The Secret Life of Pets 3 is the 15th upcoming 3D American computer-animated comedy film produced by Illumination Entertainment and directed by Chris Renaud from a story by Brian Lynch and Yarrow Cheney. It is the sequel to The Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019) and is the third and final film in the franchise. The film features the voices of Louie C.K, Eric Stonestreet, Kevin Hart, Tiffany Haddish, Albert Brooks, Jenny Slate, Lake Bell, Bradley Cooper, Patton Oswalt, Harrison Ford.
The film was released theatrically in the United States on July 5, 2024 by Universal Pictures. Although the film made more than the second film but still less than the first on a $100 million budget, it received generally positive reviews from critics, claiming to be an improvement over the second film.
Plot
Ten years after the events of the previous two films, Max and Duke have become steadily weary of dealing with the same issues of mundane life and yearn for things to at least be simple around the house and not hectic. That opportunity comes sooner than expected as Katie has booked their family and the family next door a summer vacation to Florida for three weeks.
Arriving in Florida, Max starts to become more accustomed to his surroundings, feeling relaxed with his girlfriend Gidget who is pregnant and struggles to accept it, but eventually does after Max gives her his ball as a token for the new born litter of puppies. On the beach, Duke and Snowball, who snuk aboard, wanting a break from his owner's advances, both find a West Highland Terrier named Ted who is on the run from the local animal control and is longing for a place to hide. Concerned for the terrier's safety and knowing how hard it was living on the streets, Duke agrees to take him in.
Max disproves of this arrival when he finds out as they don't know if Ted could be a stray or not, but over the course of the first five days of the vacation, he warms up to having Ted around. Taking Max and Duke on a tour through Florida's capital state Tallahassee, Ted gives his insight on what he believes the animal control are really trying to do with the animals they capture, coming up with a conspiracy for their goals, that they do it for genetic experiments, Duke knows that this is rubbish and shuts it down whenever Ted brings it up, Max decides that best course of action would be to show Ted what it's really like.
Arriving at the Bay County Animal Control, Ted at first realises that he was wrong the whole time and that it's not as bad as it looks. All of the animals within the building, greet the trio, specifically a stray cat named Fergus who offers Max and Duke a place within the building, once their time is up. They kindly decline that offer and tell him that they'll decide when they're finished, greeting the rest of the animals without getting caught by animal control, the trio arrive back at the current household they're staying at safely after hijacking a car.
On the second week of the vacation, Gidget goes into labour and fears that she'll have a miscarriage, but she makes it through with Max's emotional support. Giving birth to three Jack-Russell Pomeranian mixes, the couple give them the names "Amanda", "Freddie" and "Jack". When it comes to them growing up in an environment, Gidget doesn't know what to do with them, Max has an idea however.
Arriving at the Bay County Animal Control for the final time, the two of them, drop off the puppies, trusting Fergus to take extra care of them, raising them better than they might. On the way home, Ted bids the pets farewell, but Max offers him a place to stay, telling him that he can do so much more than staying on the run, Ted accepts the offer at first, realising that he can find a new purpose in life in New York City. Entering the apartment, everyone of the residents grows accustomed to Ted and welcomes him into the family, however as he's about to change his mind and leave the building, but realises that he's found his place in society and there's more to it than meets the eye, as Max tells him before going to bed. Cutting to twenty years later, Max, Duke and Ted's collars are in a box in the shoe closet, indicating that they passed away, thanks to old age. Living their lives as what they were born to be.
Cast
- Louie C.K as Max, a Jack Russell Terrier.
- Eric Stonestreet as Duke, a large, brown, shaggy Newfoundland mix.
- Kevin Hart as Snowball, a white rabbit.
- Tiffany Haddish as Daisy
- Bradley Cooper as Ted, a West Highland White Terrier
- Jenny Slate as Gidget, a white Pomeranian.
- Patton Oswalt as Fergus, a Bengal
- Ellie Kemper as Katie, Max and Duke's owner.
- Lake Bell as Chloe, a morbidly obese and apathetic grey tabby cat.
- Dana Carvey as Pops, an elderly Basset Hound who is paralyzed in his back legs.
- Hannibal Buress as Buddy, a laid-back dachshund.
- Bobby Moynihan as Mel, a hyperactive pug.
- Harrison Ford as Rooster
- Tara Strong as Sweet Pea, a green and yellow budgie parakeet.
- Albert Brooks as Tiberius, a curmudgeonly red-tailed hawk.
- Chris Renaud as Norman, a guinea pig who keeps getting lost trying to find his apartment.
- Pete Holmes as Chuck: Katie's husband.
Production
On September 4th 2022, Illumination confirmed that a third and final Secret Life of Pets film was in development with Chris Renaud and writer Brian Lynch returning. Chris Meledandri stated that "There's one more story in the book".
In March of 2023, it was announced that Louie C.K would reprise his role as Max, being given a second chance after the drama of his sexual misconducts died down for good.
Music and Soundtrack
Alexandre Desplat, who composed the score of the first two films, returned for the third film alongside Christophe Beck.