The Mitchells vs. the Machines review by Bobby Blakey
I love animated films especially when they cleverly infuse real life issues into the story. The latest, The Mitchells vs. The Machines previously titled Connected brings the world of technology to the forefront and features the creative team including director Mike Rianda (Gravity Falls) and producers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, The Lego Movie) with the voice talent of Abbi Jacobson, Danny McBride, Maya Rudolph, and Mike Rianda. Could this film manage to make you second guess your attachment to net or will it fail to get connected?
The Mitchells vs. The Machines follows an everyday family's struggle to relate while technology rises up around the world! When Katie Mitchell, a creative outsider, is accepted into the film school of her dreams, her plans to meet “her people” at college are upended when her nature-loving dad Rick determines the whole family should drive Katie to school together and bond as a family one last time. Katie and Rick are joined by the rest of the family, including Katie’s wildly positive mom Linda, her quirky little brother Aaron, and the family’s delightfully chubby pug Monchi for the ultimate family road trip. Suddenly, the Mitchells’ plans are interrupted by a tech uprising: all around the world, the electronic devices people love – from phones, to appliances, to an innovative new line of personal robots – decide it’s time to take over. With the help of two friendly malfunctioning robots, the Mitchells will have to get past their problems and work together to save each other and the world!
Like most films that were due to come out last year, this one was set to hit theaters in September under its original titled, but the pandemic changed all that. Since then Netflix acquired it and it is now streaming for everyone to see. The story is pretty simple, but takes on a variety of real life issues in an over the top beautifully vibrant world. Like most animated features it is of course over the top and ridiculous, but that just feeds into the fun of it all while still being infused with numerous great messages. I thought it
looked entertaining, but didn’t expect to laugh out loud as much I did throughout the film.
Sure it is predictable at times, but that’s par for the course with these kinds of films. It is more important on how it gets there and this one pulls no punches with the laughs, fun, action and heart. I love the animated style and character designs that are all a bit off but in a great way. Each of the characters are memorable and filled with personality exactly as it should be in this kind of film. Sadly more often than not a lot of animated features bring dull characters to the forefront, but here every one of them stand out in a great way.
I was surprised how much I loved this movie. It was just so fun and creative. The visuals pop at every turn to create a feast to the senses with it all brought together with some great music and heart. In addition to the film this releases offers up bonus content including commentary, bonus scenes, featurettes, all-new mini-movie, Director’s cut of the film and more.
Grab your copy of The Michells vs the Machines when it hits digital, Blu-ray and DVD on December 14th from Sony Home Entertainment.
