Now grown up, Tim (voiced by Marsden, replacing Tobey Maguire from the original) laments that he’s getting older - and that he and younger brother Ted (Baldwin) have drifted apart after being so close as kids. (A UK release is planned for October.) The franchise, based on Marla Frazee’s picture books, has also spawned a short film and a Netflix series, so there’s a built-in audience for Family Business among those seeking undemanding entertainment options.

The filmmakers’ insist on overdoing everything: the schmaltz, the slapstick, the feverish paceĪrriving in US theatres (and on the Peacock streaming service) from July 2, the sequel will target family viewers over the Independence Day holiday. Alec Baldwin and James Marsden bring some personality to the proceedings, even if Family Business mostly feels like a tool for keeping youngsters distracted for a couple hours. Shamelessly sentimental and weighed down by 1980s pop-culture references, DreamWorks’ animated film lacks the novelty of the first picture - which introduced the idea of Baby Corp, the efficient organisation where all newborns come from - while crafting a convoluted follow-up that reunites distant brothers Ted and Tim in adulthood. The villain in The Boss Baby: Family Business brainwashes unsuspecting parents by bombarding them with bright, swirling images - an apt metaphor for the experience of watching this rambunctious, narcotizing sequel to the 2017 original.

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