The Boss Baby: Family Business (2021)

(On Cable TV, January 2022) I’m not sure that the one-joke premise of The Boss Baby stretched to expand a sequel. After all, it was already such a poorly-motivated stretch that even the first film had trouble making it to the finishing line, barely kept up by a generally amiable tone. The sequel takes things to the next generation, as the grown-up hero of the first film re-experiences the baby empire through his kids. This time, they’re up against a mad educational genius who proves to be… yes… an evil baby. If your suspension of disbelief still holds, let’s just say that The Boss Baby: Family Business may or may not be credible, but it’s executed up to the level of most mainstream animated family films. Fast action sequences, straightforward narrative momentum, plenty of jokes and sight-gags, as well as a decent animation quality. There’s no real reason to watch this film if you haven’t already enjoyed the first one—but commercial logic works on its own level. I’m about half-certain that there will be a third film. I’m reasonably sure I’ll see it. I’m not at all convinced I’ll remember it a few days later.