The Secret Musical Life of Pets

The Secret Musical Life of Pets is a 2016 American 3D adult computer-animated musical adventure fantasy comedy film produced by Quick Draw Animation, Blue Yonder Films, Point Grey Pictures, Illumination Entertainment, Quick Draw Productions, Happy Madison Productions, HartBeat Productions, Dickhouse Productions and Gracie Films. It is directed by Yarrow Cheney, Eric Darnell, Cory Edwards, Todd Edwards, Evan Goldberg, Tony Leech, Tom McGrath, Chris Renaud, Robert Rodriguez, Seth Rogen, Greg Tiernan, Jeff Tremaine, Conrad Vernon and Doug Walker and written by Allen Covert, Eric Darnell, Ken Daurio, Cory Edwards, Todd Edwards, Evan Goldberg, Jonah Hill, Kyle Hunter, Tony Leech, Brian Lynch, Tom McGrath, Cinco Paul, Robert Rodriguez, Seth Rogen, Adam Sandler, Ariel Shaffir, Robert Smigel, Doug Walker and Rob Walker. The film stars Jenny Slate, Jonah Hill, Louis C.K., Eric Stonestreet, Kevin Hart, Seth Rogen, Bill Hader, Michael Cera, James Franco, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson, David Krumholtz, Paul Rudd, Lainey Lipson, Steve Coogan, Ellie Kemper, Bobby Moynihan, Lake Bell, Dana Carvey, Hannibal Buress, Kaitlin Olson and Albert Brooks.

This was the first film by Quick Draw Animation, an animation division of Quick Draw Productions and the second animated film by Illumination Entertainment to use live-action, the first was Hop. This was also Happy Madison Productions' second animated film, the first was Eight Crazy Nights. This was also the first animated film by Point Grey Pictures and the second animated film by Gracie Films, the first was The Simpsons Movie.

The film was widely identified as the first American CGI-animated film to be rated R by the MPAA. It premiered at VidCon on June 24, 2016 and was released in theatres in the United States on July 8, 2016 by Universal Pictures. Upon release, it received positive reviews and grossed $875 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing original animated film not produced by Disney or Pixar, and the sixth highest-grossing original animated film of 2016.

A sequel is set for release on June 7, 2019.

Plot
Adam Sandler and Robert Smigel introduced the film by explaining 3D technology and the Collar Detector, a magnetic collar bell. A white Pomeranian named Gidget lives with the Toy Orchestra (consisting of the toys from the Toy Story Toons shorts Small Fry and Partysaurus Rex). While Dolphina accidentally killed a man in the pool, the Pool Patrol quarantines the water park and decapitates his head which was taken home in the basket on the backpiano. Gidget and the others thought that a man was killed and got his head decapitated, but while she thought that they were ready for a musical adventure, they hang out with mixing teddy bear engineer Ted, tabby cat Chloe, pug Mel and budgerigar Sweet Pea. One day, Max, a Jack Russell Terrier who's in love with Gidget saw his next door owner Katie adopting Duke, a large mongrel from the pound, leaving the Toy Orchestra jealous because of her divided focus on him. Mini Buzz went to check on Duke, but he accidentally caused a frenzied panic bumping and hurtling himself. The other pets and the Toy Orchestra sense her owners approaching and scatter leaving Gidget alone when they enter.

Gidget enjoys being played in the bathtub but then she dives under with a submarine who talks in a French accent. She then realizes she left the water on and it floods the bathroom. Her owners hear Gidget crying for help and opens the door letting all the water out. They then chastise Gidget for flooding the bathroom. Meanwhile, The Toy Orchestra reenacted the first spelling adventure from Endless Wordplay, until the next morning, Pirate Crab discovers that there is a thunderstorm destroying the SS Onomatopoeia. Gidget flees to save the Toy Orchestra but she falls into the water and is saved by Mini Buzz. Gidget, Mini Buzz and the Toy Orchestra helped Maria and Fernando in the La Pasión de la Pasión telenovela, then the others reenacted the second spelling adventure also from Endless Wordplay. Meanwhile, Max and Duke are both attacked by cats led by Sphynx cat Ozone who removed both dogs' collars, attached Duke's collar to the Collar Detector and left them to be caught by Animal Control. Duke fears that he will be put down if he goes back to the pound.

They are rescued by a white rabbit named Snowball, the leader of "The Flushed Pets" - a gang of sewer-dwelling animals who hate humans because their owners mistreated them. After Max and Duke pretend to despise humans as much as they do by saying they killed their owners, the Flushed Pets invite them to join. Before they can prove their loyalty by allowing a one-fanged viper to bite them, Snowball learns from the cats that Max and Duke are domesticated. The two dogs escape the sewers and board a ferry to Brooklyn, inadvertently killing the viper in the process; Snowball vows to kill them and leads the Flushed Pets after them. Meanwhile, Gidget recruits a red-tailed weather hawk named Tiberius to find him. After Gidget got a visit from her Sunny Delight agent Lofty Harvey and enlisted Mel, dachshund Buddy, Chloe, guinea pig Norman and Sweet Pea, Tiberius mistakenly returns carrying Ozone, who spitted Max's collar out. Lofty Harvey angrily blasts a tornado which sucks Gidget, Mini Buzz, Ozone, the pets and the Toy Orchestra. Gidget then breaks the fourth wall, telling the audience that they can help her find Max and attaches his collar to the Collar Detector.

Mini Buzz, Ozone and the Toy Orchestra were exiled to the Himalayas where they were taken in by a Yeti, who tells them about a nearby village which they realize that they can use to find Max. On the way, they meet Pops, an old Basset Hound, who helps Gidget, Mini Buzz, Ozone, the pets and the Toy Orchestra find Max. Mini Buzz and the Toy Orchestra parachuted on their way to find Max, but Mini Buzz accidentally falls into a Peterbilt truck named Jerry Recycled Batteries from Cars. Mini Buzz angrily wrecks Jerry Recycled Batteries after he reveals that he bought the bullwhip in the past Indiana Jones films. Gidget wishes she was a papaya in an episode of The Annoying Orange telling Orange, Pear, Marshmallow and the apple from the bag where Max is so she recruits Fred to join the Toy Orchestra and find him but she accidentally gets caught by Animal Control. Gidget is finally rescued by Snowball but he gets caught in the pound by Gidget who flees off to find the others.

Meanwhile, Max and Duke raid a sausage factory for food. Carl, Barry and Troy are horrified as they witness the other purchased foods being cooked and eaten by Dolphina disguised as a robot, shown from the foods' perspective as a brutal murder. The two attempted to escape out a window, but Dolphina kills Carl with a knife, attempts to cook Barry and gets her costume decapitated in a domestic accident revealing that she cannot be destroyed and only succeeds to fall into the forbidden island and hit a tree. Dolphina then surfs on a tree back to New York, but the tree gets eaten by a shark. Barry stumbles across Gidget, who becomes able to communicate with the others to find Max. Dolphina has to find someone under the sea to help Gidget find Max, dodging obstacles to get through. Meanwhile, Gidget, Mini Buzz and the others get caught in a fishing net by a massive flock of seagulls. Fred and Barry order the seagulls to fly upward to the land. Meanwhile, Dolphina finds a mermaid and they all swam back to the submarine where a giant squid attacks it and the submarine goes back up to the surface to break the net, propelling the seagulls into the sea and enabling them to escape.

Meanwhile, Max and Duke entertain at a child's birthday party, disguised as a purple monster character named Party Marty. Duke tells Max about his previous owner, the other Fred, an elderly man who adopted him as a puppy and loved spending time with him. One day, Duke got lost while chasing a butterfly and was caught by Animal Control, but the other Fred never came to claim him. Max convinces him to visit the other Fred's house in a nearby neighborhood, but Max, Duke and the children all scared each other. Meanwhile, Gidget, Mini Buzz, Ozone, Fred, Barry, the pets and the Toy Orchestra got a visit from Santa Claus who got lost finding his way to New York City. He also responds that fruit salad is his favorite dessert treat to help Gidget find Max.

Afterwards, Gidget, Mini Buzz, Ozone, Fred, Barry, the pets and the Toy Orchestra go to the School Science Fair to meet a little girl named Molly, one of the kids who is the last one to join the Toy Orchestra and help them find Max. She gets transported around the world with the help of the Around the World Machine. Molly wonders if she flies in a hot air balloon on the way to dreamland in her final spelling adventure, before Lofty Harvey and the media descend on the town to capture Gidget, who gets caught in an exorcism attempt by bees.

Meanwhile, Max and Duke arrived at Fred's house and Reginald learnt that the other Fred was presumed dead but came back as a ghost. Heartbroken, Duke accuses Max of attempting to get rid of him and barks at the new homeowners who had just returned to the house, who call Animal Control. The handlers catch Max, but Duke interferes long enough for Max to escape and ends up being captured instead. While trying to rescue Duke as he follows the Animal Control van, Max is attacked by Snowball who tries to kill him. However, when his gang is captured, Snowball realizes that he and Max must work together to rescue them. They drive a city bus into the van on the Brooklyn Bridge, stopping traffic. Lofty Harvey and the Flushed Pets encircle Max, unaware that Snowball discovers a poster for Sing which means that the next film isn't released yet, but Gidget, Mini Buzz, Ozone, Fred, Barry, the pets and the Toy Orchestra save him. When Gidget is using her kung-fu fighting skills, Gidget starts to retrieve Max's collar back to him and fall in love with him.

Snowball is very angry with Lofty Harvey that the film isn't over yet and yells at the top of his lungs which causes the Flushed Pets to fall out of the cage in the van stuck in scaffolds and escape. Once Gidget got the keys to Duke's cage, the van plummets into the East River with her inside. Lofty Harvey assumes Snowball that he was being petty for destroying the van, so he captured him with bees. Molly and the media arrive on the Brooklyn Bridge to discuss what was going on. When Molly is using her kung-fu fighting skills to do the same as Gidget does, Lofty Harvey taunts her. Immediately afterward, Molly notices the keys that Gidget left and jumps into the river to retrieve them, allowing herself and Duke to escape the sinking van and return to the Brooklyn Bridge by Kathy Copter.

Once Gidget and Duke landed onto the Brooklyn Bridge after Lofty Harvey and Snowball were killed in the river, Molly tries to realize how good being heroic feels, but she got eaten by an angel shark. Max tries to express his love for Gidget, but Molly's mother weeps that her son got eaten by an angel shark, but Gidget is not convinced, so she pushes her off the bridge and into the mouth of the angel shark. Gidget finally retrieves Duke's collar back to him and they all sing No. 1. The people sang along with Mini Buzz at Lofty Harvey's funeral. Later, Max appears at Lofty Harvey's tribute, thanking everyone for saving himself and Duke and welcoming the Toy Orchestra for the final time to end the film. They posed a picture with Max and Duke saying "Cheese!" as the film ends. Smigel sobs uncontrollably that Lofty Harvey is gone.

In a mid-credits scene, Max and Duke finally reunite with Katie. The three then look over to find the ghost of Fred playing Dragon Ball Z on XBOX 36. Max asks how the Kinect works. The ghost of Fred says that the Kinect sucks balls and Tattoo crashes to the floor on the chandelier, killing Fred in the process.

Cast

 * Jenny Slate as Gidget, a white Pomeranian who is the leader of the Toy Orchestra.
 * Katy Perry as Roxy Boxy, a harp playing boxing-themed turtle of the Toy Orchestra and Gidget’s singing voice
 * Jonah Hill as Mini Buzz, a modern day space conductor action figure of the Toy Orchestra and Gidget’s sidekick.
 * Hill also voices Carl, a sausage that Dolphinbot sliced.
 * Louis C.K. as Max, a Jack Russell Terrier and Gidget’s love interest.
 * Eric Stonestreet as Duke, a large, brown, shaggy mongrel.
 * Kevin Hart as Snowball, a white rabbit.
 * Seth Rogen as the Yeti aka the Abominable Snowman, a furry white monster who was banished to the Himalayas.
 * Bill Hader as Ted, a mixing teddy bear engineer of the Toy Orchestra.
 * Michael Cera as Ozone, a Sphynx cat piano percussionist of the Toy Orchestra.
 * Cera also voices Barry, a deformed sausage piano percussionist of the Toy Orchestra.
 * James Franco as Lofty Harvey, Gidget’s crazy Sunny Delight agent.
 * Danny McBride as Recycle Ben, a blue recycling bin percussionist of the Toy Orchestra.
 * Craig Robinson as a viper snake
 * David Krumholtz as Jerry Recycled Batteries, the mean Peterbilt truck that Mini Buzz mistook for the Animal Control truck.
 * Paul Rudd as Fred, a starstruck, very rusty old car guitarist resembling a Lada 2107 of the Toy Orchestra.
 * Lainey Lipson as Neptuna, a mermaid toy guitarist of the Toy Orchestra.
 * Steve Coogan as Lizard Wizard, a small lime green flute-playing lizard toy of the Toy Orchestra.
 * Coogan also voices Reginald, a malevolent Himalayan cat.
 * Ellie Kemper as Katie, Max and Duke’s friendly next door owner.
 * Bobby Moynihan as Mel, a hyperactive pug and one of Gidget’s friends.
 * Lake Bell as Chloe, an obese and apathetic grey tabby cat who is one of Gidget’s friends.
 * Dana Carvey as Pops, an elderly Basset Hound, who is paralyzed in his back legs.
 * Hannibal Buress as Buddy, a laid-back dachshund and one of Gidget’s friends.
 * Kaitlin Olson as Babs, a turquoise accordion-playing octopus of the Toy Orchestra.
 * Albert Brooks as Tiberius, a curmudgeonly red-tailed weather hawk.
 * Chris Renaud as Norman, a guinea pig who keeps getting lost trying to find his apartment.
 * Michael Beattie as Tattoo, a slow-witted tattooed pig who is one of the Flushed Pets.
 * Adam Sandler as himself in the opening and closing live action sequences, Chuck E Duck, a yellow rubber duck guitarist of the Toy Orchestra, Harry’s pal and the seagulls.
 * Allen Covert as Harry, a mosquito.
 * Robert Smigel as himself in the opening and closing live action sequences, Captain Suds, an old boat banjoist of the Toy Orchestra, the seagulls and Santa Claus.
 * Sugar Lyn Beard as Cuddles, a violin-playing alligator of the Toy Orchestra and the baby carrots.
 * Robert Rodriguez as Automated Voice / Lifeguard / Shark
 * Greg Tiernan as Condorman, a trumpet playing condor-themed superhero of the Toy Orchestra and an Irish potato
 * Conrad Vernon as a street hockey player, a talking submarine in Gidget’s underwater sequence, a cow, a dog, a pig and a lion.
 * Anders Holm as Troy, a sausage that got covered in wine from the bottle that Dolphinbot popped the cork off it.
 * Maryke Hendrikse as Loretta, a hot dog bun, a duck, a pig and a little cello-playing mermaid of the Toy Orchestra.
 * Kelly Sheridan as DJ Blu Jay, a mixing blue jay engineer of the Toy Orchestra, Roberta, a hot dog bun and a singing whale.
 * Nicole Oliver as Dolphina/Dolphinbot, a purple dolphin pianist of the Toy Orchestra who becomes a robot, Maria, a character from the La Pasión de la Pasión telenovela that Gidget watches and Sally, a hot dog bun.
 * Tom McGrath as Fernando, a character from the La Pasión de la Pasión telenovela that Gidget watches.
 * Brian Dobson as Italian Tomato / Lettuce
 * Johnny Knoxville as a soprano saxophone playing diver of the Toy Orchestra.
 * Bam Margera as Super Pirate, a tenor saxophone playing pirate-themed superhero of the Toy Orchestra.
 * Steve-O as T-Bone, a baritone saxophone playing steak-like Transformer of the Toy Orchestra.
 * Jason "Wee-Man" Acuña as Funky Monk, a bass saxophone playing monk of the Toy Orchestra.
 * Danger Ehren as Gary Grappling Hook, an oboe playing green toy gun of the Toy Orchestra.
 * Preston Lacy as Nervous Sys-Tim, a clarinet playing clear plastic human of the Toy Orchestra.
 * Dave England as a contrabassoon playing ghost burger of the Toy Orchestra.
 * Chris Pontius as Pizza Bot, a bassoon playing blue pizza box-headed robot of the Toy Orchestra.
 * Peter Mansbridge as Peter Moosebridge, a moose announcer who tells the warning and reminder disclaimers at the beginning and end of the film, introduces the title at the beginning of the La Pasión de la Pasión telenovela and reports that anyone is missing in a bit of a confused muddle and about Lofty Harvey and Snowball’s deaths. The moose is used in the standard version of the film, released in the United States, Italy, France, Canada, Russia, and Mexico. In the UK version, the moose is named as Moosos Alexander, voiced by radio journalist Vassos Alexander. In other countries, the announcer is a different animal voiced by a different person. David Campbell voices a koala announcer named David Koalabell in the Australian and New Zealand versions. The Brazilian version uses a jaguar named Boi Chá who is voiced by Ricardo Boechat. The Japanese version uses a tanuki named Michael Tanuyama who is voiced by Kazumasa Kōra. The Chinese version uses an unnamed giant panda that is also voiced by Mansbridge.
 * Tom and Ray Magliozzi as Rusty and Dusty Rust-eze
 * Sarah Clark as Kori Turbowitz, a 1997 Ford Puma news reporter.
 * Dane Boedigheimer as Annoying Orange / Pear / Marshmallow / Apple #2
 * Robert Jennings as Apple #1
 * Kristen Wiig as Molly, a little scientist girl from the Science School Fair.
 * Evan Goldberg and Jeff Tremaine as the filmmakers in the opening live action sequence.
 * Eric Darnell and Dimitry Elyashkevich as the Pool Patrol agents who were able to murder a man in the pool, voiced by Jason Simpson.

Production
In January 2014, it was announced that Jenny Slate, Jonah Hill, Louis C.K., Eric Stonestreet and Kevin Hart had joined the cast of the film, with Yarrow Cheney, Eric Darnell, Cory Edwards, Todd Edwards, Evan Goldberg, Tony Leech, Tom McGrath, Chris Renaud, Robert Rodriguez, Seth Rogen, Greg Tiernan, Jeff Tremaine, Conrad Vernon and Doug Walker set to direct from a screenplay written by Allen Covert, Eric Darnell, Ken Daurio, Cory Edwards, Todd Edwards, Evan Goldberg, Jonah Hill, Kyle Hunter, Tony Leech, Brian Lynch, Tom McGrath, Cinco Paul, Robert Rodriguez, Seth Rogen, Adam Sandler, Ariel Shaffir, Robert Smigel, Doug Walker and Rob Walker while Quick Draw Animation, Blue Yonder Films, Point Grey Pictures, Illumination Entertainment, Quick Draw Productions, Happy Madison Productions, HartBeat Productions, Dickhouse Productions and Gracie Films would produce, and Universal Pictures would distribute the film and was originally titled Gidget's Musical Adventure. In May 2014, Seth Rogen posted a status on Twitter saying, "I don't think we'll make a sequel to This Is the End. We'll have to make an animated sequel to This Is the End about pets." In June 2014, Seth Rogen, Bill Hader, Michael Cera, James Franco, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson, David Krumholtz, Paul Rudd, Lainey Lipson, Steve Coogan, Ellie Kemper, Bobby Moynihan, Lake Bell, Dana Carvey, Hannibal Buress, Kaitlin Olson and Albert Brooks joined the cast. The animation was created entirely in France by Illumination MacGuff.

Music and soundtrack
The original songs for the film were written by Adam Sandler, Allen Covert, Robert Smigel and Doug Walker. The original score for the film was composed by Alexandre Desplat, Christopher Lennertz, Robert Rodriguez, The Piano Guys and Aaron Zigman. The soundtrack was released on July 1, 2016 by Back Lot Music.

CD 1: Gidget Joins the Toy Orchestra

 * 1) Call of 3D
 * 2) Happy Together
 * 3) Gidget's Wondrous Nightmare
 * 4) Mickey Marching to Marrakesh
 * 5) Toot Toot Chugga Chugga Big Red Car
 * 6) New York/The Pool Patrol
 * 7) Rock a Bye Your Bear
 * 8) The Toy Orchestra
 * 9) Katie's Leaving
 * 10) Vent Ride
 * 11) I Wish I Could Talk to a Fish (1)
 * 12) Yogo Au Gogo
 * 13) Meet Duke
 * 14) Hey Hey Hey We're All Space Dancing
 * 15) Phase 1
 * 16) The SS Onomatopoeia Spin
 * 17) Underwaterture
 * 18) Cat Chasing Rat Scaring Bat
 * 19) Jazzy Lobster Quartet
 * 20) Vampires Will Be Friends Forever

CD 2: Max Goes Missing

 * 1) Sleepy Time
 * 2) The Crab Dance
 * 3) Good Morning Fred
 * 4) Telenovela Shipwreck
 * 5) Hoop Dee Doo
 * 6) Phase 2
 * 7) News Time
 * 8) Put the Fire on the Pit
 * 9) The Pig Jig
 * 10) Cot Problem
 * 11) Mini Buzz Goes to the Top of the Tree
 * 12) Scary Bog
 * 13) Steel Party
 * 14) Rolling Down the Sandhills
 * 15) Running Up the Sandhills
 * 16) Fetch Me a Stick
 * 17) Rolling Down the Sandhills (Reprise)
 * 18) The VNC
 * 19) Can You Point Your Fingers and Do the Twist?
 * 20) Riding on a Surfboard

CD 3: The Search for Max Begins

 * 1) Hijack!
 * 2) Gidget Meets Tiberius
 * 3) Thank You, Mr. Weather Hawk!
 * 4) Phase 3/It's a Twister!
 * 5) Exile
 * 6) Crazy Snowmobile Conga
 * 7) Sledding Back to Find Max
 * 8) I Wish I Could Talk to a Fish (2)
 * 9) Still Sledding Back to Find Max
 * 10) Initiation Time
 * 11) Phase 4
 * 12) Me Like What Me See
 * 13) The Viper
 * 14) Rooftop Route
 * 15) The Peterbilt
 * 16) Old MacDonald Had a Farm
 * 17) Flushed Out to Brooklyn
 * 18) Phase 5
 * 19) First Pomeranian Fruiter (1)
 * 20) Sausages!

CD 4: The Search for Max Continues

 * 1) First Pomeranian Fruiter (2)
 * 2) Bird Flight
 * 3) Play Your Guitar with Fred
 * 4) We Go Together
 * 5) Phase 6/Food Massacre
 * 6) Locked in Jail
 * 7) I Have Proof
 * 8) River Surfing Back to New York
 * 9) The Monkey Dance
 * 10) Phase 7/Pelicans
 * 11) Under the Sea
 * 12) Puffer Fish Anger
 * 13) Deep Dark Ship
 * 14) Pelican Attack!
 * 15) Trapped in a Net
 * 16) Splish Splash
 * 17) Get Back on the Grass!
 * 18) Party Marty
 * 19) You Have an Owner?
 * 20) Hands Dancing

CD 5: Max Is Found

 * 1) Here Come the Reindeer
 * 2) Fruit Salad
 * 3) Quack Quack
 * 4) Phase 8
 * 5) Zing Zang Wing Wang Wong
 * 6) Quack-a-Doodle Doo
 * 7) Eagle Rock
 * 8) Vegetable Soup
 * 9) Phase 9
 * 10) I Like to Be a Bubble
 * 11) Flight to Dreamland
 * 12) Welcome to Dreamland
 * 13) Goodbye
 * 14) Hot Potato
 * 15) Duke's Old House/Captured
 * 16) Gidget's Brooklyn Bridge Showdown
 * 17) Max's Collar Retrieved
 * 18) Rescuing Duke/Molly's Brooklyn Bridge Showdown
 * 19) The Van's Sinking!
 * 20) I Wish I Could Talk to a Fish (3)
 * 21) Wet But Handsome
 * 22) I Wish I Could Talk to a Fish (4)
 * 23) Duke's Collar Retrieved
 * 24) No. 1
 * 25) News Flash
 * 26) This Friendly World
 * 27) I'm in Love with a Robot
 * 28) End Credits Suite

Release
The film was originally scheduled to be released on February 12, 2016, but was pushed back to July 8, 2016. It was the second R-rated film to be released in 2D and 3D theatres, the first was Jackass 3D. The Secret Musical Life of Pets premiered at VidCon on June 24, 2016. The film is accompanied by the first R-rated animated short film entitled Garden Aliens.

Home media
The Secret Musical Life of Pets was released on Digital HD on November 22, 2016, and on Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, Ultra HD Blu-ray, and DVD on December 6, 2016. In addition to the short film Garden Aliens, which was released theatrically with the feature film, the releases also include two short films: Gidget's TV Trouble and Runaway Stand.

Reception
The Secret Musical Life of Pets grossed $368.4 million in Canada and the U.S., and $507.1 million in other countries for a worldwide total of $875.5 million, against a production budget of $75 million. Its internationally takings helped push Universal Pictures [International] past $1 billion for the tenth consecutive year, and aided the other studios to pass the $4 billion mark.

Worldwide, it is the fifth highest-grossing original film of all time (behind Avatar, Zootopia, The Lion King, and Finding Nemo), the sixth highest-grossing film of 2016, the 12th highest-grossing animated film of all time, and the 50th highest-grossing film of all time. Deadline.com calculated the net profit of the film to be $374.6 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues for the film, making it the most profitable release of 2016.

North America
In Canada and the United States, the film was projected to gross around $70 million in its opening weekend, with some predictions going as high as $100 million. It received the widest release for an animated film as well as for an R-rated film (breaking South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut 's record) and the seventh widest of all time overall, across 4,370 theaters, the widest release since The Dark Knight Rises. It made $5.3 million from Thursday night previews in 3,009 theaters, which is the second biggest of all time for Illumination, behind only Minions ($6.2 million), and the third biggest of all time for an animated film, behind Finding Dory ($9.2 million) and Minions. This was followed by a record-breaking $38.5 million opening day gross (including previews), the biggest for an original film. In its opening weekend, it exceeded expectations and grossed $104.4 million, finishing first at the box office. Its debut is the sixth biggest for an animated film, the sixth highest weekend debut in July, and the fourth biggest opening weekend for Universal Pictures. It also set the record for largest opening for an original film, eclipsing the $90.4 million debut of Inside Out. In its second weekend, the film made $50.8 million (-51.3%) while maintaining the top spot, despite facing stiff competition with newcomer Ghostbusters. Although it slipped into second place when overtaken by Star Trek Beyond in its third weekend, it was still able to fend off the two other new releases—Lights Out and Ice Age: Collision Course—by earning another $29.6 million. It passed $300 million on its twenty-sixth day—the same day it crossed $400 million worldwide—becoming the seventh film of 2016, the seventh Universal Pictures film (the first for the year), and the twelfth animated film overall to reach the benchmark.

Outside North America
Internationally, The Secret Musical Life of Pets received a scattered release from June to September in a total of 69 markets, and faced competition from other animated films such as Finding Dory and Ice Age: Collision Course in the course of its release. In total, it had number-one openings in 45 markets and recorded the biggest opening for an original animated film in 17 territories, and the No. 1 animated film of 2016 to date in 13 markets. It topped the international box office in its ninth weekend after earning $43.8 million in 53 markets (dethroning Suicide Squad). However, this wasn't the film's biggest single weekend gross. Its biggest weekend gross was actually in its seventh weekend when it grossed $69.3 million. That weekend it was No. 3 behind Suicide Squad ($133.3 million) and Chinese film Time Raiders ($64.6 million).

It was released in the United Kingdom and Norway two weeks ahead of its U.S. release, where it grossed a combined total of $14.1 million in the two markets. Prior to its official debut in the UK and Ireland on June 24, the film had two days worth of previews on June 18 and 19, from which it made £3.63 million ($5.2 million) in two days. This figure was later counted in the film's official opening weekend. It went on to score the fourth biggest original animation opening weekend ever there, with £9.58 million ($13.4 million) from 592 theaters, trailing behind Inside Out, Monsters, Inc., and Up. Excluding previews, its total three-day opening was $8.1 million. This was amidst Brexit and despite facing competition from Independence Day: Resurgence. The film held off extremely well in its second and third weekend falling just 20% and 24%, earning £4.47 million ($6.1 million) and £3.62 million ($4.8 million) respectively despite facing some competitions. It has topped the box office for three consecutive weekends and has grossed total of $41 million there. In Norway, it took the number one spot as well, with $778,000. It scored the biggest animation opening of 2016 and the second biggest of all time overall in both Taiwan ($2 million)—behind Madagascar, and Hong Kong ($1.9 million)—behind Inside Out.

In Argentina, the film had a record-breaking number-one debut with $4 million from 195 screens — the biggest opening weekend ever for an animated film and the second biggest opening ever for any film (behind Furious 7). Similarly, Chile also recorded the second biggest animated opening ever with $1.7 million (behind Minions). Colombia also opened at No. 1 with a huge $1.5 million. In Mexico, other than opening at No. 1, it posted the biggest original animated opening of all time with $7.6 million, surpassing the studio's own previous record holder Inside Out. Also in Russia, it scored the biggest original animated opening and the second biggest ever for an animated film, behind Minions with $16.3 million, although this included $6.4 million five days worth of previews. It went on to become the highest-grossing film of the summer that year. In Japan, the film opened on August 11—the date of Japan's first Mountain Day national holiday—with Toho-Towa distributing, and earned $4.6 million on 370,000 admissions for its two-day opening weekend dethroning Shin Godzilla off the top spot. The cumulative total for the four-day holiday (August 11–14) was $9.7 million. Similarly, it had number-one debuts in Germany ($7.1 million) and France ($5.9 million), Australia ($5.6 million), Italy ($5.1 million), Brazil ($4.4 million), Spain ($4.5 million), Poland ($1.7 million), Singapore ($1.3 million), Belgium ($1.2 million) and Denmark ($1.2 million), Indonesia ($1.1 million), the Philippines ($1 million), and South Africa ($463,000). In Germany, it scored the best animation opening since Minions. It topped the box office in Israel for five straight weekends and in Australia, Russia and Spain for three weekends. In Japan, the film was the highest-grossing foreign release of the weekend, holding the top spot for four consecutive weekends.

In China—the world's second biggest film market—the film opened on a Tuesday, earning a modest $5.2 million on its opening day. To Sunday, it achieved a six-day opening of $29.3 million and $15.5 million for the weekend alone (Friday to Sunday), with per screen averages over $500 per screen per day. In both instances, it was behind the local film Time Raiders. In South Korea, despite debuting in fifth place, it had an opening of $6.9 million. Elsewhere, it grossed $2.7 million in the Netherlands, $1.2 million in Sweden and in Hungary it scored the biggest opening of the year with $738,000, and also in Portugal ($965,000), Latvia ($224,000), and South Africa.

In terms of total earnings, its biggest markets are China ($58 million), United Kingdom and Ireland ($47.2 million), Japan ($41.6 million) and Russia ($34.2 million). It became the third highest-grossing film of all time in Russia (behind Avatar and Zootopia) and the highest-grossing film of 2016 in Spain.

Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 74% based on 200 reviews with an average rating of 6.2/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Fast-paced, funny, and blessed with a talented voice cast, The Secret Musical Life of Pets offers a beautifully animated, cheerfully undemanding family-friendly diversion." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 61 out of 100 based on 39 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews." Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A–" on an A+ to F scale.

Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film three out of four stars and called it "an animated fluffball-a sort of My Little Pony with pets meet music meets crazy and irresistible Endless Wordplay." Scott Tobias, writing for NPR, characterized the film's concept as "My Little Pony but with house pets," highlighting the film's "thinly distinguished characters" and "gloppy sentimentality." Steven Rea of The Philadelphia Inquirer gave the film three out of four stars and said "In much the same way that the smash Zootopia demonstrated that creatures of different culture and class and species are better off when they come together, The Secret Musical Life of Pets is a testament to teamwork and friendship and fixing the rifts that divide us. Let the fur and the warm, fuzziest musical spelling adventures begin." However, some critics disliked the film's unexpected similarities with Hasbro's My Little Pony and Pixar's Toy Story. Matthew Parkinson of The Escapist compared the plots of both films and wrote that "The Secret Life of Pets feels like one of those hour-long ripoffs you'd see on a children's television network." Ethan Anderton of the website /Film criticised the film's characterisation, and noted that the relationship between Max and Duke was akin to "Woody and Buzz Lightyear all over again."

Sequel
In August 2016 it was announced that there would be a sequel with filmmakers James L. Brooks, Allen Covert, Eric Darnell, Cory Edwards, Todd Edwards, Evan Goldberg, Kevin Hart, Janet Healy, Jonah Hill, Kyle Hunter, Spike Jonze, Aaron Kaufman, Johnny Knoxville, Tony Leech, Brian Lynch, Tom McGrath, Chris Meledandri, Michael Michaud, Iliana Nikolic, Chris Renaud, Robert Rodriguez, Seth Rogen, Adam Sandler, Ariel Shaffir, Robert Smigel, Preston Stutzman, Greg Tiernan, Jeff Tremaine, Conrad Vernon, Doug Walker, Rob Walker and James Weaver with a release date of July 13, 2018. On January 25, 2017, its release date was pushed back to July 3, 2019. On August 15, 2017, its release date was moved forward to June 7, 2019.