jane willouby

Jane has long magenta hair, wears glasses, a green dress with flowers on it , and brown lace-up boots.

bio

Jane was born sometime after Tim and before The Barnabys. Jane's parents treated her (and the twins) with almost the same disdain as her older brother and made her sleep with her siblings in the attic with hammocks for beds. Nevertheless, Jane still kept hopeful that things could change for the better. Jane loved to sing but was unable to do so due to her parents usually yelling at her to be quiet.

Jane causes trouble for Tim when she sneaks into the living room and avoids being stopped by her parents, who apparently forbid their children from being anywhere except their bedrooms and manages to steal and eat her parents' meatloaf and steals their wine since the children were starving and their parents won't feed them anything but leftovers but they didn't leave any the previous night. The Barnabys soon followed her and Tim attempts to push all three of them into the kitchen while Jane asks her parents for another sweater for the Barnabys but this only results in Tim getting sent to the coal bin. She later attempts to sing in her room but is told to stop by her parents no matter how low she sings.

At night, it starts raining when an unknown person drops a box in the Willoughby house's gates and when Jane sees it she recruits the Barnabys to help her investigate and she discovers a little baby girl in the box. Jane takes a liking to the infant and wants to keep it but when Tim arrives he demands that they dispose of the child since their parents hate children and anything childish but Jane refuses and during their argument the baby sneaks off and into the parents' living room, who are horrified at the sight of a baby in their house who is not even a Willoughby so they kick all five children out and tell their own kids that they can't come back until they get rid of the baby. Jane then suggests that they take the baby to the place at the end of the rainbow she was looking at earlier while trying to sing, which turns out to be a candy factory and so they agree to leave the baby there. Jane suggests naming the baby before bidding her farewell and wants to name her a "proper three-syllable name" like "Taffeta" but Tim takes the baby and writers the name "Ruth" on the pajama bottom because "Re-Orphaning her makes us the Ruthless Willoughbys". Jane than rings the doorbell and drags Tim away after he trips before the factory's owner can see them.

On the way home, the children get an idea on how to also get rid of their horrible parents upon coming across a traveling agency so they subtly leave their parents a fake flier with the most dangerous places on Earth and as a bonus the children write down the words "NO CHILDREN ALLOWED", and so the excited parents call a "cheap nanny" to watch their kids to make sure they don't mess with their house and depart, much to Jane and her brother's joy.

Jane and her siblings, unaware that their parents called a nanny to watch them, rejoice over the fact that they are now orphans and their house is all for themselves and spend the day happily playing around, jumping on the forniture and breaking things while Jane plays all sorts of music as loud as she can until they get hungry and Tim, declaring himself the head of their new, parentless family, attempts to provide food for his family but messes things up by trying to make dinner with a fake lobster in a plate with some coal around it and a cheese plate that consist on rotten cheese with a mouse holding it that only the cat is willing to eat. An unimpressed Jane, followed by the Barnabys, try to leave the house to go back to the candy factory where they left Ruth for some "rainbow food" but Tim refuses to let them leave. Jane and Tim once again argue back and forth until the "cheap nanny" that their parents hired arrives.

Once Nanny is in the house, Jane is at first distrustful of her but quickly bonds with her due to their mutual love for singing and Nanny does her hair in an updo while decorating it with flowers. Jane shows Nanny the library, where the latter dubs the Barnabys "Barnaby A and "Barbaby B" and they grow to trust her as well. Jane and the twins are later seen happily eating the oatmeal Nanny made for all of them until she watches in shock as Tim accidentally throws his own oatmeal at Nanny's face, leaving to Nanny finding out about their parents placing him in the coal bin as punishment.

Nanny is utterly shocked upon finding out about the coal bin but gets angry when she finds out that the children left a baby in a candy factory and so she drags all of them with her to talk to the owner, who hides baby Ruth from them until she again sneaks away, eats a lot of candy and nearly gets herself killed in one of the machines. After Ruth is rescued Commander Melanof thanks the Willoughbys for bringing Ruth to him, referring to them as "Angels" but Nanny tells him that she could hardly call them angels.

After the ordeal is over, Jane and her brothers listen somewhat sadly at the adults talking about children who grow up with loving parents and return home once Nanny and the Commander have buried the axe and agree that he is able to take care of Ruth. After returning home, Tim reads a text on Nanny's phone that came form his parents, where they declare that they are going to travel and the world forever so they've put their house for sale and that she should "take care" of the children, much to the kids horror.

The Willoughby children do everything in their power to scare away potential buyers until they find a family that finds nothing wrong with the old fashioned home or the booby traps set by the siblings until Nanny manages to scare them away and comforts the children by claiming that she could take care of them but in a good way, not disposing of them. The children are relieved by this until Child Services, who had been called by Tim after he assumed the worst about Nanny, arrive.

When Child Services comes to take the kids away Jane immediately calls out Tim for talking bad about Nanny to them as well as for being bossy among other things before she is taken away by the social workers, leaving her heartbroken. She is then placed in the home of a nice hippie family who believed in "the healing power of music" but Jane just lies on her bed, depressed, with one of the hippies asking her if she is alright but she refuses to answer, sing or to say "what if?" anymore.

When his siblings and Nanny come to retrieve her she initially refuses to listen to her older brother since he was the one who caused them to be separated but has second thoughts after Tim brings up that Jane constantly got him in trouble and she forgives him and starts singing again. When Social Services arrive, Jane's foster family distracts them while Nanny drives past them with the Willoughby siblings.

After all the siblings are reunited and in Nanny's car, Tim brings out the idea of getting their biological parents back, much to the chagrin of both his siblings and Nanny until Tim reminds the children that that is the only way to stay all together.

the four Willoughby children—Tim, Jane, and the twins—attempt to rescue their neglectful parents from the Peak of Repentance in Switzerland, hoping that a grand heroic gesture will finally earn them their parents' love.

However, the parents stay true to their selfish nature. After the children successfully reach them, the parents steal the children’s dirigible to escape, leaving their offspring behind to freeze on the mountain. As the parents fly away, they perform a final act of incompetence that causes the dirigible to crash into the ocean, where they are presumably eaten by a shark.

A New Family Dynamic Left stranded and freezing, the children are ultimately rescued by Linda (the Nanny) and Commander Melanoff, who use the Commander's candy dirigible to find them. The ending shifts the definition of "family" from blood relations to chosen connections:

The Adoption: Linda and Commander Melanoff officially adopt all four Willoughby children.

The "Perfect" Family: They move into the Commander’s candy factory, creating a vibrant, loving home that is the polar opposite of the dark, restrictive Willoughby mansion.

The Cat: The narrator (voiced by Ricky Gervais) reveals that while the Willoughbys weren't a perfect family by traditional standards, they found a "perfectly imperfect" one together.

Personality Jane is the cute, cheerful, hopeful, fun-loving & whimsical middle child of the Willoughby family, who has a brilliant talent for singing. Unfortunately, she’s constantly silenced by her selfish parents due to her outspoken nature. “Jane is this optimistic character that has a hard time taking responsibility for things,” said Pearn. “There’s this hopefulness and this undying optimism that is in denial of the situation. And then in moments where you see her a bit self-aware, she immediately pulls at the heart, because you really want this kid to escape.”

Her personality is defined by several key traits:

Musical and Expressive: Jane’s most defining characteristic is her love for singing. She uses music as a way to express her emotions and bring a sense of wonder into their bleak lives, much to the annoyance of her silence-loving parents.

The "Hopeful" Rebel: Unlike Tim, who is often cautious or paranoid, Jane is the primary instigator of change. She is the first to want to keep the abandoned baby (Ruth) and is the driving force behind the plan to "orphan" themselves to find a better life.

Deeply Compassionate: She possesses an innate maternal instinct and empathy. This is most visible in her immediate bond with Baby Ruth and her quickness to trust Linda the Nanny, recognizing Linda’s genuine kindness long before Tim does.

Resilient Optimism: Despite years of neglect and being told to be "seen and not heard," Jane maintains a bright, colorful outlook. She refuses to let her spirit be crushed by her parents’ cruelty, often acting as the emotional glue that keeps her brothers together.

Impulsive but Brave: Jane tends to act first and think later. While this sometimes leads the siblings into chaotic situations, her bravery is what ultimately allows them to break free from the Willoughby cycle.

In the end, Jane’s personality flourishes when she is finally given a supportive environment. Her transition from a "neglected orphan" to a beloved daughter in a candy-filled home allows her musical and spirited nature to shine without restriction.