![]() The centerpiece of the room is a cat playing a piano, a rather impressive piece of theme park robotics in which the scrawny cat stalks the keys. The darkened cat alley is especially cluttered with cats hanging, strutting or just plain trying to intimidate. ![]() There are pets playing in trash, pets struggling with construction equipment and a cat trapped in a weird, washing machine-like contraption. ![]() The best way to do that was to work with a different set of tools, in this case a very physical set of tools.”Īlmost everywhere you look there’s something to imagine a story around. This is all about the heartstrings, and it’s touching on that on a heartfelt level. “So you really want to see the physicality of it. “I say this a little tongue-in-cheek, but if you’re a pet lover, it’s the only unconditional love you get,” says Jon Corfino, the creative director of Universal Creative, the arm of the company responsible for theme park experiences, and the executive producer on the Secret Life of Pets. Throughout the attraction we encounter a sly-looking cat with a Jerry Lee Lewis scowl wreaking havoc on a piano, a sad Dalmatian trying desperately to snare a bit of ice cream, a bunny trying to commandeer a drone and more. Think “Looney Tunes,” “Rocky & Bullwinkle” or the work of Tex Avery as much as any big-budget, modern CGI-animated film. Guests are constantly looking around them, and often above them, to pick up on the screwball hijinks.Īlthough it’s based on a relatively recent franchise - Illumination Entertainment’s 2016 film “The Secret Life of Pets,” which is reported to have grossed more than $875 million worldwide - the tone throughout is one of frantic, exaggerated goofs that place guests in an old-fashioned cartoon. There’s an underlying narrative - you’re a pup up for adoption - but in just a few minutes the ride switches through multiple locales, from posh New York apartments to a cat-bullied alleyway to a pet wash and more. The focus is on animation-worthy vignettes rather than a strict beginning, middle and end to the ride. The ride contains 64 robotic animal figurines and thus relies on old-school theme park philosophies. The Secret Life of Pets uses screens in complementary rather than starring roles, and when it comes to interactivity, the ride encourages playful silliness rather than more overt game-like techniques.Įssentially, the emphasis is largely on the joy of the emotional design of physical, built environments - a New York cityscape that comes alive with dogs doing yoga, dogs taking a spa day in a hot dog cart, cats swinging from roped blankets and one ill-advised scheme to use fireworks as aircraft. ![]() While there are plenty of clever uses of technology, this isn’t an attraction designed to thrill or emphasize spectacle. ![]() What’s they’ll find in the Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash! is the kind of ride that is something of an endangered species in the theme park world. But after a pause of more than a year, guests attending the park’s reopening this week will be able to get their paws, which will be squirted by Universal staff with hand sanitizer just before boarding, on the attraction. The pandemic-forced closure of Universal Studios Hollywood last year came just before the grand opening of the park’s long-anticipated 2020 addition - a ride inspired by the two films in “The Secret Life of Pets” franchise. ![]()
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