Movies

The Boss Baby

Animated characters Mother (voiced by Lisa Kudrow), Boss Baby (voiced by Alec Baldwin) and father (voiced by Jimmy Kimmel), star in “Boss Baby.” Rated: A-I, PG. DREAMWORKS | CNS

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Amusing but flimsy animated take on the trauma of acquiring a younger sibling. A contented 7-year-old boy (voice of Miles Bakshi) not only finds his world disrupted by the arrival of a baby brother (voice of Alec Baldwin), he also discovers that the business suit clad newcomer has an adult personality and a corporate agenda to pursue. As a representative of the company that manufactures infants, he’s out to thwart the head honcho (voiced by Steve Buscemi) of a pet marketing conglomerate who has developed a puppy so irresistible that no one will want to have children once the pooch becomes available. In line with the movie industry’s disdain for all other forms of profit-making endeavor, Baldwin’s diminutive executive schemes shamelessly and callously threatens his big bro with the loss of their parents’ (voices of Jimmy Kimmel and Lisa Kudrow) affection. But for real-life moms and dads, a more pressing concern may be the repetition in the dialogue of the question, “Where do babies come from?” — albeit the answer is always, of course, a whimsical one. Along with some silly potty and anatomical gags, that’s about all there is to worry about in director Tom McGrath’s ephemeral adaptation of Marla Frazee’s 2010 picture book.
Watch out for: Some slapstick violence, mild scatological humor, a religiously themed but not irreverent joke.
Rated: A-I, general patronage; MPAA: PG

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