Film: “The Boss Baby”; Director: Tom McGrath; Cast: Alec Baldwin, Steve Buscemi, Jimmy Kimmel, Lisa Kudrow, Miles Bakshi, Tobey Maguire, James McGrath; Rating: ***1/2
“The Boss Baby” is a cute, overtly dramatic animated film which at the core is about a child’s imagination pertaining to sibling rivalry and a highly classified, industrial espionage.
The film follows the seven-year-old Tim Leslie Templeton (Miles Bakshi) an only child with an overactive imagination. With all the attention he receives from his doting parents; Dad (Jimmy Kimmel) and Mom (Lisa Kudrow), Tim is convinced that he and his parents form an ideal family unit. But his happiness is short-lived, when his parents decide to bring home a younger brother for him.
Theodore Linsey Templeton (Alex Baldwin) is “no ordinary baby”. Dressed in a business suit carting a briefcase, he is bossy and a complete attention seeker.
When his parent’s attention towards him gets divided, Tim feels neglected and even questions, “You can’t be fired from your family, can you'”
Soon, Tim develops animosity towards his younger sibling, but is helpless till he hears his little baby brother speak over a phone, about a conspiracy. He learns that his brother, who calls himself “Boss Baby”, is actually a management stooge for the Baby Corp, a company theoretically in danger of losing its market share to Puppy Co. – a company responsible for delivering pet puppies.
Despite the two brothers being at logger heads, the unwilling siblings agree to work together to stop Puppy Co. from launching the most adorable new dog breed, to ensure Boss Baby gets a promotion that will sweep him right out of the Templeton house forever.
Alec Baldwin lends his voice to Boss Baby and with his right tenor and pitch, he is perfectly cast. He is hilarious as the Boss and the animation perfectly complements his vocal performance.
He is aptly supported by; Miles Bakshi as his older brother Tim, Steve Buscemi as the villain Francis Francis and Toby Maguire as the narrator and the older version of Tim.
The writing is innovatively fresh. While the concept is intriguing and well-executed, the opening scene, sets the tone of the narrative and is the best scene of the film. But, the plot gets monotonous and dull within an hour of its run time, and the momentum of the narrative becomes mechanical and loses steam. Nevertheless, with hyper active characters and light refreshing humour, the moments are enjoyable.
Visually, the film is exciting although a few scenes remind you of the film “Storks”, especially the conveyor belt scene. Apart from that, the animation is spectacular. All characters are faithfully created. They look appealing and truly alive. Also, each frame is vibrant and colourful. The action sequences add that extra punch to the narrative.
The song, “What the world needs now is love, sweet love…” gives the right emotional punch and conveys the message of the tale.
The film is a light entertainer that will wow children and adults alike.
By Troy Ribeiro
