Parents' Guide to

The Boss Baby

By Betsy Bozdech, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 6+

Animated comedy about sibling rivalry has peril, body humor.

Movie PG 2017 97 minutes
The Boss Baby Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

age 7+

Based on 56 parent reviews

age 7+

This title has:

Educational value
Great messages
Great role models
2 people found this helpful.
age 2+

My child is now only 50% Boss Baby

1 person found this helpful.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (56):
Kids say (128):

Considering that it's based on a cute but pretty story-lite picture book, this animated comedy exceeds expectations -- especially if you're a fan of Baldwin's work on 30 Rock. His character in The Boss Baby is pretty much a miniature Jack Donaghy; Boss Baby throws money at problems, dismisses someone as a "hippie," and, when asked to deliver a cutting insult, comes up with "you went to community college!" (There's also an in-joke reference to Baldwin's cutthroat-businessman role in Glengarry Glen Ross that may make some parents smile.) And the script in general is pretty witty, with clever lines and unexpected twists. Tim's Gandalf-like talking-wizard alarm clock, "Wizzie," is funny, as is a sequence in which Boss Baby tries to encourage Tim to ride his bike by rattling off lines from motivational posters.

The movie is sure to give families with siblings a way to talk about the challenges of being an older brother or sister -- with the nice reassurance that there's always enough love to go around. And Tim and Boss Baby do learn to work together; their eventual affection for each other is sweet. That said, the puppy mill-esque portrayal of Puppy Co. is sure to irk dog lovers, and Tim's parents are clueless even by cartoon-parent standards. But if you can overlook those issues -- and you don't mind some pretty epic barf scenes -- The Boss Baby is a fun, if not instant-classic, movie that parents and kids can enjoy together.

Movie Details

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