Review: 'DC League of Super-Pets' is purely an intellectual property exercise, but the jokes have some bite

The animated, mostly kid-friendly “DC League of Super-Pets” is what it is: a sporadically entertaining jaunt through Warner Bros.’ Intellectual property, a starter kit for little ones who haven’t yet been exposed to Superman, Batman and their friends in tights.

The two-legged superheroes aren’t the stars of this adventure. Instead, the character at the center is Krypto, the stalwart companion of Superman, aka Clark Kent. (A flashback scene shows the puppy Krypto stowing away in baby Kal-El’s capsule when his parents, Jor-El and Lara, send him away from the soon-to-be-destroyed planet Krypton.) Krypto, voiced by Dwayne Johnson, is super-strong, super-loyal, and super-jealous when Clark (voiced by John Krasinski) starts spending less time with his favorite dog and more time with Lois Lane (voiced by Olivia Wilde). 

Clark and Lois go to a Metropolis pet shelter, seeking a potential new playmate for Krypto. It’s there that we meet a motley collection of rescue animals, led by a scruffy terrier named Ace (voiced by Kevin Hart). Ace takes an instant dislike to Krypto, judging the super-dog to be too goody-goody, and not in touch with his dog side. (Johnson and Hart previously paired up in the “Jumanji” movies and the action-comedy “Central Intelligence,” so the banter comes off as quite familiar.)

Also living in the shelter is Lulu (voiced by Kate McKinnon), a guinea pig who once lived in a laboratory run by supervillain Lex Luthor (voiced by Marc Maron). Luthor was experimenting with different colors of kryptonite, and Lulu discovered that orange kryptonite gave animals superpowers. Lulu has telekinesis, and pieces of the orange stuff give the other shelter animals powers, too. 

When Lulu plots to capture Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and the rest of the Justice League, it’s up to Ace and his friends — and the temporarily depowered Krypto (thanks to a shard of green kryptonite Lulu stashed in a cheese snack) — to save the day.

Director Jared Stern (who worked on the scripts of “The LEGO Batman Movie” and “The LEGO Ninjago Movie”) and writing partner John Whittington take the often stodgy superhero characters and pump up the humor level. Many of the jokes are squarely aimed at the kid audience, while some — like when Clark, getting dressed for a date with Lois, sings to himself R.E.M.’s “I Am Superman” — are winkingly self-referential and will fly over the children’s heads like a bat-rang.

Adults also will be impressed with the massive voice cast. Among the animals, besides Johnson, Hart and McKinnon, there’s Vanessa Bayer as a pig that can go giant or small; Diego Luna as a squirrel that throws electrical bolts; Natasha Lyonne as a turtle that, of course, acquires super-speed. The superheroes are represented by Krasinski as Superman, Keanu Reeves as Batman, Jameela Jamil as Wonder Woman, Jemaine Clement as Aquaman, and more. (In a post-credit scene that confirms the purpose of post-credit scenes as advertising for the next IP product, Johnson also voices another character.)

An adult watching “DC League of Super-Pets” (after realizing the title is a bit of a spoiler, and the movie is actually an origin story) may wonder whether kids, not versed in decades of DC lore, will understand enough to make sense of this assembly of superheroes and their soon-to-be pets. Fret not, grown-ups — the action and silliness is bright and breezy, and the young audience will have fun even if they don’t know all the references.

——

‘DC League of Super-Pets’

★★1/2

Opens Friday, July 29, in theaters everywhere. Rated PG for action, mild violence, language and rude humor. Running time: 106 minutes.