Ranking: The Biggest Protagonists From 2016's Summer Blockbusters
17. Max (Louis C.K.) - The Secret Life Of Pets
The Role: A terrier who resides in Manhattan with his owner, Katie (Ellie Kemper), and feels threatened when she brings home a "big brother" for him by way of shaggy mongrel Duke (Eric Stonestreet). After having their collars removed and being chased by animal control, however, they must team up to make it back home.
The prospect of an animated dog voiced by someone as brilliant as Louis C.K. has all sorts of superb comic potential...which sadly isn't realised with this woefully dull protagonist.
Max is basically the most boring of all the major animal characters, being overshadowed by Kevin Hart's manic bunny Snowball in particular.
It's not C.K.'s fault in the slightest: the character is simply scripted as a generic everyman (or dog) that's difficult to warm to.
If you were hoping for a clever animated riff on the comedian himself (like Woody Allen did so incredibly in Antz), this just isn't it.