A Tale NOT As Old As Time – The Boss Baby takes on Beauty and the Beast

There is surprise at the cinema box office, with a tale not as old as time, Dreamworks’ The Boss Baby, shadowing Disney’s live action remake of Beauty and the Beast in takings.

The Boss Baby is a 2017 American 3D computer-animated comedy film, loosely based on the 2010 picture book of the same name written and illustrated by Marla Frazee. Produced by DreamWorks Animation, the film is directed by Tom McGrath (of Madagascar fame) and written by Michael McCullers (of Austin Powers fame). It stars the voices of Alec Baldwin, Miles Christopher Bakshi, Steve Buscemi, Jimmy Kimmel, Lisa Kudrow, and Tobey Maguire.

The nonsensical plot follows a baby who is a secret agent in the secret war between babies and puppies. Expect lots of fun and laughter in diapers.

Meet a most unusual baby. He wears a suit and speaks with the voice and wit of Alec Baldwin. The Boss Baby is a hilariously universal story about how a new baby’s arrival impacts a family, told from the point of view of a wildly imaginative 7 year old named Tim.

There’s some good morals behind all the humour, with an underlying broad narrative on the importance of family togetherness and siblings acceptance for each other, in spite of differences. I caught the preview screening together with my 6 year old son and he enjoyed himself very much. Most of the jokes are slapstick humour, accessible to the very young, with some witty banters reserved for the adults.

The storyline is razor thin though, mostly centred round the theme of a baby who talks like an adult and behave like upper management. Then again, this was not meant to be a serious film and people watching it primarily just wants to be entertained. For that, it is a success.

The Boss Baby is now showing in Singapore cinemas. Go catch it if you need a good laugh after a long, hard day!