I remember seeing trailers for this when it was called Connected, and I dismissed it as another subpar movie from Sony Pictures Animation. Then the pandemic hit and Netflix picked up distribution rights, and the reviews started dropping, with astoundingly high praise. I had to check it out.
Katie Mitchell (Abbi Jacobson) is a college-bound filmmaker whose father Rick (Danny McBride) is the last person to understand the world through her eyes. In a last-minute attempt to reconnect, Rick cancels her flight from Michigan to California, and proposes that the family take a road trip to drop Katie off. Along for the ride are doting mom Linda (Maya Rudolph), dinosaur obsessed younger brother Aaron (Mike Rianda) and family pug Monchi (Doug the Pug).
Meanwhile, in Silicon Valley, tech giant Mark Bowman (Eric André) has released a monumental update in his PAL virtual assistance program (a cross between Apple and Google), but has disposed of his own device (Olivia Colman), which goes rogue and unleashes a robot uprising.
Right from the opening logos, one knows they're in for a treat. While it does hit some familiar beats, The Mitchells vs the Machines is filled to the brim with a fully utilized ensemble voice cast, film references, self-awareness, laugh out loud humor, heartwarming moments and even one of the best (and subtle because y'know those uppity conservatives out there) acknowledgements in an animated film of an LGBT relationship.
If this is the kind of original content SPA is going to dole out, please keep on. We so desperately need it.
Katie Mitchell (Abbi Jacobson) is a college-bound filmmaker whose father Rick (Danny McBride) is the last person to understand the world through her eyes. In a last-minute attempt to reconnect, Rick cancels her flight from Michigan to California, and proposes that the family take a road trip to drop Katie off. Along for the ride are doting mom Linda (Maya Rudolph), dinosaur obsessed younger brother Aaron (Mike Rianda) and family pug Monchi (Doug the Pug).
Meanwhile, in Silicon Valley, tech giant Mark Bowman (Eric André) has released a monumental update in his PAL virtual assistance program (a cross between Apple and Google), but has disposed of his own device (Olivia Colman), which goes rogue and unleashes a robot uprising.
Right from the opening logos, one knows they're in for a treat. While it does hit some familiar beats, The Mitchells vs the Machines is filled to the brim with a fully utilized ensemble voice cast, film references, self-awareness, laugh out loud humor, heartwarming moments and even one of the best (and subtle because y'know those uppity conservatives out there) acknowledgements in an animated film of an LGBT relationship.
If this is the kind of original content SPA is going to dole out, please keep on. We so desperately need it.