DreamWorks’ animated movies can be hit-or-miss. For every good movie like “Shrek” or “How to Train your Dragon,” there is a bad movie like “Shark Tale” or “Turbo.” Unfortunately, “The Boss Baby” is another bad DreamWorks movie to add to the list. It is not the worst DreamWorks movie by any means and it is definitely not the worst movie of 2017, but it is still a mediocre kids film that moviegoers will not lose any sleep over by skipping.
The film focuses on a 7-year-old boy named Tim who lives happily with his parents. That is, until a talking, business suit-wearing infant known as the Boss Baby (Alec Baldwin) comes into his life, resulting in Tim’s parents focusing their attention more on the baby, rather than on Tim. Jealous of this, he immediately forms a hatred for the Boss Baby. That is, until the baby explains why exactly he came into Tim’s life. Tim’s parents work for a pet company called Puppy Co., which has a sinister plan to make puppies cuter than babies. After making a deal that if they stop Puppy Co. Boss Baby will let Tim have his old life back, the two work together to end Puppy Co.’s sinister plot.
“The Boss Baby,” while far from perfect, does have its good elements. Alec Baldwin is a great casting choice for the Boss Baby. Having already played a snarky businessman in “30 Rock,” it is easy to picture him as a snarky businessman in this movie, despite him being an infant. The animation style is very unique, with the character designs and environments looking very stylized and cartoony. The story is not exactly original, but the plot element of puppies slowly stealing the spotlight from babies is actually a clever idea.
Though the film has its share of really bad humor, it also has a surprising amount of good humor; the funniest scene being a chase involving Tim, the Boss Baby, and a Puppy Co. henchman. There is a lot of hilarious physical comedy as well as exciting action during the chase.
Sadly the film has its share of bad humor. Focusing on a baby, of course the film features plenty of fart jokes and toilet humor. Also, there are way too many scenes that feature the baby’s rear, almost as many as Nicki Minaj’s “Anaconda” music video. The plot can be very predictable too. It is the standard story of characters who hate each other, end up having to work together and become friends throughout the adventure. Films like “Toy Story” and “Shrek” have told this story much better than “The Boss Baby” does.
“The Boss Baby” while not being one of the worst films of the year and having chuckle-worthy moments here and there, is not really worth the price of admission. In fact, it would be more entertaining to look after an actual baby. For those looking for a great animated kids film, “The Boss Baby” is not worth the time and money.