There’s a lot more to ‘Boss Baby’ than just another animated brat
Who needs a movie about a tyrannical infant — or an infantile tyrant — anyway? You might be surprised to learn that you do. Although its advertising campaign seems to promise little more than an animated comedy about a bratty baby in a business suit, "The Boss Baby" (adapted from the 2010 book by author and illustrator Marla Frazee) is a sweet adventure tale about sibling rivalry that ultimately becomes a moving tribute to family and brotherhood.
Seven-year-old Tim (voice of Miles Christopher Bakshi) is an only child, basking in the undivided attention of his parents. But this perfect life is upset by the arrival of a new baby brother (Alec Baldwin), who appears not in the usual fashion, but has been sent to Earth via a heavenly sorting procedure that divides newborns into loving family types and "management" babies, raised in cubicle farms and emerging into the world wearing three-piece suits and carrying briefcases.
From Tim's (admittedly unreliable) perspective, his unnamed middle-manager sibling uses play dates to conduct meetings, fielding business calls on a Fisher Price toy telephone.
Boss Baby demands complete attention from his parents, leaving Tim feeling neglected. This transforms "The Boss Baby" from a single-joke movie to a story with a deeper, more universal resonance. After all, who among us — even an only child — hasn't felt the pang of abandonment, if not sibling rivalry, at some point? Three stars (of four). Rated PG. Contains some rude potty humor. 97 minutes.