From the minds behind the Madagascar franchise comes Boss Baby, this season’s attempt to capture the zeitgeist while still injecting enough silliness to keep kids giggling throughout.
The big draw here is Alec Baldwin, playing himself, as a baby. It makes a little more sense than that in context, but not much. To be fair, he’s playing the caricature of himself that often appears on television and seems to be based off of his Jack Donaghy character from 30 Rock, suit and all.
Much like last year’s Storks, Boss Baby is concerned with “where babies comes from.” In this case, the answer is a big corporation. A conspiracy is afoot as the puppy corporation wants to take over the love business, soaking up the affections of stupid adult humans.
In comes the Boss Baby. He’s going to find out the plans for this takeover and thwart them. Unfortunately, he has to infiltrate a family to do so. Big brother Tim (Miles Christopher Bakshi, grandson of Ralph Bakshi) loved being an only child, and having this little monster in the house is no fun. The parental units (Lisa Kudrow and a surprisingly good Jimmy Kimmel) are of course oblivious and love both their little men.
The movie works (when it works) due to visuals and crass humor, a great combination with which to keep an audience engaged. The look is three-dimensional Hanna-Barbera, but when Tim daydreams, it goes 2-D in a very Samurai Jack-fashion. Both look great and help keep visual interest high throughout.
Then there’s the fart jokes. It’s broader than that, but the creators of Boss Baby know where their bread is buttered. One scene shows an indignant Boss Baby being powdered on his bottom. A noisy puff of air makes the talcum fly and the audience laugh.
Boss Baby lacks the emotional heft of a film like Inside Out, but adjusting expectations accordingly, it’ll keep little ones laughing and parents amused. That’s a good day at the office.
Boss Baby opens March 31, 2017.