So let's talk about The Loud House Movie. (Some spoilers ahead, bewaaaaare.)
Like I said earlier, this is a film I enjoyed quite a bit, certainly one of the best things to come out of the franchise since a pretty long time in my opinion (I won't go back on how season 5 disappointed me so far, I've probably said enough about it). Won't lie, even though this is not the most cinematographic animated movie out there by a margin, I would've liked to see this in theaters, despite being a Netflix original, it's produced by Nickelodeon Movies instead of just Nickelodeon like other productions such as the Invader Zim movie two years ago, plus we got a couple of guest stars so I think it was intended for the big screen when it was thought out, but I do wonder if the plot, as it is in the final result, was the one that was intended when they started to work on a Loud House movie back in 2017.
Anyway, the plot we got is pretty good to me. It has that "travelling to another country to discover oneself" vibe, which fits well with what the movie is really about, outside of the Louds learning their ancestors were a royal family from a part of Scotland : Lincoln feeling like he's always gonna be an everyboy stuck in his sisters' shadow. A personal struggle from the boy that was already hinted in the episode Making the Case, but pushed farther here, since it was more suggestive (and botched) in the aforementioned episode. I always liked this kind of plot, because I can relate to Lincoln myself, I often feel like I've got nothing special to stand out when I compare myself to others, and it always bothers me more than it should, out of personal anxiety. I think the crew found, with that story about royalty, a good story idea to get along with Lincoln's struggle and what he learns about himself thanks to this journey.
Because yeah, this movie is more about Lincoln than anyone else, like a way for the franchise to get back to its roots, you know, "one boy living with ten girls" and all that. It can even gets cleverly meta in a weird way, since after the first season, a major part of the fandom was starting to talk about the sisters more than it would talk about Lincoln himself, along with the show expanding its own universe and developing its characters. You often got subjects like "who's your favorite Loud sister", and Lincoln got kind of left behind the more the franchise went on. In some sort of way, the show always was more remembered for the sisters, because of their unique trait that even got themselves being considered flat stereotypes. The point is, the charm of the show at first came partly from that "an everyboy surrounded by ten unique and talented at something sisters" vibe, and I think this movie is a pretty ingenious way to play with that and to give Lincoln as much limelight as his sisters have gotten over the years, and remind us, and himself, why he's a good boy / character.
So of course, you can see the moral a mile away, but it often was the case in the show, even in its best episodes, and that also was a part of its charm, because the show knew that the most important thing isn't how predictable the moral is, but the way to get to it. In that regard, the movie works well, because what anticipates said moral is very enjoyable to follow. Like I said, I really like how they handled that silly royal story to go hand in hand with Lincoln's down-to-earth struggle. The beginning is a clear indication of what makes Lincoln special : he deeply cares about people he loves and just wants to make life easier for his family out of pure altruism. It's also a reason that makes this beginning perfect for a newcomer as well as for a fan, because it does a great job to (re)introduce us to that energetic yet wholesome family, and it anticipates very well what's to come afterwards. The plot goes on pretty smoothly, and does a fairly good introspection on Lincoln's character. I like how the movie handles the boy getting more selfish out of royalty : he still helps the people around him, but this time, not out of altruism, but to get recognized and loved. It's actually quite clever, especially with the addition of Angus, the groundskeeper. Basically, I see him as an adult (and scottish) incarnation of Lincoln's good side. He's good-hearted and does good deeds for nothing but making life easier for the people of Loch Loud. So making him the new Duke at the end, as predictable as it is, makes perfectly sense, and works as the conclusion of the Louds' journey. I can see Lincoln growing up to be just like him (plus, their relationship was quite wholesome).
If Lincoln's arc is very good to me, the sisters also got their moments to shine, even if there's not much time for all of them, but it's an 83 minutes long movie after all. Still, they don't get left behind and aren't useless at all. As Lincoln-centric as the plot is, it does remind us that the Loud siblings are at their best when they're all together, stronger than ever in-universe, and entertaining for the audience. I also appreciate that they gave some spotlight to Lily. It makes sense because she's never been the most memorable Loud sister, since... well, she's an ordinary baby. But she does go further than just saying "poo poo" here without going too far, and she's got a wholesome bonding with Lincoln too. In fact, the movie clearly doesn't lack of wholesome moments starring the whole family. In other words, it takes pretty much all the show's strengths and makes them work together : it's often funny and the heart is in the right place. It does use some surnatural stuff here, which can be jarring in the show considering the slice-of-life tone even if there always were some cartoonish stuff (Lisa's trash monster back in season 1), but here, considering the nature of the plot, it doesn't bother me. Kind of like in Hey Arnold ! The Jungle Movie, it works well, it's not here just to be here (the dragon is important in the climax and in the way Morag gets the Louds out of Scotland, Lucille's ghost offers a point of view on what really happened with the Louds' ancestors) and strengthens the magical aspect of this small part of Scotland.
It goes well with the grander side of this movie in comparison with the show. But it also doesn't force itself to be grander just to fit with the codes of a movie, the heart and soul of the show is still here and that's the most important to me. The new characters are good too, I already talked about Angus but Morag is also a fun villain, I like how her motivations are just wanting to get some peace and quiet. Even whe she wants to become the duchess, it's to make the people of Loch Loud flee so she can have all the peace and quiet she wants by being alone. I can see why she wants to get that far after having to live with the Louds for several days, aha. She's not the most memorable villain out there, certainly, but she's good to me (as in, she works as a villain). Michelle Gomez was probably having a blast voicing her (I want a behind the scene with her when she makes the "I HATE THE LOUUUUUUUUDS" scene, lol). David Tennant is an enjoyable guest too, it's weird to hear him voicing such a nice character after hearing him voicing a more grumpy scottish character since 2017, but he does add some heart to his character. Plus, he says "blow me bagpipes", I believe Scrooge McDuck also said that once, so it's great.
So, what's a movie without some movie ambitions, I guess. About the animation, like I said when the first teaser came out, I like what they did here, by adding more dimensions to this 2D comic strip world, to me it looks like a pop-up book, and it's pretty nice to look at. The backgrounds, colors and shadings are neat, I appreciate the effort that was put in it, but you can tell it was difficult to make this 2D style work in a more dimensional animation style, some parts feel pretty choppy as a result (such as the scene where the Louds arrive in Scotland with a submarine), but the animators certainly did the best they could, and I appreciate that the characters don't look stiff here. Their movements aren't as fluid (maybe the fact that the animation wasn't handled by the same animation company that makes the animation of the show) but they always feel alive and I like that. And of course, there are songs in it. Probably not the best as far as storytelling goes (they don't feel that useful), and sometimes victims of generic post-2000s pop songs clichés, but they're nice to listen to, the sweet opening song (written and sung by Doug Rockwell and Michelle Lewis by the way, that makes it even more wholesome to me) and the fun villain song especially (I really like the visuals during Morag's song and again, Michelle Gomez is having a blast), and from a storytelling perspective, I like the fact that all of them are linked one way or another to Lincoln. It connects well to Lincoln's arc, to me.
The movie isn't without its flaws (some parts of the climax feel like they're here just because it's a movie climax, Leni's romance goes nowhere - what's the deal with movies based on animated series giving to one of the main characters a romance that goes nowhere, hi The Simpsons Movie) but I just had a fairly pleasant time watching it. It's a silly, funny, wholesome, touching and well-written film, it's good for the fans, it can work for the newcomers, it's not gonna change the mind of those who dislike the show but it's not what matters anyway, it's simply a very nice film that contains all I personally wanted from it : the charm of the show transferred into a full-length feature film that still has something to offer to the fans. As far as I'm concerned, it was worth the wait. On a score scale of one to ten, that'd be something like a 7.5, I really enjoyed it.