"Playtime is over" in
The Boss Baby: Family Business. This computer-animated comedy film directed by Tom McGrath, written by Michael McCullers, loosely based on the 2010 picture book
The Boss Baby and its 2016 sequel
The Bossier Baby by Marla Frazee, and produced by DreamWorks Animation. It is the sequel to
The Boss Baby (2017) and the second installment in
The Boss Baby franchise.
In late May 2017, Universal Pictures and DreamWorks Animation announced that a sequel was set with Alec Baldwin reprising his role. In mid May 2019, it was announced that McGrath would return as director. In mid September 17, 2020, James Marsden, Amy Sedaris, Jeff Goldblum and Eva Longoria rounded out the film's cast with Jimmy Kimmel and Lisa Kudrow reprising their roles. Marsden would replace Tobey Maguire. Portions of production were done remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. The film was originally scheduled for a March 26, 2021 release date, but was delayed to September 17, 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, before moving to July 2, 2021.
The film stars the voice talents of Baldwin, Marsden, Sedaris, Goldblum and Longoria with Kimmel and Kudrow reprising their roles. The two leads are very good in their respective roles, especially Baldwin and Marsden, but it is the supporting characters that really make the film a cut above most family fare. The lovable characters remain, but they never do much of interest in a sequel that's safely above average but superfluous.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not sulking. I liked the film. Honest. Kids will like the film. Most mums and dads will like the film. My problem is this: I didn't like it the way I liked the first film. The animation by which it stands or falls is as brilliant as ever and, though it wouldn't really be right to call it totally anti-Disney, it certainly trumps that institution for sharpness of focus, notably as far as the screenplay is concerned. The characters are still charming, the animation really is spectacularly smooth and expressive, and the Looney Tunes-style humor and pop-culture in-jokes are as inventive and hilarious as before. If you weren't particularly enamored with the first one, chances are this isn't gonna change your opinion on the film's cast. What's missing is the wonderful weirdness that made the original film the strangest children's entertainment since H.R. Pufnstuf. Story wise, this one feels formulaic with less of an edge. There's just no heart, soul, or true purpose in this film; something generic and robotic about every aspect of its existence. Much of it is good, but other moments feel uninspired, as if Sleeping Beauty had a hand in writing the script. Perhaps this sequel no longer has the shock of the new, but the animation is stupendous, with breathtaking effects of light and detail, the gags come thick and fast and the musical numbers are uproarious. Definitely a step down from the first one, but you should not let that stop you from seeing a film with great humour and animation.
Simon says The Boss Baby: Family Business receives:
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