Baby Geniuses

Plot

Two scientists, Dr. Elena Kinder and Dr. Heep, use genius-baby studies to fund BabyCo's theme park Joyworld. Dr. Kinder's research holds that babies are born possessing vast, universal knowledge and speak a secret yet impossible-to-translate pre-language called Babytalk, which is lost at age 2–3 when they 'cross over' by learning human languages. All babies raised in her underground research facility were adopted from orphanages Babyco supports and transformed into geniuses through the Kinder Method, then used in experiments to decipher Babytalk.

One mischievous toddler, Sylvester (nicknamed 'Sly'), makes repeated escape attempts. One night he hides in a diaper truck and succeeds, then runs into his long-lost normal twin brother, Whit, at a Joyworld playground. Though they share a telepathic bond, neither knows the other exists. Guards capture Whit, mistaking him for Sylvester, and take him to the facility.

Sylvester is taken home by Whit's adoptive mother, Robin, who is Dr. Kinder's niece. Dr. Kinder becomes excited about a cross-evaluation opportunity, but when she visits Dan Bobbin's place, she realizes Dan can understand babies. After failed retrieval attempts, Dr. Kinder decides to move the facility to Liechtenstein, leaving Whit as the only normal baby raised there until Sylvester can be recovered. The babies hypnotize bus driver Lenny to drive to the facility, where Sylvester sets theme park robots on the scientists.

Dr. Kinder captures Whit and takes him to the helicopter pad; Robin and Dan chase her, and Dr. Kinder reveals Robin was adopted at age 2. After Dr. Kinder is arrested, Sylvester and Whit come together on the roof to cross over. Dan and Robin adopt Sylvester, but the twins no longer know the secrets of life. Carrie reveals nothing, just giving her father a sly smile.

Production

Director Bob Clark became involved in 1994 when he met Jon Voight at a play, who told Clark of a script his production company, jointly owned by Steven Paul and Crystal Sky Pictures, had acquired about intelligent babies. Clark initially doubted the premise but changed his mind after Voight and Paul showed him a one-minute proof-of-concept film with babies' mouths morphed to appear as if they were talking. The original script was a fanciful fairy tale involving babies discovering a hole to Baby World; Clark rewrote it completely, jettisoning that plot for a corporate intrigue angle for a more realistic presentation.

Adult actors were tested for the babies' voices, but producers opted for child voice overs. Producer Steven Paul conceived the concept after seeing two babies communicating at a Barneys New York. David Saunders, then-president of Sony's Triumph Films, wasn't sure the film could work until he saw Babe, which had similar mouth morphing. Auditions for babies were held in about six cities.

Triplet actors Leo, Gerry, and Myles Fitzgerald, almost three when cast, played the dual role of Wilt and Sly. Baby wrangler Jim Wagner noted that with triplets, they could work longer hours than with twins. Filming lasted 50 days, wrapping in March 1997. The film faced numerous delays: originally planned for Christmas 1997, it was postponed to April 10, 1998, then January 29, 1999, and finally March 12, 1999.

It was one of the final films produced under Sony's Triumph Films label before it shuttered in 1997. The film was briefly handed to Columbia TriStar Home Video for direct-to-video release but reverted to theatrical release under TriStar Pictures.

Reception

Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of B− on an A+ to F scale. Roger Ebert gave it 1.5 stars out of 4, writing, 'Bad films are easy to make, but a film as unpleasant as Baby Geniuses achieves a kind of grandeur.' He argued babies are cute only when being babies, not as miniature adults. In a positive review, Dwayne E. Leslie of Box Office Magazine gave 3 out of 5 stars, comparing it to Look Who's Talking and calling it a 'step beyond' for its computer-animated mouths, labeling it 'a live action Rugrats cartoon.' The film made over $5 million in its opening weekend and was the 10th highest-grossing PG-rated movie of 1999.

Sequel and other media

Although the film was not received well by critics, its commercial success on home video prompted a sequel, Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2, directed by Bob Clark. Jon Voight, previously co-executive producer for Baby Geniuses, starred in the sequel. The sequel was a box office bomb and received even worse critical reviews, receiving a nomination for Worst Picture at the 25th Golden Raspberry Awards.