The Boss Baby

The Boss Baby

Released: March 2017

Starring: Alec Baldwin, Miles Bakshi, Steve Buscemi

Director: Tom McGrath

Not everyone is born equal. Some are born into loving families, others into suits and management roles. So what happens when the two meet?
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Tim Templeton (Bakshi & Buscemi) is just a normal seven year old boy, playing with his toys, his imagination, and his two favourite things in the world, his doting parents. But all of that suddenly changes with the arrival of Theodore, his new, suited and booted, baby brother (Baldwin).

From the moment he arrives though, Tim is aware that all is not right with Theodore’s presence. For one, the baby wears a suit, for another, he arrived in a taxi, rather than by more traditional means. Yet, nobody else seems to notice or care; instead his parents are now dedicating all of their time to the new baby, not Tim. So he has to take matters into his own hands and remove Theodore from his life, in the way only a seven year old can; as a ninja spy.

His sleuthing quickly pays dividends, as he learns Theodore’s secret; he’s from Head Office and here on a mission to rescue much needed love for babies, from the hands (well paws) of his nemesis, puppies. If successful, Theodore will return and Tim will have his old life back. Fail and he will remain a Templeton forever.

And so, an unlikely partnership, with an unlikely goal, is formed.

Will they succeed in replenishing love for babykind, will their partnership ever develop into anything other than one of convenience, and will there be japes and adventures on the way?

Advertised as coming from the makers of Shrek (aka Dreamworks), I felt entitled to my haughty expectations. Obviously, with its infant protagonists and school holiday release date, this was going to be a film aimed at children of the body, not just the heart. But, if this was anything like Shrek, I could chuckle away to a few of the gags which the younger audience would miss, while they enjoyed the colour, movement, and all the other things which are important for cerebral development.

Frankly though, “from the makers of Shrek” is a marketing stretch; Shrek 3 perhaps, but not Shrek. It’s testament to the sheer inconsistency of Dreamworks that they can flip-flop from the sublime to the… well not, so readily.

Undoubtedly I am not the target audience for The Boss Baby, but for my life, I can’t figure out who actually is. Adults audiences will be left largely bored, while the plotline is surely too complicated for the youngest of children. Which leaves those in between. An audience which will be put off by the overly babied animation [yes, I am aware the cast is largely babies and children], who could just as easily petition their parents to take them to see a 12A instead and be offered some actual thrills and spills. Essentially, the only people who will really enjoy The Boss Baby are the older siblings of the young children whose parents thing that this is the holiday film for everyone, dragged in against their will, but who are open minded enough to give the film a chance. Niche then.

The Boss Baby does offer some moments of fun, and a few entertaining slapstick moments including an animated stereotypical henchman (imagine Michael from Hot Fuzz (2007) if you will), and scenes involving puppy costumes. But the even with a sort run time, the story feels a touch drawn out at times and the adventure isn’t particularly adventurous. Every twist and turn is phenomenally predictable, so there’s no real delight in any of the final chapter of the film. Granted, this could be with their very specific audience in mind, but even so, I’d have hoped for a bit more.

The most disappointing thing about The Boss Baby though is the sense of missed potential throughout. It creates itself many chances to offer something brilliant, flirting with it frequently, but crumbles to nothingness almost instantly. This is summed up perfectly when the boys are caught in a dummy induced trance by their dad, who’s reaction is everything you could want. But it is passed and gone far too fleetingly to be properly appreciated. There may only be a nine other characters that really feature in the entire film, each with great potential, but they are used so sparsely that you they cannot be developed in any real way.

It’s not that I disliked it majorly it’s just that The Boss Baby doesn’t have a whole heap to really like. It has some entertaining elements in it, but in the end, it flatters to deceive. It isn’t a film that will do much other than help you waste a rainy afternoon when you’re stuck nearer the cinema than home, and it certainly won’t help mend a broken home.
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🌟🌟 2 Stars

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I loved

Although it fell flat on many counts, it is nice to see a film that isn’t a sequel, prequel, or part of an assorted franchise. I can sometimes feel like original stories are missing from the cinema, so this was a nice change of pace (even if this was based on an existing children’s book).

Pet Peeve

Everything is just a touch meh. There isn’t much that couldn’t be tidied up, polished, or just improved with a bit more care and love. It screams of a Friday afternoon job.