Believe it or not there was a time when DreamWorks Animation was a prestige studio making gorgeous masterpieces like The Prince of Egypt and How to Train Your Dragon.
And now we have this…
How far DreamWorks has sunk. I didn’t understand the appeal of the first The Boss Baby film but now a sequel so obviously devoid of ideas it makes me both irritated and upset.
But hold on. Let me calm down so we can talk about the positives of The Boss Baby: Family Business…there are a few. First, I wish the movie had abandoned the baby nonsense and been about young Tabitha trying to fit in at the gifted and talented school. Those scenes were good and her character was compelling. I especially liked a musical dance sequence to Cat Stevens ‘If You Want to Sing Out’. It is unquestionably the highlight of the film.
The animation is also well done with some nice uses of 2D in dream sequences and the score by Hans Zimmer works well for the story.
And then there is all the baby nonsense with Ted (Alec Baldwin) and Tim (James Marsden replacing Tobey Maguire) all grown up getting turned back into babies to help the new boss Baby Tina (Amy Sedaris) defeat Jeff Goldblum baby from taking over the world.
To say I dislike this baby world and story would be an understatement. Evidently it appeals to others but not me. I hate the design of the characters especially the adults with the bulbous heads and giant eyes. I hate the story with the brothers fighting and then being turned back into babies. Groan.
Most of all I hate the humor. It’s for the most part crass, unappealing and lazy. For example, there’s a scene in this movie that has the 2 adult babies fighting and pulling each other’s nipples while ‘Time Warp’ from The Rocky Horror Picture Show accompanies them. You know for kids…
And there are so many jokes only adults will understand like references to Shawshank Redemption and other R rated films into the script. I can laugh at puerile humor when done well but this was so bland and didn’t get a chuckle out of me. If you liked the first one maybe you’ll enjoy this more than I did. I really can’t say but it is at best lukewarm versions of old jokes.
Watching The Boss Baby: Family Business was one of those moments where I think to myself ‘what am I doing with my life watching this?”. There is so much quality entertainment right now for kids that don’t waste your time with this terrible film (except for Tabitha. That was good)
3 out of 10
Frown Worthy
The Boss Baby: Family Business will be available in theaters and on Peacock July 2nd
I knew I had no desire to see this. Thank you for confirming my suspicions. 🙁
I was a fan of the first film, but the trailers for this one don’t have me excited.
I remember watching The Boss Baby 1 three years ago as a library rental, and I hated it because it was mean-spirited and had lots of potty humor. Even if it did have decent animation, the movie suffered from the worst story in a DreamWorks film since Home. The idea of greenlighting a Boss Baby sequel instead of something with potential, like the scrapped films Me and My Shadow, BOO, and Monkeys of Mumbai, baffles me and makes me want to shout ‘You cretins! You don’t know what art is! I’LL SHOW YOU!’
I have not seen this movie, but I’ve seen both trailers, and if there was a Razzi Award for Worst Animated Feature, Boss Baby 2 might be a contender.
Dear Rachel,
can you watch and do a review of DreamWorks’ Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans on Netflix?
Your friend,
Josiah Mielke
Only thing is I’m super behind on the series so it might take me a while. Do you have to watch all of them to understand this one?
It does help if you’ve seen Trollhunters, a few episodes of 3 Below (namely the last couple), and Wizards. But trust me, the movie is the worth the wait.