What has happened to DreamWorks Animation? Sure it has lived under the shadow of the much successful & far-more influential Pixar Animation Studios throughout its existence but it also had its moments over the years with quality films such as Shrek, Kung Fu Panda & How to Train Your Dragon but their recent efforts have been highly mediocre.
Take their latest film: The Boss Baby. It not only marks the continuation of the rough phase this animation studio has been going through of lately but is one of their most forgettable films to date. Boring, unimaginative & not at all funny, it's a movie made exclusively for kids and is nothing but a test of patience for the grown-ups accompanying those little rascals.
The Boss Baby tells the story of a wildly imaginative 7-year old boy whose perfect life is uprooted when his baby brother shows up. Arriving in a taxi, wearing a suit & carrying a briefcase, this baby is unlike any but when the real identity of the toddler is revealed and his motives are made known, the siblings put their rivalry aside to stop a ridiculous plot from going live.
Directed by Tom McGrath, The Boss Baby doesn't waste much time in introducing its ridiculous premise but there isn't one moment when it's able to generate any sort of interest whatsoever and remains dull throughout its runtime. Sure it looks cute, and the animation is rich & colourful but its thinly written plot & poorly sketched characters make sure that it never becomes compelling.
Moments that are supposed to be funny appear more stupid than amusing. The humour in itself is so childish that it has negligible effect on the grown-ups. The voice actors chip in with fine inputs but the characters themselves are so bland and devoid of any soul that their work doesn't make much of a difference in the end. Lastly, even Hans Zimmer contributes with a terrible soundtrack.
On an overall scale, The Boss Baby is one of the worst films of the year, and is cringeworthy from start to finish. Kids may enjoy it for what it is but they are stupid anyway. The grown-ups, however, will have a hard time, for the plot is going to feel longer than 98 minutes if they're not intrigued by what the film has in store for them. DreamWorks Animations needs to bounce back and someday it definitely will but turds like The Boss Baby certainly won't do it.
