The Boss Baby: Family Business
Universal Pictures | Release Date: July 2, 2021 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
39
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 20 Critic Reviews
Positive:
1
Mixed:
14
Negative:
5
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
63
Washington PostThomas FloydJun 30, 2021
The movie’s most piercing barbs are left for the tech world and the inevitability that our phones will make zombies of us all. Does that make the Boss Baby franchise a bold cinematic bet? Not exactly. But as a safe play for parents and kids alike, it’s tough to complain about the return on your investment. Read full review
60
IGNMatt FowlerJul 5, 2021
The Boss Baby: Family Business delivers middle-road mirth, full of action and quasi-clever jokes, and featuring the fun voice additions of James Marsden, Jeff Goldblum, and Amy Sedaris. Read full review
60
Screen RantSarah Bea MilnerJul 5, 2021
Overall, The Boss Baby: Family Business is a fun way for adults to spend some time with their kids, and in that regard, the movie completely succeeds in its purpose. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesMichael OrdoñaJun 30, 2021
It’s more of the same, for better or worse, but likely with enough bells and whistles — especially those new characters — to please younger fans. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubKatie RifeJul 1, 2021
Family Business feels like trying to eat lunch in a room full of screaming toddlers who keep slapping the sandwich out of your hands. Read full review
55
TheWrapCarlos AguilarJun 30, 2021
Family Business offers an array of half-baked conflicts, all crying out to be noticed, while the creators are apparently unsure of which requires the most urgent attention. Read full review
50
The Associated PressJake CoyleJun 30, 2021
It’s a manic movie in a familiarly corporate kind of way that provides kids with a computer-generated candy rush. The movie’s own business imperatives occasionally show through like a leaky diaper. Read full review
50
VarietyAndrew BarkerJun 30, 2021
The film itself, unfortunately, is generally less interesting than the business matters behind it, a thoroughly competent affair that tosses in just enough off-the-wall elements to liven up a fairly basic retread of the original’s formula. Read full review
50
IndieWireKate ErblandJun 30, 2021
Flashier stuff isn’t up to task, from awkward character design (the adults are, let’s just say, crafted with less care than the kiddos) to shoehorned callbacks and an over-reliance on exposition to push story points that could stand a more artful approach. The mind-bending nature of this series doesn’t help matters. ( Read full review
40
The Observer (UK)Wendy IdeOct 24, 2021
The pro-family, anti-tech messaging is designed to play to the parents, but while not entirely unwatchable, the film’s demented levels of energy will recommend it to younger audiences and may trigger stress headaches in anyone over 12. Read full review
40
The Irish TimesTara BradyOct 22, 2021
We’ll say one thing for Boss Baby 2: its untidy, unpredictable, and unmannerly form does, indeed, evoke the exhausting, mucky business of baby tending, albeit with nothing like the familial rewards. Read full review
40
The GuardianCath ClarkeOct 21, 2021
Given the calibre of the voice cast, perhaps the biggest disappointment is how humourless the movie is. Read full review
40
EmpireOlly RichardsOct 19, 2021
Further complicating the already indecipherable lore of the first film, The Boss Baby 2: Family Business is nice to look at but unfunny, unengaging and unintelligible. May it grow up soon. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleSteve DavisJun 30, 2021
It’s overwhelming, but there are a few nice touches that aren’t completely lost in the bedlam. Read full review
40
Screen DailyTim GriersonJun 30, 2021
There are plenty of would-be tearjerking moments in Family Business as different generations of this family reaffirm how much they mean to each other, but the sincerity of those scenes is consistently undercut by the filmmakers’ insistence on overdoing everything: the schmaltz, the slapstick, the feverish pace. Read full review
38
Movie NationRoger MooreJun 30, 2021
The entire affair isn’t terrible, just a drag. Truth be told, they’ve taken this idea and pounded the cute right out of it. Time to put the pacifier in this boss baby and move on. Read full review
30
SlashfilmJosh SpiegelJul 1, 2021
DreamWorks Animation can make solid family entertainment. But they haven’t this time. Read full review
30
The New York TimesMaya PhillipsJul 1, 2021
A baby in a suit? Always cute. Recycled gags? Not so much — this “Boss Baby” just didn’t get the memo. Read full review
30
The Hollywood ReporterMichael RechtshaffenJun 30, 2021
Returning director James McGrath and screenwriter Michael McCullers had an opportunity to build on an entirely workable formula, but instead have settled for a frenetic sugar rush of a retread that rapidly wears out its welcome. Pint-sized viewers might be distracted by the noisy, chaotic result, but most others will be hard-pressed to find the proceedings cute and adorable. Read full review
25
RogerEbert.comGlenn KennyJul 2, 2021
What chafes is not so much the vulgarity (although it is as relentless as it is unfunny) but the movie’s intractable infatuation with it. Read full review
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