The business world has been the subject of a lot of films like “Wall Street” to “Working Girl” to “The Secret of My Success”. With a wide variety of competitors like Wal-Mart, Costco, Apple, Samsung, and even Coke and Pepsi, there is a great amount of material out there to work with. But how about a film that looks at it in a new light.
“The Boss Baby” is directed by Tom McGrath (Megamind, Madagascar) with the voice talents of Miles Christopher Bakshi (Shrek Forever After, Shrek the Halls), Alec Baldwin (The Departed, 30 Rock), Eric Bell Jr. (Almost Christmas, Steven Universe), Steve Buscemi (Fargo, The Big Lebowski), Jimmy Kimmel (Project X, Jimmy Kimmel Live), Lisa Kudrow (Analyze This, Neighbors), Toby Maguire (Spider-Man, Pleasantville), and ViviAnn Yee (The Crooked Man, Frank and Kass). It is the story of Tim (Bakshi/Maguire), a 7-year old whose life is good with his mom (Kudrow) and dad (Kimmel). When his new baby brother (Baldwin) arrives, he tends to take the parents attention away from Tim, and when Tim realizes the baby can talk and has the mind of an adult, he finds out that the baby is on a mission that highlights the battle for love amongst puppies and babies.
The animation here is not visually mind-blowing but it is still very colorful and visual stimulating, fitting its mood well. I did like the story, which is good for the entire family. The big issue I have with the storyline however is that it can get too complicated for some of the younger audiences. At a little over 90 minutes, it does not drag, keeping me interested. There was a good mix of comedy along with the more heartfelt parts of the story, with some references to past classic films.
The voice acting is good and it gets the compliment from me in that I did not think of the actors when I heard their voices. In fact, I through the role of older Tim was played by Josh Gad when it was actually voiced by Maguire. I do have to give a major shout out to Baldwin, whose voice is PERFECT for the role of the baby. I do recommend this film for the entire family as a matinee showing in the theaters.