After spawning a lucrative franchise in Despicable Me and those seemingly omnipresent Minions, Illumination Entertainment and director Chris Renaud are partnering to shed some light on The Secret Life of Pets.
Sharing directing duties with Renaud on the animated feature is Yarrow Cheney, and today Illumination and Universal have rolled out the first full-length trailer showcasing just what our furry companions get up to when we’re not around. Like a stylized twist on the Toy Story set-up, The Secret Life of Pets opens with Louis C.K.’s loyal and wide-eyed canine Max, living out his life as best friend to Katie, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt herself Ellie Kemper.
But that’s all about to change with the introduction of Max’s new brother, Eric Stonestreet’s Duke. That’s a knock on his status as Katie’s center of attention, although when the pair are led astray by the New York compound, much of their Secret Life will revolve around a burning desire to find a way back home and, crucially, to Kemper’s doting owner.
The Secret Life of Pets scurries into theaters on July 8. Jenny Slate, Steve Coogan, Bobby Moynihan, Kevin Hart, Eric Stonestreet, Ellie Kemper, Lake Bell, Hannibal Buress and Albert Brooks also star.
Comedy superstars Louis C.K., Eric Stonestreet and Kevin Hart make their animated feature-film debuts in The Secret Life of Pets, which co-stars Ellie Kemper, Lake Bell, Jenny Slate, Bobby Moynihan, Hannibal Buress and Albert Brooks. Illumination founder and CEO Chris Meledandri and his longtime collaborator Janet Healy produce the film directed by Chris Renaud (Despicable Me, Despicable Me 2), co-directed by Yarrow Cheney and written by Brian Lynch and Cinco Paul & Ken Daurio.