From the outset, Kris Pearn’s charming and off-kilter “The Willoughbys”
makes its wacky worldview clear: The is not your average fluffy and
fuzzy kids’ story, and don’t let any of the genre’s usual trappings make
you think otherwise. Sure, there’s a sarcastic cat narrator (amusingly
voiced by Ricky Gervais), a pack of cute kids, a rickety old house, a
whimsical nanny, and an adorable baby orphan. There’s even Terry Crews
voicing a bizarre candy magnate. But “The Willoughbys” is different —
or, perhaps, just different enough to stand out, as it sends up the vast
assortment of kiddie stories about missing, dead, or just plain bad
parents, and finds something fresh and funny in the process.
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| Img Source: Netflix |
The movie is based on Lois Lowry’s novel of the same name, which also
set out to upend tired expectations about kid-centric entertainment and
the iffy parental figures that often populate them. Pearn’s animated Netflix
version can’t help but embrace the kind of lessons endemic to
entertainment aimed at little ones. The trick, however, is that the
CG-animated film offers them up with tongue-in-cheek laughs and
delightful self-referential humor that should appeal to audiences of all
ages.
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| Img Source:Netflix |
The eponymous Willoughbys, once a proud, if weirdly whimsical family —
“every Willoughby had a mustache, even the women,” eldest son Tim
announces — have crumbled into shadows of their former selves, including
Mother (voiced by Jane Krakowski) and Father (voiced by Martin Short),
who are solely interested in each other. The elder Willoughbys are
profoundly unsuited to parenthood and not interested in giving love to
their inevitable offspring, Tim (voiced by Will Forte), Jane (voiced by
pop star Alessia Cara), and a set of “creepy” twins (voiced by a very
funny Seán Cullen).
The wondrous legacy of the Willoughbys — which, given how much Mother
and Father resemble each other, hints at decidedly non-kid-friendly
schemes to keep their gene pool “all in the family” — still holds
fascination for Tim, who tries to hold things together with good (if
old-fashioned) humor. Jane is a dreamer prone to singing out her
feelings (the constant trilling seems to be dedicated to showing off her
own pipes; rather than adding much to Jane, it does eventually find
narrative purpose), while the twin Barnabys (because why would the
world’s worst parents bother to come up with two names when one will
do?) are often pulled between their elder siblings.
The arrival of a mysterious package sets the plot into motion,
eventually inspiring the young Willoughbys to break away from their bad
parents and cook up a plan to “orphan themselves” by sending Mother and
Father on a worldwide jaunt meant to threaten their lives at every turn.
The film, though based on a single novel from Lowry, tends to feel
episodic in its first half, zipping from important plot point and
character introduction by way of individual vignettes — even meeting key
supporting stars like kind Nanny (Maya Rudolph) and over-the-top candy
king Commander Melanoff (Crews) feels choppy, to say nothing of a wacky
segment beholden to “Home Alone” antics — but the loose threads pull
together for a satisfying and sweet second half.
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| Img Source: Netflix |
Even when narrative elements are lagging, the film’s lush animation —
rendered in a warm, painterly quality, with plenty of attention to the
many wild textures that populate its world — keeps the eye engaged. As
the Willoughbys are forced out of their family home and made to explore
new spaces, from a dizzying city to Melanoff’s fully functional factory
and even a jaunt to far-off mountain peaks, “The Willoughbys” further
expands into new locales worthy of attention. A nifty sense of scale
enhances the storybook feel, and quick cuts fold in quirky jabs of
humor, including a sequence that finds the kids crafting their very own
fake travel agency.
The humor keeps the pace elsewhere too, including clever digs at
other stories about MIA parents (it is, after all, how the Willoughbys
conceive of their plan to jettison their parents), silly character
introductions (Nanny may have zero experience with kids, but
she’s got a “cheery disposition” to fill in the cracks), and the best
joke about “Deliverance” to sneak into a children’s program since Steve
Martin and Kermit had a banjo duel. It’s that sort of smart charm that
pulls the film forward even when it temporarily falters, keeping up the
good cheer until it eventually embraces the kind of feel-good storylines
it rejects early on. Even better: it earns them, slightly skewed
worldview and all.
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