The Willoughbys Return

The Willoughbys Return is a 2026 Canadian-American computer-animated comedy film directed by Kris Pearn, co-directed by Rob Lodermeier and Greg Tiernan, and written by Pearn, Mark Stanleigh, Eyal Podell, and Jonathon E. Stewart. Based on the book of the same name by Lois Lowry, it is the sequel to the 2020 film The Willoughbys and features the reprised voices of Will Forte, Maya Rudolph, Alessia Cara, Terry Crews, Seán Cullen, and Ricky Gervais, who also narrates the film. They are all joined in by Dylan O'Brien, Kathryn Hahn, Bruce Greenwood, and Pete Davidson.

The Willoughbys Return was released on Netflix on April 24, 2026, and received critical acclaim upon its release, like its predecessor.

Synopsis
Nearly six to seven months after the events of the first film, the four Willoughby children-Tim, Jane, Barnaby A, and Barnaby B-have been adopted by the jolly candymaker Commander Melanoff and the eccentric babysitter Linda, also known as "The Nanny", and are currently living in Melanoff's candy factory at the end of a glittery rainbow in an unknown city, which claims to be New York, New York. Ever since their adoption at the end during their near-death experience on the Unclimbable Alps mountain range, the Willoughbys are living the life they always wanted, complete with enough food to sustain and nutrify them and a lack of sibling fights due to not being raised by their neglectful parents' example. In addition, because the Willoughbys are now residents of the ginormous factory at the end of the rainbow, and because Commander Melanoff is becoming extremely old for his age, he decides to retire making candy in the factory and hands it over to the Willoughby siblings, which includes inheriting the "Melanoff fortune" that comes with owning the factory. While getting ready to make and sell some of their very own, Willoughby brand-named candy one morning, Tim and his siblings witness the arrival of a long-lost relative of theirs, their cousin Richie Willoughby, who informs them that the Melanoff fortune (which their ancestors once owned, as he reveals to them) is in grave danger, as the Willoughbys' biggest rivals, Winifred and Winston Poore, are plotting to create a law that bans sweets from being sold across the entire world, which stems from a past experience of eating too much sweets and getting food poisoning. After the law is created in the Chamber of Congress room in the White House and transferred across the globe via a powerful mind-controlling device called the "Lowry Mind Reader, all businesses selling sweets are shut down for good, including Melanoff's factory, jeopardizing the Willoughbys' heritage of the Melanoff fortune. Determined to not lose what they've just gained, the Willoughbys, along with their foster parents, Richie, Commander Melanoff's old friend Tillian Gilbert, who is the owner of a pastry shop called "Tillian's Treats", set out on a long perilous trip to repeal the Poores' new law and be able to return to their home and make candy once again.

Voice cast

 * Will Forte as Tim Willoughby, the main protagonist; he is the protective eldest child of the Willoughbys.
 * Maya Rudolph as Linda (The Nanny), an eccentric babysitter and former orphan, as well as Tim and his siblings' adoptive mother.
 * Alessia Cara as Jane Willoughby, the fun-loving middle child of the Willoughbys with a gifted singing voice.
 * Dylan O'Brien as Richie Willoughby, the Willoughbys' long-lost cousin, once removed from the family tree.
 * Terry Crews as Commander Melanoff, the joyous former owner of the candy factory, Linda "The Nanny"'s husband, and Tim, Jane, Barnaby A, and Barnaby B’s adoptive father.
 * Kathryn Hahn and Bruce Greenwood as Winifred Poore and Winston Poore, the Willoughbys' biggest rivals who enact a law that bans sweets from being sold across the world.
 * Seán Cullen as Barnaby A and Barnaby B Willoughby, the weird but clever twin boys and youngest children of the Willoughbys.
 * Pete Davidson as Tillian Gilbert, the owner of Tillian's Treats pastry shop and Commander Melanoff's old friend.
 * Ricky Gervais as The Cat, a talking blue tabby cat owned by the Willoughbys who narrates the film.
 * Nancy Robinson as Irene Holmes.
 * Kris Pearn as Spoons McGee.
 * Mark Stanleigh as Alfred Smith.
 * Erica Rivinoja as Impatient Stewardess