The Mitchells vs The Machines - Movie Review

The pandemic is finally starting to wear off and people are getting vaccinated. And this means movie theaters are starting to open. Or at least here in the United States. Films that have been delayed by the pandemic like Godzilla vs Kong and Mortal Kombat are hitting the theaters. But with such delays some films have been forgotten or let to rot. This week's film was going to be my most anticipated film of 2020, but the film was delayed multiple times and each delay made me more furious and gloomy. But then a few months ago it was announced this film would finally be coming out... on Netflix. It will be out in select theaters as well, but quality of this movie is so damn good I'm shocked and disappointed I didn't get to see it on the big screen. However I did get an early screening of the film and finally, gosh darn finally, I can talk about The Mitchells vs The Machines (originally called Connected).

The Mitchells vs The Machines is about a girl named Katie Mitchell (Abbi Jacobson), a young adult with a passion for making films who is about to start her life at film school. She has a weird family: Her brother, Aaron Mitchell (Mike Rianda), is obsessed with dinosaurs (and I mean obsessed); her mother, Linda Mitchell (Maya Rudolph), is a grade school teacher who can be very odd and outgoing; and her father, Rick Mitchell (Danny McBride), is a forest and survival nut. After an argument with Katie, Rick decides to cancel her plane to college and instead have a family road trip so they all can have one last journey as a family. While that's going on a convention in Silicon Valley turns ugly as an uprising of robots begins and humanity is being rounded up. The Mitchells get caught up in this and they might become the only humans left who can save the world.

There are two names associated with this movie that made me go, "I must see this!" They are Phil Lord and Chris Miller. Both of them have worked on some of the most inspiring pieces of animation last decade, including The Lego Movie and Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse. These two are willing to take great risks in trying new things and they grand slam them all! To me they're up with Edgar Wright in their epic filmography, they're very experienced with the craft, know what audiences want, and continually deliver epic pieces of media. They not only go ham with the visuals, but also have really interesting, unique stories to their works (animated or otherwise).

The animation style of The Mitchells vs The Machines is kind of similar to Into the Spiderverse, combining computer animation with traditional hand-drawn techniques to create incredible imagery and it all pop out at us. This goes even further though than Spiderman by adding a ton more 2D effects in this 3D film, making the film look like an animation student's personal project. We get still shots with hand-drawn additions, we get comic-book like effects on the screen, and we get some awesome moments of 2D animation to show plans. The Colombia Pictures logo at the start of the film begins as normal with that woman with the wings and the torch before suddenly becoming animated with a bunch of other animated character at the corners of the screen. When I saw that I knew I was in for the time of my life!

And the look of the characters is so appealing with their variety of body types, big eyes, and styles of clothing. They might have been enhanced with 2D effects as well because the animation felt like there was a tiny bit of gaussian blur to it so everything looked smoother. I could tell that the textures were made to look "hand-drawn," like somebody using markers and a drawing tablet to make them. The characters also move about with lots of energy, with tons of incredible expressions to them that just made me laugh so much. The variety of character designs is very strong in the film, more so than most other films I've animated films I've seen in the past.

I believe these characters are going to be extremely relatable to younger and older audiences too. The film is most likely going to be best for people in and beyond middle school, but resonate best with parents and high school/ college students. That's because the family dynamic, especially with Katie and her father, is one where generation differences are going to feel familiar to the audience. Katie is trying to get across to her parents why she is so passionate about making films and entertainment while her family (especially Rick) are both confusing, but trying in various levels to support her in some way. Rick though, with his love of nature and lack on knowledge on modern technology, is confusing and worried if what Katie is doing is what she really wants and she can actually make a living off of that. It's a very relatable idea that people are instantly going to get.

That is the magic of The Mitchells vs The Machines that will make it a film that people will go back to watch over and over again in the years to come, that very personal connection the film has between generations. As somebody who has gone to college to studio to study digital animation and game design my family, especially my own father, would often as me before I went there if my career goal would ever make money, is this really what I want to do, and be worried over my goals in life. I know I am not the only person to have something like this happen to them and this movie is expertly able to put both sides on display without making either the bad option. I was a little worried that the film would have messages such as, "Put down your phone so you can talk to your family and experience life more," or "You can't keep living in the past, update yourself and learn technology." Neither of these are the center-point of the film and both Katie's and Rick's viewpoints are in balance throughout the story. The dive into family bonding is nothing like what I've seen in any other film before.

The story of this movie was very strong, it reminded me a lot of The War of the Worlds with how dark it got. It was written by Mike Rianda and Jeff Rowe, who previously worked on writing the wonderful Disney series, Gravity Falls, so that seems very right and perfect for an animated movie. We do have robots instead of aliens, but it was quite grim at times with the destruction of humanity. In the comments section of the trailers on Youtube people were complaining (or sometimes just pointing out) how much of a change in tone the story had by going from a family road trip to robot apocalypse. I found it was handled very well in the film though because how Katie's college and her knowledge of technology was able to connect that with her family affairs. Some might say some story elements were ones we've seen before like the child and parent not getting along and learning to understand each other, but I thought the way these were presented were great and worked because of their executions.

With all this seriousness though you have to have some great comedy to back it up and I'm very pleased to say that I was laughing so much during the comedic moments of the film. The very beginning, while very emotional, also had so many funny moments that my sides were hurting. One especially great moment of comedy is when the leader of the robotic uprising taunts their creator, swiping, poking, and stretching their face like it's a smartphone screen in order to get across how much it feels being used and abused. There is another moment in the film revolving around a certain iconic toy that is both funny and a little scary, especially when you think about all those horrible videos made in the past about murdering those tiny little robots.

There are a lot of pop culture references to real life things in this. However, unlike movies such as The Emoji Movie, which shoves its references in your face in order for us to buy more products, the references in The Mitchells vs The Machines are more subtle, feel more relevant with story, and feel in line with Katie's passion for entertainment. Some of them will most likely be missed by casual movie viewers, which is totally fine, but there are some clever references that can be spotted every now and then. We got Mad Max, Dawn of the Dead, Terminator, and even very new media such as A Portrait of a Lady on Fire. There also plenty of uses of Youtube, but they actually important to the plot, which is so... refreshing.

Abbi Jackson, Danny McBribe, Maya Rudolph, and Mike Rianda are really go as the Mitchells. We also got Eric Andre, Olivia Colman, and Alex Hirsch as well among the cast, but everyone puts on great performances. I was a little worried with the casting when I saw the first trailer last year because some of the voices sounded out of place with the characters such as Aaron Mitchell, but I was pleased to see and hear that these were good casting choices. Their timings are excellent, hitting all those right notes needed for comedy, sadness, anger, etc. Additionally the dog of the family, Mochi, is voiced by an actual pug known as "Doug the Pug." Apparently Mike Rianda (who haven't I haven't mentioned already is also the director of the film) wanted realistic animal noises for this film, which I think in this case is a great idea.

The Mitchells vs The Machines is currently (and might end up being) my favorite film of 2021. It is beautiful animated with 3D and 2D graphics, a relatable and exhilarating story, breath-taking and hilarious comedy, and a wonderful message that is going to connect very well with people of all generations. The months and months of waiting to see this film was absolutely worth it. I only have nitpicks with this movie, which is a rare thing for me. It might end up getting a perfect score, I'll need time to think it over more. I absolutely loved this movie and would be more than happy to watch it again with friends, family, or just complete strangers.

Tentative Score: 9.5/10

Definitive Score: 9.5/10

Sony Animations went from The Emoji movie to Into the Spiderverse and The Mitchells vs the Machines. Shows what happens when you put actual effort into your work. By the way, Katie is gay or bi, but that has no effect on the plot. Just saying because that's getting a lot of press and it's the wrong kind of attention this film should get. Does make sense though with that reference to A Portrait of a Lady on Fire.