Samba on a Snowy Day is a super adorable picture book about a little girl and her puppy's first journey together in the snow. The illustrations are absolutely gorgeous and I love how the sky subtly changes throughout the day. Some of the sentences are very simple, so I think older children may not like it as much, however, younger kids will definitely enjoy seeing the exploits and mischief that Samba gets into.

Hey Jude is a short novella about a seventeen-year-old girl, Penny, who feels she must take care of her younger sister Jude, who suffers from depression and suicidal ideation. The book covers the start of a new school year for the girls.

Dear Girl is a children's picture book about a young girl and her grandfather who is dealing with Alzheimer's. The book takes us through the process of the grandfather first showing signs, being diagnosed, and the deterioration of his memory. The topic of Alzheimer's is always a heartbreaking one. However, this book approached the subject in a way to make it less scary, which I think it does pretty well. The illustrations are beautiful.

Twilight Spotlight includes a complete synopsis of the episode being discussed. This means spoilers are ahead...you have been warned.

I have worked on Twilight Spotlight #2-3 for longer than I would like to admit. They are also both very timely, as of course, people like to repeat history instead of learning from it. After rewriting so many times and trying to convey my opinion in so many ways, I have concluded that the best way to cover these episodes is to just wing it. (aka, keep an eye out for #3 very soon)  Oh well...here we go.

Image Credit: Animationmagazine.net

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. (IMDB)

Rating: PG

Runtime: 1 hour 30 minutes

Genre(s): Animation, Adventure, Comedy

Released: 

Directed by: Kris Pearn, Rob Lodermeier, Cory Evans (pre-production)

Written by: Kris Pearn, Mark Stanleigh, Lois Lowry (based on the book by)

Starring: Will Forte, Maya Rudolph, Alessia Cara, Ricky Gervais

The Willoughbys, adapted from the book by Lois Lowery, is an animated comedy released on Netflix earlier this year. I have attempted to write this review several times. I just can't seem to decide how I feel about it. The film is very much one of those that you will either really like or really hate...or just be left confused. While watching, several flaws stick out to me, however when given time to settle (and let's be honest, forget certain things) it doesn't seem as bad. I usually avoid reading reviews done by others until I have finished mine to prevent my opinion from being tainted, but due to how conflicted I felt (and because they kept appearing in my sns feeds), I decided to take a peek at what others thought. It didn't help. I have watched The Willoughbys twice now. I try to watch each film I review at least three times. I don't want to watch it again though. That probably says everything you need to know about it. 

So, what do I like about it that is keeping me from saying it is awful? Two things: the animation and Ricky Gervais. I loved the animation. There was a thread texture to everything, that ties in with the story and looks very unique. The film is very bright and the use of colors was fantastic. Ricky Gervais as the cat/narrator was a perfect fit. His delivery combined with the animation of the cat was my favorite thing about this film. It did not surprise me to see mostly gifs featuring the cat when I was looking for images to use in this post.

Now, what's so bad about The Willoughbys? The story is adapted from a book that I have not read. I do not know how true to it the film is. So please keep that in mind as I talk about the story. Granted...I am unsure if it was the story or the pacing that caused more problems. We start off the film with a backstory of how the parents got together and how they deal with their kids and how the siblings get along. Then we start with the main story that goes back and forth between being very slow and super fast and takes time to have scattered moments that seem pointless. Was there not enough story to make an hour and a half film with or did they just cut too much from the book?

I'm sure no one is surprised the cat was my favorite...right?

The main problem I had with the pacing was that it was super slow during things that were not vital to the story. Then, of course, the important stuff was rushed through. Each character has super unique personalities, but none are given an opportunity to truly shine or grow (at least not at a realistic pace). This led me to feel apathetic to them for the most part. The parents are absolutely awful but not in the typical awful parents in a children's film way. This is probably where my perspective of being older than the intended audience ruins things.

Don't get me wrong. I love films that do feature awful parents/families. Matilda and James and The Giant Peach are two of my favorite childhood films. However, the justice served in those films was much more satisfying. The Willoughbys is just sad (more realistic..but still).

As I already mentioned, I have watched this movie twice and have no plans of intentionally sitting down to watch it again. Will I play it in the background sometime? Possibly.

Rating: ✬✬✬✬✬✩✩✩✩✩ 5/10