Kevin Hart puts soul into playing bunny in Secret Life Of Pets 2
Comedian Kevin Hart loved voicing Snowball in Secret Life Of Pets 2 because of the freedom film-makers gave him in recording booth
Animation studio Illumination's 10th animated feature, The Secret Life Of Pets 2, is the highly anticipated sequel to the 2016 comedic blockbuster, which explores the emotional lives of our pets.
And nobody was a bigger scene-stealer than breakout star Snowball (voiced by Kevin Hart), the wild bunny of the underground world.
The crazy cute rabbit has since been turned into a pampered, happily domesticated pet with delusions of grandeur that he is an actual superhero after his owner Molly starts dressing him in superhero pyjamas.
But when fearless Shih Tzu Daisy (Tiffany Haddish) shows up to ask for Snowball's help on a dangerous mission, he will have to summon the courage to become the hero he has only been pretending to be.
Opening here tomorrow, The Secret Life Of Pets 2 is directed by returning film-maker Chris Renaud (Despicable Me, Dr. Seuss' The Lorax).
US actor-comedian Hart, 39, said: "Snowball doesn't have a big group around him to make him feel like the head honcho, like he did in the first film. He is forced to realise that sometimes, other people have better ideas than he does, and he has to follow rather than lead. That is humbling, and it is part of his growth in this movie.
"It is also really funny. To see someone like Snowball realise that the world outside doesn't match the one inside his head, that everything isn't the way he wants it to be."
On what being a superhero means to Snowball
Everything. There is nothing else. You are looking at a will, a want and a need. Snowball needs the feeling that comes with being associated with being a superhero.
On his favourite Snowball quality
I love his ability to backpedal and ramble his way out of things. If he says, 'Look, everybody, we are going to go out at noon,' and then someone says, 'Why? That is stupid,' he immediately goes, 'Well, I knew 11.30am was better anyway.'
What is amazing is that he does stuff like that in such a prideful manner and with such bravado, that no one ever thinks he is a coward or that he is not capable. No matter what, he always makes sure he seems real and tough, even when he isn't.
On why he enjoys playing Snowball
What makes Snowball so much fun to play is that there is always a high level of discovery within the character.
I credit the directors, the creators, the writers, everybody involved, for letting me bring as much to the character as I possibly could. And I think to date, when I get in that booth, there has never been a hand put in front of me to say stop and not to find and not to push to get more and create more. And when you have that around you, you are constantly evolving.
On what makes Snowball special
The feeling that Snowball gets from his owner is one of love and compassion. Regardless of what you see on the outside, that is who he loves and that is who he wants. So that camaraderie, that high level of emotion, of friendship, that bond that they have, that is where the bulk of his time goes.
Outside of that, his imagination runs wild. That is when he is able to do the things that he feels he needs to do and run the world.
On what makes the sequel different from the first
You are seeing characters grow and progress, and that is what you want in anything. And the families, the kids and adults that saw Part 1, they got to see a world that I think we all were curious about on a different level of thinking.
And that was just what happens in your household when you leave. What do your pets do? And after those questions are answered, to see more questions get answered.
Not only what they do but how far do they go to protect what they truly believe in. How much do they value what is considered to be their homes, their families, their owners, their friends, and what levels are they willing to go through to protect those things.
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