The Boss Baby Movie Reviews

Parents need to know that The Boss Baby is an animated comedy inspired by Marla Frazee's popular picture book. It addresses issues related to sibling rivalry (particularly an older child's fears that there will be less love after a new baby arrives) and has a fair bit of peril, though much of it is played for laughs. Expect chases, nick-of-time escapes, and plenty of slapstick confrontations between babies and children/adults. There are also potentially scary scenes imagined by 7-year-old Tim (attacking animals, creepy hallways, looming figures) and a sequence in which two kids investigate a mysterious dark room and subsequently get captured. Not surprisingly for a film about babies, there's also plenty of body/potty humor, including an explosive fake-barf sequence, bare baby bottoms, and use of words like "fart," "poop," and "doody." Other language includes some insults, and there's a scene in which it's implied that Tim tried a Long Island Ice Tea and didn't like it (champagne is also served in first class). The way the movie treats puppies -- like a factory-produced product -- may bother some viewers, and the fact that the boys travel to Las Vegas on their own may need some explaining ... as will the movie's take on where babies come from. But there are clear messages about the value of teamwork and the fact that there is enough love for everyone in a family. And parents who loved Alec Baldwin in 30 Rock will surely laugh (Boss Baby is basically a mini Jack Donaghy).

Considering that it's based on a cute but pretty story-lite picture book, this animated comedy exceeds expectations -- especially if you're a fan of Baldwin's work on 30 Rock. His character in The Boss Baby is pretty much a miniature Jack Donaghy; Boss Baby throws money at problems, dismisses someone as a "hippie," and, when asked to deliver a cutting insult, comes up with "you went to community college!" (There's also an in-joke reference to Baldwin's cutthroat-businessman role in Glengarry Glen Ross that may make some parents smile.) And the script in general is pretty witty, with clever lines and unexpected twists. Tim's Gandalf-like talking-wizard alarm clock, "Wizzie," is funny, as is a sequence in which Boss Baby tries to encourage Tim to ride his bike by rattling off lines from motivational posters.

The movie is sure to give families with siblings a way to talk about the challenges of being an older brother or sister -- with the nice reassurance that there's always enough love to go around. And Tim and Boss Baby do learn to work together; their eventual affection for each other is sweet. That said, the puppy mill-esque portrayal of Puppy Co. is sure to irk dog lovers, and Tim's parents are clueless even by cartoon-parent standards. But if you can overlook those issues -- and you don't mind some pretty epic barf scenes -- The Boss Baby is a fun, if not instant-classic, movie that parents and kids can enjoy together.

The Boss Baby Movie Credits

DreamWorks Animation and the director of Madagascar invite you to meet a most unusual baby. He wears a suit, speaks with the voice and wit of Alec Baldwin, and stars in the animated comedy, DreamWorks' The Boss Baby. The Boss Baby is a hilariously universal story about how a new baby's arrival impacts a family, told from the point of view of a delightfully unreliable narrator, a wildly imaginative 7 year old named Tim. With a sly, heart-filled message about the importance of family, DreamWorks' The Boss Baby is an authentic and broadly appealing original comedy for all ages.
Rating: PG (for some mild rude humor)
Genre: Animation, Comedy, Kids & Family
Directed By: Tom McGrath
Written By: Michael McCullers
In Theaters: Mar 31, 2017  Wide
Box Office: $50,198,902.00
Runtime: 97 minutes
Studio: DreamWorks Animation