Movie Review – Film delivers message on love

By Kathryn Kelman/ne news editor

With a witty script full of clever lines, DreamWorks’ latest animated movie The Boss Baby is an action-packed comedy adults will enjoy as much as kids will.

Inspired by Marla Frazee’s popular picture book The Boss Baby, the film tackles issues related to sibling rivalry but primarily focuses on how the arrival of a new baby impacts a family and an older child’s fear that there isn’t enough love to go around.

Tim, the only child of two Puppy Co. marketing executives, has his world turned upside down when a suit-wearing, briefcase-carrying baby, voiced by Alec Baldwin, arrives at his home in a taxi and immediately takes over. An instant rivalry between the two ensues.

Boss Baby, a spy sent by Baby Corp. to foil a plot by Puppy Co., realizes he can’t accomplish his mission without Tim, who agrees to help him after he learns Boss Baby will return to the company if he succeeds but will stay with the family forever if he fails.

As the boys work together to stop Puppy Co., audiences can expect explosions, chase sequences, nick-of-time escapes and slapstick confrontations.

Aiming for a broader comedic appeal, The Boss Baby’s writer Michael McCullers and director Tom McGrath included plenty of jokes for adults to enjoy too. The film’s target audience is still children, but they likely won’t understand the jokes about facial piercings, prison and The Beatles for at least a few more years.

The Boss Baby delivers an important message about the value of family and teamwork and drives home that there is always enough love for everyone in the family.

Some may have problems with the movie’s take on where babies come from and its treatment of puppies like factory-made products. But if they can overlook those issues, the movie has the potential to give families with multiple children a way to discuss the challenges that come with being an older sibling.

Anyone looking for a good laugh and a movie that offers something for the whole family to enjoy should go see The Boss Baby.