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The Mitchells vs. the Machines Review

By Matthew Passantino

Directors Michael Rianda and Jeff Rowe make their feature debut with the very entertaining "The Mitchells vs. the Machines," another movie that was put on pause due to the ongoing pandemic. While it was produced by Sony Picture Animation, the film was sold to Netflix because, after a year of most titles collecting dust on the shelves, it's time to find them a place to play. For families who are still trying to navigate life during the pandemic, as we slowly inch back into the real world "The Mitchells vs. the Machines" provides a solid adventure for family movie night.

Rianda and Rowe's film, which was produced by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (who won Oscars for producing the excellent "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse"), has assembled a fun voice cast. Danny McBride and Maya Rudolph play Rick and Linda Marshall, who navigate day-to-day life with their ever-changing children. Their daughter Katie (voiced by Abbi Jacobson) has her sights set on California for film school, looking to get out of the house and create her own life and personality. She often clashes with her parents, particularly her father, but in a normal teenage way. In one last-ditch effort to create family memories, Rick decides to cancel Katie's plane ticket out west and pack up the car with the whole family (including a dinosaur-loving younger brother, voiced by Rianda) and drive Katie to school. What could go wrong? A lot apparently.

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Forget about teenage angst, a quirky younger brother and an overly eager father; that's the least of the Mitchells' problems. On their road trip, a robot apocalypse is triggered (led by Pal, voiced by Oscar-winning actress Olivia Colman) and no electronics are safe. The robots aim to capture every human family, but the Mitchells are able to avoid their grasp and must fight back for the sake of humanity.

The messaging of "The Mitchells vs. the Machine" is certainly not novel or subtle: We, as a society, are too attached to our electronics. Who among us doesn't spend the day - particularly over the past year - with their face in a screen? Whether we sit at a computer all day for work, play on a tablet, or endlessly scroll through Netflix, machines run our lives. "The Mitchells vs. the Machines" has fun with the concept and turns it into an animated zombie movie, of sorts, replacing the undead with robots.

Though Rianda and Rowe weren't a part of "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse," their new film sometimes mirrors the visual pizzazz of the inventive superhero cartoon. Lord and Miller, who previously directed animated films of their own including "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" and "The Lego Movie," have with this release effectively shepherded another piece of solid family entertainment. It might not be as unique as their last effort, but "The Mitchells vs. the Machines" offers a nice message about family with eye-popping visuals.

"The Mitchells vs. the Machines" begins a theatrical run on April 23 and will be available on Netflix on April 30.

What did you think?

Movie title The Mitchells vs. the Machines
Release year 2021
MPAA Rating PG
Our rating
Summary This entertaining new animated adventure is perfect for family movie night.
View all articles by Matthew Passantino
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