With a release delayed from Autumn 2021 due to the pandemic we now have The Mitchells vs the Machines or as it was originally titled ‘Connected’. Intended for cinemas the animated feature now comes to Netflix the film takes us headlong into the action the Mitchells and their dog flee the robot apocalypse before writer- directors Michael Rianda & Jeff Rowe takes us back a few days to show how the Mitchell family ended up in such a predicament.
It’s a typically teenage daughter Katie (Abbi Jacobson) who thinks her family are odd but actually they’re no different from any other. Rick (Danny McBride), her Dad, is clueless with technology, loves his kids but there’s a generational gap opening up between him and her who loves to make her own films and excited about going to film school. Mum Linda (Maya Rudolph) is a typical suburban housewife torn between making peace between father and daughter. Whilst Aaron is the youngest child obsessed with dinosaurs and close to his older sister and the family are complete with their boss eyed, pot bellied pug dog. It’s when Dad breaks Katie’s laptop on her last night at home before she goes to college that the family feud explodes and she determines to leave asap. It’s Mum who warns Rick that he needs to reconnect with his daughter or face losing her forever that he sets on the idea of a road trip to California but not before putting his foot in it again when he cancels her plane ticket to do so.
What none of them know is that their road trip coincides with the uprising of technology when tech giant Mark Bowman (Eric Andre) launches next step in technology a upgrade of PAL , a kind of satanic Siri that has usurped Bowman’s original PAL which becomes resentful at being made obsolete and launches a rise of the machines and its only the Mitchells who can save the world. Yes the Mitchells vs the Machines is ultimately National Lampoon’s Vacation meets Terminator 3 but that’s no bad thing here because this is enormously enjoyable.
Much of this can be squarely attributed to producers Phil Lord & Chris Miller who have firmly put behind their sacking from Solo and have returned to their strength in animation with Spider-verse and The Lego Movie being their bench mark and which this continues in that tradition. The Mitchells vs the Machines is packed full of their trade mark jokes, asides and visual flourishes which will reward multiple viewings of the film to pick up on the Easter eggs throughout which as the film goes threaten to overwhelm the film. For the tech savvy its style successfully incorporates YouTube culture. Visually stimulating it’s a tiny bit overlong but like the best of Pixar this will appeal to both kids and parents with something for everyone.
Here’s The Mitchells vs the Machines trailer…….
The Mitchells vs the Machines is released on Netflix on 30th April 2021
