‘The Boss Baby’ Goes Viral in the Most Ominous Fashion

Up until yesterday, there was nothing particularly memorable about The Boss Baby, other than the fact the 2017 animated feature marked the last credited appearance of Tobey Maguire, something that may or may not be about to change when Spider-Man: No Way Home comes to theaters in exactly three weeks.

It was lightweight, inoffensive fluff to keep younger audiences occupied, with the movie going on to earn a surprisingly hefty $528 million at the box office, even if reviews topped out at a steadfastly tepid 53% on Rotten Tomatoes. Sequel Family Business was shuffled onto the big screen and Peacock earlier this year to very little fanfare, but The Boss Baby is now back in the most terrifying fashion imaginable.

During the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, a huge balloon bearing the likeness of the titular infant floated through the streets, causing the gathered masses to begin chanting “Boss Baby, Boss Baby” in unison. As you can see below, it’s haunting stuff.

im inside the boss baby balloon fighting for my life

— carter hambley (@carterhambley) November 25, 2021

[Žižek voice] The boss baby fuses all the passions of Western life under late capitalism. Even a baby can be anything he wants, but what he wants is capital, and capitulation to capital’s power is preordained because it is also an infant who shits himself and must be changed. https://t.co/E2kWc5eoSJ

— Ian Bogost (@ibogost) November 25, 2021

Guy who has only seen the Boss Baby balloon, looking at the other balloons: getting a lot of Boss Baby vibes from this https://t.co/XbzMWA3hM5

— Mrs. Detective Pikajew, Esq. (@clapifyoulikeme) November 25, 2021

Even with how unpredictable and unexpected the last couple of years have been, it would be fair to say that nobody would have called a gigantic recreation of the protagonist from The Boss Baby inspiring an almost cult-like fervor among throngs of people during a Thanksgiving parade, but here we are.