Released last weekend, "Pet Big Secret 2" is a crazy cute comedy, which can be said to be a large "cloud sucking cat" and "cloud sucking dog" scene. I have to say that this sequel is more lively than the previous work, but also because of this hilarity, this work is not as wonderful as the previous work in the plot, it seems to be somewhat low and lack of logic, reflected in the box office, that is, only less than 90 million box office in 5 days of release, and the first one was released within 3 days of the week.
Remember the first book's promotional point was so appealing that it asked all pet owners a question: What are our pets doing when we're not at home? When it came time to watch the second part, the author was a little disappointed in the process of watching it - I was expecting to see a deeper connection between pets and people, but how did I find myself brought into a modern animal fairy tale?
"Pet Secret 1" highlights what pets are doing when humans are not at home.
The story line of "Pet Big Secret" released in 2016 is very clear: the puppy Mike lives with the owner Katie, living a peaceful and happy life, until one day Katie suddenly brings back a big dog, Du Boss, and the two pet dogs start a pet competition... Of course, there is no suspense, and when Mike and Boss Du go through a series of adventures and see the wider world, they eventually form a strong friendship. This story doesn't sound new, but the creators of Pet Secrets have built a convincing pet world for us with a rich imagination.
Cats, dogs, dogs and even hamsters and other small pets have a relatively complete portrayal in the movie, which is impressive. For example, the cat Bingbing that appears in the movie is always a high-cold look, and the way it kicks the owner's cup off the table with a cold face is very much in line with the cute cat video we see on the Internet. The Pomeranian tweeter, who has a crush on Mike, is always a petite and cute look, which is also in line with the characteristics of the real-life Pomeranian. The really memorable is the stray animal's old rabbit Xiaobai, in the setting of the first part, its appearance is cute and fierce, with its own contrast, it became the leader of the stray animal organization because it did not trust humans, but it was eventually adopted by a little girl and felt the power of love. The image of Xiao Bai spread far and wide through the popularity of WeChat emojis.
In Pet Sematary 2, there are more scenes between animals and fewer connections with humans.
In contrast, the biggest difference between the two films is the "perspective", the first uses the perspective of animals to peek at people, giving people a strong sense of substitution, so that the audience can't help but think about how their pets see themselves; while the second part is basically irrelevant to humans, telling a story between animals. The human mold is relatively flat and does not allow adult audiences to get more satisfaction.
For example, the change of the role of Xiao Bai, as the former big brother of the society, Xiao Bai is actually the voice of an adult man, it is resourceful, strong in action, and even some "anti-social" tendencies, which contrast with its soft and cute appearance, and also make "Love Pet Secret" more "adult" in terms of perception. This was originally a highlight of the cartoon, but in the sequel, XiaoBai became an ordinary little white rabbit who could only think that he was a superhero for no reason. It actually needs the leadership and encouragement of the new character, Daisy the Dog, to overcome its fears and rescue the little tiger who has been abused by the circus, which is almost the same as the little white in the first part. It can be said that the change in the role of Xiao Bai marks the change in "Love Pet 2", and we can clearly see that this new work is younger in terms of audience positioning, so it abandons the relatively complex and dark parts of the previous film (such as the hatred of abandoned pets for humans).
The first part also portrays pets that are abandoned by their owners and "blackened".
Of course, after watching the whole film, well-meaning audiences can still understand the rupture between the two films. If the theme of the previous work is in addition to simply celebrating friendship, the higher value is to redefine the relationship between people and pets and establish the subjective value of pets. This "Pet Secret 2" does not explore this path, but bases the theme on the sense of overcoming fear, so we see almost every major character facing self-growth and breakthrough. The protagonist Mike's owner has the next generation, And Mike needs to adapt to his new identity and overcome his anxiety; while Tweet pretends to be a cat to lurk in the old man's home alone in order to regain Mike's beloved toy ball; Xiao Bai needs to overcome the anxiety of being a pet rabbit, who longs to be respected again and discover self-worth.
The storyline of "Pet Secret 2" is rather chaotic, and it is difficult to sort out a major clue. Through the analysis of these characters, it is not difficult to see that the focus of the creators of this cartoon has changed. If the first part makes the audience think better about how pets see us, what pets think. The second, then, projects "personality" onto animals, as in many children's cartoons. This may be the root cause of what critics believe is "low childishness."
□ Yu (Film Critic)
Beijing News Editor Wu Longzhen Proofreader Liu Jun