Movie Review: ‘The Boss Baby: Family Business’

Review by James Lindorf

Summer blockbuster season is officially upon us. Last week saw the release of the big-budget action of F9, and this week we have the first animated movie for the whole family. To this point, audiences have shown that with the pandemic still hanging over our heads, they are not willing to take risks and spend money on anything but event movies. Earlier releases “Peter Rabbit 2” and “Spirit Untamed” which skewed younger and lacked a big-name voice cast and suffered at the box office. Baby Corp, however, has everything they need to be a big hit.

Business has been booming for Baby Corp after “The Boss Baby” made over 525 million at the box office on its way to a 2017 Oscar nomination for best-animated feature. Since then, Dreamworks and Netflix have partnered on four seasons of “The Boss Baby: Back in Business,” and this Friday will see the release of the highly anticipated sequel “The Boss Baby: Family Business.” Dreamworks is taking a page out of the Warner Brothers playbook and releasing “The Boss Baby: Family Business” in theaters and on the streaming service Peacock on July 2nd.

Former Boss Baby Ted (Alec Baldwin) and older brother Tim (James Marsden, X-Men franchise) are back, but they are not the tight-knit team they were as kids. Ted is now a hedge fund CEO known more for mailing lavish presents than gifting his family with his time. On the other hand, Tim is a stay-at-home dad who dedicates all his time to his family. Tim and his wife, Carol (Eva Longoria), live a quiet life in the suburbs with their super-smart 7-year-old daughter Tabitha (Ariana Greenblatt, Avengers: Infinity War) and adorable infant Tina (Amy Sedaris, Netflix’s BoJack Horseman). Tim uses his still, very active imagination to fill the home with laughter to the endless delight of Carol and Tina. WhileTabitha, who is at the top of her class at the prestigious Acorn Center for Advanced Childhood, idolizes her Uncle Ted.

Tim thinks his biggest concern is connecting with Tabitha and ensuring that she isn’t working too hard and missing out on her childhood. When baby Tina reveals that, like her uncle, she is a top-secret agent for Baby Corp, life at the Templeton house gets very complicated. Tina is on a mission to uncover the dark secrets behind Tabitha’s school and its mysterious founder, Dr. Erwin Armstrong (Jeff Goldblum). If she has any hope of completing the mission, she will have to reunite the brothers in ways they would never have imagined.

Director Tom McGrath and writer Michael McCullers both returned for this sequel with a lot to say about childhood and the importance of family. Alec Baldwin thrives with McCullers brand of snarky comedy. There aren’t many family movies out there that would be bold enough to make Norma Rae jokes, but Dreamworks is trying very hard to target every age range with this one. There are plenty of cheesy, insane moments that will drive kids wild with laughter, from baby ninjas, a pony with anger issues to an unfortunate run-in with a ball pit. McGrath was careful never to let things go off the rails by having enough grounding moments and targeted humor to keep parents from tuning out. Goldblum also helps in this regard. He is playing a great James Bond-style villain even. Goldblum isn’t trying to disguise who he is; Armstrong even has some of his quirky mannerisms. The voice, quirks, and over-the-top evil plot add a sense of comfort and familiarity for older audience members.

In a typical year, I would be confident in saying that Dreamworks has a bonafide hit on their hands, and the sequel should outperform the original at the box office. Money isn’t always an indicator of quality because fun is a huge selling point. “The Boss Baby: Family Business” probably won’t have an Oscar nomination in its future, but it is entertaining, well made, and it has a good message while not beating you over the head. It should be the animated hit of the year, with only the fourth Hotel Transylvania threatening its crown. The only other thing capable of costing it the number one slot is if a higher than anticipated number of people pass on the theater in favor of a Peacock subscription.

Rating: PG (Rude Humor|Mild Language|Some Action)
Genre: Comedy, Adventure, Kids & Family, Animation
Original Language: English
Director: Tom McGrath
Producer: Jeff Hermann
Writer: Michael McCullers
Release Date (Theaters): July 2nd, 2021 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): July 2nd, 2021
Runtime: 1h 47m
Production Co: DreamWorks Animation