The Willoughbys

A stray cat narrates the story of the Willoughbys, once an adventurous and loving family for generations. The present-day Mr. and Mrs. Willoughby are too enamored with each other to care for their four children: eldest son Tim, who tries to keep his siblings out of trouble; middle daughter Jane, whose beautiful singing is silenced by her parents; and the inventive but “creepy” twin boys, both named Barnaby. After Jane and the twins find a baby abandoned outside, their parents banished them from the house until they return without the child. They leave the baby, whom Tim names “Ruth”, on the doorstep of a candy factory and the owner, Commander Melanoff, takes her in.

To rid themselves of their neglectful parents, the siblings send them on a “murderous vacation” by fabricating a travel brochure of volcanoes, bears, and other hazards. As the children celebrate their freedom, a nanny hired by their parents arrives and wins over everyone but Tim. Learning about Ruth, Nanny takes the children to Melanoff's factory. After saving Ruth from the assembly line, Nanny realizes the child is safe with the loving Melanoff. Mr. and Mrs. Willoughby, having survived the various dangers and short on funds to continue their trip, sell their house online. Mr. Willoughby informs Nanny in a voicemail, which Tim overhears. Believing Nanny is in league with his parents, Tim reports her as a “bad nanny” to the sinister Orphan Services.

When their parents’ realtor arranges an open house, the siblings scare off potential buyers with a series of traps. Nanny frightens away one last family, convincing Tim that she means well, but Orphan Services arrives. The head agent recognizes Nanny as Linda, an orphan who never found a family who wanted her. Learning that Tim called Orphan Services, Linda leaves and Jane angrily chastises Tim before the siblings are separated and taken to foster homes. Tim keeps running away from his foster families, discovering in the process that the Willoughby mansion has been sold and demolished, and is eventually confined at the Orphan Services center. The cat finds Linda and brings her Tim's signature helmet, convincing her to reunite the children.

Linda breaks Tim out of Orphan Services and collects the siblings, and Tim apologizes to Jane. He suggests that they find their parents in order for Orphan Services to leave them alone. Linda and the siblings enlist Melanoff’s help to construct a candy-fueled dirigible to travel to "Sveetzerlünd" (a parody of Switzerland), where their parents are scaling the “unclimbable Alps”. Taking flight without Linda, Melanoff, and Ruth, the siblings reach Sveetzerlünd. They follow a trail of their mother’s yarn to the top of the mountain, where they find their parents nearly frozen to death. The siblings save them, confessing that they sent them away but hoping to reunite as a family. Unchanged, Mr. and Mrs. Willoughby abandon their children and take the dirigible, but cause it to fly out of control and crash. The siblings prepare to succumb to the cold as Jane sings, but they are rescued by Ruth, Linda, and Melanoff.

Linda and Melanoff adopt Ruth and the Willoughby children, all living at the candy factory as a loving family. Meanwhile, Mr. and Mrs. Willoughby survived the dirigible crash, floating at sea, and are presumably devoured by a shark. In a post-credits scene, the cat cleans himself until noticing the audience.

• Will Forte as Tim Willoughby, the rational eldest child of the Willoughbys.
• Maya Rudolph as Linda a.k.a. The Nanny, an eccentric babysitter who must look after the kids.
• Alessia Cara as Jane Willoughby, the fun-loving middle-child of the Willoughbys with a passion for singing.
• Terry Crews as Commander Melanoff, the joyous owner of a candy factory.
• Martin Short as Walter Willoughby, the neglectful Willoughby patriarch.
• Jane Krakowski as Helga Willoughby, the neglectful Willoughby matriarch.
• Seán Cullen as Barnaby A and Barnaby B Willoughby, the "creepy" twin boys and youngest children of the Willoughbys.
• Ricky Gervais as The Cat, a talking blue tabby cat and narrator of the film.
• Colleen Wheeler as Orphan Service Agent
• Nancy Robinson as Irene Holmes
• Kris Pearn as Spoons McGee

In November 2015, Bron Studios acquired the animated film rights to the Lois Lowry's book The Willoughbys, and hired Kris Pearn to adapt into a screenplay with Adam Wood to direct the film, with Aaron L. Gilbert and Luke Carroll producing.[2] In April 2017, Ricky Gervais was cast in the film to lead the voice, and it was reported that Pearn would co-direct the film with Cory Evans.[3] Moments later, Cory Evans was replaced by Rob Lodermeier as co-director while Evans did do the film as a concept artist and a pre-production co-director. The screenplay however was replaced by Pearn and Mark Stanleigh with a story by Pearn who also executive produced the film. In June 2017, more were cast to the film, included Terry Crews, Maya Rudolph, Martin Short, Jane Krakowski, and Seán Cullen.[4] Will Forte and Alessia Cara (in her first animated role) also provided their voices, with Netflix now set to distribute the film.[5]

As of November 2018, the film was still in-production at the Bron Animation studio in Burnaby, British Columbia.[5]

The characters in the film were designed by character designer Craig Kellman who designed the characters for DreamWorks Animation’s Madagascar and Sony Pictures Animation’s Hotel Transylvania as well as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s The Addams Family.

The music in the film was composed and conducted by Mark Mothersbaugh, who previously worked with Pearn on Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2.[6] The original song "I Choose" (performed by Alessia Cara, who plays the voice of Jane in the film) was released independently by Def Jam Recordings.[7]

The trailer was released on March 24, 2020 on Netflix's YouTube page.[8] The film was digitally released on April 22, 2020 by Netflix.[9] It was viewed at least in-part by 37 million households over its first month of release.[10]

On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 90% based on 60 reviews, with an average rating of 6.85/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "An appealing animated adventure whose silliness is anchored in genuine emotion, The Willoughbys offers fanciful fun the entire family can enjoy."[11] On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 68 out of 100, based on 14 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[12]

Renee Schonfeld of Common Sense Media, gave the film four stars out of five, saying the film is a "wonderfully whimsical tale with dark themes is softened by warmth, humor, and stellar performances by talented comic actors who brighten the already inventive and luminous animation."[13] The Hollywood Reporter's David Rooney said that "the Netflix animated family comedy-adventure has an oddball charm that works surprisingly well."[14] Natalia Winkelman of The New York Times said that "is charming on a moment-to-moment basis. Running gags, like how Tim triggers a car pileup whenever he crosses the street, help to round out an unruly world. The composer Mark Mothersbaugh contributes a jazzy score and original song (performed by Cara) that punctuate the giddy mood. Though it tends to feel disjointed as a whole, “The Willoughbys” thrives when it embraces its grim plot and lets mischief reign."[15]

• The Willoughbys on IMDb