This week I watched the Netflix movie, The Willoughby’s. I secretly love to watch kids’ movies, (they’re my guilty pleasure) so I was looking forward to this movie. *WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD* I don’t think there is any way I can talk about the messed-up events in this movie without spoilers, so you have been warned.

For a kid’s movie, this movie is downright depressing. This movie is about the Willoughby family. In this family, there is Father, Mother, Tim, Jane and The Barnaby’s. Father and Mother are absolutely obsessed with each other. In fact, they have so much love for each other that they don’t have any to spare for the children. All 4 of the kids are ignored and neglected. They are barely even fed. The kids are so neglected that the Barnaby twins don’t even have their own names, they are both named Barnaby. One day, a baby in a box shows up at their door. Jane and the Barnaby’s sneak out to grab the baby and bring it in the house. Jane wants to keep it, but Tim doesn’t want to get in trouble with Mother and Father. Eventually, the rambunctious baby gets found by the parents and poor Tim gets punished. His punishment is to sleep in the coal room. On the wall of the coal room, Tim marks a dash for every time he’s been down there. The whole wall was filled with dashes. It was super sad to see him curl up in a ball on his pile of coals and sleep there for the night.

The movie is narrated by a cat. The cat’s viewpoint was able to see everything. It would’ve made the movie completely different if the viewpoint was by the children. I enjoyed the birds eye view of everything that was going on in the Willoughby household.

Together, the kids grow tired of being neglected and they hatch a plan. I find the plot of the movie itself to be pretty morbid, but then they throw in jokes about killing their parents and being free. It was all quite shocking! The 4 kids craft a dangerous trip for their parents to go on. One that is sure to kill them; filled with piranha’s, volcanoes and more! Their parents take off without a thought about the kids. The kids are happy and free for a little! That is until Nanny knocks on the door. Nanny is a large burst of energy and is so excited to be taking care of the children. Nothing the kids have ever been exposed to before. The movie goes on and you see their bond with Nanny grow. That is, until Tim thinks she is conspiring against them and working with Mother and Father. Tim takes drastic action and calls the place no one should ever call…. Orphan Services. Orphan Services is basically CPS in this movie. They dress in all black suits and I would compare them to men in black. Orphan Services surrounds their house and takes the kids away from Nanny. The kids are all split up into different foster homes. I found these scenes gloomy and are something I’ve never before seen in a kid’s movie. I’m not going to say it was “nice” to see these scenes, but it definitely was different and unique to see the plot progress like this. It’s not a happy-go-lucky movie where everything goes right and in the kids favor.

Fast forward many many scenes, and Nanny rescues the kids and they all go out to find Mother and Father. I thought the Orphan Services scenes were depressing, but here is where it gets WORSE!! Mother and Father are hiking a snowy mountain when they lose their trail and are basically going freeze to death. Luckily, the kids come just in time and find them to defrost them. In your head, you think YAY, the parents are going to realize how much they love their kids! BUT NO!! They unfreeze and then literally high tail it off the mountain, leaving the kids and stealing their only transportation. They have no clue how to drive the kid’s blimp, crash into a sharp point at the top of the mountain, and literally fly off and explode. The kids have no gear and are slowly freezing. They’re all losing hope, when Jane starts singing and bringing back hope to them. Her singing is magical and warms the kids and make them visible for rescue from nanny.

This movie was so unconventional and unique. You never see cartoon movies where the kids are so neglected and mistreated many times throughout the movie and things don’t go perfectly and according to plan. There are so many loops and it’s a rock coaster of an experience. It had a very heartfelt ending, as expected. I’m happy that the kids got to experience happiness with someone that truly loves them. Overall, I’d give this movie 10 kids out of 10! It’s on Netflix, so I’d recommend checking it out!

👩🏼‍🦰👩🏼‍🦰👩🏼‍🦰👩🏼‍🦰👩🏼‍🦰👩🏼‍🦰👩🏼‍🦰👩🏼‍🦰👩🏼‍🦰👩🏼‍🦰(10)/ 10