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Babies
Metascore
63 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 33 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 23 out of 33
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 33
  3. Negative: 1 out of 33
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  1. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
    Reviewed by: Rick Groen
    100
    Observant and funny and thoughtful too, powered exclusively by vérité footage without a word of narration, Babies is William Blake's Infant Joy brought to rich cinematic life.
  2. Portland Oregonian
    Reviewed by: Shawn Levy
    91
    Babies will capture your eye -- and, probably, your fancy.
  3. New Orleans Times-Picayune
    Reviewed by: Mike Scott
    88
    It's a lovely bit of blood-pressure-lowering cinema that never betrays its simple conceit.
  4. Christian Science Monitor
    Reviewed by: Peter Rainer
    83
    A celebration of the gloriously mundane.
  5. Boxoffice Magazine
    Reviewed by: Amy Nicholson
    80
    This documentary on one of the most universal, photographed, analyzed, opined upon and slavered over human experiences manages to astound.
  6. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    75
    Just babies. Wonderful.
  7. Miami Herald
    Reviewed by: Connie Ogle
    75
    Sweet, amusing little film.
  8. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Steven Rea
    75
    The contrast in lifestyles is striking, and I suppose one of the themes that Babies is trying to get at is that despite chasm-wide economic and societal differences, infants are really all the same.
  9. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Peter Hartlaub
    75
    The similarity between the children is the most striking part of the movie.
  10. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Ann Hornaday
    75
    A mesmerizing and weirdly manipulative experience.
  11. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Wesley Morris
    75
    I don't think the movie is looking for answers; it isn't asking any questions. But by its very nature, this is both an experiment in ontology (do babies know they're babies?) and existentialism (are they thinking about who to be?).
  12. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Owen Gleiberman
    75
    As the movie goes on, these fleshy little beings turn into…well, people. And that's something to see. But Babies, without falsifying its subject, could have used a more soul-stirring sense of showbiz -- that is, a riper display of infantile special effects.
  13. Tampa Bay Times
    Reviewed by: Steve Persall
    75
    It's the nicest Mother's Day gift available at the movies this weekend.
  14. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Sheri Linden
    70
    As a portrait of children who are wanted and loved, it's intimate and often delightful.
  15. NPR
    Reviewed by: Linda Holmes
    70
    Of course, there's no need to overthink it: If you just want to watch a baby respond to the arrival of a rooster in his bed with perfect comic timing, Babies is the movie to see.
  16. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Betsy Sharkey
    70
    The result is irresistible and possibly infectious.
  17. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: A.O. Scott
    70
    But Babies just might restore your faith in our perplexing, peculiar and stubbornly lovable species.
  18. Variety
    Reviewed by: Lael Loewenstein
    70
    Babies is refreshing in its methods, impressive in its scope and remarkable in its immediacy. That said, it's also an occasionally frustrating documentary that deprives the viewer of the comforts of exposition and cultural context.
  19. The New Yorker
    Reviewed by: David Denby
    70
    The filmmakers register their point, but I don't think it's entirely parochial to note that, two decades from now, the American and Japanese children will probably have many choices open to them (including living close to the land), while the Mongolian and Namibian children are more likely to be restricted in their choices to the soil that nurtured them.
  20. Movieline
    Reviewed by: Stephanie Zacharek
    65
    The point of Babies, to the extent that it has one beyond allowing us to revel in unstoppable baby cuteness, is to underscore that infants everywhere are more similar than they are different, regardless of what country they're born and raised in.
  21. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Phillips
    63
    But by not "saying" ANYTHING about the lives behind all the lovely, easygoing footage of infants making their way to their first steps and beyond, Babies feels a tad dodgy (and repetitive) by the hour mark.
  22. Orlando Sentinel
    Reviewed by: Roger Moore
    63
    Director Thomas Balmes and his editors find moments of humor in "discoveries" or the unfettered urinating of a baby brought up without diapers.
  23. St. Louis Post-Dispatch
    Reviewed by: Joe Williams
    63
    As a diversion, Babies is like a wind-up toy that will tickle anyone with a pulse. As a documentary, it's like a cache of home videos that will frustrate anyone with an inquiring mind.
  24. Arizona Republic
    Reviewed by: Bill Goodykoontz
    60
    An enjoyable movie, in many ways a beautiful movie to look at. One only wishes he'd been a little more ambitious.
  25. New York Magazine (Vulture)
    Reviewed by: David Edelstein
    60
    Better approached as an "oooooh" and "awww" fest.
  26. Slate
    Reviewed by: Dana Stevens
    60
    If you can watch all 17 seconds of the "surprised kitten" video on YouTube without even a twinge of longing to crush said kitten with love, skip Babies. If you find yourself clicking "replay" to watch the kitten again, pre-order your ticket now.
  27. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Elizabeth Weitzman
    50
    So after about an hour of watching four children eat, bathe and crawl, you might start to wonder why you've paid to see somebody else's home movies.
  28. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Dan Kois
    50
    Is Babies a good movie? Of course not. But that's missing the point--like asking if a porn video is a good movie. Babies gets the job done.
  29. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Andrea Gronvall
    50
    As in many nature films, the ostensible subjects are less captivating than their scenic backdrops.
  30. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Scott Tobias
    50
    If anything, blame the kids: They're all adorable, roly-poly delights, but the first year of life has its natural limitations.
  31. Time Out New York
    Reviewed by: Nick Schager
    40
    Babies is barely more insightful than your average Flickr photo gallery or home movie clip: it's just infant porn for prospective parents.
  32. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Marjorie Baumgarten
    40
    This documentary is as soothing and edifying as watching a video loop of the Yuletide log.
  33. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Kyle Smith
    38
    Even I realize that other people's babies are boring. So is Babies.
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User Reviews

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User Score
5.5 out of 10

Mixed or average reviews- based on 22 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 4
  3. Negative: 1 out of 4
  1. jimmytancredi
    5
    This is an awesome documentary. we get to see how four babies from different parts of the world have the first experience basic emotions like surprise, happiness, frustration, rage, boredom, even bullying! And we see how they naturally go through those first stages of self-discovery, social interaction and how they learn about the world around them. There really are no words that can do it justice.… Full Review »
  2. Cheryl
    6
    The concept of the film was great, the execution was incomplete. They needed to include a bigger representation of babies across the globe. The lifestyle of the babies of third world countries were truly jaw dropping, and created a hunger to see more. It felt like a glimpse rather than a complete documentary.… Full Review »
  3. juderobe
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click full review link to view. If you're not raising a baby or enjoying new grandchild, you might find this underwhelming. At times it catches some lovely moments, but other times I felt uncomfortable to be watching other people's intimate interactions. It happened most often with the African family because the scene stayed pretty much the same and so did the interactions. Yes, the babies all developed from sitting to crawling to walking; yes they all went from inarticulate to beginning speech. So? Maybe I wold have liked to see more detail about one or two families. I thought it ended just when it needed to. I didn't want to watch any more.… Full Review »
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