Netflix’s The Willoughbys – An Irritating Animated Film (Early Review)

In times like this, audiences are mostly looking for a distraction. With the majority of movie theatres shut down, streaming services are the next best thing. A new option coming soon to Netflix is The Willoughbys, the latest animated feature based on the work of Lois Lowry. This film will certainly not be for everyone as its humor and characters will surely test some audiences as they will likely rub some the wrong way. Not only is the film not funny, the characters are incredibly irritating to watch (but that’s just me talking though the film is clearly targeting a different demographic). All of this amounts to a real shame considering the film’s impressive voice cast who, as a whole, are wasted with mediocre and derivative material that brings absolutely nothing new to the table (if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it).

Those familiar with the source material should more or less know how the story goes though for others, The Willoughbys follows an infamous family known as the Willoughbys. The family has a long-running history but none of it would matter all that much here in terms of the story. The matriarch and patriarch of the family, known only as Mother (Jane Krakowski) and Father (Martin Short), were objectively not very nice people who both loathed their four children, Tim (Forte), Jane (Cara), and identical twins Barnaby and Barnaby (Seán Cullen), neglecting them and depriving them of food on a semi-regular basis. When it looked like there was no hope, a chance encounter gave them the idea to rid themselves of their less than desirable parents by sending them on an elaborate vacation. Little did they know, trying to survive on their own was easier said than done, especially with an overzealous nanny (Rudolph) on their case.

It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that family was a major theme of The Willoughbys and it would take a sprawling and quirky adventure for Tim, the goofy big brother who only wanted to relive his family’s former glory, Jane, the open-minded one, and the Barnabys, the supposed comic relief, for them to learn that family was what you make it. While all of this is sure to entertain younger audiences, the dull and unfunny story, irritating characters, and derivative story make it a chore to watch. If there was one thing that somewhat worked, it was the narrator who just happened to be a cat (Ricky Gervais). All of those elements add up, resulting in the film feeling longer than its roughly 90 minute running time.

In terms of animation, The Willoughbys is okay. It may not rank in the top tier of animation available today but it still did the trick. Though it was simple, it still featured a decent amount of detail among the characters and environments. Meanwhile, despite the dull material, the voice acting was fairly adequate across the board for the most part. They definitely breathed some life into the film, making it at least watchable. The standouts were definitely Cara as Jane and Krakowski and Short as Mother and Father, though for different reasons. Cara, a singer, can definitely sing and she got to show her talents here as Jane got to sing in the film (also providing the end credits song) while Mother and Father were utterly irritating characters, however, it wasn’t their fault.

In the end, The Willoughbys will have an audience but for most will be another forgettable Netflix offering destined to fade into obscurity.

*still courtesy of Netflix*

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.