Babies
Focus Features | Release Date: May 7, 2010 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
63
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 33 Critic Reviews
Positive:
23
Mixed:
9
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
Observant and funny and thoughtful too, powered exclusively by vérité footage without a word of narration, Babies is William Blake’s Infant Joy brought to rich cinematic life. Read full review
91
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
Babies will capture your eye -- and, probably, your fancy. Read full review
88
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike Scott
It's a lovely bit of blood-pressure-lowering cinema that never betrays its simple conceit. Read full review
83
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
A celebration of the gloriously mundane. Read full review
80
Boxoffice MagazineAmy Nicholson
This documentary on one of the most universal, photographed, analyzed, opined upon and slavered over human experiences manages to astound. Read full review
75
Tampa Bay TimesSteve Persall
It's the nicest Mother's Day gift available at the movies this weekend. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
As the movie goes on, these fleshy little beings turn into…well, people. And that's something to see. But Babies, without falsifying its subject, could have used a more soul-stirring sense of showbiz -- that is, a riper display of infantile special effects. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Just babies. Wonderful. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
I don’t think the movie is looking for answers; it isn’t asking any questions. But by its very nature, this is both an experiment in ontology (do babies know they’re babies?) and existentialism (are they thinking about who to be?). Read full review
75
Miami HeraldConnie Ogle
Sweet, amusing little film. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
The contrast in lifestyles is striking, and I suppose one of the themes that Babies is trying to get at is that despite chasm-wide economic and societal differences, infants are really all the same. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChroniclePeter Hartlaub
The similarity between the children is the most striking part of the movie. Read full review
75
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
A mesmerizing and weirdly manipulative experience. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterSheri Linden
As a portrait of children who are wanted and loved, it's intimate and often delightful. Read full review
70
VarietyLael Loewenstein
Babies is refreshing in its methods, impressive in its scope and remarkable in its immediacy. That said, it's also an occasionally frustrating documentary that deprives the viewer of the comforts of exposition and cultural context. Read full review
70
NPRLinda Holmes
Of course, there's no need to overthink it: If you just want to watch a baby respond to the arrival of a rooster in his bed with perfect comic timing, Babies is the movie to see. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesBetsy Sharkey
The result is irresistible and possibly infectious. Read full review
70
The New York TimesA.O. Scott
But Babies just might restore your faith in our perplexing, peculiar and stubbornly lovable species. Read full review
70
The New YorkerDavid Denby
The filmmakers register their point, but I don’t think it’s entirely parochial to note that, two decades from now, the American and Japanese children will probably have many choices open to them (including living close to the land), while the Mongolian and Namibian children are more likely to be restricted in their choices to the soil that nurtured them. Read full review
65
MovielineStephanie Zacharek
The point of Babies, to the extent that it has one beyond allowing us to revel in unstoppable baby cuteness, is to underscore that infants everywhere are more similar than they are different, regardless of what country they’re born and raised in. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
But by not "saying" ANYTHING about the lives behind all the lovely, easygoing footage of infants making their way to their first steps and beyond, Babies feels a tad dodgy (and repetitive) by the hour mark. Read full review
63
Orlando SentinelRoger Moore
Director Thomas Balmes and his editors find moments of humor in “discoveries” or the unfettered urinating of a baby brought up without diapers. Read full review
63
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe Williams
As a diversion, Babies is like a wind-up toy that will tickle anyone with a pulse. As a documentary, it's like a cache of home videos that will frustrate anyone with an inquiring mind. Read full review
60
Arizona RepublicBill Goodykoontz
An enjoyable movie, in many ways a beautiful movie to look at. One only wishes he'd been a little more ambitious. Read full review
60
New York Magazine (Vulture)David Edelstein
Better approached as an “oooooh” and “awww” fest. Read full review
60
SlateDana Stevens
If you can watch all 17 seconds of the "surprised kitten" video on YouTube without even a twinge of longing to crush said kitten with love, skip Babies. If you find yourself clicking "replay" to watch the kitten again, pre-order your ticket now. Read full review
50
Village VoiceDan Kois
Is Babies a good movie? Of course not. But that's missing the point--like asking if a porn video is a good movie. Babies gets the job done. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderAndrea Gronvall
As in many nature films, the ostensible subjects are less captivating than their scenic backdrops. Read full review
50
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
So after about an hour of watching four children eat, bathe and crawl, you might start to wonder why you've paid to see somebody else's home movies. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
If anything, blame the kids: They’re all adorable, roly-poly delights, but the first year of life has its natural limitations. Read full review
40
Time OutNick Schager
Babies is barely more insightful than your average Flickr photo gallery or home movie clip: it’s just infant porn for prospective parents. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
This documentary is as soothing and edifying as watching a video loop of the Yuletide log. Read full review
38
New York PostKyle Smith
Even I realize that other people's babies are boring. So is Babies. Read full review
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