User reviews

The film isn't bad. The voice-acting, the unique characters, the dark humor, the animation, all make it quite an intriguing story right of the bat. Unfortunately, what starts out as a truly unique tale gives way to a horribly predictable and cliched ending. I truly thought this movie had promise, but once you realize where it's heading it's charm dwindles fast. What starts out as a daring piece of film ultimately loses out by playing it safe.

A mix of 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' and 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' and 'Mary Poppins'? Darker and pretty disturbing than most family fare but still has its moments especially with its beautiful animation style and great voice acting.

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)

Animated families are fun. Even when they are missguided or missinformed. In this case trying to live alone or on their own is the main idea. And the introduction of the characters by none other than cat ... I mean Ricky Gervais is quite the thing. Starts off quite fun I'd say.

This isn't quite Pixar, but it is fun entertainment. For the whole family - that is what animation is for. Decent effort overall

Loved the animation and the fresh approach to complex family dynamics. Big glaring issue is how the rag on Child Protctive Services in the same old boring trope of souless robots out to sequester children. These people are an integral part to protecting our society's most vulnerable from the very people who should have be providing a loving and caring home but neglect to do so. Hey Netflix, how bout some positive examples for these incredible and hard working heroes next time eh?

Great movie. I was entertained from start to finish. It felt more suitable for a grown audience than kids and thats why I enjoyed it. The story was set perfectly and it felt like something new. 1.5/2 for story and 1/1 for plot setting.

I do not always like this animation style but for this movie it felt nice and fun. 1.5/2. The cast and flow of scenes sometimes made no sense but as it is an animated movie I am not going to judge. 1/2. Lastly, I give it 1.5/2 from myself. and 0.5/1 for a fresh concept in animated family flicks.

During this quarantine period, there are a limited number of new releases for entire family to see. There is Trolls: World Tour, and there's this. Between the two, the Willoughbys stood out with its oddball humor, relatable characters and (kinda) positive message.

I absolutely adored this movie! It took me on an emotional roller coaster through the lows and the highs in the lives of the Willoughbys. I'm certain this is going in my hall of fame. This movie is great for all ages and teaches you the lesson of love and that it doesn't always have to be biological. Someone could learn a thing or two from this movie.

Not only it's beautifully made, I think it's such an important animation for kids with bad parents.. only someone with bad parents would understand how much this would mean to a child like that and how much it could actually help them!!

I like the idea of the story and I love the actors, but I'm really upset by the message it sends to children. The story is about neglected children that send their parents away and at one point in the film the "Orphan Protective Services" shows up to take them away. At that point the nanny gets really scared and tries to run away with the kids to protect them. The OPS then storms into the house in a very scary manner. As someone that has worked with children in abusive situations this scene can really influence children's fears about being taking away from abusive parents. It might prevent children from reporting abuse and instill fears that being taken away is worse than what they are experiencing. I do feel like it's important to talk about abuse and to not hide it in movies, but at the same time, helping children understand that the services that are there to protect will actually protect them.

I personally do not get the ratings. The animation looks amazing and unique. The story and characters are a bit weird but they have their charm. The only thing I do not get is the choice of voices for certain characters.

Melanoff doesn't sound like the old man he looks like. The Barnabys sounds like adults when they are the youngest kids. They are surely weird like they are described, that's a fact.

It's kinda a modern "A series of unfortunate events". Considering the story, Mr Gervais is perfect as the narrator! However, in my opinion, his voice and pitch doesn't really fit the cat. In all, it is a great story, with some mistakes, but fantastic animation to back it up.

I loved the differences in animation between the story itself and what the children imagine!

Zero expectations led to a surprisingly fun little movie. It's quirky and weird but I found it charming. Seemed a bit reminiscent of A series of Unfortunate Events, which is not a bad thing.

Fun little family movie on Netflix. Worth a watch.

Out of ten stars I give this a 5 for the art department and a 0 for the writing, The artists made a strong effort to build on poor rushed writing and managed to create something out of nothing. I was very disappointed to be introduced to a very promising "home" by one of my favorite artists, Ricky Gervais, and then be taken through a pointless ride only to end up at a most expected outcome. (Trying to spare you from spoilers). Anyways, this movie could have been quite good but sadly it is not. If only I had worked on it...

"The Willoughbys" is a delightful and whimsical animated film that cleverly balances dark humor with heartwarming moments. The story of four siblings who plot to escape their neglectful parents is brought to life with vibrant animation and imaginative design, creating a visually captivating experience. The voice cast, including standout performances by Will Forte and Maya Rudolph, infuses the characters with charm and personality. The film's quirky narrative and witty dialogue engage both children and adults, delivering a message about the importance of family in an unconventional yet touching way. While it may veer into darker themes at times, "The Willoughbys" ultimately shines as a unique and entertaining family film that stands out in the animation genre.

This movie truly gives hope to children in unfortunate situations. The actors did an excellent job portraying the different characters and I appreciated the depth of the story.

My 3yo, 5yo, and I adore this film. Several moments that made us laugh hysterically, most of those moments are kind of dark. So if you and your family like twisted humor, give this one a go!

Aesthetically pleasing yarn in which the characters hair sort of looks like yarn.

The CGI has this rich, stylized sense of texture in which everyone sort of looks like an arts and crafts project which works incredibly well with the Southern Ontario gothic vibe so one feels almost like one is experiencing a storybook as much as a movie. There is an innate cosiness especially with the darker red-pink-black color scheme.

The writing is not quite as strong. I like these kids and all and it has this Lemony Snicket quality though certainly has its own character. The theme of family and belonging is a bit worn out by this point and though I liked how it is child services that is rightfully the villainized party.

It's all pretty benign and passes an hour and a half. It could be more polished, for example I would have preferred to make the judgement for myself whether the Barnabys were "creepy".

Also, it's kind of a bland title. "The Wondiferous Willoughbys" or something.

I recommend the French dub. The English dub miscast the Narrator-cat and the Polish dub miscasts the Barnabys.

The Willoughbys is one of our very favorite books. It's charming, witty, and clever. We've been anxiously waiting for the release of this movie.

Over half the family gave up in disgust after 25 minutes. The two of us who finished were not at all impressed. It's beautifully animated, but the storyline was completely butchered. None of the great lines from the book, no character well captured, the essence of the book completely lost.

We're utterly disappointed. But, we're under quarantine and there's plenty of time to read the book for the 15th, 16th? time. Do yourself a favor--skip this movie in favor of the 5 star book it's based on. :)

This film has a strange and twisted sense of humour that is good for the dark-minded children out there. The art style is fantastically stylised and rendered. The story is very fast paced and full of sudden disconnections that might get tiresome.

This movie sure is modern - dark humoured, political, and a little too violent for kids. Animation is solid but the plot is terrible and forgettable.

Let's get through the good of it first: -Whoever did the animation is a genius, brilliant visuals. -Voice acting performances were great. -Dealt with serious issues in a great manner for kids to understand better. I always appreciate kids movies or shows that don't treat their children audiences like they're idiots, but give children a chance to learn these serious topics on their level. -Great characters, I feel in love with the characters in this movie. The real major problems I had with this movie are 2 things: -I didn't find any of the jokes to hit home. -It felt like the plot was all over the place. They introduced so many potential plot points that had no real implications on the story. If a certain event doesn't further your story, then it should be cut out.