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SPOILERS DOWN THE PATH; THE DISCUSSION BELOW WILL NOT BE COMPREHENSIVE WITHOUT IT.
TREAD CAREFULLY. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.
SPOILERS DOWN THE PATH; THE DISCUSSION BELOW WILL NOT BE COMPREHENSIVE WITHOUT IT.
TREAD CAREFULLY. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.
Tom McGrath's The Boss Baby has an unconventionally weird concept for a storyline. The makers try an idea where babies or pets being produced by respective corporations for humans into a full-fledged motion picture. Kicking this idea off, we're shown how babies are manufactured, with male and female valves separating genders, before segregating them further into families or management. And it's unbelievably cute!
The animation's stylistic choices lends a helping hand in the process such as characters' catchy movements, office cubicles zoom out and Theodore / The Boss Baby (voiced by Alec Baldwin) stuck in a puppy plush to name a few. Also, the way the creators have fused in a child's imaginative faculty into everyday situations allowed boundless creativity for visual benefits, while having distinguished parents' versus kids' perspectives at the same time! Prison trap and triangle strength are examples. Not to mention, the colors are fluorescent too!
We understand that the plot revolves around a kid getting accustomed to a newborn in the house, with a unique spin. The 'unique spin' here is the reason for mixed feelings about this motion picture. On one hand, it's fun to see adult elements infused with a baby. Mystery surrounding this infant keeps us wondering if all these are after all, another one of Timothy's (voiced by Miles Bakshi) wild imaginations. But, even at this point, we still couldn't buy into the fact that babies arrive in taxis. We totally have no clue how the parents could just turn a blind eye or completely misses the fact that the baby's wearing a suit and watch!
As soon as we learn about the grand scheme the plot's headed to through forced-in heavy expositions about Baby Corp. and Super Colossal Big Fat Boss Baby's backstory, The Boss Baby is no longer the annoying villain, and secondly, it prompts us to recalculate the whole point of the Baby Corp's existence. What's their end goal? To stop puppies, fishes, cats and other pets from dominating toddler population? The whole willing suspension of disbelief is stretched too far and too much is the root of the problem here.
Reversals and revelations are cool, but no effort from the protagonist is involved in claiming these valuable information. Instead, it's delivered to him and his sidekick. While Timothy's and Theodore's bonding section is enticing initially, the whole adventure post Third Act is below average at best. Mindless clown acts with the disguised baby sitter and unrelated helpline via Elvis getup are part of the tedious show. Whiff of death moment during the flight take-off is sad and impactful though.