- “Get your umbrellas out, kitties, because here they come! The Thunder, and the lightning! Right down on your face!”
- ―Duke "standing up" to Ozone.
Duke is the deuteragonist of Universal Studios•Illumination's 2016 animated feature film The Secret Life of Pets and a major character in its 2019 sequel. He is a a large, brown, shaggy Newfoundland dog mix formerly owned by a guy named Fred, and would later start a new life and friendship with Max and his owner Katie.
Background[]
Duke with his previous owner, Fred.
Duke was a puppy who came from a pet store, playing with the other puppies who are a different breed, until an old man named Fred arrived and picked Duke as his pet dog. When they would go out and play fetch, Duke instead jump on his owner, licking his face, which glads him. Then, they would go out for a walk, even on winter, which makes a young Duke walking in the snow. And on Christmas, the duo would take so many naps, while Duke kept growing and getting a bigger bed to sleep in. When Duke was now an adult, he would get a new collar, and sit on the steps with Fred, watching the sundown.
Sadly one night, Duke got out, chasing butterflies or a car, until he realized that he was so far from home, that he could never find it. Duke was then caught by Animal Control, and spend rest of his life in the pound, which sadness him, with Fred never coming for him, unaware that he died of an old age and natural causes.
Personality[]
Duke is very slobbery and ignorantly happy. He accidentally causes trouble and is very energetic and playful. However, when angry, Duke can become very menacing and even villainous. This is demonstrated when he bullies Max while Katie is at work by eating his food and sleeping in his bed, forcing Max to sleep on the floor while being blown by Duke's loud snoring.
He is also a bit sloppy and oafish. He does not share the bed with Max and eats from his bowl. He's reckless and inconsiderate in the first place, but he has been shown to have a sympathetic background later on.
Physical appearances[]
Duke is a large, fat, and bulky mutt with shaggy brown fur. He has brown eyes, a large black nose, and a blue collar with a yellow belt with the letter "D" on it.
Appearances[]
The Secret Life of Pets[]
Duke meeting Max for the first time.
One day, Katie adopted him from the pound. Although Katie introduces Duke to her Jack Russell Terrier Max as his new brother, Max does not want to live with a new dog; Duke licks Max even if Max snarls at him, which makes Max disgusted.
Max becomes more upset about how Duke behaves. Duke accidentally breaks a ball Buddy found, which Katie thought it's their missing ball. When they are about to sleep, Duke sleeps where Max is supposed to sleep and snores. The next morning, Chloe advises him that he needs to do more or else his life would be ruined. On the other hand, Duke eats Max's dog food; so Max begins to threaten Duke by breaking things in the apartment and later treats Duke as a servant when he, Buddy, Mel and several other dogs are taken to the dog park.
This drives Duke to deceive Max into downtown New York City, while other dogs are distracted by a butterfly. He runs into a street where Ozone, the leader of a cat gang called the Alley Cats, are at. At first, he tries to abandon Max there but they both are defeated by Ozone and numerous cats. Their collars are stolen, which causes them to get captured by two Animal Control officers.
Nevertheless, Snowball, the leader of the Flushed Pets, appears and saves Ripper, who is also caught by the Animal Control, and Max and Duke persuades Snowball to unlock their cage by claiming they are not domestic dogs. Snowball is convinced and takes them to his underground lair. There, Snowball wants the two dogs to tell the story about "how they killed their masters" so Duke and Max makes up one, then Snowball orders a giant bushmaster called Viper and wants him to bite Max and then Duke as a sign of being a new member. But later the identities of Duke and Max are exposed by the Alley Cats, so all animals of the Flushed Pets begin to attack Max and Duke.
Duke bites Viper by the tail and swipes the approaching animals and throws the snake to a pipe. Viper attempts to attack Max, but he is too long and is tied to the pipe, and his big move to escape causes loads of bricks and concrete to crash on him, so he dies instantly. Then, Duke and Max run away from Snowball's chase and escape the sewer; they get into a river and go onto a boat. Yet, the boat is going to Brooklyn, the opposite site of their home. When they reach the bank, they want to find something to eat but are unsuccessful. They sit in front of a man who is eating a sandwich, they try to do the "puppy eyes" but the man runs away in horror. Duke then notices something and sniffs; he runs with Max and they find a sausage factory, Weiner Kingdom, so they gorge on sausages.
Duke later tells Max that he had another owner called Fred, but Duke can't find the way home after he finally ate a butterfly he chased, so he was sent to the pound. Max encourages Duke to find Fred, and when they are about to do so, the two Animal Control officers enter and want to catch them again but they are crushed by several boxes of sausage after Duke knocks them down. Max and Duke find the house where Fred lives, but a cat called Reginald is there and tells him and Max that Fred was dead and the house now belongs to a new family. Resentful and angry, Duke accuses Max of attempting to get rid of him and barks at the new homeowners, who just return to their "own" house, who call Animal Control. The Animal Control officers suddenly appear with a new truck and catch Max, but Duke interferes long enough for him to escape and ends up being captured instead. Max chases after the truck.
On the other hand, Snowball and other animals arrives to Brooklyn; he disguises as a baby and Tattoo as a woman, and they find Max, but Snowball's friends are caught except Snowball and Max. So Snowball and Max drive a bus and stop the Animal Control's truck, but the truck is almost falling to the river and hangs on Brooklyn Bridge. Max finds the key to the cage but the truck falls into the river and the key is dropped in the process, so Snowball also jumps into the river, finds the floating key and gives it to Max. Later, Tattoo drives a taxi and brings all animals to Manhattan. At last, Duke and Max go back to their apartment the night before Katie returns home.
The Secret Life of Pets 2[]
Trivia[]
- In The Secret Life of Pets, it is never revealed about the previous name that Fred gave to Duke. Nevertheless, Duke's collar can be briefly seen when he was a puppy, and the bigger collar was also given by Fred, which may give Katie a reference of giving his name.
- He and Max shares similarities with Buzz Lightyear and Woody from Toy Story franchise.
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