Review of The Boss Baby (2017) by Frame R — 03 Apr 2018

Let us change the diaper of the movie that will make you spend 8$ to see a baby in a suit.

THE BOSS BABY.

After Smurfs, my expectations aren't high for animation right now. So when a such a weird movie comes out, you can't fail to take notice, despite how passable it really is. The Boss Baby is one of the year's average mainstream animation offerings that is neither incredibly fun for parents nor kids. Alec Baldwin is a perfect fit for this nuisance of a toddler character but apart from its clever use of 3D and a riveting beginning, the film doesn't do much. One thing that becomes common knowledge once you develop and coherent way of thinking about cinema is that plot doesn't matter that much to the quality of the film but this is one example where the plot would always keep the movie from being good - in no way shape or form would I be invested in such a braindead, corporate-America digested plot that the only way we have to know it wasn't written by a 5 year-old is because it lacks imagination. Also, comparisons with Storks must abound: uncharacteristic feel, straight-forward plot, unfunny gags and pacing issues. It follows a (baby) formula whose acts are predictability so timed that you know what's happening next. Yet, what bugs me the most might be the animation, joining the ranks of movies that lack a visually captivating aesthetic to their characters, designing their "world" as an unmemorable made for TV animated series made in Scandinavia. That is specially surprising considering the studio behind it. DreamWorks has brought you Shrek and Kung Fu Panda and then decides not to give a damn and release Penguins of Madagascar, Home, Trolls and then this, decreasing gradually in quality. And as evidenced by the already announced Trolls 2, it works so... keep releasing films like the Boss Baby which is, in many ways, like the kid who is teething so hard he keeps biting everything within reach until all is covered with uninspired drool, not realizing that all problems could be solved if they just... took... a nap!