The first half of this film was precisely what I expected, which is to say, “meh.” This wasn’t so much a film as fan fiction. Oh, li’l baby Kal-El had a dog, did he? Looks like an Earth dog. Are we sure Krypton is a different planet? And, naturally, the dog came here and has super powers and a super sense of aloof, low-grade narcissism. Fantastic.
The film introduces Krypto/aka “Bark Kent,” get it? (voice of Dwayne Johnson) as Superman’s loyal dog and fellow crime fighter. And the big controversy is that his human-ish companion is falling for Lois Lane which Krypto interprets as a threat. Jealousy is a common human trait, but it rarely makes for decent movie plots and this is no exception. Krypto comes off as myopic and needy -even for a dog- during these exchanges.
Superman decides Krypto might need a friend, so they visit the world’s most pathetic shelter so we can be introduced to the other characters in this film including an unlucky Boxer named Ace (voice of Kevin Hart) and an evil hairless guinea pig, Lulu (voice of Kate McKinnon). Long story short, the guinea pig is an evil genius and manages -despite not being able to escape incarceration- to reel in some 
orange kryptonite from outer space. The orange kryptonite apparently gives Earthlings super powers. (green=bad, orange=good). And wouldn’t you know it? The guinea pig has a strong affinity for Lex Luthor cuz she was his lab experiment at some point.
Ok, evil hairless guinea pig with a Luthor-like brain, that’s kinda cute, and yes, I love the Lulu creating her own army of guinea pigs. That’s fun stuff – but didn’t we already see this in The Bad Guys? That came out like just two months ago, right?
While Lulu lemons the Super Friends, her pet store inmates are now free and super themselves thanks to errant agent orange kryptonite. And it’s now their job to save … everybody.
At this point, I found the film amiable if unspectacular. Ok, you showed me something new or new-ish and I like the pet shop buys, but I still see DC League of Super-Pets as little more than fan fiction.
And then, the film had a Pixar moment. Actually I’m not sure I can call it a Pixar moment as Pixar doesn’t seem to have them anymore. Ace tells a heart-breaking “origin story” of his own and at that point the film transformed for me from something basic into something special. While the first half of DC League of Super-Pets was on par with Nut Job, the second half of DC League of Super-Pets ranks amo
ng my favorite animated films of all time. As far as I was concerned, this was a revelation: OMG, DC finally gets it. You can’t just put somebody in a cape and expect us to cheer. (Well, some of us will anyway, I suppose), even if it’s Superman. Whether it’s Batman or Ironman or Thor or Horace the Wonder Slug, you have to give us personalities; you have to give us a reason to be in this fight. Because when I find the villains more entertaining than the heroes, I start rooting for the villains … which, I’m guessing, is not the best strategy in making a hero film.
So right now I have a dilemma; while I found the first half of this film listless and derivative, I found the second half exciting, endearing, and mood-lifting. What is a critic to do? After long thought, I’m giving DC League of Super-Pets three stars with the caveat that if you bothered seeing the first half of this film, please stay until all the threads are resolved. Eventually, this will become an uplifting film and you’ll be glad you hung in there. Well, unless you can’t stand fan fiction or talking pets, in which case you shouldn’t have been here in the first place.
Li’l Superman had a pet dog for real
And Earth crime is now Krypto’s happy meal
It’s a shame that planet Krypton
Lacked amphibianon
Cuz I sure could go for a Frog of Steel
Rated PG, 106 Minutes
Director: Jared Stern, Sam Levine
Writer: Jared Stern, Josh Whittington
Genre: Who’s a good super-dog? You are! You are!
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Me, I guess
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Me, for the first half of it
