'The Willoughbys' Trailer: Animated Film Features Kids Who Wish Their Parents Would Just Die

For an animated film aimed at children, the plot of “The Willoughbys” is pretty dark. But with the creative talent on board, it’s hard not to look past the odd, morbid story and see that the Netflix film might be one of the better children’s films of 2020.

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As seen in the trailer for the film, “The Willoughbys” tells the story of siblings that dream of having parents that are loving, caring, and sweet. Unfortunately, their parents are anything but that. So, the children devise a plan to send their parents on a dangerous trip that will most likely result in their untimely demise, leaving the children to enjoy their lives without their terrible parental units. See? That’s pretty dark. But the story does feature some light moments when the kids meet the nanny that is set to watch them while their parents are away. The nanny is wild, crazy, and full of life lessons.

The voice cast includes Will Forte, Maya Rudolph, Alessia Cara, Terry Crews, Martin Short, Jane Krakowski, Séan Cullen, and Ricky Gervais. The film is directed by Kris Pearn, who co-wrote the script with Mark Stanleigh. “The Willoughbys” marks the first directorial effort for Pearn since 2013’s “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2.”

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With COVID-19 keeping everyone inside for the foreseeable future, it’s probably good that Netflix is releasing this film in April. “The Willoughbys” hits Netflix on April 22.

Here’s the synopsis:

Convinced they’d be better off raising themselves, the Willoughby children hatch a sneaky plan to send their selfish parents on vacation. The siblings then embark on their own high-flying adventure to find the true meaning of family.