When it comes to feature-length animation films, there are two approaches: the Disney way, which usually combines humor and complex emotions for a rich, satisfying experience, and then everybody else's, which usually involves stocking a movie with as many jokes as possible, and hoping some of it sticks.
The latter is certainly the case with The Secret Life of Pets, the latest idea from the makers of the Despicable Me series. It follows the adventures of Max (Louis C.K.), a small dog who has to deal with the interruption of his idyllic life with his owner (Ellie Kemper) by the arrival of a new, much larger dog, Duke (Eric Stonestreet).
Their arguing over territory leads to them getting lost in New York City. They try to find their way back with help of underworld animals, led by bunny Snowball (Kevin Hart), while neighboring pets, led by Gidget (Jenny Slate), go on a rescue mission to find them.
The film has a decent amount of funny, original material, but it’s hard to shake the feeling that it's a not-so-subtle rip-off of recent Disney successes. Delving into the hidden lives of things that can’t talk? That’s Toy Story. Dogs, cats, and other creatures teaming up for an adventure? That’s Bolt. And the joke about dogs being distracted by the sudden appearance of something was done to much better effect in Up.
Still, it’s hard to go wrong with a slew of cute animals doing unexpected things, and the filmmakers do a mostly solid job of delivering on the promise of the title. The animals trek all over New York City, including locations like the sewer and a sausage factory, which make for rich joke-telling possibilities. It would have been nice had New York looked more real and less stylized, but that’s a forgivable sin.
The barrage of comedians populating the cast is intense. In addition to Louis C.K., Kemper, Stonestreet, Hart, and Slate, you also have Albert Brooks, Lake Bell, Dana Carvey, Hannibal Buress, Bobby Moynihan, and Steve Coogan. While some of them add an extra dimension to their characters, none of them elevate the film beyond its base premise. And, sorry, but Brooks belongs to the Finding Nemo series; having him play a falcon isn’t as clever or interesting.
The Secret Life of Pets has a lot going for it, including great animation and some genuinely funny moments. Had it attempted any kind of deeper emotions and not piggybacked on other films, it might have been a true winner.
Duke (Eric Stonestreet), Katie (Ellie Kemper), and Max (Louis C.K.) in The Secret Life of Pets.
Photo courtesy of Illumination Entertainment and Universal Pictures
Duke (Eric Stonestreet), Katie (Ellie Kemper), and Max (Louis C.K.) in The Secret Life of Pets.
These European house mixes are certainly different than Topaz McGarrigle's work in Golden Dawn Arkestra.
Even though Topaz McGarrigle has never released a solo album before, Austinites know to expect the unexpected. With Golden Dawn Arkestra, the fashionable, bizarre sun cult known for funk jams, he's an otherworldly prophet for the sun god, Ra. As a solo artist, he's a different kind of devotee.
For his new EP, under the single name Topaz, McGarrigle only has eyes for his wife, Rose Barnett. This adoration unfolds over the course of three music videos — a "cosmic opera trilogy" — each rife with symbology and lush, yet minimalist set design. High fashion drips from everyone onscreen, and will turn heads at a June 29 release party at Roma, a sensuous new dance club downtown.
The three music videos (directed by Ben Blanchard) are already out on YouTube — all the better for fans to study before heading out to the party. All guests must be dressed for the opera, whether that's to see it or to be in it. (Check out McGarrigle's Pinterest board for some ideas ranging from old Hollywood, to queer ballroom, to Cher, to actual opera costumes.) But these inspiring images onscreen will live long past the one-night release extravaganza, where McGarrigle will serve as a very fashionable DJ and sax player.
That means one track remains, to be unveiled when the EP, The Gift, drops as a whole on June 28. Named for a mysterious gift Barnett gave McGarrigle during the pandemic, it never becomes fully clear what that gift was, but all the hinting is much more fun. One obvious contribution is Barnett's fashion sense; The creative director for Golden Dawn Arkestra, she appears in each music video in impeccable looks, from the Fosse-forward "Amsterdam" to the etherial "North Star." (That's Melon Collie, with the Infinite Sadness, right? We all see it?)
While the sexy former single represents summer, and the cool, shimmering latter represents winter, "The Gift" ties it all together in a speed run through all four seasons, from falling golden leaves to editorial spring blossoms. The sleek aesthetics are accompanied by highly processed Europop: the perfect soundtrack for such aloof glamor.
Barnett appears in mysterious silence throughout the trilogy.Photo courtesy of TOPAZ
Although the seasons aren't necessarily integral to understanding each song, they do create a sense of passing time that is befitting of a lifelong bond — not to mention the celebratory springtime highs or the frigid lows any relationship weathers. At the lowest level of analysis, these are simply creative prompts resulting in gorgeous alternate dimensions.
"I mean, other sh*t's boring. I don't know," says McGarrigle of his high-concept proclivities. His inspiration comes from the 70s icons of his childhood — Parliament, Fela Kuti, James Brown, and David Bowie — as well as a desire to exit the ordinary. "I just love drama and grand concepts. But also, I feel like we're in a space and time where we need to be pulled out of our present moment. We get so caught up in our phones and our technologies, and it almost takes a little bit more to get people into [it]."
Whether it's for Topaz or Golden Dawn Arkestra, there are always fashionable dancers.Photo courtesy of TOPAZ
McGarrigle also references his hometown of Dripping Springs, which at least at the time he was growing up — or just in his neighborhood; he can't decide — was a "Bohemian haven." Neighbors grew weed or smuggled cocaine, and everyone was a character worthy of the minimalist, avant garde operas that have recently caught his attention.
Willie Nelson was a musical inspiration, but not as much as folks in the neighborhood: McGarrigle's jazzy saxophone teacher who played for George Strait, 90-year-old Mexican cowboy Tom Alba, or just "Suzie" who milked goats down the street. A steady stream of "freaks" issued forth from the Austin Waldorf School. Although the artsy Barnett is a very worthy muse, it sounds like she couldn't have found someone more open to having one.
"That energy of freedom and doing what you love, I think, is what really informed my [creativity]," says McGarrigle.Photo courtesy of TOPAZ
The pandemic was a fruitful one for many artists, despite the slowdown of gigs and the introduction of other new hardships. Suddenly, with time to create (or more pessimistically, a reality that easily inspired escapism), creatives turned to unexpected new projects. For McGarrigle, this meant writing more personal music.
"I never really used to write more personal love songs; It was always more grandiose and cosmic," he says. "Definitely during the pandemic it transitioned me into speaking to the human condition a little more, and just realizing that we're all going through this crazy sh*t right now on this planet, and speaking to that. The whole EP, is kind of a love letter to my wife. ... I loved the pandemic. I think we should all pause for a year or two every 10 years."
Musically, too, this creative rebirth took the songwriter from jazzy, organic jams to tracks that would be nearly impossible to recreate live — at least not without heavy programming. While DJing at home with Barnett and two Golden Dawn dancers, he got more acquainted with synth pop, French house, Italo disco, and bloghouse, which all influenced the sounds on The Gift.
Whether it's the fashion or the narrative arc through the singles, The Gift is high art all around.Photo courtesy of TOPAZ
This is good news for revelers stopping by Roma on Saturday, if they like dramatic dance environments. They'll find different activations in each room, aerial dancing, pop-up operas, strings, and more immersive elements. The goal, McGarrigle says, is to sweep guests up into the feeling of being in an opera.
Tickets ($20) for the album release party at Roma (206 Trinity St.) are available via Eventbrite. The Gift officially comes out as an EP on June 28. More information is available at topaz-music.com.