What is DC League of Super-Pets about?
In “DC League of Super-Pets,” Krypto the Super-Dog and Superman are the best-est of best friends, fighting crime in Metropolis side by side. Things become a little strained when Superman gets a girlfriend (Lois Lane) and starts to get distracted and pays less attention to his furry sidekick. When Superman and the rest of the Justice League are kidnapped, Krypto must learn the value of teamwork and how to make friends in order to convince a bunch of shelter animals—Ace the hound, PB the potbellied pig, Merton the turtle and Chip the squirrel—to master their own newfound super powers to help him rescue the Super Heroes.
Who are the voice actors in DC League of Super-Pets?
Jared Stern, the film director describes how they made an effort to match the voice talent to the characters. “In an animated movie, the most important thing is that the actor’s voice is the perfect voice for the character, but we got lucky that they also happened to be huge movie stars”. “I mean, when you think of Krypto, Superman’s dog, he is full of bravado, and who can bring that better than Dwayne Johnson? Or when you think of a dog like Ace, who is rough around the edges, Kevin Hart was perfect for that. So we really tried to cast the right voice to the characters, and we just got lucky that they’re incredibly famous.”
The film also stars the voices of Kate McKinnon (“Saturday Night Live,” “The Magic School Bus Rides Again,” “Ferdinand”), John Krasinski (The Office, the “Quiet Place” films, “Jack Ryan”), Vanessa Bayer (“Saturday Night Live,” “Office Christmas Party,” “Trainwreck”), Natasha Lyonne (“Show Dogs,” “Russian Doll”), Diego Luna (“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” “Maya and the Three”), Marc Maron (“Joker,” “GLOW”), Thomas Middleditch (“Silicon Valley,” “Godzilla: King of the Monsters,” “Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie”), Ben Schwartz (“Sonic the Hedgehog,” “Duck Tales”), and Keanu Reeves (the “Matrix” and “John Wick” films).
Keep an ear out as well for some well-known Australian voices- Dr Chris Brown and Julia Morris play some evil guinea pigs.
But wait – I never knew that Superman had a dog? Did they make this up for the movie?
The dogs in this movie, Krypto and Ace, have been around since the mid-1950s in the comics, however, the film brings them together for the first time on the big screen.
Producer Patty Hicks remarks, “It’s hard to find a fresh niche in the superhero genre. With DC characters, so much has been done, but we get to take it in a different direction—you know Superman, but do you know Superman’s dog? I think this was a really fun new idea and in this movie, we get to explore this fresh take on superheroes just by wondering, what are their pets like? We get to see Superman’s life from his dog’s point of view. And I love that we meet them and they’re not superheroes, that they come into their powers and we get to go on that journey with them.”
Our Thoughts on DC League of Super-Pets
DC League of Super-Pets is a fun movie with great themes about teamwork and the power of friendship. It is very easy to get emotionally involved with the characters, and my daughter was a bit traumatised by the animals getting hurt and getting into dangerous situations, but this probably won’t be an issue for most kids.
Most of the kids at the cinema I saw had a fabulous time, and there were so many costumes it looked like Comic-Con.
If you are an adult who is a bit of a fan of the DC Universe, then this movie is stuffed with in-jokes and references, and it is ‘grown up enough’ that it won’t make you feel like you have just watched an episode of Paw Patrol. If you (or your kids) are fans of DC Superheros like Batman, Superman, Wonderwoman etc – this is definitely one to go see.
