Review of The Boss Baby: Family Business

LIKES:

Animation:

• No surprise, the animation studios know what to do with the animation software when they invest in their work. Boss baby's dive into the realm of BabyCorp still has the flair that made it so much fun in, with interesting, big eyed design and a colorful setting that grabs attentions. Seeing the kids do surprisingly adult like moves, and capturing the anatomical function of the body is still done super well. No glitchy frame shifts, no dropped frame rates or obvious cuts to skip, and they don't take the lazy pathway and avoid doing things because it might take too much to do it.

Cute:

• Babies are cute, babies are adorable and babies can be trouble. Boss Baby proved just that in the presentation for the first installment, but to the level that did not annoy or make us want to walk out. Well, the sequel manages to do that once again, and perhaps to a better level than the first. The adorable baby calls of the new junior exec Tina make will melt the hearts of parents at that familiar call that brings joy. Not your cup of tea? Well don't worry, the family business extends to so many other cute factors to make this a family friendly adventure that will have many saying awwww. The new babies are cute, the family aspects are touching, and even the real life practical lessons have these elements of adorable nature to them and though a bit annoying at times, is mostly used to elevate the movie. Even the main villain is adorable in his own right, and though a bit odd for his intro, I loved how they embedded cuteness into him.

The Morals:

• It would not be an animated feature without some life lessons being doled out to the young audience members and their parents. Family values are the core theme of the movie and it takes multiple facets during the course of the adventure. Reconnecting with family members as the trailers have shown gives adults a good lesson in the importance of work to not drift apart. The ideas of growing up too fast and yet refusing to grow up are well represented in this film, helping show how a balance is really the key to not losing the joy in life. Even more, the relative concept of family love and the stress of school are big elements in this theme and though they do trudge into preachy, in your face moments, it's still not the worst thing like the 90's sitcoms used to be.

The Story:

• Simplistic? Yeah, it's the boss baby and so the complexity is not the most surprising or eye opening that we've seen in other studio works. However, the story is indeed fun, and works on so many levels to ingrain the morals into the movie without swallowing it whole. It's a sweet tale that hits on many levels, making sure to balance the adult and kid elements in a manner that never leans one way or the other. The simple layout also allows for the gimmicks they want to neatly arrange themselves into an adventure that makes sense, and not throwing too many convenience factors in that we sometimes get. Throw in just how much fun it is in regards to the pacing and entertainment components, and for once I felt I was watching a movie with little to no political agenda at all. It was a well-rounded tale that certainly was not groundbreaking, but also not too limited either so that's a victory to me.

The Voice Acting:

• A choice of voice cast is essential for bringing these characters fully to life, and Boss baby's ensemble is certainly an ace in my book. James Marsden does well in the role, being the lame dad, nerd voice, but lacing it with the care and compassion of a loving father layered the character well and maximized the emotional moments. Amy Sedaris as the new baby, was funny, if a bit annoying/over the top, which worked given Tina's character. That nasally voice pitch and energy worked as sort of a parody to the normal chief of operations, and managed to remain limited enough to not over shadow the other aspects of the movie. Jeff Goldblum as the head of the school/professor, was perfect, an almost smarter, less bohemian version of the grandmaster that we saw in Thor. He was fun, witty, and that voice of his delivering his character's thoughts and insights was again arranged quite well to truly enjoy. As for Alec Baldwin, man was he on fire again. That snide, snooty, arrogant persona he radiates comes through in spades for the Boss Baby once more, adding that level of intelligence and confidence that made the character so much fun in the first film. He elevates the performance more in this movie, the direction of the character allowing him to do more with the character than the previous installment and I really liked it.

Clever/Comedy Fun:

• the best element of the movie though, comes in the clever writing of the film and the comedy styles that followed. Boss Baby 2 thrives in the fact of poking fun at things, and even more so challenging the modern trends with the classics for what styles work in a movie. Without revealing too much, the movie manages to utilize the morals as not only learning points, but also laugh sources as the error of certain ways of thinking is poked at by our group. The famous toy Wizzie hits comedic goals with pointing out the character flaws, all the while falling into his own limitations is just one example of what I'm talking about. Yet other sources of comedy are thrown in that left me in stitches due to how well timed they were. You want babies showing obsessions that only adults should have? Done. You want well timed one-liners utilizing future merchandise? Done. Need to see babies crafting works that are way above their caliber? That's there too. Along with so many pokes at things like how ridiculous school competitions have become, or how Enya's music can potentially cause insanity. It's well balanced, it's got a variety, and even more it's not the pure focus of the film and forced into our faces.

DISLIKES:

Some More Twists:

• As I said, I enjoyed the movie for just the simplistic fun, but that does not mean I would have liked a little more challenge to be integrated into the film. Disney shows us how they push the envelope, sometimes too much, in their movies, but they at least get some surprises and depth that leave you bewildered. Not so much in this movie, and maybe a little more diving into those realms could have opened up a little more for the qualities I enjoyed in this movie.

Better Utilization of Characters:

• Perhaps the second to worst thing about the movie, is that the characters are in need of a little more balance and integration into the film. The mom is one character that I felt kind of got the shaft given the involvement of just about every other member of the family. Used primarily for comedic purposes, there could have been more plot elements to integrate her into, or perhaps a side story involving primarily Tina trying to do her job while the mom tried to figure out more. Something needed to help take her involvement to the same level that the others were integrated in. However, there were other characters that really needed more elevation namely, the other classmates of Tabitha. The promo shows a baby who is into bad boys, who actually has a Dr. In front of her name, I would have liked to see more involvement with given the points. Was it just a clever name, or was there more? Don't know, but she could have been fun. And Tabitha's rivals were sort of one and done bullies that did little to muck up the gears and offer a way for some slight political agenda work depending on how you look at it. These characters may come back in the third sequel that can arise, but it would have been nice to see things from a new light.

Trailers ruin a lot:

• I have a friend who states how much he avoids trailers due to how much they give away. While I think there are some trailers needed, Boss Baby's advertising got carried away with showing too much of the fun themes of the movie. Of the at least six combinations I have seen, many big parts and fun elements the movie holds and that further diluted the surprise away from me. In this case, my friend's style is right of not going too excessive with the trailers, or at least doing what he does and avoiding them to help maintain the surprise.

The songs:

• A sweet component no doubt, but the Boss Baby was never known for being a soundtrack heavy component. So the fact they went out of their way for two original songs was kind of lost on me from an inclusion/logic point. They were fine, they are going to bring in cash, and they certainly accomplish the goals of moral driving and cute family themes. However, it could have been accomplished in other means and I think I would have liked focus on other characters over the attempt to induce tears with the melodies. A minor flaw for me, but hey we roll with it.

The VERDICT:

Boss Baby: Family Business, turned out to be a surprise by how much fun I had with the simplistic tale laid before me. It's linear plot works well to bring in the elements of fun, layering the tale with lots of moral lessons.