Based on a children’s novel by Marla Frazee, 2017’s animated effort The Boss Baby introduces us to the Templeton family: father Ted (voiced by Jimmy Kimmel), mother Janice (Lisa Kudrow) and son Tim (Miles Bakshi). They’re a close clan and Tim loves his “only child” life.

Tim’s world gets turned upside-down when a new Templeton enters the equation: an infant who wears a business suit (Alec Baldwin). The “Boss Baby” shows unusual talents and aspirations, qualities that pit him against his brother. The two eventually join forces to deal with outside threats.

Despite – or perhaps because of – the silliness of the film’s “infant who acts like an adult” premise, Boss Baby comes with comedic promise. It may not boast tons of room for real wit or cleverness, but it should be able to maintain entertainment across its 97 minutes.

This seems especially true due to the talent involved, as Baby offers a good cast. In addition to the actors I named and others like Steve Buscemi, the film comes from Tom McGrath, the director behind hits like Megamind and the Madagascar movies.

Alas, even with all those potential positives, Baby turns into a dud, largely because it seems like a mess. The film offers an odd mix of cheap kiddie humor with adult-oriented gags that come out of nowhere - and I don't just mean references like "cookies are for closers". The movie includes some jokes that feel semi-risqué for a story like this.

Baby also suffers from a radical lack of internal consistency. It ends with an "explanation" that seems to excuse all these leaps, but it feels like "Bobby Ewing in the shower" to me. The finale just seems like a weak attempt to let the filmmakers have their cake and eat it too.

The problem with Baby is that its internal universe makes little sense, and the "rules" change from minute to minute. The movie adopts whatever logic it wants for the sake of gags and doesn't adhere to its own sense of reality.

I don’t buy it, as the explanations feel cheap and like a "easy outs". The movie wants us to buy into the story as told but throws out its "excuse" at the end, and it doesn't work.

I also feel bothered by the movie's tacit endorsement of puppy mills. That's all "PuppyCo" appears to be - while the movie may offer a fantasy "kid's-eye" version of it, I still get the feeling it's A-OK with the notion that dogs are churned out in a factory.

A few laughs emerge here or there, but the film plods and goes nowhere. Boss Baby never becomes funny or clever enough to make up for its multiple flaws.

Footnote: a tag scene shows up at the conclusion of the end credits.

The Boss Baby appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.35:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. The movie came with an excellent visual presentation.

Sharpness seemed terrific, as the film offered consistent clarity. This meant a tight image without a sliver of softness.

No signs of jagged edges or shimmering occurred, and edge haloes remained absent. Of course, the image lacked any print flaws, as it remained clean at all times.

Colors became a strong element. The movie skewed toward orange and teal, but it boasted a mix of other tones as well, and these displayed consistently vivid hues.

Blacks were dense and tight, and shadows were fine, with nice clarity in low-light shots. Across the board, the image satisfied.

As for the movie’s DTS-HD MA 7.1 soundtrack, it opened up the film in a satisfying manner. Though the mix didn’t give us wall-to-wall theatrics, it managed to use the spectrum well.

As expected, the film’s occasional action sequences boasted nice breadth and activity, and the aerial elements created a fine sense of involvement, as these components zoomed around the room. While the soundscape didn’t stun us on a constant basis, it provided more than enough to succeed.

Audio quality seemed consistently solid. Speech appeared natural and distinctive; no edginess or other issues marred the dialogue.

Music sounded warm and full, while effects showed good clarity and accuracy. When necessary, bass response came across as deep and tight. All of this lifted the track to “B+” status.

This package includes both 2D and 3D versions of Boss Baby. The picture comments above reflect the 2D edition – how did the 3D compare?

In terms of visual quality, the two looked very similar. A few wide shots seemed a smidgen soft in the 3D version, but otherwise, the pair felt a lot alike.

Whatever minor picture degradation we encounter became balanced by the excellent stereo presentation, as the 3D Boss Baby popped literally from beginning to end. At the movie’s start, Tim’s fantasies leapt out of the screen, and that high level of activity continued through the finale.

Given all the action and crazy antics, the film came with plenty of room to shine, and it took excellent advantage of those opportunities. Without question, the 3D Boss Baby turned into the most satisfying way to watch it.

When we move to extras, we start with BabyCorp and You. This three-minute, three-second reel offers an “orientation film” for the company’s employees. It’s cute enough but not great.

In the same vein, ”The Forever Puppy” Infomercial lasts two minutes, nine seconds and it shows a fake promo for the movie’s important product. Like “BabyCorp”, it offers minor amusement.

Another short piece, Babies Vs. Puppies fills three minutes, 26 seconds, as it presents a “news report” about the conflict between infants and pooches. It features some movie crew to provide another gently entertaining piece.

A new short, The Boss Baby and Tim’s Treasure Hunt Through Time takes up three minutes, 35 seconds. In this, Tim and Boss Baby go on a pirate adventure – one that largely seems to recycle footage from the movie. Though it gives us passable piece, it feels cheap.

The Boss Baby’s Undercover Team goes for two minutes, 17 seconds and offers a cutesy look at the film’s infant supporting characters. Like the other clips, it comes with minor entertainment, but don’t expect much – and like “Hunt”, it seems chintzy, mainly because I’m pretty sure Alec Baldwin doesn’t do the voice of Boss Baby here.

Next comes the three-minute, 37-second Cookies Are For Closers. It includes comments from director Tom McGrath, head of character animation Carlos Fernandez Puertolas, producer Ramsey Naito, and actor Alec Baldwin.

The piece offers a look at the makeup/design of BabyCorp. It produces a couple of decent insights but lacks substance.

The Great Sibling Competition fills three minutes, 27 seconds and features McGrath, Baldwin, and actors Steve Buscemi, Lisa Kudrow, and Jimmy Kimmel. Those involved discuss their reactions to their siblings. It’s another cute but lackluster reel.

Four Deleted Scenes last a total of 11 minutes, 30 seconds. These include “Tim’s Nightmare”, “Puppy Interrogation”, “Car Ride” and “Emergency Landing”. All offer minor amusement but none seem especially memorable.

That 11:30 running time includes introductions from McGrath and Naito. They give us basics about the scenes as well as why the clips didn’t make the final cut.

A Gallery gives us 36 screens of concept art. It’s a pretty good collection.

The disc opens with ads for Captain Underpants, , Spirit: Riding Free, and Voltron: Legendary Defender. Sneak Peeks adds promos for Despicable Me 3 and All I Want For Christmas Is You, and we also get the trailer for Boss Baby.

Under The World of DreamWorks Animation, we find various promotional elements related to Shrek, Madagascar, How to Train Your Dragon, Kung Fu Panda, The Croods, Turbo and Home. Mostly we get music videos, but a few trailers appear as well.

A second disc provides a DVD copy of Boss Baby. It includes the same extras as the Blu-ray.

Aspects of The Boss Baby veer toward cleverness, but the movie shoots itself in the foot. It cares more about its erratic attempts at comedy than any form of consistency and development. The Blu-ray provides stellar visuals along with very good audio and superficial collection of supplements. Boss Baby disappoints, though the terrific 3D presentation made it a bit more fun.

To rate this film, visit the prior review of THE BOSS BABY