DC League of Super-Pets is a 2022 3D computer-animated superhero comedy film directed by Jared Stern (in his feature directorial debut), based on the DC Comics team Legion of Super-Pets.

When the Justice League are captured by Lex Luthor, Superman's dog, Krypto, forms a team of shelter-pets who were given super-powers: A hound named Ace, who becomes super-strong, a pig named PB, who can grow to giant-size, a turtle named Merton, who becomes super-fast, and a squirrel named Chip, who gains electric-powers.

The film's voice cast includes Dwayne Johnson (who also produces the film), Kevin Hart, Kate McKinnon, John Krasinski, Vanessa Bayer, Natasha Lyonne, Diego Luna, Thomas Middleditch, Ben Schwartz and Keanu Reeves.

DC League of Super-Pets made it’s debut in theaters on July 29th, courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures.

THE GOOD

Alright so I am a superhero movie guy through and through, I saw The Batman (our review here) and Love and Thunder (our review here) each three times in theaters, so I was pumped for the opportunity to check out DC League of Super-Pets. I have always been a fan of a good animated film, but once fatherhood happened I gained a new appreciation. I couldn’t wait until my oldest boy was able to come with me to the theater so that I could share my love of film with him, so once that day came I started circling the potential movies I could bring him to see. His first movie was Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (our full review here), which is a live-action film and he still did extremely well with it. So of course, we were off and running! Next he saw The Bad Guys, followed by Minions: The Rise of Gru (our full review here). Once he saw the trailer for DC League of Super-Pets, he couldn’t wait to see it and kept asking me when we would be going. I made it a point to get him to the theater the first opportunity we got, so was this yet another home-run for my little guy or did we have to head home early? Keep reading to find out!

First and foremost, I left the theater with a smile on my face and so did my son, who never took his eyes off the screen by the way, so that was a big victory. But let’s be honest, the primary element of this film that had me excited from the outset was the cast of voice actors which is next-level ridiculous, and they did not disappoint. The cast is in my opinion the best part of the film without a doubt, and they all delivered the goods. Kevin Hart was hilarious as expected, and Dwayne Johnson was his usual larger-than-life self even though this time around he was in dog form. I really enjoyed the two of them in the action comedy Central Intelligence so it was great to get them together yet again. Although the vast majority of quality screen-time belongs to Johnson and Hart, we get plenty of work out of the other big names.

First, John Krasinski was magical as Superman which should surprise nobody. Keanu Reeves didn’t get as much time to shine as I would have liked, but he was great as Batman. Ben Schwartz, who recently starred in the hilarious Apple TV Series The Afterparty was really good as the fire guinea pig, with Thomas Middleditch coming through as the ice guinea pig. We get a little bit of another The Afterparty star in John Early as The Flash, Jermaine Clement as Aquaman, Olivia Wilde as Lois Lane, and Kate McKinnon as Lulu. Bottom line, the voice acting was top-notch and left no stone unturned. I can’t help but think how great this cast of actors would be as the actual Justice League in a live-action film.

Obviously with a movie called DC League of Super-Pets, we are going to get more of the pets than the actual superheroes, and that was fine with me. I got a The Secret Life of Pets vibe from the film which helped to get me immersed and also ramped up the enjoyment factor. Plus it was fun to watch Superman’s dog try and toe the same line as his owner as far as trying to hide the fact that he is the famous superhero dog. The humor was consistent throughout and I laughed out loud a ton which is a testament to the writing. Admittedly most of the funnier scenes involved Kevin Hart’s character. Similar to his role in the Netflix original film The Man from Toronto which I recently reviewed (full review here), Hart is yet again trying to piece together his life that seems to fall apart at every turn. Sure, in DC League of Super-Pets he is an adult dog that nobody seems to want to adopt from the animal shelter so all he can think about is escaping his captivity, but it is funny nonetheless. It was so much fun watching all of the down on their luck pets get a chance to have superpowers of their own, and I thought the action sequences were all a blast to experience. The animation was gorgeous as expected, and I loved the amazing and hard-hitting soundtrack which helped to get the adrenaline pumping.

THE BAD

Similar to Andrew’s recent review of The Bad Guys (full review here), I’m not going to spend too much time trying to critique an animated kids movie, although it can be easy to pick apart anything from DC these days. I really enjoyed DC League of Super-Pets, but I did feel like it was missing something to really put it over the top or make it stand out as one of the best animated films of 2022. For example, The Bad Guys was able to showcase a unique style of animation to go along with a fast-paced story and great voice acting, but DC League of Super-Pets just sort of relied on the strengths of the voice cast and the superheroes. I mean as I said the animation was fantastic as expected, it just failed to do anything special. Plus, the story was pretty cookie-cutter and I expected a bit more there as well.

THE VERDICT

A hilarious and consistently fun adventure for the entire family lead by the undeniable chemistry of voice actors Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart, DC League of Super-Pets will undoubtedly appeal to superhero fans and pet lovers. I still think it could have been even better as it fails to capture the feel of an instant classic. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed it and my son never took his eyes off the screen which is a huge win for me. I guess I was hoping for a bit more in terms of memorable moments considering the talent involved with the film. Bottom line, DC League of Super-Pets is well worth a trip to the theater as it provides entertainment value for all ages which really is the most important thing, and my son has already said he can’t wait to see it again. Also I know it is tough with kids, but the film does have a pretty cool after the credits scene with Black Adam that is worth sticking around for.

Full disclosure, my son had the final say on the overall rating, which I fully support of course, and honestly I was just impressed he actually stuck with the 1-10 format I laid out for him. So yeah, do yourself a favor and bring the kiddos to check out DC League of Super-Pets in theaters.