The Boss Baby

A newborn in a Brooks Brothers suit battling evil corporations may not be the most likely source for pre-teen laughs, but this is a wild and witty animation for all the family. Seven-year-old Tim (voiced by Miles Christopher Bakshi and also Tobey Maguire, as the grown-up who narrates) is horrified when his parents bring home a baby brother (voiced by Alec Baldwin). He's disturbed, not least because the new arrival can already talk and is dressed for Wall Street. After a fractious start, the siblings team up to save Mum and Dad (Jimmy Kimmel and Lisa Kudrow) from evil industrialists, learning important lessons about love and family along the way. Baldwin's wisecracking mini-mogul is essentially a talcum-tushed version of Jack Donaghy, the hard-nosed TV network exec he played in the sitcom 30 Rock. There are also sly references to other roles in the actor's CV - surely, this must be the first kids' movie to include a gag based on a scene from a David Mamet play. The family values slant is a tad mawkish (Pixar do that sort of thing so much better), not that it detracts from the riotous chuckles peppered throughout the script.