it that hairless diabolical guinea pig, Lulu. She and her fellow guinea pig henchmen wreak havoc on Metropolis and, of course, it’s up to Krypto and his newfound shelter friends to stop her and save the heroes.
Along with the kids humor, “Super-Pets” does have some comedy for the adult audience, like throwing shades at billionaires and their rockets. Hmmm, I wonder who they’re referring to? Hahaha.
This being a DC entity, you’ll of course be bombarded with a dazzling light show, explosive action sequences, and powers being wielded. You’ll feel the rating (PG) may be warranted when you hear Merton being bleeped for the swearing sentiments.
The energetic voice cast sounded quite lively and are certainly up for the adventure. “DC’s League of Super-Pets” was surprisingly amped and nibble in its storytelling, a cast that was presented with zeal and a heartwarming tale (tail) in the end. I didn’t think much of it at first …yet I enjoyed it more so than I thought.