Parents' Guide to The Secret Life of Pets 2

This animated sequel is basically a reworking of City Slickers, but that's the beauty of making movies for kids: Old stories are all new to them. At the farm, Max -- who's full of anxiety about the baby's safety -- meets gruff, tough older dog Rooster (Harrison Ford), who herds cattle with ease and isn't having any of Max's overcautiousness. Parents will get that the film is contrasting different kinds of parenting, but to make it more kid-relatable, Max says that the lesson is about embracing change -- even though that message doesn't exactly match up with the story.

Meanwhile, the pets who are left behind get involved in two different rescue missions, which are even lighter on messages and heavier on humor. Pomeranian Gidget (Jenny Slate) must recover a coveted toy from a nest of cats, which means going undercover as a feline -- complete with training from the aloof and seditious puss Chloe (Lake Bell). The other team is led by Snowball (Kevin Hart), who, believing he's a superhero because his child owner dresses him as one, is given a mission by a new dog, shih tzu Daisy (Tiffany Haddish). Haddish proves once again that she's the perfect foil to Hart, and their chemistry creates lots of laughs while also showcasing their unique sense of teamwork. People who watched the original The Secret Life of Pets generally fell into two camps: those who loved it and those who found it to be average (and maybe a little too scary). This sequel is a slight departure and most likely will result in those camps switching their opinions.