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The Boss Baby

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The Boss Baby
A baby wearing a business suit
Theatrical release poster
Directed byTom McGrath
Written byMichael McCullers
Based onThe Boss Baby
by Marla Frazee
Produced byRamsey Ann Naito
Starring
Narrated byTobey Maguire
Edited byJames Ryan
Music by
Production
company
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release date
  • March 12, 2017 (2017-03-12) (Miami)
  • March 31, 2017 (2017-03-31) (United States)
Running time
97 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$125 million[2]
Box office$528 million[3]

The Boss Baby is a 2017 American computer-animated comedy film[4] produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by 20th Century Fox. Loosely based on the 2010 picture book of the same name by Marla Frazee,[5] the film was directed by Tom McGrath, from a screenplay by Michael McCullers, and stars the voices of Alec Baldwin as the title character, along with Steve Buscemi, Jimmy Kimmel, Lisa Kudrow, Miles Bakshi, and Tobey Maguire. The first installment in The Boss Baby franchise, the plot follows a boy helping his baby brother who is a secret agent in the war for adults' love between babies and puppies.

The Boss Baby premiered at the Miami International Film Festival on March 12, 2017, and was released in the United States on March 31.[6] The film received mixed reviews from critics upon release, who praised its animation and voice performances but criticized its plot and humor. It grossed $528 million worldwide against its $125 million budget. The film received Best Animated Feature nominations at the Academy Awards, Annie Awards, and Golden Globes.

A Netflix television series, The Boss Baby: Back in Business, premiered on April 6, 2018, while a sequel film, The Boss Baby: Family Business, was released in theaters and on Peacock on July 2, 2021.

Plot

Timothy "Tim" Templeton, an imaginative 7-year-old boy, relishes his parents' attention and is horrified when a new baby brother arrives. Baby, whom Tim saw arrive in a taxi, clad in suit and tie, and carrying a briefcase, behaves normally around the adults, crying for attention and food and diapers all day and night. However, Tim, who is fast growing jealous, sees Baby talking in an adult voice and behaving like an adult whenever Mr. and Mrs. Templeton aren't looking.

One day, Baby holds a staff meeting with other toddlers and infants, under the guise of a neighborhood play date. Timothy attempts to record them on a cassette tape, but he is seen and chased by Baby and his cronies. The parents see this as the children playing in the yard. When Baby destroys one of Tim's favorite toys, Tim attempts to slingshot him out a window, but his parents stop him and he accidentally slingshots the tape into the street, where a car smashes it. Tim and Baby are grounded until they learn to get along.

Baby makes Tim suck a special pacifier that allows them to see Baby Corp, where babies come from. Most babies go to families, but those who don't respond to tickling are sent to management, where they are given a special baby formula that allows them to think and behave as adults while remaining young forever. Baby also explains he's on a special mission to discover why the world's love of babies is being threatened lately by love of puppies, and came to the Templetons because Tim's Parents work for Puppy Co. Once his mission is done, he will leave. However, the boys overhear Baby's superiors threatening to fire him, should he fail. As that would mean Baby would have to stay with the Templetons and grow up, Tim and Baby agree to work together to prevent this.

On Family Day, the Templetons take Tim and Baby with them to Puppy Co., where the boys sneak away to investigate. They are captured by Francis, the CEO of Puppy Co. Francis reveals he was the Boss of Baby Corp once, but started to slowly grow up because he was partially intolerant to the formula. He was fired and forced to live with a hillbilly family, but saved his magic pacifier. He steals Baby's formula, intending to use it to make a "Forever Puppy" that never grows up or dies, which will take all love from babies and give him his revenge on BabyCorp.

Francis whisks Tim's parents away to a conference in Las Vegas, and leaves his brother Eugene to watch the children in the guise of a female nanny. Without the formula, Baby starts to periodically revert to normal infant behavior. The boys, with help from the neighborhood toddlers, escape Eugene and head to Las Vegas, where they find Francis ready to send a rocket of Forever Puppies out into the world. Mr. and Mrs. Templeton suspect something is wrong when they hear their children, and are locked up underneath the rocket to be burned. Tim and Baby fight Francis on a raised walkway, pretending to be pirates; they knock him into the vat of augmented formula, where he turns back into a baby and is taken home by Eugene. Tim saves his parents, but Baby goes completely infantile and is stranded on the rocket, which is about to launch. Tim sings a lullaby, and Baby jumps to him and is revived by the formula.

Baby is taken back to Baby Corp and promoted, while all traces of him are erased from the parents' house and minds. However, he and Tim miss each other terribly, and Tim finally invites Baby back, saying if there is only love enough for one of them, Baby can have it all. Realizing that love is something that grows, instead of being split, Baby returns, this time as a normal infant boy named Theodore "Ted" Templeton.

Years later, an adult Tim and Ted tell the story to Tim's elder daughter, who is apprehensive about the arrival of her new baby sister. After the adults leave, the newborn little girl reveals she is a Boss Baby, too, exciting Tim's elder daughter.

Voice cast

Alec Baldwin promoting the film at the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con.
  • Alec Baldwin as Theodore Lindsey "Ted" Templeton Jr./The Boss Baby, an infant with the mind of an adult, who works at Baby Corp and gains his intelligence and speaking ability from drinking a "Secret Baby Formula".[5]
  • Miles Bakshi as Timothy Leslie "Tim" Templeton, Boss' 7-year-old brother.[7][8][9]
  • Jimmy Kimmel as Ted Templeton, Janice's husband and Tim's father.[8]
  • Lisa Kudrow as Janice Templeton, Ted's wife and Tim's mother.[8]
  • Steve Buscemi as Francis E. Francis/Super Colossal Big Fat Boss Baby, the CEO of Puppy Co, the former CEO of BabyCorp and Boss' nemesis[8]
  • Conrad Vernon as Eugene Francis, Francis Francis' brother and minion.
  • James McGrath as Wizzie, Tim's Gandalf-esque alarm clock.
  • David Soren as Jimbo
  • Nina Zoe Bakshi as Tabitha Templeton, Tim's daughter.
  • Tom McGrath as Julia Child (TV Chef)
  • Walt Dohrn as Photographer
  • James Ryan as Story Bear
  • Eric Bell Jr. as Triplets
  • ViviAnn Yee as Staci
  • Edie Mirman as the Big Boss Baby, Boss Baby's boss.
  • James McGrath and Joseph Izzo as Elvis impersonators
  • Chris Miller as Captain Ross

Production

Upon reading the original book on which the film is based McGrath felt a connection to it, as he had an older brother and felt like "the boss baby of the family".[11] In keeping with that theme he stated, in an interview with Den of Geek, that "My personal goal with this was to watch this movie with my brother, and to see how it affected him!", which resulted in McGrath's brother being moved to tears by the completed film.[12]

The look of the film was inspired by design techniques popularized in the 1960s,[13] as well as animated films from both the 1950s and 1960s.[11] This was due to McGrath's belief that contemporary animated films focused too much on realism. To help his staff McGrath would play the opening scene of Lady and the Tramp for new hires specifically noting that the film "should be easy on the eyes and really lead your eye to what’s important in the shot.[13]

Director Tom McGrath at the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con

In September 2014, Alec Baldwin and Kevin Spacey joined the cast of the film,[5] with further casting news announced in June 2016, including Steve Buscemi replacing Spacey.[14]

Miles Bakshi, son of the DreamWorks Animation's producer Gina Shay and grandson of the film director Ralph Bakshi, who directed the 1972 American adult animated comedy film Fritz the Cat, provided the voice of 7-year old Tim. Having been often present at DreamWorks, McGrath initially asked Bakshi only to provide a temporary voice for Tim to see if the character "worked". The producers listened to 30 to 40 children to choose the scratch voice. McGrath explained their decision: "No one sounded as authentic as Miles did. A lot of child actors are great, but they are over-articulate for their age. Miles was just natural and charming. He had a little slur to his voice at the time and it was very endearing." Three years later, Miles was told that he got the part.[15] Bakshi was 10 when he began recording the voice. During the long process, his voice started to change and "by the end it got pretty tough", according to Bakshi, who was 14 when the film was released. He had to get his voice "very soft, but when I got that perfect tone it was great."

Music

The film was scored by Hans Zimmer, who had previously collaborated with McGrath on the Madagascar trilogy (2005–2012) and Megamind (2010), along with Steve Mazzaro, Jacob Collier, and various artists. The film's soundtrack was released on Back Lot Music & iTunes. "Blackbird" by The Beatles is used as part of the plot at various points throughout the film.[16] During the end credits, Missi Hale recorded a cover of the Burt Bacharach song "What the World Needs Now Is Love" (first performed by Jackie DeShannon). "My House" by Flo Rida is also used in the trailer for the film.

Release

Theatrical

The Boss Baby was initially scheduled for release on March 18, 2016,[17] but was later pushed back to March 31, 2017.[18] The film premiered at the Miami Film Festival on March 12, 2017,[19][20] and was released in the United States on March 31, 2017, by 20th Century Fox.[6] The film was later released in Japan on March 21, 2018 by DreamWorks Animation's sister company Universal Pictures. The Japanese release is accompanied by the DreamWorks animated short Bird Karma.[21]

Home media

The Boss Baby was released on Digital HD on July 4, 2017, and was released on DVD, Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D and Ultra HD Blu-ray on July 25, 2017 by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. The releases also include a new short film, The Boss Baby and Tim's Treasure Hunt Through Time.[22]

Reception

Box office

The Boss Baby grossed $175 million in the United States and Canada and $352.9 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $527.9 million.[3]

In North America, The Boss Baby opened alongside Ghost in the Shell and The Zookeeper's Wife, and was initially projected to gross around $30 million from 3,773 theaters in its opening weekend.[23] However, after grossing $1.5 million from Thursday night previews and $15.5 million on Friday, weekend projections were increased to $50 million. It ended up debuting to $50.2 million, finishing first at the box office.[24] It remained atop the box office in its second weekend, grossing $26.3 million.[25]

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, which categorizes reviews only as positive or negative, 53% of 180 reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.50/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "The Boss Baby's talented cast, glimmers of wit, and flashes of visual inventiveness can't make up for a thin premise and a disappointing willingness to settle for doody jokes."[26] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 50 out of 100 based on 32 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews."[27] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.[28]

Neil Genzlinger of The New York Times praised Baldwin and the adult humor, saying: "The contrast between the helpless-infant stage of life and corporate-speak is funny but fairly high-concept for a kiddie movie, and the plot grows denser as it goes along and the baby and Tim reluctantly join forces to stop a conspiracy by which puppies would corner all the love in the world."[29]

Accolades

Award Date of ceremony Category Recipients Result Ref.
Academy Awards March 4, 2018 Best Animated Feature Tom McGrath and Ramsey Ann Naito Nominated [30]
Annie Awards February 3, 2018 Best Animated Feature Ramsey Ann Naito Nominated [31]
Character Animation in an Animated Feature Production Bryce McGovern Nominated
Rani Naamani Nominated
Character Design in an Animated Feature Production Joe Moshier Nominated
Directing in an Animated Feature Production Tom McGrath Nominated
Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production Glenn Harmon Nominated
Golden Globe Awards January 7, 2018 Best Animated Feature Film Tom McGrath Nominated [32]
Hollywood Music in Media Awards November 16, 2017 Best Original Score – Animated Film Hans Zimmer and Steve Mazzaro Nominated [33]
Online Film Critics Society December 28, 2017 Best Voice-Over Performance Alec Baldwin Nominated [34]
Producers Guild of America Award January 20, 2018 Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Picture Ramsey Ann Naito Nominated [35]
San Diego Film Critics Society December 11, 2017 Best Animated Film The Boss Baby Runner-up [36]
Satellite Awards February 10, 2018 Best Animated or Mixed Media Feature Nominated [37]
Saturn Awards June 2018 Best Animated Film The Boss Baby Nominated [38]
[39]
Visual Effects Society Awards February 13, 2018 Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Feature Alec Baldwin, Carlos Puertolas, Rani Naamani, and Joe Moshier for "Boss Baby" Nominated [40]
Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Animated Feature Mitul Patel, Gaurav Mathus, and Venkatesh Kongathi Nominated

Franchise

Main article: The Boss Baby (franchise)

Sequel

Main article: The Boss Baby: Family Business

On May 25, 2017, Universal Pictures and DreamWorks Animation announced that a sequel is set to be released on July 2, 2021, with Alec Baldwin reprising his role.[41][42] On May 17, 2019, it was announced that Tom McGrath will return as director and Jeff Hermann, who produced Bilby, Bird Karma, and Marooned, will produce the sequel. Hans Zimmer and Steve Mazzaro will return to write the music for the film.[43]

Television series

Main article: The Boss Baby: Back in Business

On December 12, 2017, both Netflix and DreamWorks Animation announced the release of the TV series based on the film. The Boss Baby: Back in Business was released in 2018.[44]

References

  1. ^ "The Boss Baby". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved March 9, 2017.
  2. ^ "The Boss Baby Tops Beauty and the Beast at Box Office for Second Week". Screen Rant. April 9, 2017. Retrieved January 31, 2018.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b "The Boss Baby". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
  4. ^ Molumby, Deirdre. "The Boss Baby - Cinema, Movie, Film Review". Entertainment.ie.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b c Kit, Borys (September 30, 2014). "Alec Baldwin and Kevin Spacey to Voice Star in DreamWorks Animation's 'Boss Baby'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b McClintock, Pamela (September 18, 2015). "Hugh Jackman's 'Greatest Showman on Earth' Pushed a Year to Christmas 2017". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
  7. ^ Amderton, Ethan (July 21, 2016). "DreamWorks Animation's 'The Boss Baby' Is Like an Animated 'Glengarry Glen Ross' for Kids (Comic-Con 2016)". /Film. Retrieved October 28, 2016.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Kit, Borys (June 13, 2016). "Jimmy Kimmel, Lisa Kudrow, Patton Oswalt Join Voicecast of 'Boss Baby' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  9. ^ Hopewell, John; Mayorga, Emilio (June 16, 2016). "Annecy: Tom McGrath Unveils Alec Baldwin-Starrer 'Boss Baby'". Variety. Retrieved June 18, 2016.
  10. ^ Alexander, Bryan (October 17, 2016). "Sneak peek: Alec Baldwin is 'The Boss Baby'". USA Today. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b Popp, Olivia (March 28, 2017). "'The Boss Baby' director and producer on life, laughs and a love for animation". The Stanford Daily. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
  12. ^ "Tom McGrath interview: Boss Baby, animation, George Lucas". Den of Geek. April 4, 2017. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
  13. ^ Jump up to: a b Failes, Ian (March 30, 2017). "Drawing On Classic References, 'Boss Baby' Director Tom McGrath Explores A Fresh Look". Cartoon Brew. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
  14. ^ Robinson, Will (June 13, 2016). "Boss Baby: Jimmy Kimmel, Lisa Kudrow, Steve Buscemi added to voice cast". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  15. ^ King, Susan (March 29, 2017). "Miles Bakshi continues a family animation tradition with 'The Boss Baby'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
  16. ^ Wloszczyna, Susan (March 28, 2017). "Review - The Boss Baby". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved April 2, 2017.
  17. ^ "'Kung Fu Panda 3' Moves Out of 2015 to Avoid 'Star Wars'". The Hollywood Reporter. December 11, 2014. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
  18. ^ "Release Schedule - New Dates & Changes". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on June 20, 2016. Retrieved June 20, 2016.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  19. ^ "The Boss Baby". Miami Film Festival. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
  20. ^ Hazelton, John (March 12, 2017). "'The Boss Baby': Review". Screen Daily. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
  21. ^ Amidi, Amid (November 15, 2017). "Dreamworks Is Going To Start Adding Shorts In Front Of Its Theatrical Films". Cartoon Brew. Retrieved December 22, 2018.
  22. ^ Milligan, Mercedes (May 24, 2017). "'Boss Baby' Gets Home Delivery in July". Animation Magazine. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
  23. ^ "'Boss Baby,' 'Ghost in the Shell' to Battle 'Beauty and the Beast' This Weekend". TheWrap. March 29, 2017.
  24. ^ "'Boss Baby' Cleans 'Beauty And The Beast's Clock With $51M+ Opening; 'Ghost' Shell-Shocked At $20M+". Deadline Hollywood. April 2, 2017. Retrieved April 2, 2017.
  25. ^ "'Boss Baby' Crawls Ahead Of 'Beauty' With $26M+; 'Smurfs' Lost In 3rd With $14M". Deadline Hollywood. April 9, 2017. Retrieved April 9, 2017.
  26. ^ "The Boss Baby". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
  27. ^ "The Boss Baby". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
  28. ^ "Home - Cinemascore". cinemascore.com.
  29. ^ Genzlinger, Neil (March 30, 2017). "Review: 'The Boss Baby' Puts Alec Baldwin in Diapers, Sort Of". The New York Times. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
  30. ^ "Academy Award Winners 2018: The Complete List". Variety. March 4, 2018. Archived from the original on March 8, 2018. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
  31. ^ Giardina, Carolyn (February 4, 2018). "Annie Awards: 'Coco' Tops the Animation Celebration". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 4, 2018. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
  32. ^ Berg, Madeline (January 7, 2018). "Golden Globes 2018: The Full List Of Winners". Forbes. Archived from the original on August 26, 2021. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  33. ^ "Hollywood Music in Media Awards: Full Winners List". The Hollywood Reporter. November 11, 2017. Retrieved November 18, 2017.
  34. ^ Clayton Davis (December 18, 2017). "Online Film Critics Society Nominees – 'A Ghost Story' and 'mother!' Make the Cut". AwardsCircuit.com. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  35. ^ McNary, Dave (January 5, 2018). "Producers Guild Awards: 'Get Out,' 'Wonder Woman' Among Film Nominees". Variety. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
  36. ^ "2017 San Diego Film Critics Society's Award Winners". San Diego Film Critics Society. December 11, 2017. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  37. ^ "'Dunkirk,' 'The Shape of Water' Lead Satellite Award Nominations". The Wrap. November 29, 2017. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
  38. ^ McNary, Dave (March 15, 2018). "'Black Panther,' 'Walking Dead' Rule Saturn Awards Nominations". Variety. Archived from the original on March 15, 2018. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  39. ^ Hammond, Pete (June 27, 2018). "'Black Panther' Tops 44th Saturn Awards With Five; 'Blade Runner 2049' , 'Shape Of Water', 'Get Out' Also Score". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 28, 2018. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
  40. ^ Giardina, Carolyn (February 13, 2018). "Visual Effects Society Awards: 'War for the Planet of the Apes' Wins Big". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 14, 2018. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  41. ^ McClintock, Pamela (May 24, 2021). "'Boss Baby 2' to Hit Theaters and Peacock on Same Day". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  42. ^ "Alec Baldwin Returns In 'The Boss Baby: Family Business', Crawling To Theaters In 2021". Deadline Hollywood. May 25, 2017. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
  43. ^ "'Boss Baby 2' Will Be Tom McGrath's Sixth Feature Film At Dreamworks". Cartoon Brew. May 18, 2019.
  44. ^ "'She-Ra' Reboot, 'Boss Baby' Score Netflix Series Through DreamWorks Animation". TheWrap. December 12, 2017. Retrieved January 7, 2018.

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