The Willoughbys (PG), on Netflix
IMDb; Rotten Tomatoes; TV Tropes; Wikia; Wikipedia

Caution: potential spoilers.

This is based on a book I haven't read. It came out in 2020, but I didn't see it until 2025. It did very well critically, but I'm afraid I didn't like it as much as I had hoped I would. I mean, I did like it, and honestly I don't know why I didn't like it more than I did. It's rather weird, but I usually like weird things. In fact it's got lots of elements I usually like, or even love. The CG animation is done in a sort of stop-motion style, which I like. But somehow, the movie just seemed okay, to me.

The story is narrated by a cat (voiced by Ricky Gervais). There's a married couple, the Willoughbys, whom Wikipedia says are named Walter (Martin Short) and Helga (Jane Krakowski), though I don't recall ever hearing those names in the movie. They just call each other "Father" and "Mother", which seems incredibly ironic to me, considering how much they hate having kids. They are extremely affectionate toward each other, but completely neglectful of their four children. The oldest kid is Tim (Will Forte), who has a younger sister named Jane (Alessia Cara, who also provides a song for the movie). The youngest are twins both named Barnaby. (They're supposed to be creepy, but I didn't find them particularly so.) Aside from their neglect, Father and Mother often punish Tim when he's done nothing wrong.

One day, Jane finds a baby abandoned outside their house, who she wants to keep. But her parents demand the kids get rid of the baby, and throw them out of the house until they do. Tim names the baby "Ruth", so that when she's gone, they'll be Ruth-less. They follow a rainbow to a candy factory run by Commander Melanoff (Terry Crews), and leave Ruth outside his door. Later, Jane comes up with a plan to make herself and her siblings orphans, by tricking their parents into going on a trip around the world full of dangers that will likely get them killed. Mother and Father are happy to leave their children behind, but hire a nanny named Linda (Maya Rudolph), who is much nicer than the kids' parents. But Tim wants to get rid of her, so he can be in charge of the household.

Eventually, Mother and Father run out of money, so they decide to sell the house. But the kids do all they can to scare off any potential buyers. Linda also helps with this, so Tim finally begins to trust her. But they are all separated by Orphan Services, until Linda reunites them. The children decide to get their parents back, so Orphan Services will leave them alone. Melanoff helps them build a dirigible made of candy, to fly to the Alps and rescue their parents. Things don't go as planned, though I found the outcome totally predictable. I won't spoil exactly what happens, but I will say there is a happy ending.

I've left out any number of details, but I think I've given enough of an idea of the plot. I do think it's a good movie, and it's possible if I ever watched it again, I'd like it more than I did the first time. But I probably won't do that. Still, I'm glad to have seen it once.