There’s a new boss in town, and his imposing stature leaves slightly more to be desired, as ‘The Boss Baby’. A man named Tim Templeton (Tobey Maguire) narrates and describes his imaginative and adventurous seven-year-old self (Miles Christopher Bakshi) as being envious of his fast-talking, briefcase-carrying baby brother named the “Boss Baby” (Alec Baldwin). When he goes on a mission to win back the affection of his parents (Jimmy Kimmel and Lisa Kudrow), he finds out about a secret plot by Puppy Co.’s CEO Francis E. Francis (Steve Buscemi) which revolves around his baby brother and threatens to destabilize the balance of love in the world. Both brothers must unite to save their parents and restore order to the world and prove that love is indeed an infinite force. ‘The Boss Baby’ is directed by Tom McGrath, and is rated PG for some mild rude humor.
The Boss Baby is the very definition of the term ‘Throwaway kids movie’. It’s one whose investment of 92 minutes isn’t a burden or crippling to the intelligence of audience members who take it in, but rather just something that is easily forgettable a week after you leave the theater. There are very few chances taken, or personal originalities that make McGrath’s animated feature crawl on its own two knees. The animation texture and physical features on characters are distinctly borrowed from Mr. Peabody and Sherman, a movie that McGrath himself worked on. The big eyed designs, as well as lack of fluidity in animated hair movements more than support this claim, and the film (like its earlier counterpart) has a squeaky clean visual palate to it that constantly reminds me of post-2000 Nickelodeon cartoons. As for the overall structure, Toy Story is borrowed once again to perhaps further cement it once again as the most influential kids movie of all time. The concept of two opposites coming together to send one back to where he belongs, and embarking on a long-distance journey, more than draws comparisons to the better feature from Pixar, and with movies like The Secret Life of Pets, and pretty much any movie where the object comes to life, this is becoming a popular trend among children’s cinema in the 21st century.
Through a couple of facelifts, the movie does feel slightly in-cohesive with its act-to-act structure. The first act does come out of the gate swinging, with precision in pacing, as well as comic timing firing away on all cylinders. Most of this early exposition we saw in trailers, so there’s not a ton of surprises. What did set me back a bit with seeing all of these trailers scenes is what would be left for the remainder of the movie. More on that in a second. I think what preserves the first act as the strength of the film is how conventional but accurate the story plays these characters and their conflicts. The house setting is perfect because that is where the fight for struggle resigns, but unfortunately the second act feels like a completely opposite film from the slapstick feud that was previously built. The idea of ambition can be a negative if the story feels like it is being over-complicated, and The Boss Baby quickly turns into a road trip movie complete with the most obsolete of screenplay offerings, as well as ridiculous antagonist subplot that triggered the sound of slowly omitting gas from the energy of this film. The third act delivers on as-promised conflict resolution, but it does it with fifteen minutes left in the film, an obvious foretelling of where the remainder is headed once you see the setup. A brother Vs brother film would’ve been more than enough for me, but unfortunately The Boss Baby’s ever-changing atmosphere between acts leaves the syncing acts feeling unnerving and even jaded.
The humor to the film is certainly acceptable for all younger audiences. What disappointed me was that the film rarely tries to appeal to adults like wiser, funnier offerings from Dreamworks or Pixar, and instead soils itself with juvenile material that while effective, does leave slightly more to be desired. The best bits to me in the entire film involved a creative aspect to imagination that is rarely represented for the dreamer in all of us. Tim enjoys every day adventures in his own mind, with the reality events transpiring around him. For instance, if he’s taking a bath, he dreams of being a scuba diver who clashes with the angriest of sharks. If the childlike innocence of dreaming didn’t tickle my funny bone enough, the exceptional transpiration from fantasy to reality is one that adds an immensely important layer of fun to the project. Just as Tim’s awareness to reality is happening, you see a physical line of clarity that slowly overtakes the dream world and surrounds him with the real world. It’s one of the touches of adventure that I thought played very strongly into the film’s comic core when it wasn’t settling for poo and fart jokes.
As for the voice work from this notable cast of influential personalities, all reign supreme inhabiting these characters, but lack the element of disguise in losing their familiarity. Alec Baldwin is just that…Alec Baldwin. The purpose is for him to have that business class vocal levels to combine with a physical counterpart that alienates the former. So you can’t say he’s doing a bad job, he’s just being him and that’s good enough for this film. Tobey Maguire offers a soft, subtle narration throughout the film, and I think he was the right choice for someone who channels the blend of child and adult baritones. That is no insult. Kimmel and Kudrow play it too safely, and I never for a minute forgot who vocalized their respective characters. Amazingly enough, not one person cast in this film can grab that brass ring of vocal abilities, and that great lack breathes a message of quick payday for anyone wrapped in this production.
The Boss Baby never left me kicking or screaming, but its pointless antagonist subplot, as well as lack of originality to stand out even in the slightest against the competition, doom McGrath to an offering of bland proportions in a genre that is constantly raising the bar. The illustrations are promising enough, particularly in the blurring line of fantasy and reality, and Baldwin generates enough interest with his raspy, dry delivery. But it isn’t enough to hold the comic integrity of a script this flimsy for an hour-and-a-half, and often overshoots its delivery frequently. This baby tries too hard, earns too little, and is in desperate need of a changing.
5/10