The Secret Life of Pets (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

A journey of this magnitude requires an appropriately animated soundtrack. Equal parts George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” and George Benson’s “On Broadway,” Alexandre Desplat’s breezy, jaunty score for The Secret Life of Pets epitomizes a hustling, bustling New York somewhere between Woody Allen and Mad Men. Lively cymbals evoke wiggling, wagging tails, while seductive flutes bring to mind the caricature of an inquisitive-yet-cautious cat. And the curious, dancing clarinet of “Meet the Pets” perfectly sets the mood for the animals’ wide-eyed adventure.