The Willoughbys (2020)
Director: Kris Pearn
Stars: Will Forte, Maya Rudolph, Alessia CaraRuntime: 90 minutes
Synopsis: 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.
Animation: 8/10
Animation: 8/10
Performances: 7/10
Screenplay: 5/10
Editing: 5/10
Score/Soundtrack: 7/10
Entertainment Factor: 5/10
Screenplay: 5/10
Editing: 5/10
Score/Soundtrack: 7/10
Entertainment Factor: 5/10
Verdict: After the successes of "Klaus" and "I Lost My Body" last year, I was eager to see what else Netflix had in its promising animated box. And while it certainly prides itself with having gorgeous animation, I can't help but feel that "The Willoughbys" was a bit of a misstep for them.
That is not to say that I didn't find the message behind it, which tackles the question of what truly constitutes a family, to be a pretty great one, but my issues rather come from the way the narrative was delivered. Everything was going a thousand miles an hour, and a lot of the pieces felt disjointed from one another. It was as is the film took many family movies ranging from "Mary Poppins", "A Series of Unfortunate Events", "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" or even "Home Alone", and stitched them all together in a sloppy and nearly incomprehensible way. The comedy was repetitive and not exactly original, the main character of Tim was a little annoying, the narration by a cat voiced by Ricky Gervais felt forced and was distracting more than anything else. The movie did have an overall fun and quirky atmosphere, which I bet will entertain a lot of people for a while, but I was sadly too distracted by the substance of it all, so much that the style became secondary and even tiresome at one point.
"The Willoughbys" still has great animation and will probably resonate better with families, but I found it to be too messy to be enjoyed properly. It borrows a lot of ideas from films that are better than it in every way, which kinda puts its whole existence into question for me. A lot of people seem to be enjoying it however, so don't take my word for it and check it out anyway.
That is not to say that I didn't find the message behind it, which tackles the question of what truly constitutes a family, to be a pretty great one, but my issues rather come from the way the narrative was delivered. Everything was going a thousand miles an hour, and a lot of the pieces felt disjointed from one another. It was as is the film took many family movies ranging from "Mary Poppins", "A Series of Unfortunate Events", "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" or even "Home Alone", and stitched them all together in a sloppy and nearly incomprehensible way. The comedy was repetitive and not exactly original, the main character of Tim was a little annoying, the narration by a cat voiced by Ricky Gervais felt forced and was distracting more than anything else. The movie did have an overall fun and quirky atmosphere, which I bet will entertain a lot of people for a while, but I was sadly too distracted by the substance of it all, so much that the style became secondary and even tiresome at one point.
"The Willoughbys" still has great animation and will probably resonate better with families, but I found it to be too messy to be enjoyed properly. It borrows a lot of ideas from films that are better than it in every way, which kinda puts its whole existence into question for me. A lot of people seem to be enjoying it however, so don't take my word for it and check it out anyway.
FINAL GRADE: 5/10
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