X
- 2020
- PG
- Netflix
- 1 h 30 m
- 2020
- PG
- Netflix
- 1 h 30 m
Summary Convinced they'd be better off raising themselves, the Willoughby children hatch a sneaky plan to send their selfish parents on vacation. The siblings then embark on their own high-flying adventure to find the true meaning of family.
Directed By: Kris Pearn, Cory Evans, Rob Lodermeier
Written By: Mark Stanleigh, Lois Lowry
- 2020
- PG
- Netflix
- 1 h 30 m
- 2020
- PG
- Netflix
- 1 h 30 m
The Willoughbys
68
6.6
Where to Watch
Summary Convinced they'd be better off raising themselves, the Willoughby children hatch a sneaky plan to send their selfish parents on vacation. The siblings then embark on their own high-flying adventure to find the true meaning of family.
Directed By: Kris Pearn, Cory Evans, Rob Lodermeier
Written By: Mark Stanleigh, Lois Lowry
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 14 Critic Reviews
68
57% Positive
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
36% Mixed
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
7% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 14 Critic Reviews
68
57% Positive
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
36% Mixed
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
7% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
The animation decisions in The Willoughbys heighten the message of redefining family, connecting the medium directly to the storyline.
While The Willoughbys might not be very original, its novelty comes through in the delivery and execution, owing to a witty screenplay (by Pearn and Mark Stanleigh) that combines nimble wordplay with highly compressed, well-paced plotting.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 51 User Ratings
6.6
55% Positive
28 Ratings
28 Ratings
33% Mixed
17 Ratings
17 Ratings
12% Negative
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 51 User Ratings
6.6
55% Positive
28 Ratings
28 Ratings
33% Mixed
17 Ratings
17 Ratings
12% Negative
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
Hands day great family film! It’s a sensitive but relatable topic for many children in the world today.
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The movie practically sparkles in scenes at Melanoff’s candy factor, where the rainbow motif is woven throughout the space and even onto Melanoff’s commander jacket, which is topped off with candy buttons and cupcakes on his shoulders.
There's a lot going on in The Willoughbys, yet if you can get on board with its manic energy and accelerated plotting, the Netflix animated family comedy-adventure has an oddball charm that works surprisingly well.
Though it tends to feel disjointed as a whole, The Willoughbys thrives when it embraces its grim plot and lets mischief reign.
The film’s bright colors and blaring happy music may not be enough for viewers to overcome the rather unfunny themes of neglect (“Back up the abuse caboose”) routinely excused in more engaging fare.
It starts promisingly, builds towards something Roald Dahl cutting and cute, and kind of comes to pieces, like crumb cake.
I loved this movie, it was so cute and had a beautiful message about family that your family is more than just who you are related it is who you choose as your family too. The animation was exceptional beautiful, I loved how they used computer animation but gave the characters textures that made them look like stop-motion animation. The writing was outstanding and beautiful. The voice-over performances were fantastic especially from Ricky Gervais, Will Forte, Alessia Cara, Seán Cullen, Maya Rudolph, and Terry Crews. The music was excellent, I loved the song I Choose it is such a beautiful song. This is my 3rd favorite animated movie of 2020, one of my favorite movies of 2020, one of my favorite animated movies of all time, and one of my favorite movies of all time, this was an A+ movie.
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[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]
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Based on a Roald Dahl story in a parallel universe.
The vast majority of the jokes fall entirely flat and I think an insanely fast-paced movie with an hour-and-half runtime should have been way more entertaining. The major issue I have with this, though, is that it keeps shifting from one interesting storyline to another, and trying to convince us every time it that this would be the basis of the plot, before almost abandoning them and settling on a rather far less interesting and original plotline to serve its message, which is very problematic.
That said, I did enjoy this. It's so silly, for better or worse, and has a tinge of freshness, extremely eccentric and quirky characters (I think these parents are the creepiest I've seen in any movie) and breezy animation style similar to what Kris Pearn has done in Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2. But, to be honest, the intrusive meta-narrator cat is the true highlight of the movie.
(6/10)
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I enjoy dark humor and I enjoy it in a children's movie. However it's execution here I found very cringey. The jokes didn't land for me.
The animation is fantastic, that's a definite positive. It's unique, colorful and pleasant.
There's a story about true family here, but it's delivered in cringey, unfunny packaging. My 6yo and 3yo watched this with me and laughed only a couple of times. They didn't even want to rewatch it and they want to rewatch EVERYTHING.
Maybe this movie resonates with you, it just didn't for me. There are much better kid's film with dark humor in them that you could watch. At least it was on Netflix and I didn't pay movie theater prices to see it.
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What a dark and terrible movie that’s supposed to be meant for children. Not good.
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Production Company
BRON Studios,
Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit (CPTC),
Creative Wealth Media Finance,
Netflix Animation,
Netflix,
The Province of Ontario
Release Date Apr 22, 2020
Duration 1 h 30 m
Rating PG
Tagline The Affable Tale of an Old Fashioned Family and a BEASTLY Baby
Awards
Annie Awards
• 6 Nominations
Critics Choice Super Awards
• 4 Nominations
Chicago Indie Critics Awards (CIC)
• 1 Nomination
