Review of the latest releases
THE BOSS BABY 2: FAMILY BUSINESS
(PG, 107 mins) Animation/Comedy/ Adventure/ Romance/Musical. Featuring the voices of James Marsden, Alec Baldwin, Amy Sedaris, Eva Longoria, Ariana Greenblatt, Jeff Goldblum, James McGrath. Director: Tom McGrath.
Released: October 22 (UK & Ireland)
JUST because you grow up doesn’t mean you have to grow apart.
Those inspirational words, spoken by a new Boss Baby to estranged adult siblings in Tom McGrath’s colourful but derivative sequel, perfectly sum up the wholesome and nostalgic intentions of Michael McCullers’ script for this computer-animated caper.
Childhood should be cherished and venerated and once the wideeyed curiosity and innocence of those wonder years have been tainted, the damage is irreparable.
The Boss Baby 2: Family Business introduces an experimental formula perfected by boffins at BabyCorp, which reverts cynical, world-weary adults to children for 48 hours to remind them of the joys of formative years.
McGrath’s picture exploits this temporary physical regression to recycle gags from the first film, which compelled a seven-year-old boy to work with his secret agent younger brother to thwart a diabolical plot.
In the sequel, an educational maverick voiced by a disappointingly low-key Jeff Goldblum threatens the status quo. Pacing is exceedingly brisk and only slows noticeably in a chaotic final act when screenwriter McCullers gets teary-eyed rebuilding bridges between his characters to ensure peace and good will to all men and women by the end credits. Alec Baldwin’s virtuoso turn from the first film as the wisecracking Boss Baby is dialled down for the rollicking reprise but he still enjoys the lion’s share of one-liners. Thirty years after Tim Templeton discovered baby brother Ted Jr was a highly skilled operative for BabyCorp, the siblings have grown apart and largely forgotten the gung-ho exploits of their childhood. While Ted (Baldwin) flits between business meetings in a private helicopter as CEO of Ted Templeton Financial, Tim (James Marsden) has raised a family with wife Carol (Eva Longoria). Eldest daughter Tabitha (Ariana Greenblatt) is an academic high achiever at the Acorn Centre for Advanced Childhood run by Dr Erwin Armstrong (Goldblum). Infant youngest daughter Tina (Amy Sedaris) simply gurgles with glee at her father’s imaginative stories. Late one night, Tim discovers Tina is also an operative from BabyCorp on a top-secret mission to gather intelligence on Dr Armstrong and his unconventional teaching methods. “If Armstrong’s philosophy keeps spreading it could be the end of childhood,” warns Tina. She provides Tim and Ted with BabyCorp’s experimental formula so they can infiltrate the Acorn Centre in the guise of a seven-yearold boy and toddler. The Boss Baby 2: Family Business is an inoffensive intergenerational jolly, which allows Tim to befriend his daughter Tabitha in the guise of new enrolee Marcos Lightspeed and help her overcome insecurities about singing in the school’s winter pageant. Animation is crisp and vocal performances are solid if unremarkable including a lively cameo from James McGrath as Tim’s Gandalf-esque alarm clock Wizzie.
DENNIS AND GNASHER: UNLEASHED! OPERATION NOISE
(U, 72 mins)
Released: October 22 (UK & Ireland, selected cinemas)
A COMPENDIUM of episodes of the computer-animated TV series Dennis & Gnasher: Unleashed! based on popular characters from The Beano.
Dennis (voiced by Freddie Fox), his beloved dog Gnasher (Boris Hiestand) and fearless friends JJ (Kathryn Drysdale), Rubi (Kelly Marie Stewart), Pieface (Ryan Sampson) and his pet potato Paul run amok on the streets of Beanotown.
Anything can and usually does happen when Dennis and the gang embrace their mischievous and rebellious natures, turning up the volume for this collection.
The youngsters’ antics are a test of patience and resolve for teachers and parents alike.