Should one expect an animated tale about adventurous animals to offer anything other than a light comedic adventure? Nope, and 2022’s DC League of Super-Pets follows the expected trajectory.

After years as Superman’s (voiced by John Krasinski) closest pal, similarly super-powered canine Krypto (Dwayne Johnson) encounters a threat. Superman gets increasingly close to Lois Lane (Olivia Wilde) and plans to marry her.

As Krypto deals with this existential crisis, a bigger concern occurs. Lex Luthor (Marc Maron) attempts to gain his own super-powers via orange kryptonite, but Superman and Krypto foil the plan.

Nonetheless, scheming guinea pig Lulu (Kate McKinnon) does manage to gain special abilities via this object, and she uses them to disable the entire Justice League. Hobbled after battle, Krypto recruits a crew of shelter pets also enabled by the orange kryptonite to save his human pal.

I try to keep my plot synopses to two paragraphs, but in this case, League includes enough content that I needed three. Heck, I could’ve kept going, as I left out subplots and other character domains.

On the surface, it feels like League might pack in too much for a relatively short flick aimed at kids. We get a mix of narrative threads as well as a slew of characters, all of whom need their own development.

To my surprise, League pulls off these competing elements and never feels bloated or overstuffed. Instead, it cranks along at a fine pace and keeps us entertained the whole time.

Actually, that last domain becomes the biggest shock, as I really expected little from League. Trailers gave me the impression it would offer nothing more than cheap laughs for the pre-teen crowd, so I expected little inspiration to emerge.

Happily, League manages lots of cleverness and spark. While it develops all those roles and plot domains, it never forgets to give us a good time, and it does that in spades.

As all my friends know, I’m a “tough laugh”. Even when I feel amused, I don’t often offer outward evidence of this.

League managed to provoke pretty consistent chortles from me. It finds that sweet spot between goofy kid movie and smart adult fare, a factor that allows it to work for both audiences.

In League, we find a self-aware film that wants to have fun with the superhero genre while it also provides a lively adventure. The film manages both, though the comedy remains the stronger factor.

Given its cast, this comes as no surprise. In addition to those mentioned, we find a slew of additional voice talents.

Some such as McKinnon, Maron, Kevin Hart, Thomas Middleditch, Vanessa Bayer, and Jemaine Clement come from a comedic background. Others like Johnson, Krasinski, Diego Luna and Keanu Reeves either straddle different genres or lean more dramatic.

All offer fine work here and ensure that League boasts a consistently solid batch of performances. Across the board, the actors hold up their ends of the bargain.

As it mixes genres and tones, League needs to work a difficult balancing act. It manages to pull this off and it ends up as a delightful and funny adventure.

Footnote: two added pieces appear during the final credits, so stick around until the very end.

DC’s League of Super-Pets appears in an aspect ratio of 2.39:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. As I expected, the transfer looked terrific.

Sharpness was fine across the board. Virtually no softness appeared, as the movie delivered satisfying definition.

No signs of jagged edges or moiré effects occurred, and edge haloes were absent. Of course, print flaws never manifested themselves.

The film’s palette offered a general pastel tone, with a minor emphasis on orange and teal. The colors showed a good sense of vividness and worked well. HDR added range and punch to the tones.

Blacks were dark and deep, while low-light shots offered nice clarity and smoothness. Whites and contrast got added power from the disc's HDR. This became an appealing visual presentation.

Downconverted to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, we got a Dolby Atmos soundtrack that offered a reasonably lively soundscape, especially during the many action sequences. Those fleshed out the spectrum in an involving way and gave us good involvement for these spectacles.

These traits kicked into higher gear as the movie progressed. While the film came with plenty of sonic action from its start, the climax got even crazier, and the various speakers added real kick to the proceedings.

Audio quality seemed pleasing. Speech always sounded distinctive and concise, while music was peppy and rich.

Effects offered solid reproduction, with clean highs and deep lows. I liked this mix and thought it gave the movie life.

How did the 4K UHD compare to the Blu-ray version? Both came with identical Atmos soundtracks.

As for the 4K’s visuals, they boasted the usual format-related improvements, mainly in terms of the way HDR accentuated blacks and colors. The 4K didn’t blow away the Blu-ray but it became the more satisfying rendition of the film.

No extras appear on the 4K disc itself, but we find some on the includd Blu-ray copy, where we open with How to Draw Krypto. It runs six minutes, 48 seconds and brings a lesson from animation supervisor David Burgess.

Unsurprisingly, Burgess teaches us the techniques required to depict the movie’s version of Krypto. Though aimed at kids, we get some decent insights.

Behind the Super Voices spans 14 minutes, 39 seconds and involves Burgess, writer/director Jared Stern, writer/co-director Sam J. Levine, producer Patricia Hicks, layout supervisor Regis Schuller and actors Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Natasha Lyonne, Kate McKinnon, Diego Luna, and Vanessa Bayer.

As one might anticipate, “Voices” looks at characters, cast and performances. Though we get the usual happy talk, I like the glimpses of the actors at work, and a few added facts add value.

Next comes Animation 101, an eight-minute, 18-second reel with Hicks, Levine, Burgess, and Schuller.

“101” discusses character design and aspects of how the flick brought the roles to life. It offers an appealing overview, especially when it gets into deleted sequences and characters.

The World of Super-Pets spans seven minutes, 41 seconds and brings notes from Hicks, Levine, Burgess, Stern, art director Kristen Anderson and production designer Kim Taylor.

Via “World”, we hear about various design choices and influences. This becomes another pretty good little reel.

After this comes Find the Easter Eggs, a three-minute, 39-second clip that features remarks from Levine and Stern as they run through hidden elements across the movie. We get a fun list.

12 Deleted Scenes occupy a total of 20 minutes, 48 seconds. Presented almost entirely as storyreels, we get some of the unused characters we hear about during “Animation 101”, and we see the backstories for the rescue animals also mentioned there.

Other segments expand on the various animal characters and their relationships. Expect a lot of good content in this compilation.

An animated tale packed with comedy and action, DC League of Super-Pets fares much better than anticipated. Blessed with an excellent cast and a slew of clever bits, the movie turns into a consistent delight. The 4K UHD brings terrific picture and audio along with a decent set of supplements. League delivers a fine adventure.

To rate this film, visit the original review of LEAGUE OF SUPER-PETS