One Night at Willy’s

Willy’s Wonderland is less of a movie and more of an excuse to watch Nicolas Cage beat up animatronics for an hour and 28 minutes. The moment I heard about it, I immediately assumed it was a low-budget rip-off of Five Nights at Freddy’s. Though the creators claim it was all a coincidence (yeah, right). Unlike The Banana Splits Movie, Willy’s Wonderland doesn’t hide its inherent similarities. Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza is replaced by the similar family entertainment center Willy’s Wonderland.

Animatronics include: Willy Weasel, Tito Turtle, Ozzie Ostrich, Gus Gorilla, Cammy Chameleon, Siren Sara, Knighty Knight, and Arty Alligator. Unlike the video game franchise, the crude collection of characters already look creepy. Like Child’s Play, it’s revealed that they were once serial killers who possessed the animatronics. Since the town is too dumb to fight back, they sacrifice incoming drifters. I’m not at all surprised that Nicolas Cage agreed to be in this, but not speaking the entire movie is an odd choice for such a loud overactor.

He’s the nameless janitor who works a night shift for the owner Tex. Between endless cleaning montages and soda fueled pinball breaks, Cage destroys every animatronic one at a time. It would get really repetitive if not for the pointless supporting cast. Beth Grant does some heavy lifting as the corrupt sheriff who agreed to the sacrifices. Emily Tosta is the young Liv who plots to burn down Willy’s Wonderland with the help of her throwaway friends. There is some fun that can come out of the concept, but Willy’s Wonderland should’ve gone full Cage.

The janitor sees Willy and friends