3 out of 5 stars
"He carries a briefcase! Does no one else think that's, oh, I don't know, a little freaky?" - Tim Templeton
The age old challenge of explaining the origins of babies is given a new delivery and a fresh dose of baby powder with The Boss Baby. Based on the 2010 children’s book by Marla Frazee, audiences are introduced to the Templetons. Ted (Jimmy Kimmel), Janice (Lisa Kudrow) and their seven year old son, Tim (Miles Christopher Bakshi) who loves his idyllic family life and being the beneficiary of all of his loving parents attention. Then his world is turned up-side down when a baby brother is brought home, but the tension between the boys is more than simple sibling rivalry. His younger brother wears a suit, carries a briefcase and seems to control all things within the house. Suspecting something is not quite right with this infant, Tim begins to investigate the strange behaviours of his new sibling and finds that he is The Boss Baby (Alec Baldwin). A special agent from Baby Corp. who is there to bring down the plans of the bitter rival to his organisation, Puppy Co.
In a year that has few cinematic options for children, this is one of the freshest concepts in animation this year. The outlandish storyline can only be sourced from the world of children’s books, but this helps it to offer something special for children and parents to share. Hearing Alec Baldwin’s voice coming out of a small child does take some adjustment, but as the story unfolds it becomes justified and helps with the delivery of some of the best lines in the film. His dry wit and quick vernacular skills are balanced out with the juvenile mindset of Tim, the seven year old who has an exceptionally active imagination. This provides humour that can be appreciated by parents while still entertaining the younger set. Director Tom McGrath (Madagascar) does his best to develop this unique sibling rivalry and driving home a strong message of the value of family. A storyline that was reminiscent of 2016’s Storks, the quality of this film is much better and more entertaining option for families.
What may be considered strengths for some in this film, may prove to the biggest difficulties for families. During some of the funniest portions of the dialogue between the brothers the only people laughing were the adults in the theatre. This could potentially be interpreted that Baldwin’s style and the script were pitched a bit too high for children to access. The writing did provide for enough slapstick humour for children to enjoy the film, but some of the existential elements did make for some believability issues and their explanations did cause the film to be a bit too long for the younger viewing audience. Understandably, animated adventures usually reside in the realm of farcical and ridiculous, but there are times when it is difficult to determine when things are meant to be translated by actual events or within the imagination of a child. Even with these weaknesses, the overall experience was enjoyable and did provide a strong message for families.
Reel Dialogue: What should parents know about The Boss Baby?
For the benefit of parents, a small celebration can occur. There are no warnings needed from this film.
The makers of The Boss Baby did not have some grand political axe to grind. It is refreshing to attend a film that upholds the value of family and did not try to redefine it for children. Even though the depictions of sibling rivalry are taken to an extreme, the lesson learnt by the brothers was worth the price of admission. Also, the underlying message of the important role that parents play in the lives of their children is both priceless and timeless.
Questions
- Where do babies come from? (Go ask your parents)
- What does the Bible say about family? (John 15:12-17)
- Where did the notion of sibling rivalry originate? (Genesis 4)
- Reel Dialogue encourages parents to be active participants in the entertainment choices of their children and discuss with them the lessons that they can learn from these films.
