With Trolls opening this week in France, Germany, and the U.K., Dreamworks Animation is using the opportunity to promote its follow-up effort, The Boss Baby, which will open March 31, 2017 in the United States.

Based on a book by Marla Frazee and adapted for the screen by Michael McCullers (Saturday Night Live, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me), Boss Baby reworks the familiar cartoon trope of the “adult baby,” which has been seen everywhere from Who Framed Roger Rabbit’s Baby Herman to Baby Buggy Bunny’s “Babyface” Finster, and most famously, Stewie in Family Guy. It’s unclear from the teaser what Dreamworks’ film will add to the well worn concept besides Alec Baldwin, who voices the baby.

Dreamworks has always relied heavily on books for inspiration. While its recent book-inspired films—Home and Rise of the Guardians—have delivered mixed results, the studio continues to base films on books, hoping to replicate the success of the studio’s first mega-franchise, Shrek, based on a children’s book by William Steig. The How to Train Your Dragon series also has literary roots, while another 2017 Dreamworks release—Captain Underpants—is based on a bestselling children’s book series.

Boss Baby is directed by Dreamworks vet Tom McGrath, who co-directed all three Madagascar films and Megamind. Ramsey Ann Naito is producing the film.


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