Hello everybody and welcome to new 2021 review! Today I will be covering a movie that I am very excited to talk about, The Mitchells vs. the Machines! Originally intended for theatrical release under the name of Connected, the animated feature from Sony Pictures Animation was instead sold to Netflix with the title being changed back to (far superior) The Mitchells vs. the Machines. Clearly it was not sold due to a lack of faith in the picture as it ended up getting rave reviews and was a huge hit for the streamer becoming among their most viewed titles of last year and for good reason. It even got nominated for best animated feature and actually had a real shot of winning before Encanto blew up in terms of popularity after it hit Disney+. Still though it clearly left an impression on many, myself included as it is my personal favorite movie from last year and one of my favorite animated pictures in recent memory! Without further ado let’s go on this road trip through the robot apocalypse and why it connected with me so much!
We start off by meeting our main character, Katie Mitchell, a quirky film loving individual who aspires to become a filmmaker. She lives in Kenton, Michigan, with her dysfunctional yet caring family comprised of her school teacher mom, Linda, her outdoorsman father, Rick (who is quite the technophobe), and her dinosaur loving little brother, Aaron with her dad always at odds with her and her dream. She finally is able to get into the film school of her dreams at California but right before she is too leave, Rick accidently breaks her laptop after getting into a dispute on whether this is the right direction for her to take in life which leads her to want to leave more than ever. Fearing that this will put a strain the family’s relationship, Rick decides that the family will all go together on a road trip to Katie’s school in order to have one last bonding experience much to the dismay of Katie. While on their trip though, a rogue and highly intelligent AI named PAL decides to enact revenge on humans after her creator, tech entrepreneur, Mark Bowman, deems her obsolete. Thus she commands all machines to capture all humans out there and launch them into space and she nearly gets all of them… save for the Mitchells who are now the only ones left who can stop this robot apocalypse. But can they put aside their differences and learn to trust one another before it’s too late?
I remember when the first images/trailer were revealed for this movie and one of the biggest complaints people had was that it was going to end up having one of those “phone bad, technology is weird” type messages, but knowing the talent involved I assumed it was going to be a lot more nuanced than that… and I was right! Of course the movie does poke fun at how huge of a role technology now plays in our lives and how everything is so algorithm based everything is, but it goes about conveying this in clever and fun ways while also celebrating how it can be used to accomplish a lot of cool and creative things that can benefit the world in different ways. It’s a nice balanced way of handling this subject matter and plays into the character’s arcs very nicely with the generational gap between Katie and her father being a prime example of this. The movie also succeeds greatly as a comedy as I found myself laughing hard out loud several times throughout it. The basic premise (which is essentially National Lampoon’s Vacation combined with The Terminator) alone is ripe for comedic potential and writers Mike Rianda and Jeff Rowe take full advantage of the possibilities whether it be showing off each family member’s fun quirks, utilizing pop culture references well, poking fun at humanity’s obsession with technology, or writing a bunch of great jokes. What I really loved about the humor is how there are certain jokes that seem like fun running gags but then would actually come back to either play an important role in the story or add to a really emotional moment and it was very well done in my eyes. Adding to that, what really made the movie click for me was the heart and emotion on display as we this family that is far from perfect and may not always know how to show their love to one another come to be stronger as a unit by embracing their differences and grow closer through this extraordinary set of circumstances. All of it is so well done that when the climax comes around and the big emotional pay offs starting hitting, everything pays off in immensely satisfying fashion and there were times where tears almost came out because of it. It’s also just really cool how the film encourages one to embrace what makes them different and not be ashamed of standing out from others which is always a great lesson to teach people. It’s immensely clever road trip comedy with a clever script, great pacing, and a great mix of humor and heart that never ceased to entertain!
After the release of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (also a Sony Pictures Animation production), it seems there has been an increase in popularity for more stylized animation and here is one great example of that. Like that beloved feature, Mitchells vs. the Machines is CG but has unique look to it that feels straight out of a comic. This especially applies to the character designs which are really fun and feel like they were designed by Katie herself (how appropriate) with a lot of cartoony features. Unlike Spider-Verse though, the animation is smoother in execution (keep in mind Spider-Verse was going for something different with the movements so not a knock against that film at all) which gave the animators a lot of opportunities to bring a lot of energy to these characters while also never over doing it, knowing when to calm it down a bit. The backgrounds are also extremely detailed, immersive, and sometimes even big in scale depending on what’s going on. I also appreciated a lot of the neat little creative flourishes that come out thanks to Katie’s vivid imagination where sometimes there would be little notebook doodles coming out expressing her emotion which I thought was a nice touch as well as the use of puppets when Katie is showing off her homemade movies as that serves for great comedic effect. Then there are the action scenes which can be really exciting thanks to the fast paced nature of the feature and it is where the animators are clearly having a blast with all of the crazy concepts given by this scenario like an army of killer machine products including fridges, vacuums, and a horde of Furbies. I also thought that the use of certain songs and Mark Mothersbaugh’s score did add quite a bit to already exciting/powerful moments (the song, “On My Way” by Alex Lahey is quite beautiful and plays during the very cute credits which shows the families of those who worked on the movie). I remember back when this movie was announced how it was exclaimed by the filmmakers that this was going to look unlike anything we’ve ever seen. Glad that was no bluff!
Like I said before what makes the movie work as well as does is that family relationship at the center of everything and this was a case where I found something about each character that I could relate to. Katie (Abbi Jacobson) makes for an great protagonist as her love for movies and filmmaking is infectious and one can sympathize with her desire to go to a place where she will fit in after not having done so all her life, and her arc concerning learning to embrace her family despite their differences. Same applies to her dad, Rick (Danny McBride) who could’ve easily been portrayed as the disapproving father who doesn’t understand their child (or technology) but it’s a lot more layered than that as he loves his daughter, but just doesn’t know how to show it. He too goes through an arc of becoming more confident in her and they both come to learn more from each other throughout the movie making for a strong father-daughter relationship. I also thought Rick’s confusion about technology was really well done as it makes sense given his outdoorsman background why he wouldn’t be accustomed to it and I like how he does attempt to get a better understanding of it instead of always dismissing it (it also just made for some really funny moments of course). Katie’s mother, Linda (Maya Rudolph), also gets a lot to do as she tries to serve as the voice of reason for the family and has some really funny moments especially when she loses her temper while the relationship between Katie and Aaron (Mike Rianda) is really sweet and an example of a believable sibling relationship. Aaron’s running gag involving his obsession with dinosaurs also made for a surprisingly hilarious joke that never got old. Each member is developed and different from one another and it is those differences that may get in their sometimes, but it can also bring them together as well. Plus each of the voice actors do a great job in conveying the necessary emotions and personality. Oh and did I mention that they have an adorable dog named Monchi (Doug the Pug) that looks like a loaf of bread and can’t stare correctly. That’s a bonus right there! Joining them on their adventure are two malfunctioning robots named Eric (Beck Bennett) and Deborahbot 5000 (Fred Armisen) who are a hoot to watch providing many of the funniest moments in the movie as they attempt to become more human. In terms of robots in media, these two are up there as some of my personal favorites that is for sure. Also a lot of fun are Eric Andre as the arrogant Dr. Mark Bowman who was technically responsible for all of this and has done some questionable actions but he does go through a mini arc of his own, and Olivia Colman who is a delight as the villain, PAL, an over the top smartphone who wants to conquer humanity for treating technology like her with such disrespect which is a very cleverly written motivation that pretty much represents what most every person fears if technology became sentient.
In the end, The Mitchells vs. the Machines is a triumph in every way that ended being one of the most satisfying movie experiences I’ve had recently. The message concerning our use of technology is nuanced, the story is a lot of fun, the emotion is powerful, the animation is dazzling and creative, the characters are relatable and endearing, and it’s such a joy to watch from beginning to end! It’s a real darn shame this didn’t end up playing in theaters as I think it could’ve been a solid and beloved hit that would’ve played great on a big screen, but I’m still happy it was able to gain a huge a audience on Netflix. It also continues to show not only what the people at SPA are capable of but also what the medium of animation is able to accomplish! This is not only one of my favorite animated features in recent memory, but also one of my favorite movies period and I really hope more people go and check this one out as I found it to be truly special. It’s a fantastic family film about families that may make one appreciate one’s own loved ones more.
Rating: A+
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