Story
The Boss Baby is a 3D animated comedy based on a 2010 picture book of the same title. Narrated by a man named Tim Templeton (Tobey Maguire), it follows the story of seven-year-old Tim (voice of Miles Christopher Bakshi) as he struggles to adapt to a new baby in his family. Tim previously enjoyed the devoted attention of both his parents (Lisa Kudrow and Jimmy Kimmel), but the arrival of the Boss Baby (Alec Baldwin) creates chaos in his once stable world. Tim’s new baby brother is a suit-wearing, briefcase-carrying tyrant, who begins taking over the household.
Eventually, Tim realises that his brother isn’t actually a regular child. Rather, he’s a special agent from BabyCorp HQ tasked to complete an espionage mission at Tim’s parents’ company. With more people buying puppies than having babies, BabyCorp is beginning to panic, and if Boss Baby can discover what has been going on, promotions and accolades await him. But he needs Tim’s help, so the two brothers must learn to work together to achieve the end goal.
Themes
Sibling rivalry; family; espionage
Violence
The Boss Baby has very limited violence, but it might still worry young children. For example:
Sexual references
None of concern
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
The Boss Baby shows some use of substances. For example:
- Two young boys are served champagne when on a plane trip to Las Vegas.
- There are references to a young character having tried a Long Island Iced Tea (a cocktail) and disliking it.
Nudity and sexual activity
The Boss Baby shows mild nudity. For example:
- One scene shows a baby’s bare bottom.
- Women wear revealing clothing at a bachelorette party.
Product placement
There is no product placement of concern in The Boss Baby, but tie-in merchandise might be marketed to children.
Coarse language
The Boss Baby has some mild coarse language.
Ideas to discuss with your children
The Boss Baby is a movie about the infinite quality of family love and people’s capacity to care for many individuals in their lives. Although children might worry that a new sibling will reduce the attention they get from their parents, there’s often no limit on the love that parents offer and families share. The movie also strongly emphasises the importance of working together as a team, and of being open to changing your first opinion of someone.
Children under five years might find some scenes scary, and you could talk about some of the movie’s scenes and themes with children over five years.
For example, The Boss Baby could give you the opportunity to talk about sibling jealousy and the complex relationships that parents have with their children. You could also talk about the nature of the business world as shown in the movie, and ask your children whether being competitive and ruthless has worthwhile or damaging consequences.