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The Secret Life of Pets poster

Movies that feel likeThe Secret Life of Pets (2016)

The quiet life of a terrier named Max is upended when his owner takes in Duke, a stray whom Max instantly dislikes.

If you loved The Secret Life of Pets, the closest films we have are Rio (2011), Bolt (2008) and Ferdinand (2017). All three share The Secret Life of Pets' whimsical and witty feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Trolls (2016).

🍅 71% Rotten Tomatoes★ 6.5 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Chris Renaudwhimsicalwittyplayfulwarmcozyepic
6 of 12 streaming nowHBO Max · Disney Plus · Paramount Plus Premium

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If The Secret Life of Pets hit the spot, these will too

Looking for the series itself? Also in this series: The Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019)

Rio poster
Rio
2011 · dir. Carlos Saldanha
🍅 72%★ 6.9animation · adventure · comedyDisney+

Two things both keep coming back to: pet and animals

Captured by smugglers when he was just a hatchling, a macaw named Blu never learned to fly and lives a happily domesticated life in Minnesota with his human friend, Linda. Blu is thought to be the last of his kind, but when word comes that Jewel, a lone female, lives in Rio de Janeiro, Blu and Linda go to meet her. Animal smugglers kidnap Blu and Jewel, but the pair soon escape and begin a perilous adventure back to freedom -- and Linda.

Bolt poster
Bolt
2008 · dir. Chris Williams
🍅 90%★ 6.8animation · family · adventureDisney+

The same preoccupation in both: pets

Bolt is the star of the biggest show in Hollywood. The only problem is, he thinks it's real. After he's accidentally shipped to New York City and separated from Penny, his beloved co-star and owner, Bolt must harness all his "super powers" to find a way home.

Ferdinand poster
Ferdinand
2017 · dir. Carlos Saldanha
🍅 71%★ 6.7animation · family · adventureMax

One thread runs through both: anthropomorphism

Ferdinand, a little bull, prefers sitting quietly under a cork tree just smelling the flowers versus jumping around, snorting, and butting heads with other bulls. As Ferdinand grows big and strong, his temperament remains mellow. But one day five men come to choose the "biggest, fastest, roughest bull" for the bullfights in Madrid— and Ferdinand is mistakenly chosen.

Penguins of Madagascar poster
Penguins of Madagascar
2014 · dir. Simon J. Smith
🍅 74%★ 6.6family · animation · adventure

Common ground: anthropomorphism

Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private join forces with undercover organization The North Wind to stop the villainous Dr. Octavius Brine from destroying the world as we know it.

The Croods poster
The Croods
2013 · dir. Kirk DeMicco
🍅 71%★ 7.1animation · adventure · family

Both keep coming back to the same thing: pets

The prehistoric Croods family live in a particularly dangerous moment in time. Patriarch Grug, his mate Ugga, teenage daughter Eep, son Thunk, and feisty Gran gather food by day and huddle together in a cave at night. When a more evolved caveman named Guy arrives on the scene, Grug is distrustful, but it soon becomes apparent that Guy is correct about the impending destruction of their world.

Storks poster
Storks
2016 · dir. Doug Sweetland
🍅 65%★ 6.8adventure · animation · comedy

The same mix in both: whimsy, then wit

Storks deliver babies…or at least they used to. Now they deliver packages for a global internet retail giant. Junior, the company’s top delivery stork, is about to be promoted when he accidentally activates the Baby Making Machine, producing an adorable and wholly unauthorized baby girl...

The Lorax poster
The Lorax
2012 · dir. Chris Renaud
★ 6.4animation · family

Both are Chris Renaud's work, and they rhyme

The difference: Easier on the wit than The Secret Life of Pets

A 12-year-old boy searches for the one thing that will enable him to win the affection of the girl of his dreams. To find it he must discover the story of the Lorax, the grumpy yet charming creature who fights to protect his world.

Cars 2 poster
Cars 2
2011 · dir. John Lasseter
🍅 40%★ 6.2animation · family · adventureDisney+

Playful where it counts, warm underneath

The difference: The scrappier of the two with critics

Star race car Lightning McQueen and his pal Mater head overseas to compete in the World Grand Prix race. But the road to the championship becomes rocky as Mater gets caught up in an intriguing adventure of his own: international espionage.

The Angry Birds Movie poster
The Angry Birds Movie
2016 · dir. Clay Kaytis
🍅 44%★ 6.3animation · adventure · comedyParamount+

Cozy and epic in the same breath

An island populated entirely by happy, flightless birds or almost entirely. In this paradise, Red, a bird with a temper problem, speedy Chuck, and the volatile Bomb have always been outsiders. But when the island is visited by mysterious green piggies, it’s up to these unlikely outcasts to figure out what the pigs are up to.

Open Season poster
Open Season
2006 · dir. Roger Allers
🍅 48%★ 6.1animation · family · adventure

Both are built on the same subject: bunny

Boog, a domesticated 900lb. Grizzly bear finds himself stranded in the woods 3 days before Open Season. Forced to rely on Elliot, a fast-talking mule deer, the two form an unlikely friendship and must quickly rally other forest animals if they are to form a rag-tag army against the hunters.

Trolls poster
Trolls
2016 · dir. Mike Mitchell
🍅 76%★ 6.4adventure · animation · comedy

Animation with a pulse of whimsy, in both cases

The difference: Sits closer to fantasy than The Secret Life of Pets does

After the monstrous Bergens invade Troll Village, Princess Poppy, the happiest Troll ever born, and overly-cautious, curmudgeonly outcast Branch set off on a journey to rescue her friends. Their mission is full of adventure and mishaps, as this mismatched duo try to tolerate each other long enough to get the job done.

Over the Hedge poster
Over the Hedge
2006 · dir. Karey Kirkpatrick
🍅 75%★ 6.7adventure · animation · comedyRent or buy

Both are built on the same subject: animals

A scheming raccoon fools a mismatched family of forest creatures into helping him repay a debt of food, by invading the new suburban sprawl that popped up while they were hibernating – and learns a lesson about family himself.

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The best-reviewed films that share The Secret Life of Pets’ defining feeling.