Movie: #Oscars Boss Baby (2017) #Animated Feature Film

Let me just reapply the Justice League disclaimer here: All kinds of spoilers. It has been out for a while. And it is not a great movie. So, get over it.

Thoughts I had while watching the movie:

Per Alex: he liked that it concentrated on imagination. That is his silver lining. And, when the imagination scenes happened, that animation was really good. However, overall meh.
I love that Black Bird was the song used throughout. That is my silver lining. It is one of my fave songs (Norah Jones version).
“You know who else wears diapers? Astronauts and NASCAR Drivers!”
Best character is Wizzie! Hands down. He made the best parts of the movie!!
“Are you the Baby Jesus?” HA HA HA HA

I don’t know if they were aiming for the “parent AND kid” market? Going in I was leery to think that this was Oscar worthy. After watching, IMHO, it is not Oscar worthy. It is one of those “wait for the DVD” cartoons that you might not want your kids to watch. I would give it less than a MEH. Maybe riding on the Alec Baldwin/SNL acclaim? I don’t know.

If you have ideas as to why it made it to the Oscars, let me know in the comments below.

IMDB Synopsis: A suit-wearing, briefcase-carrying baby pairs up with his 7-year old brother to stop the dastardly plot of the CEO of Puppy Co.

Starring:

Trailer:

Additional Movie Info:

It received a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 52% Rotten. It received a Rotten Tomato audience rating of 52% liking it. Average Rating: 3.5/5 with a number of User Ratings: 29,050.

Movie Reviews:

Specs: Release date: 31 March 2017 (USA) / Runtime: 97 minutes / Budget: $125M

IMDB Trivia:

Young Timothy (Miles Bakshi) has a Gandalf-themed alarm clock. Bakshi’s grandfather, Ralph Bakshi, directed the original The Lord of the Rings (1978).
(at about 7 minutes) When Tim watches Boss Baby exit the car, Tim is wearing a shirt with the digits ’01’ imprinted. However, when he gets down the stairs, the digits change to ’02’. This indicates his being relegated to second place by Boss Baby.
When Tim jumps up to his home’s second story during the early chase scene, the sound effect is from The Six Million Dollar Man (1974).
The first trailer was released on National Boss’s Day.
Wizzy the Wizard recites the Gandalf the Grey (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)) catchphrases “He shall not pass!” and “Fly you fools!”
The baby giggles and coos are the same as many other baby sounds, they’re stock sounds. Disney Tarzan also has the same baby sounds.
Many people were astounded when this was revealed to be a Nominee for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. They also expressed a lot of anger that it was nominated over the better received The Lego Batman Movie (2017). It even boasts the lowest Tomatometer of the five nominees, sitting at only 52% when compared to 70% for Ferdinand (2017), 83% for Loving Vincent (2017), 93% for The Breadwinner (2017), and 97% for Coco (2017).
The music used during the tape chase scene is the theme song from S.W.A.T. (1975)
While Tim describes his parents’ exciting jobs in marketing, a shot of them “launching” new products shows them simultaneously turning launch keys in an allusion to the opening sequence of WarGames (1983).
The voice of Francis Francis was supposed to be provided by Kevin Spacey. He was replaced by Steve Buschemi. Kevin Spacey plays Francis Underwood, a conniving politician in House of Cards (Netflix, 2013).
When Timmy’s father answers the call from Puppycorp and says that they are on their way, Timmy tips back the head of a bust, presses a button, the fireplace slides apart and his parents slide down the two poles. This pays homage to the original Batman TV series. Batman and Robin slide down the poles to get to the Bat Cave.
Near the beginning, when the toy steam train is being activated, different toys anticipate the plot. First there is a taxi, in which the baby is delivered; then a police car and fire engine, in which the babies chase Tim; then a barn, referring to the family going to Puppy Co.; then a game of Mouse Trap, in which Tim and Boss Baby get sent to Francis Francis; then an airplane, in which Tim’s parents fly; then a pirate ship, referring to Tim and Boss Baby imagining their plane is a pirate ship; then a Habitrail, in which Tim climbs to get to his parents; then a rocket, which is where the Forever Puppies are being launched.
When Eugene is dressed up as a nanny-type woman to “take care” of the boys, he resembles Mary Poppins. Then Francis Francis says that she’s “practically perfect in every way” which is how Mary Poppins is described in her movie.
The bed Timothy’s second daughter is in at the end of the movie said her birthdate is March 31st, 2017; the same day the movie was released. This indicates that the main action of the movie is not based in present day. Further evidence that the movie is not set in the present day is the airplane that Timothy’s parents take which appears to be a DC-10 that is no longer used for passenger travel.