The Boss Baby is a 2017 American animated comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by 20th Century Fox. Loosely based on the 2010 picture book of the same name by Marla Frazee,[4] it 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 | |
---|---|
Directed by | Tom McGrath |
Written by | Michael McCullers |
Based on | The Boss Baby by Marla Frazee |
Produced by | Ramsey Ann Naito |
Starring | |
Edited by | James Ryan |
Music by |
|
Production company | |
Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 97 minutes[1] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $125 million[2] |
Box office | $528 million[3] |
The Boss Baby premiered at the Miami International Film Festival on March 12, 2017, and was released in the United States on March 31.[5] The film received mixed reviews from critics upon release, who praised its animation and voice performances (especially that of Baldwin) but criticized the complicated plot, the pacing, 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.
It was one of three DreamWorks films to be the last to be distributed by 20th Century Fox alongside Trolls and Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie. Following NBCUniversal's acquisition of DreamWorks Animation in 2016, Universal Pictures began distributing DreamWorks's films, starting with How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019).
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. Another Netflix television series, The Boss Baby: Back in the Crib, premiered on May 19, 2022.
Plot
editIn the 1980s, Tim Templeton, a creative 7-year-old, is taken aback when his new baby brother, Boss Baby, arrives. Baby wears a suit and tie and acts like a normal baby around parents and adults, but walks and talks like an adult when parents are absent. One day, Baby holds a staff meeting with other infants, under the guise of a neighborhood play date. Tim attempts to record them on a tape before Baby and his cronies spot and chase him, resulting in it being destroyed. Tim is grounded for 3 weeks in order to stay in the house with Baby until he learns to get along, much to both of their dismay.
Later, Baby reveals the truth as to why he is in his house and where he comes from. He and Tim suck a special pacifier that allows them to see BabyCorp, where babies come from. Most babies go to families, but those unresponsive to tickling are sent to management, where they are given a special baby formula that allows them to think and behave like adults while remaining young forever. Baby explains he is on a special mission to investigate the declining love for babies due to puppies, and came to the Templetons as Tim's parents work for Puppy Co. Once his mission is done, he will leave. However, the boys hear Baby's boss threatening to fire him if he fails, which would mean Baby would have to stay and grow up with the Templeton family. Tim and Baby team up to prevent this.
On Take Your Kid to Work Day, the parents take Tim and Baby with them to Puppy Co. While investigating, they are caught by Puppy Co.'s CEO, Francis E. Francis, who is then revealed to be Super Colossal Big Fat Boss Baby, a former CEO of BabyCorp, who got fired due to aging from lactose intolerance. He takes Baby's formula to create a "Forever Puppy" incapable of aging, which will take all love from babies and give him his revenge on Baby Corp.
Francis takes Tim's parents to a Las Vegas conference and leaves his brother Eugene to pose as a female nanny to watch them. The boys attack Eugene with fake vomit and escape from him with the help of neighborhood toddlers. They reach Las Vegas, where they find Francis ready to launch a rocket of Forever Puppies out into the world. Tim's parents are trapped below the rocket to be burned. Tim and Baby fight Francis on a catwalk, making him fall into a vat of formula that turns him back into a baby, and Eugene tells the boys, "This time, we'll raise him right." then takes him home. Tim and Baby save Tim's parents and eject the Forever Puppies from the rocket before it launches.
Baby goes back to Baby Corp and becomes CEO. Baby Corp workers erase evidence of Baby and the parents' memories of him. One of these workers asks Tim if he would like to forget about Baby, but he declines. Tim and Baby soon realize they miss each other deeply, and Tim invites him back, saying that he wants him back as a brother. Baby returns as a regular baby named Theodore "Ted" Templeton, realizing love is something that grows, instead of being divided.
Years later, in the present day, an adult Tim and Ted tell the story to Tim's eldest daughter, who is apprehensive about the arrival of her newborn baby sister. After the adults leave, the newborn girl is revealed to be an employee of Baby Corp, like her uncle (Theodore Templeton), surprising the elder daughter.
Cast
edit- Alec Baldwin as Theodore Lindsay "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".[4]
- Miles Bakshi as Timothy Leslie "Tim" Templeton, Boss Baby's 7-year-old brother.[6][7][8]
- Tobey Maguire as Adult Tim, the narrator.[9]
- Jimmy Kimmel as Theodore Lindsay "Ted" Templeton Sr., Janice's husband and Tim and Ted Jr.'s father.[7]
- Lisa Kudrow as Janice Templeton, Ted Sr.'s wife and Tim and Ted Jr.'s mother.[7]
- Steve Buscemi as Francis E. Francis/Super Colossal Big Fat Boss Baby, the CEO of Puppy Co, the former CEO of BabyCorp and the Boss's nemesis[7]
- Conrad Vernon as Eugene Francis, Francis's older 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 The 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
editUpon 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".[10] 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.[11]
The look of the film was inspired by design techniques popularized in the 1960s,[12] as well as animated films from both the 1950s and 1960s.[10] 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 (1955) 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.[12]
In September 2014, Alec Baldwin and Kevin Spacey joined the cast of the film,[4] with further casting news announced in June 2016, including Steve Buscemi replacing Spacey.[13]
Miles Bakshi, son of DreamWorks Animation producer Gina Shay and grandson of the film director Ralph Bakshi, known for directing animated films such as 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.[14] 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
editThe film was scored by Hans Zimmer and Steve Mazzaro, Jacob Collier, and various artists. It marks as Zimmer's fifth collaboration with Tom McGrath after the Madagascar trilogy (2005–2012) and Megamind (2010), and his 12th overall film he scored for DreamWorks Animation, which includes The Prince of Egypt (1998), The Road to El Dorado (2000), Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002), Shark Tale (2004), and the first three Kung Fu Panda films (2008–2016). 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.[15] 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
editTheatrical
editThe Boss Baby was initially scheduled for release on March 18, 2016,[16] but was later pushed back to March 31, 2017.[17] The film premiered at the Miami Film Festival on March 12, 2017,[18][19] and was released in the United States on March 31, 2017, by 20th Century Fox.[5] 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.[20]
Home media
edit20th Century Fox Home Entertainment released The Boss Baby for digital download on July 4, 2017, and on DVD, Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D and Ultra HD Blu-ray on July 25. Physical copies contain a short film, The Boss Baby and Tim's Treasure Hunt Through Time.[21] From November 2017 to May 2019, the film was available on Netflix, and the film returned to the streaming platform after 4 years on May 22, 2023.
Reception
editBox office
editThe Boss Baby grossed $175 million in the United States and Canada and $353 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $528 million.[3]
The film was released with Ghost in the Shell and The Zookeeper's Wife on March 31, 2017. The Boss Baby grossed $15.5 million on its first day,[22] including $1.5 million from Thursday night previews.[23] The film then earned $50 million from 3,773 theaters during its opening weekend.[24] Its second weekend earnings dropped by 47% to $26.3 million,[25] and followed by another $15.9 million the third weekend.[26] The Boss Baby completed its theatrical run in the United States and Canada on November 2, 2017.[27]
Critical response
editThe Boss Baby has an approval rating of 53% based on 180 professional reviews on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 5.5/10. Its 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."[28] Metacritic (which uses a weighted average) assigned The Boss Baby a score of 50 out of 100 based on 32 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[29] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.[24]
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."[30]
Accolades
editAcademic scholarship
editIn 2021, interest in the original film was renewed when a philosophical symposium dedicated to the film was announced.[46] While the announcement was widely believed to be a prank at first, organizers Jaime McCaffrey and Tore Levander insisted this was not that case. Responding to the early criticism, McCaffrey stated to The A. V. Club that "Its messaging, the way that it tries to convey ideas, you almost can't discern what the position of the movie is. And all the artistic decisions in the movie seem to be conflict with each other in such a way that as a viewer you are like 'I don't know what I'm supposed to feel and therefore I must analyze.'"[47]
The first conference was done virtually and featured speakers from Northeastern University, Middlesex University, the University of York, Cambridge University, and a medical doctor from the University of California Riverside.[48] JP Karliak, the TV show's voice actor, and Brandon Sawyer, writer and executive producer of The Boss Baby: Back in Business, both spoke at the event. The "Second First Annual" conference was hosted in January 2023.
Franchise
editSequel
editOn May 25, 2017, Universal Pictures and DreamWorks Animation announced a sequel, which was released on July 2, 2021, with Alec Baldwin reprising his role.[49][50] 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 returned to write the music for the film.[51]
Television series
editOn 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.[52]
References
edit- ^ Macnab, Geoffrey (April 5, 2017). "Film reviews round-up: City of Tiny Lights, The Boss Baby, Neruda, Raw". The Independent. Archived from the original on October 14, 2021. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
- ^ "The Boss Baby Tops Beauty and the Beast at Box Office for Second Week". Screen Rant. April 9, 2017. Archived from the original on January 16, 2018. Retrieved January 31, 2018.
- ^ a b "The Boss Baby". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
- ^ 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. Archived from the original on October 12, 2014. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
- ^ a b McClintock, Pamela (September 18, 2015). "Hugh Jackman's 'Greatest Showman on Earth' Pushed a Year to Christmas 2017". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on September 30, 2015. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
- ^ Amderton, Ethan (July 21, 2016). "DreamWorks Animation's 'The Boss Baby' Is Like an Animated 'Glengarry Glen Ross' for Kids (Comic-Con 2016)". /Film. Archived from the original on October 29, 2016. Retrieved October 28, 2016.
- ^ a b c d Kit, Borys (June 13, 2016). "Jimmy Kimmel, Lisa Kudrow, Patton Oswalt Join Voicecast of 'Boss Baby' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on June 16, 2016. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
- ^ Hopewell, John; Mayorga, Emilio (June 16, 2016). "Annecy: Tom McGrath Unveils Alec Baldwin-Starrer 'Boss Baby'". Variety. Archived from the original on June 17, 2016. Retrieved June 18, 2016.
- ^ Alexander, Bryan (October 17, 2016). "Sneak peek: Alec Baldwin is 'The Boss Baby'". USA Today. Archived from the original on October 17, 2016. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
- ^ a b Popp, Olivia (March 28, 2017). "'The Boss Baby' director and producer on life, laughs and a love for animation". The Stanford Daily. Archived from the original on December 23, 2017. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
- ^ "Tom McGrath interview: Boss Baby, animation, George Lucas". Den of Geek. April 4, 2017. Archived from the original on October 6, 2018. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
- ^ a b Failes, Ian (March 30, 2017). "Drawing On Classic References, 'Boss Baby' Director Tom McGrath Explores A Fresh Look". Cartoon Brew. Archived from the original on July 23, 2017. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
- ^ Robinson, Will (June 13, 2016). "Boss Baby: Jimmy Kimmel, Lisa Kudrow, Steve Buscemi added to voice cast". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on January 18, 2017. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
- ^ King, Susan (March 29, 2017). "Miles Bakshi continues a family animation tradition with 'The Boss Baby'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 4, 2017. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
- ^ Wloszczyna, Susan (March 28, 2017). "Review - The Boss Baby". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on April 2, 2017. Retrieved April 2, 2017.
- ^ "'Kung Fu Panda 3' Moves Out of 2015 to Avoid 'Star Wars'". The Hollywood Reporter. December 11, 2014. Archived from the original on January 3, 2015. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
- ^ "Release Schedule - New Dates & Changes". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on June 20, 2016. Retrieved June 20, 2016.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "The Boss Baby". Miami Film Festival. Archived from the original on March 19, 2017. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
- ^ Hazelton, John (March 12, 2017). "'The Boss Baby': Review". Screen Daily. Archived from the original on March 19, 2017. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
- ^ Amidi, Amid (November 15, 2017). "Dreamworks Is Going To Start Adding Shorts In Front Of Its Theatrical Films". Cartoon Brew. Archived from the original on August 6, 2019. Retrieved December 22, 2018.
- ^ Milligan, Mercedes (May 24, 2017). "'Boss Baby' Gets Home Delivery in July". Animation Magazine. Archived from the original on July 24, 2017. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
- ^ Kilday, Gregg (March 31, 2017). "Box Office: 'Boss Baby' Bests 'Beauty and the Beast' With $15.5 Million Opening Day". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 14, 2021. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
- ^ McNary, Dave (March 31, 2017). "Box Office: Scarlett Johansson's 'Ghost in the Shell' Launches With $1.8 Million on Thursday". Variety. Archived from the original on October 14, 2021. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
- ^ a b Kilday, Gregg (April 2, 2017). "Box Office: 'Boss Baby' Demands Attention With Bossy $49M, No. 1 Opening". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 14, 2021. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
- ^ "Weekend Actuals: 'Boss Baby' Avoids Terrible Two's w/ $26.3M; 'Beauty and the Beast' Adds $23.6M; 'Smurfs: Lost Village' Gets Lost w/ $13.2M; 'Going In Style' Goes To $11.9M". Boxoffice Pro. April 9, 2017. Archived from the original on October 14, 2021. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
- ^ McNary, Dave (April 15, 2017). "'Fate of the Furious' Zooming to $103.8 Million Opening Weekend". Variety. Archived from the original on October 14, 2021. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
- ^ "The Boss Baby - Domestic Release". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on October 14, 2021. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
- ^ "The Boss Baby". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
- ^ "The Boss Baby". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
- ^ Genzlinger, Neil (March 30, 2017). "Review: 'The Boss Baby' Puts Alec Baldwin in Diapers, Sort Of". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 2, 2017. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
- ^ "Oscars: The Complete Winners List". The Hollywood Reporter. March 4, 2018. Archived from the original on March 5, 2018. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b Dietz, Jason (November 28, 2017). "Best of 2017: Film Awards & Nominations Scorecard". Metacritic. Archived from the original on May 22, 2022. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Hipes, Patrick (May 12, 2017). "Golden Trailer Awards Nominees: Warner Bros & Lego Batman Lead Pack". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 28, 2022. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
- ^ McNary, Dave (June 6, 2017). "Wonder Woman Wins Top Prize at Golden Trailer Awards". Variety. Archived from the original on July 31, 2017. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
- ^ "Hollywood Music in Media Awards: Full Winners List". The Hollywood Reporter. November 11, 2017. Archived from the original on November 18, 2017. Retrieved November 18, 2017.
- ^ Law, Jeannie Ortega (January 16, 2018). "10 Films Go Head to Head for $25,000 at 2018 Movieguide Faith & Values Awards Gala (See List)". The Christian Post. Archived from the original on August 27, 2020. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
- ^ Magana, Rex (March 29, 2018). "Q&A: Movieguide's Ted Baehr on religious themes in The Boss Baby and Smurfs". Deseret News. Archived from the original on December 7, 2021. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
- ^ Kilday, Gregg (January 20, 2018). "PGA Awards: The Shape of Water Named Outstanding Motion Picture". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 23, 2018. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
- ^ "2017 Nominees". International Press Academy. Archived from the original on February 13, 2018. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
- ^ Pond, Steve (November 29, 2017). "Dunkirk, The Shape of Water Lead Satellite Award Nominations". TheWrap. Archived from the original on December 13, 2017. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
- ^ McNary, Dave (March 15, 2018). "Black Panther, Walking Dead Rule Saturn Awards Nominations". Variety. Archived from the original on March 16, 2018. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "First Annual Boss Baby Symposium". philevents.org. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
- ^ "The Boss Baby is now the subject of a philosophy symposium". The A.V. Club. September 14, 2021. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
- ^ "Last Year's Event". WELCOME TO HQ. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
- ^ McClintock, Pamela (May 24, 2021). "'Boss Baby 2' to Hit Theaters and Peacock on Same Day". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 24, 2021. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
- ^ "Alec Baldwin Returns In 'The Boss Baby: Family Business', Crawling To Theaters In 2021". Deadline Hollywood. May 25, 2017. Archived from the original on September 5, 2018. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
- ^ "'Boss Baby 2' Will Be Tom McGrath's Sixth Feature Film At Dreamworks". Cartoon Brew. May 18, 2019. Archived from the original on November 7, 2020. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
- ^ "'She-Ra' Reboot, 'Boss Baby' Score Netflix Series Through DreamWorks Animation". TheWrap. December 12, 2017. Archived from the original on December 29, 2017. Retrieved January 7, 2018.