The Boss Baby

• Directed by Tom McGrath
• March 12, 2017 (Miami) / March 31, 2017 (United States)

Voice Cast

• Theodore Lindsey “Ted” Templeton Jr. / The Boss Baby-Alec Baldwin
• Timothy Leslie “Tim” Templeton-Miles Bakshi
• Adult Tim (the narrator)-Tobey Maguire
• Ted Templeton-Jimmy Kimmel
• Janice Templeton-Lisa Kudrow
• Francis E. Francis / Super Colossal Big Fat Boss Baby (CEO of Puppy Co and former CEO of BabyCorp)-Steve Buscemi
• Eugene Francis-Conrad Vernon
• Wizzie-James McGrath
• Jimbo-David Soren
• Tabitha Templeton-Nina Zoe Bakshi
• Story Bear-James Ryan
• Triplets-Eric Bell Jr.
• Staci-ViviAnn Yee
• The Big Boss Baby (Boss Baby’s boss)-Edie Mirman

A young boy realizes that his new baby brother is no normal baby and is actually on a mission to stop the CEO of Puppy Co.

The Boss Baby is an interesting animated feature that flew under my radar for quite some time. I kind of regret that as I enjoyed this film. The story presented here is told through the eyes of a seven-year-old child and mixes moments of childhood fantasy in with the story to the point I wondered at points how much was actual story and how much was fanciful imaginings.

A lot of the story relies on the cluelessness of the parents to the obvious oddities of their new son Theodore Lindsey “Ted” Templeton Jr. (The Boss Baby). How can they not notice the baby in the suit with a briefcase? They seem completely unaware that they were not the ones who provided it and this is explained away as part of the baby process.

Their eldest son Timothy Leslie “Tim” Templeton sees what is really going on but his attempts to gain proof are thwarted. He is jealous of his new brother who is getting loads of attention and feels a bit marginalized. Fantasy and reality blend in his world through childish imaginings to the point his Gandalf-esque talking alarm clock has regular conversations with him.

In this world babies appear to be quite literally delivered from a place called BabyCorp. Some are selected for families while others are identified for work in the corporate offices. That is where the Boss Baby comes from. He has been assigned to the Templeton Family whose parents work for Puppy Co.

In this world babies retain their memories of their actual origin until their pacifier is taken away after which they lose those memories. That is why we all think babies are actually born. BabyCorp babies retain their youth and gain their intelligence from drinking the Secret Baby Formula,

Boss Baby is a hyper business minded child. He is a caricature of the business tycoon. He sends out memos but accomplishes nothing actually and is more than a bit paralyzed when it becomes clear he actually has to be productive in order to not only keep his job but to stop the Puppy Co plot.

There is a new breed of puppy about to be unveiled by Puppy Co and its CEO Francis E. Francis. Francis E. Francis was once known as Super Colossal Big Fat Boss Baby, former CEO of BabyCorp who lost his job because he was lactose intolerant and started to grow up and is now a bitter old man. He holds on his memories of the truth about babies because his pacifier was never taken away. His plan hinges on large on getting a sample of the Secret Baby Formula. Ooooo…

During the course of the story as these two brothers fight to stop the plot they bond and become a family. What else would you expect? Tim cooperates with Ted because that is the easiest way to get rid of his brother since he will head back to corporate once the mission is over.

The story opens and closes with a narration that serves serves to frame the related events as a fanciful story to prep the now adult Tim’s young daughter for the arrival of her new baby sister. It is an interesting spin on what could have otherwise been a run-of-the-mill animated fantasy story. That is until the new baby stands up and is decked out in a fashion similar to her uncle when he first arrived.

From what I understand the film is extremely loosely based on a 2010 picture book of the same name by author Marla Frazee. I have not read it myself but from I have read about it this movie takes the concepts in the book to an extreme.

As much as I enjoyed this movie, I just cannot see myself as a child enjoying it. At least not as much as I did as an adult. This works because to an extent we as adults have lost touch a little with ourselves as children and have a hard time recalling those days. When I saw such stories as a child I thought they were fun but silly because I knew things were not like that.

The Boss Baby is an entertaining film. It does not break any new ground, but it does have fun with what it does. This is a watch it for adults, but kids may be like blah.