Credit: Netflix

Twenty-five weeks: that’s not a typo. The Boss Baby has spent 25 weeks in Netflix’s global top 10. Can you believe it? Because this animated masterpiece came out back in 2017, almost a decade ago. Let that process for a minute. Isn’t it something you expect from a brand-new Netflix Original?

What’s even funnier is that plenty of people weren’t convinced when DreamWorks first announced it. A baby in a business suit? Running a company? Strutting about with Alec Baldwin’s booming boardroom voice? Can’t imagine how it might’ve sounded to the people who initially got involved with the project. And yet the cheeky little fella rocked up and pulled in nearly $528million worldwide. Indeed, a boss baby.

But that’s because The Boss Baby does something far cleverer than people give it credit for. Baby Corp isn’t one big joke. It’s a large corporation where babies climb the corporate ladder and sit through meetings. It’s basically Wall Street… only everyone’s wearing nappies.

If you have somehow never seen it (which is insane), the story follows seven-year-old Tim, whose life gets turned upside down when his new baby brother arrives. Only this isn’t your average newborn. Boss Baby turns up in a sharp little suit with a briefcase and is secretly on a mission to stop Puppy Co. from stealing the world’s affection away from babies. It works because underneath all the corporate gags is a story about an older brother scared of losing his place in the family.

That’s the part people sometimes overlook. Strip away the talking babies and the office humour, and you’ve got a story nearly every family can relate to. Plenty of older siblings have wondered whether Mum and Dad still have enough room for them after a new baby comes along. DreamWorks just served it on a platter for you.

And it all started with one animated film that grew into The Boss Baby: Family Business, two Netflix series, an interactive special, and even a Christmas spin-off.

Another thing worth knowing is that director Tom McGrath wasn’t trying to copy Pixar’s realism. Instead, he wanted the animation to echo classic cartoons from the 1950s and ’60s, even using Lady and the Tramp as a visual reference while developing the film. That’s why Tim’s imagination feels so colourful and exaggerated instead of photo-realistic.

Also, don’t forget Alec Baldwin. Love him or loathe him, he was the perfect voice for the role. Boss Baby’s whole personality depends on that larger-than-life executive swagger. That’s where a lot of the comedy comes from.

And aye, the film even picked up an Oscar nomination for ‘Best Animated Feature’. Whether you thought it deserved to stand alongside films like Coco is another debate entirely, but the nomination proved one thing: The Boss Baby had become far more than a throwaway family comedy.

Which brings us back to Netflix. Twenty-five weeks is a larger deal than you think. New kids keep discovering it, and parents know it’s one they can happily watch with them. Plenty of animated hits come and go, but The Boss Baby still remains on the top of its game.