New to On Demand: The Boss Baby

The Boss Baby © 2016 DreamWorks Animation All Rights Reserved

Families grow every day. New babies come home with excited parents and two becomes three or three becomes four. But rarely do babies arrive by themselves in a taxi. That’s what Tim sees out his window when the boss baby (voice of Alec Baldwin) comes to Tim’s home. In the film The Boss Baby, Tim is no longer the subject of all his parents’ attention — he must share with this strange new member of his family.

Tim (Miles Bakshi) has a vivid imagination and is constantly creating exciting stories with his mom (Lisa Kudrow) and dad (Jimmy Kimmel). They fight dragons and have some great imaginary playtime together. But now Tim’s life is different. Mom and dad are spending more time with the new baby and all of Tim’s special moments are not just his own. Tim realizes something doesn’t seem quite right with this new brother of his, and he is determined to find out what that might be.

The boss baby has been sent to Tim’s family to get to the bottom of a serious matter. It seems PuppyCo., where both of Tim’s parents work, is ready to launch a new creation that stays a puppy forever. This would steal all of the love that is currently given to babies and the boss baby must prevent that — but can he do it in time?

Ah, imagination. It’s a great thing to have and something we tend to lose as adults. We stressed less in our imaginary worlds and found ways to cope with life-changing events. The Boss Baby gives us a chance to really dig into a stress that kids deal with all the time: adding members to their family. And at the root of the film is a really poignant and relevant story about the acceptance of a new family member.

With an animated film, the filmmakers are able to tell the story with humor and without a heavy hand. Fun rules the day and it takes acceptance of the good and the bad in everyone and everything we do. We’d all do better to remember that time when we needed to accept a brother or sister of our own.

Voice work is fun and funny with Baldwin leading the way. He gives us exactly the voice we are looking for in the baby who is leading the charge. His lines are delivered with wit, a wry sense of humor and just enough snark to engage us.

Although uneven at times, The Boss Baby is a clever rendition of a classic story. A story of acceptance, a story of change and of course a story of growing for all. Witty and fun, this is a solid film for families, both those who have stopped expanding and those who see a new addition in their future. As in most families, the baby is the boss.

The Boss Baby is available On Demand beginning July 25. Check your cable system for availability.