Hot take: Why The Boss Baby deserves the Animated Oscar

The Oscars this year have a rare feeling of unpredictability proceeding it. It’s just about anybody’s ball game at this point, but there are two victories that are guaranteed: Gary Oldman for Best Actor and Coco for Best Animated Feature. But there’s another animated nominee for the latter category that deserves the award more than Coco. That film is the Alec Baldwin-leading film, The Boss Baby.

There’s not much question as to who will nab the Animated Oscar statue this year. Disney Pixar’s Coco has won over audiences and critics with its timely narrative (namely its treatment and respect of the Mexican culture), gorgeous visuals and fun characters to latch onto. This would continue Disney’s dominance in the animated category of the Oscars. Not to say it isn’t well-deserved, especially after all the hard work that has gone into many of these films, Coco being the latest example. But as well-made and enjoyable as Coco is, it might just fall short of arguably the most deserving nominee on the list, The Boss Baby.

I know, how in the world can a spectacularly directed film like Coco somehow feel less deserving than a film like The Boss Baby? This is literally a film where a talking baby in a suit harasses his adoptive older brother after moving into the family in a taxi. It’s got more than its fair share of toilet-based humor, often revolving around the classy joke concept of bodily functions. The film, as a whole, just looks like an immature mess of a time. The film looks as though there’s nothing of value to it, especially when compared to a Pixar darling like Coco.

Well, you know what they say about judging a book by its cover.

Surprise Nomination

It may not seem like it, but the level of intricate details, stunning creativity and a smarter than average story elevate The Boss Baby pass your usual kid fare into something…kind of special. It may seem hard to believe, given the premise of the film, as well as its questionable trailer. It’s these factors, among others, that caused the film community to collectively groan in disappointment to the recent announcement of The Boss Baby being nominated an Oscar for Best Animated Feature. Its Golden Globe announcement was already a bit of a shock, as is, but the Oscar nod has caused some confusion among the film community. Why is it nominated? How did Lego Batman not receive a nomination, but The Boss Baby did?

Truth be told, the reasoning for The Boss Baby‘s nomination is as good a guess as anybody’s at this point. Maybe it’s the surprisingly profitable box office run that tempted voters to put the film in the category? Maybe the Academy voters have put this as their secret guilty pleasure? In reality, who really knows? Whether we agree or not, The Boss Baby can now claim to boast their status as an Oscar-nominated film for the future.

Creative Eyecandy

Not only can they claim that, but after careful deliberation, I argue that The Boss Baby is most certainly the deserving choice to win the statue come the ceremony. That’s not to discredit the work and talent involved with the other films in the category, far from it. But despite its mixed reception from critics and audiences, the Tom McGrath film managed to hit something rare in a film of its genre. It’s managed to craft a touching story and mix it with splendid visuals, amusing creativity and a surprisingly mature message to go along with the wild ride.

Firstly, the visual department deserves extra props for working on a story like this. The story, which focuses on an over-imaginative child forced to contend with the newest addition to the house, the moody baby himself, demands the utmost attention to detail. A good chunk of the film involves our main character going on inventive and imaginary adventures with his family, using it as a means to escape reality in the process. As a result, the visuals range from glossy to downright unusual and wildly chaotic, throwing together what could be the most imaginative method to portraying childhood fantasy games possibly ever put to screen. The Boss Baby thrives in these moments and there’s plenty to be had over its runtime.

A Tale of Coping with Loss?

But where The Boss Baby begins to truly thrive and prosper is its story, which is where I’m going into full-on Theory Mode. Now, I have not read or watched any media where the director or screenwriters and such have confirmed any theories about the film at all. I’m not going off of anything that’s really been discussed in any way, shape, or form, as of this writing. The only thing I’m going off of is the fact that I have seen this film more than once, which has prompted me to mention what I think the story is all about and why it deserves attention with an Oscar win.

The story of The Boss Baby seems rather cliched in its presentation and in many ways, it is. The plotline of a child or adult growing restless and feeling ignored when a younger and newer addition is brought into the household is reminiscent of a large number of slapstick buddy comedies. The two initially despise each other, but their respect and love for one another grows as they are forced to work together, you know, the works and such. It’d be foolish to call the story a groundbreaking and original concept.

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Rather, it’s The Boss Baby‘s presentation with its story that stands out as truly captivating. On the surface, the film is about a boy and his adoptive younger brother slowly bonding over an insane adventure. But, the film, at least in my eyes, is something more. From what I gather (and ultimately stand by), The Boss Baby is a creative perspective at childhood depression and dealing with loss at a young age.

Now just wait.

I may sound like a crazy person (I may be, as a matter of fact). This may not be what the filmmakers intended at all. This may be EXACTLY what the filmmakers had intended. I don’t know. But from what I see, it feels as though The Boss Baby is not really a wild adventure with a boy and a talking baby, but the wild imagination of a depressed boy dealing with a tough change in his household. Let me explain why I feel this way and why it’s the deciding factor for the film deserving an Oscar win. Spoilers ahead.

Imaginations Gone Wild

The film focuses on Tim Templeton, a young boy who is used to being the apple of his parents’ eyes, receiving all of the attention and love in his house. However, right towards the beginning, Tim’s mom is shown to be pregnant, signaling the arrival of the titular character, being Tim’s younger sibling. However, this is where imagination truly runs wild, as the next day, The Boss Baby shows up, stylin’ and wildin’ his way out of a taxi. Not exactly the most ideal or expected way for a baby to be introduced to his/her new home. It’s also impossible for that to happen (unless some neglectful parents leave their newborn baby alone in a taxi for kicks).

This is where The Boss Baby truly earns its stripes. In focusing all of our attention on a main character like Tim, with a wildly overactive imagination, the film manages to tell a compelling story of a boy awaiting the arrival of his baby sibling. The majority of the film is Tim imagining his shenanigans with the baby out of excitement/worry for the arrival of a baby into the house. I mean, his mom is pregnant (by what looks to be not that much) one night and the baby is already there the next day? It’s clear that the film, as a whole, is an unreliable narrative told by an imaginative person. The party at the house, the baby meetings, the exaggerated final act? Creations of the mind.

Parents’ Worst Nightmare

The ending of the film is what truly hits on an emotional note, but not for reasons one might think. The ending of the film sees The Boss Baby finally leaving his temporary house to go back into his baby haven, Baby Corp. When he leaves, a group of strange-looking baby creatures come in and literally erase any mentioning or memories of the baby from the parents’ head, leaving Tim to be the only one to remember any of what just happened. It’s at this point where the narrative makes some possibly unintentional, but nonetheless harsh and mature implications of what may have actually transpired.

The Boss Baby, at this point, seems to imply that the pregnancy may have not been successful after all. The buildup throughout the movie seems to heavily hint at Tim awaiting his sibling’s arrival, but the baby erasing scene has everything come crashing down on poor old Tim: the baby is gone, his parents are acting as though he didn’t even exist (possibly trying to put up a front to look strong for their son) and now he’s all alone. His only way to ‘bring’ the baby back to the house is by writing a letter to his brother, talking about how much he misses him. When the baby does come back, he’s noticeably devoid of any of the personality traits of the previous baby. It comes to reason that after a passage of time, this baby is the result of another, more successful pregnancy, effectively ending the story of how Tim’s brother, Theodore, came to be.

Doesn’t sound like such a dumb kids movie now, does it?

Who knows, maybe it still does. Maybe my assumptions are COMPLETELY wrong and the filmmakers wanted to go with something completely different. But whether I’m accurate in my analysis on The Boss Baby or not, the point still stands: the film deserves merits for how it approached a tough subject like losing a baby brother at such an early age. Because whether or not the analysis holds water, on a surface level, Tim still briefly loses his baby brother, whom his parents forget about completely. That’s not an easy subject to gloss over, especially in a kid’s film. But The Boss Baby‘s handling of the subject is charming, mature, creative and a whole load of fun to experience.

Next: Oscars 2018: The nominations that made us take notice

The Boss Baby boasts an interesting reputation, regarding its status in the film world. It’s almost unanimously agreed to be a questionable choice for a Best Animated Feature nomination and while it’s surprising, it feels a little disheartening to see everyone write this off as a garbage film for the lowest common denominator. In reality, the film is an inventive look at childhood depression, intentional or not, and the beauty of letting your imagination run wild at tough times in one’s life. It encourages escapism and functions as the most honest thing a film can claim to be: a fun time at the theaters either by yourself, with family or with friends. While Coco is not at all a bad choice for the Oscar, it’d be nice to see people give The Boss Baby a shot and see why the film deserves its nomination and even a surprise win. It’s artful entertainment at its most honest and blunt and it’s one to not miss.

The Boss Baby is available to view on digital and disc media right now, includin Netflix!