If there is one thing that no one should reject, it’s a personal assistant phone device that seeks to control the world. The Mitchells vs. the Machines reflects on the kind of culture that we are living in right now with colourful IG filters, emojis, and texts flying across scenes that illuminate the kind of emotional trajectory it’s aiming at the audience. It is an animated feature that includes so many cliches, and yet, it is fun and quirky with a burst of visual storytelling about a family that learns to communicate just in time to save the world.
The Mitchells vs. the Machines, a Sony Pictures Animation feature is an animated movie about a dysfunctional family trying to survive a robot apocalypse. It is produced by Chris Miller and Phil Lord, who helmed Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse and Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs. Katie Mitchell (voiced by Abbi Jacobson) is an enthusiastic filmmaker, who has a knack for capturing every moment of her life and has been accepted into the film school of her dreams. Her father, Rick (voiced by Danny McBride) is a technophobe who has a rocky relationship with his daughter and does not understand her passion for filmmaking. After Rick accidentally breaks Katie’s laptop, he tries to mend their relationship by embarking on a Mitchells’ family road trip together. As they are forced to cooperate, PAL (voice by Olivia Colman), a Siri-type app takes over the world after being rejected by her maker and starts a robot apocalypse. These robots scoop up every human in the world until the Mitchells are the only ones that escaped, and they must come together to save themselves, and Earth, from the robot apocalypse.
The Mitchells vs. the Machines dives into the dangers of tech consumption and the family’s fractured relationship, especially the general gap between Katie and Rick. Katie’s mom, Linda (voiced by Maya Rudolph) is obsessed with portraying a perfect family on Instagram to show that her family is normal. Rick complains that Katie, Linda, and their son, Aaron (voiced by Michael Rianda) spend too much time on their phone and suggests that they put their electronic devices away to spend some quality time together. Unfortunately, the constant notifications and Katie’s need to capture every moment are distracting and the family struggles to form a bond. Rick and Katie’s relationship is rocky because he does not seem to understand Katie’s creativity and he’s unable to express his feelings to her. The film is a takedown of the tech-obsessed culture that we are living in right now. It explores the possibilities that technology can push humanity to its limits with PAL-controlled microwaves, dryers and other household items. There’s a warning that feels like a metaphor for what may come shortly.
The greatest part of this Lord and Miller project is the animation and design. Highly inspired by Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse’s comic art and street style, it captures the blend between 2D and 3D animation brilliantly. The character designs include hand-drawn lines which give them a look of a comic book in motion. Director Rianda’s creativity and storytelling are reflected in a cluttered use of mediums that captures the chaotic and energetic nature of the Mitchells’ dysfunctional family. These vibrant colours and style are Katie’s world and how she sees it, and her emotions and feelings are reflected in that way.
The film provides some playfulness, emotional bonding between the family, and all sorts of feelings all around, as they desperately fight an avalanche of Furbys at the mall and infiltrate the PAL headquarters by disguising themselves as robots. The fun and quirky family learns how to plan and work together even when PAL tries to break them apart. What keeps them together is the Mitchells’ newfound connection and understanding of each other that helps them win over the robot apocalypse. The Mitchells vs. the Machines has a great balance of family drama, reconnecting with loved ones, accepting each other’s differences, and embracing a tech-obsessed future, which elevates the emotional and vibrant storytelling with explosive, visual gags of creativity.
