Boss Baby is a surprisingly charming take on sibling rivalry and insecurity. If you have gone through this, you will be delighted by this whimsical examination.
Boss Baby Synopsis
7-year-old Tim Templeton lives the perfect life with his doting parents, that is, till the sudden appearance of a baby brother. Worse, Tim then discovers the baby is not at all what he looks to be. Beginning with how he talks and thinks like a hardened adult.
Snappy Review
Boss Baby surprised me.
I watched it over the weekend because there wasn’t anything else interesting at the time slot I wanted. I also walked into the cinema expecting DreamWorks’ usual formula of street talk and pop reference gags.
These usual suspects were all in the show but unexpectedly, they were only there to complement the original theme of Marla Frazee’s book. It was but minutes into the movie before I was hopelessly charmed by this celebration of juvenile imagination and sibling dynamics. I was also glued to the screen till the end.
To be clear, I’m not saying that the plot is great. The novelty of a smart-mouth baby does tire quickly, and it wasn’t long before I wished he stop dispensing corporate clichés or taking one of his power naps.
What kept the viewing alive for me, instead, was how so many of the conflicts between Boss Baby and Tim, the boy of the story, is obviously inspired by typical real-life contentions between brothers. Little bro wrecking big bro’s beloved toy. Big brother going all out to snitch on younger bro. Etc.
Add to these are also various sly observations about children’s perceptions. Every boom is akin to an atomic blast. All furniture are so towering, even if merely adult height.
Thanks to these, nostalgic magic, bittersweet in some ways, is infused into the whole movie. It made me long to be in Tim’s world, if only because I had once been there.
One more thing, I absolutely loved the first credits scene. What the World Needs Now is Love might not exactly have perfect lyrics for the story. But the dreamy drift of it certainly wraps up the movie well.
Click here to view the trailer.
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