‘Boss Baby’ Review Roundup: Relies On Too Many Poop Jokes To Be Taken Seriously

Boss Baby deemed a disappointment for most critics, as it garnered a mere 36% on Rottentomatoes. In this PG-rated animated feature, Alec Baldwin plays the so-called Boss Baby, who enters a new family and immediately takes control. Steve Buscemi, Lisa Kudrow, Jimmy Kimmel and Tobey Maguire co-star.

BOSS BABY REVIEW ROUNDUP

“The Boss Baby milks a fertile premise until it feels about as perfunctory as corporate drudgery. While DreamWorks Animation’s latest movie starts well and ends sweetly, the loud, frenetic middle seems like an awfully good time to squeeze in a nap… To be fair, the movie eventually finds its way to a nice if inevitably saccharine message about the importance of family. The price of getting there, though, is enduring a series of laugh-challenged interludes that, other than perhaps a moment of flatulence, don’t offer much more for small fry than the adults.”
–Brian Lowry, CNN

“It might be argued there actually is more here for adult appreciation than is provided to the kids. That aside, this delightful, silly animated romp makes for a really fun time in the theater… The filmmakers have decided to go for an old-school look in the animation here, an excellent decision. Reminiscent of the films brought to us back in the day from the Looney Tunes teams, The Boss Baby fits into that niche of animation — and appropriately so, given the kind of retro storytelling that is presented in this movie.”
–Bill Zwecker, Chicago-Sun Times 

“The voice of Baldwin as an infantile CEO is the selling point here, but a few good lines aren’t enough to recommend this chopped-and-strained comedy.”
–Rafer Guzmán, Newsday

“Director Tom McGrath and team deliver some keen observations on growing-family dynamics and a number of laughs, but they run out of story a while before putting this one to bed.”
–Tom Russo, Boston Globe