DC League of Super-Pets is a super fun time for superhero fans and the newest worthy addition to the DC cinematic canon.

Please do not rush to leave the theater when the credits begin. There is a post-credits scene and a mid-credits scene.

The gist of the film is that Krypto the Super-Dog (Dwayne Johnson) and Superman (John Krasinski) are best friends. Krypto has the same superpowers because he also comes from Krypton. There are some other funny similarities between the two but I’ll let you find out when you watch the film. You are going to watch the film, right? But anyway, Superman and the Justice League get kidnapped. This forces Krypto to put a plan into action. He has to learn how to work with other animals because he usually just works with Kal-El. It’s up to Krypto, Ace the hound (Kevin Hart), PB the potbellied pig (Vanessa Bayer), Merton the turtle (Natasha Lyonne) and Chip the squirrel (Diego Luna) to save the day from Lulu (Kate McKinnon), a guinea pig hellbent on world domination. This is really all you need to know at minimum.

It’s a solid feature directorial debut for Jared Stern. Stern and co-writer John Whittington put plenty of humor into the film’s script. There’s a nice joke about “whoever Morgan Freeman played” in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy–this was in the teaser. What adds to the humor is that Krypto doesn’t really have other pets for friends. Let alone friends, really. It’s just him and Kal-El. Once Lois Lane (Olivia Wilde) enters the picture, it changes their relationship, for better or worse. This is the first time we’ve see both Krypto and Ace in action on the big screen. Both dogs date back to their debut in 1955 and have an  association with the Legion of Super-Pets in the comics. The League‘s lineup is somewhat different from their comic book counterpart, too. Anyway, it’s an awesome way of pleasing both fans of superheroes and pet lovers.

You couldn’t really pull this sort of film off in live-action but it makes for plenty of fun in animation. This is a film that gives us John Krasinski as Superman and Keanu Reeves as Batman! Krasinski is bringing is A-game this summer in showing that he has what it takes to be a superhero in both animation and live-action. Other Justice League members include Diana Prince/Wonder Woman (Jameela Jamil), Arthur Curry/Aquaman (Jermaine Clement), Barry Allen/The Flash (John Early), Victor Stone/Cyborg (Daveed Diggs), and Jessica Cruz/Green Lantern (Dascha Polanco). However, there is one problematic cast member. A lot of casting was announced in 2021 so it’s possible that lines were already recorded before the allegations went public.

There’s a lot of fun humor in watching the film. Musically, they incorporate classic film themes for both Superman and Batman. One of the TV themes for Wonder Woman is also included on the soundtrack. You really can’t have a DC movie without incorporating the classic themes.

DC League of Super-Pets is a fun film for people who love both superheroes and pets. Here’s to hoping it won’t be long before we get to see some more DC League of Super-Pets fun. Why should the superheroes get all the fun when there’s plenty of room for their pets, too?

DIRECTOR: Jared Stern
SCREENWRITERS: Jared Stern and John Whittington
CAST: Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Kate McKinnon, John Krasinski, Vanessa Bayer, Natasha Lyonne, Diego Luna, Marc Maron, Thomas Middleditch, Ben Schwartz, and Keanu Reeves

Warner Bros. will release DC League of Super-Pets in theaters on July 29, 2022. Grade: 4/5

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