What if a baby spoke, and out came the voice of Alec Baldwin? If a twist on that idea can work well on Saturday Night Live for the past year, the forces behind The Boss Baby clearly hope it can do the same in their animated feature. Actually, the latter pre-dates the former, although it’s impossible to hear the 30 Rock star’s distinctive tones emanating from a suit-wearing, insult-flinging, power-hungry figure without making the obvious connection. Alas, the stroke of casting luck is one of the only notable aspects of director Tom McGrath (Madagascar and its two sequels) and screenwriter Michael McCullers’ (Mr. Peabody & Sherman) feature adaptation of Marla Frazee’s picture book.
On the page, The Boss Baby nods to the demands a newborn can place on parents’ time, which even those without children can understand. On the screen, it bundles this obvious observation with the lack of joy an older sibling feels at the expansion of his family, his suspicions that his new brother isn’t like ordinary infants, and several battles for love and happiness: within families, between sources of cuteness of the tiny human and animal kind, and in the struggle to balance work with the more enjoyable side of life.
That leaves seven-year-old Tim Templeton (voiced by Puss in Boots: The Three Diablos’ Miles Bakshi as a child and Pawn Sacrifice’s Tobey Maguire as an adult) and the titular interloper with substantial subjects to contemplate, though The Boss Baby is first and foremost hijinks-driven all-ages entertainment. When the not-quite-newborn arrives in a taxi, starts having proper conversations on a toy phone and corrals playdates into meetings, Tim knows that something is afoot — and given that he’s been feeling neglected of late, he’s spoiling to make his mother (Lisa Kudrow, The Girl on the Train) and father (Jimmy Kimmel, Ted 2) understand that their new addition isn’t quite right. Said diaper-wearing presence is indeed up to something that even the imaginative Tim couldn’t have guessed, springing from the company that furnishes the world with its next generations, and seeking to quell humanity’s growing love of adorable canines. And, in order to fulfil his mission and return the Templetons’ to their status quo, he needs help.
As they often can be in family-friendly efforts, weightier considerations are bandied about to give the appearance of thematic heft, but breezy slapstick gags remain the main aim of the game. It doesn’t take long for sibling rivalry to be replaced by the babies-versus-puppies section of the screenplay, though neither garners much more than cursory amusement. Following in the footsteps of Storks before it, The Boss Baby struggles to reconcile its attempts to wow children with colour and movement with its efforts to include enough content to appeal to adults. Audiences may be living in a golden age of animated movies about tykes and pets, but they’re also experiencing a wave of kid-oriented features that hope a quirky premise, charming critters, bright imagery and celebrity voices is enough to make them stand out.
For his efforts, Baldwin delivers more than what’s needed when a well-known adult lends his vocals to an infant. As the film’s creative forces intended, he’s the movie’s standout element, even with Steve Buscemi (Horace and Pete) also among the voice talent. Comparisons to Baldwin’s recent impersonations are easy to make, but it’s far from surprising that star shows more nuance playing a baby as opposed to a man-child. Alas, the underlying concept proves thin beyond its central casting, cheerful, offbeat and energetic as the execution may be. The live-action Look Who’s Talking franchise might’ve tried to demonstrate otherwise more than two decades ago; however laughing at a tot with a man’s voice works once, but rarely after that.
Rating: 2 stars out of 5
The Boss Baby
Director: Tom McGrath
USA, 2017, 97 mins
Release date: March 23
Distributor: Fox
Rated: G
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