The Willoughbys

Name: The Willoughbys
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Animation, Family
Released: April 22, 2020
Duration: 90 min
Rating: 68
Cast: Alessia Cara, Bonnie Riley, Brian Drummond, Islie Hirvonen, Jane Krakowski

2020

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 14 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 47 Ratings

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6.7

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6.7	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 47 Ratings

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The Willoughbys

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Movie Details & Credits

Netflix | Release Date (Streaming): April 22, 2020 | PG

Starring: Alessia Cara, Bonnie Riley, Brian Drummond, Islie Hirvonen, Jane Krakowski, Kris Pearn, Martin Short, Maya Rudolph, Rebecca Husain, Ricky Gervais, Robyn Ross, Seán Cullen, Shannon Chan-Kent, Terry Crews, Will Forte

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.

Director: Cory Evans and Kris Pearn and Rob Lodermeier

Genre(s): Adventure, Comedy, Animation, Family

Rating: PG

Runtime: 90 min

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Critic Reviews

Polygon Petrana Radulovic

May 19, 2020

The animation decisions in The Willoughbys heighten the message of redefining family, connecting the medium directly to the storyline. Read full review

Liam Lacey

Apr 22, 2020

Fans of cynically funny children's entertainment in the vein of Roald Dahl or Lemony Snicket’s Daniel Handler should glean some fun out of the new Netflix animated movie, The Willoughbys, an energetic and semi-imaginative comedy about an appalling family. Read full review

Peter Debruge

Apr 20, 2020

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. Read full review

David Rooney

Apr 23, 2020

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. Read full review

Molly Freeman

Apr 23, 2020

The Willoughbys is a mishmash of story ideas strung together by the idea of found family, but it's cute and quirky enough to keep viewers hooked. Read full review

Natalia Winkelman

Apr 22, 2020

Though it tends to feel disjointed as a whole, The Willoughbys thrives when it embraces its grim plot and lets mischief reign. Read full review

Movie Nation Roger Moore

Apr 27, 2020

It starts promisingly, builds towards something Roald Dahl cutting and cute, and kind of comes to pieces, like crumb cake. Read full review

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User Reviews

lwtxalessia

Apr 23, 2020

beautiful visuals, good story and message about family. this movie is so cute, i had a lot of fun watching it

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

manningn15

Jun 22, 2020

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 thatI 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.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

alessianready

Apr 23, 2020

it’s a wonderful movie that teaches a lot about family and how NOT treat your childrens

2 of 5 users found this helpful23

TVJerry

Apr 29, 2020

The titular family is headed by 2 parents who are so self-involved that they scorn and ignore their offspring. As a result, the kids devise a plot to get their freedom by sending their parents on a dangerous vacation. The result takes them on a series of zany adventures with their new nanny.The titular family is headed by 2 parents who are so self-involved that they scorn and ignore their offspring. As a result, the kids devise a plot to get their freedom by sending their parents on a dangerous vacation. The result takes them on a series of zany adventures with their new nanny. What makes this film so entertaining is the sarcastically irreverent writing, zany animation and manic pace. Sometimes, this genre of dark children's comedy gets overshadowed by the nods to adult humor. While there's some of that here, it never gets in the way of the charmingly cynical fun for all ages and a refreshingly modern take on family.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

ChanekeCholo

Dec 13, 2021

It's that kind of really weird animated movie with black comedy but very colorfully. I had liked to see this one nominated on the Academy Awards.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

ahmedaiman1999

Apr 23, 2020

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 oneBased 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)… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

Jonesboom1

Apr 24, 2020

What a dark and terrible movie that’s supposed to be meant for children. Not good.

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

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