The Willoughbys

Family movies are no strangers with typical cliches and slapstick but finding ways to standout amongst one another is a challenge altogether. If they are from an animation studio like Dreamworks for example, there's usually an outsider proving themselves, wacky shenanigans ensuing, a pop culture song plays during a sequence to catch audience attention, dance party ending, etc. Then there are some of the odd studios that don't pump out projects as frequently as the heavy hitting heads like Disney, Dreamworks, or Warner Bros. Sometimes they can be as infrequent as stop-motion such as Laika or Aardman Animations with their own respective charms or styles. This brings us new project from a separate studio, The Willoughbys, which was directed by Kris Paern (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2) and is based on the book of the same name by Lois Lowry. A couple of months hearing about the family film from a YouTube content creator, I had marked it on my watchlist to see if 2020 animated can rise to the occasion. After watching it on Netflix recently, I was surprised by how much fun I had with its high energy viewing. 

What's it about? The story follows a 4 neglected children whose horrible emotional treatment lead them into scheming to get rid of their incredibly selfish parents. There is a good fast pace with how scenes stay with just enough time to do their gags and/or normal plot points before moving onto the next part. There is a nice endearing sort of message it leans towards slowly as these kids work to find a better outcome for their troubled life conditions. There isn't anything new that hasn't been seen before here but absurd humor from the great animation here is absolutely a strong point going in its favor. The comedy is over exaggerated but for the direction it goes in along with the weird yet colorful nature, it's a fun package of an adventure.

There are some predictable cliches that do get in the way such as a misunderstanding that forces an obstacle to overcome that gets resolved after a couple of minutes. With how short the runtime is, there is a part or two that would have benefitted from a bit more screen time. In regards to the characters themselves they are all fairly one note archetypes but are saved with the voice acting

 

How are the actors? In regards to story importance, the actors to focus on are Will Forte, Alessia Cara, and Maya Rudolph. Will and Alessia both bring solid performances to their respective neurotic and free spirit character types that blend well with the chemistry of their banter together. Maya shines well as a hopeful beacon of light for these distressed kids and has nice jokes on her end. Honorable mentions go to Martin Short and Jane Krakowski for their energetic despicable hysterical acting as parents who make Harry Potters adoptive family (the Dursley's) look nicer by comparison.

 

Overall Consensus: The Willoughbys makes its family adventure shine with its great animation, zany energy direction, solid voice performances, and a sweet albeit familiar message for its audience, despite some of its predictable cliches. ⭑⭑⭑⭑ Runtime: 1 hour 32 minutes PG

 

Reasons to watch it: You are a fan of any of the aforementioned actors. You don't mind over-exaggerated visual humor and predictable cliches in animated comedies. You enjoy weird endearing children as main characters. You are in the mood for something colorful and zany. 

 

Reasons to avoid it: You aren't a fan of any of the aforementioned actors. You dislike over-exaggerated visual humor and predictable cliches in animated comedies. You are bored with weird children as main characters.