While it is true that the sooner babies start to talk, they’ll inevitably start to talk back. Yet, often there is a desire for communication or at least some understanding, with the little infants. Many have presupposed life with talking babies, and the situations they cause for their sometimes cognisant carers. In 1999, we got to see what happens when those cute babies got on a madcap adventure, armed with the ability to talk in Baby Geniuses.

When a new theme park opens up called Joyworld, one of the many products in the Babyco. portfolio. Babyco. is the brainchild of Dr Kinder and Heap, and it has a nefarious purpose and has been illegally experimenting on the tiny tykes, increasing their mental abilities. Backtalk is a real language that is lost at an early age, Kinder and Heap are desperate to try to crack the secret, even if they have to result in some highly unethical methods. When the experimental babies get loose at the Bobbin’s run daycare, hilarity will ensue for Kinder and Heap to keep their secrets, and the wunderkinds Sylvester and Whit to protect all of babydom.

You might be thinking that the plot seems rather complex for a fun-for-all-the-family film, and describing the plot succinctly is a modest challenge. Honestly, the plot is a MacGuffin as the main draw of the film is seeing the children in situations, and Baby Geniuses is full of them. Banking on the childlike charm of Leo, Gerry, and Myles Fitzgerald, to inhabit psychic, super-smart infants Sylvester and Whit. Aside from having copious shots of the wunderkinds performing actions that no baby should be able to. The abundance of the quality casting doesn’t lie solely on the child stars: The likes of Peter MacNicol, whose comedic abilities manage to be more than an asset in whatever project he’s attached to, and he’s managed to prove that statement here. Joining him are the likes of Turner and Lloyd, who also match their comic prowess with some fabulous villainous flourishes. 

The wider appeal is seeing cute children caper about is greatly mined to its potential, with dashes of theme parks and dynamic feats helping to do a lot to help accentuate the value proposition for this film. Then groundbreaking tech is used to help the bambinos to talk, while such methods may seem quaint by today’s standards, it’s still a fun technique. Some fun lines and outlandish situations also permeate the film, who hasn’t chuckled at the sight of a baby dispatching their foe? The theme park, cutely called Joyworld is also an imaginative place, even though it has some sinister intentions beneath its facade.

Drawing on stellar talents of comedy, and an endearingly crowd-pleasing premise, Baby Geniuses is a film that will provide a couple of laughs and an abundance of adorable adventures that will please anybody. From those who want to see the fulfillment of the peculiar premise, and their favourite stars getting knee-deep in their hilarity. While it might not make you feel smarter, Baby geniuses will deliver a grand time.

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