By: Andrew Wing, Contributing Writer
The Mitchells vs. the Machines is a 2021 computer-animated science fiction comedy directed by Mike Rianda in his feature directorial debut. It follows Katie Mitchell (voiced by Abbi Jacobson), a quirky and aspiring filmmaker in Kentwood, Michigan who frequently clashes with her nature-obsessed and technophobic father Rick (voiced by Danny McBride). After Katie is accepted into the film school of her dreams in California, her family decides to use this opportunity to drive Katie to school on a cross-country road trip as one last bonding experience. However, when their plans are interrupted by a global robot uprising, the Mitchell family realizes that they must band together to save the world. The rest of the main cast includes Maya Rudolph who voices Katie’s mother, Linda Mitchell, and director Mike Rianda, who voices both Katie’s younger brother Aaron Mitchell and the family dog, Monchi.
The film was produced by Sony Pictures Animation, and just for referencing purposes, some of their other well-known productions you may know include: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, The Smurfs, Hotel Transylvania, and one of my personal favorites, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Other notable names worth mentioning attached to this production include both Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who served as producers for The Mitchells vs. the Machines. Lord and Miller are an American filmmaking duo who consistently put out amazingly funny movies such as The Lego Movie, and both 21 Jump Street and its sequel, 22 Jump Street. For me personally, just these names alone was enough to get me to check this out, and as you’ll see in my review, I am glad I did!
THE GOOD
Where do I start? First and foremost, this movie is just flat out really good. I am not exaggerating when I say that just about every scene in this 114 minute movie either put a smile on my face or made me laugh out loud. As I said in the introduction, I had pretty high expectations going into this just based on the track record of Sony Pictures Animation and both Lord and Miller, and I can honestly say that it exceeded my expectations. Before getting more in depth into all the good things that came with The Mitchells vs. the Machines such as its animation, themes, humor, and much more, the one aspect that made me enjoy this so much was just the story itself.
Sometimes in the movie industry nowadays, we can sometimes get bored with the excess of films dealing with the end of the world, in this case with robots. With that said, the reason we get bored with these movies is because they lack originality and we feel like we know how it is going to end because well, we have seen it time and time before. But that is just not the case when it comes to The Mitchells vs. the Machines. Writers Mike Rianda and Jeff Rowe just knocked it out of the park with this screenplay because it is so unique. From the LGBT representation that we get from one of the film’s protagonists, Katie Mitchell, to the dog of all characters who actually plays a vital role in the outcome of this story, it is just a movie unlike anything we have seen before and that is why I found it so entertaining.
Yes, the story is great, but there is so much more that makes The Mitchells vs. the Machines so darn good! First with the animation, the sequences throughout are second to none and that is in large part due to Sony Pictures because as I mentioned before, they have had a fair amount of success in the past when it comes to animation. Most recently with their 2018 computer-animated superhero film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse that actually won the award for Best Animated Feature Film at the 91st Academy Awards. The animation for The Mitchells vs. the Machines is so good that I would not be surprised one bit if Sony Pictures Animation catches lightning in a bottle twice and wins Best Animated Feature Film again for this movie at the 94th Academy Awards in 2022.
Outside of the story itself and the animation, there are two other areas I want to highlight that contribute to my high praise for this film. This ties in with the story, but the themes throughout only add to the greatness that is The Mitchells vs. the Machines. It really checks every box, it has the interesting science fiction elements with the highly intelligent AI PAL robots and eye-catching designs of said robots, it has a lot of energetic action throughout, while at the same time it contains themes of family and drama with the rocky relationship between college-bound daughter Katie Mitchell and her father Rick.
But arguably the best part of The Mitchells vs. the Machines is undoubtedly the humor from start to finish. I was not kidding when I said that every scene made me smile or laugh in this, mostly thanks to the voice roles played by famous comedic actors Danny McBride and Maya Rudolph, who crack me up in anything they are a part of. Believe me when I say that the family dog, Monchi, will be your favorite part of the entire movie because there is no denying that it was for me!
THE BAD
I’ll be honest, there is not a whole lot to hate about this movie. I guess you can say it was too predictable at times in some scenes, but at the end of the day it is a family movie with a unique story that I found extremely enjoyable.
Also with this being a family movie, I think it is important to note that it does contain numerous action sequences and also contains flashing images and strobing sequences that may affect viewers who are susceptible to photo sensitivities.
THE VERDICT
With the superb performances from an amazing voice cast, The Mitchells vs. the Machines provides a breath of fresh air for all audiences with its funny, feel-good story from the minds that brought us great animation films of the past (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, The Lego Movie, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse) as it aims to showcase that not even a robot uprising is any match for the strong bonds and togetherness of the Mitchell family.
TED TAKES RATING - 8.8/10
The Mitchells vs the Machines is now streaming on Netflix. Check out the trailer below.