The Mitchells Vs. The Machines
Director: Michael Rianda and Jeff Rowe
Writer: Michael Rianda and Jeff Rowe
Starring: Abbi Jacobsen, Danny McBride, Maya Rudolph, Michael Rianda (man this dude did everything for this movie), Eric Andre, Olivia Colman, Fred Armisen, Beck Bennett, Chrissy Teigen and John Legend (AS HUSBAND AND WIFE), Jay Pharoah, Conan O’Brien….hang on, why is Blake Griffin in this movie? Why isn’t he in jail for trying to kill Pau Gasol twice?
Reason for watching: New release
Number of times I’ve watched it: first time viewing
***
I am back, friends and family who read this out of pity for me. Sorry for the delay in posts. Hopefully, I’ll be posting much more frequently going forward. But I am a proud member of Gen Z, and sometimes procrastination and distraction overcome my personal desires. Anyways, we are finally getting good movies again!! It has been far too long since you could turn on a streaming service or go to the theater and get a genuinely good movie; particularly, a genuinely good kids movie. Pair this with a slate of highly anticipated movies coming over the next three months, and you can say that this guy is HYPED!!
Alright, let’s get into the plot of The Mitchells Vs. The Machines. In an effort to bond with his intelligent and distant daughter Katie (Abbi Jacobson), well-meaning father Rick Mitchell (Danny McBride) drags his wife Linda (Maya Rudolph) and son Aaron (Michael Rianda) on a cross-country trip to take Katie to college. There are a few bonding moments here and there during the trip, but things go off the rails when a sentient Artificial Intelligence (Olivia Colman) subjugates all humanity and shoot them on a rocket into space through the use of a legion of robots. As the last humans standing, the Mitchells are going to have to come together a lot more to take down the AI.
First of all, Sony Animation in my opinion has entered the elite tier of great animation studios. They are in the conversation with Pixar, Disney, and Dreamworks now. The stories they make are strong in and of themselves, but Sony has stepped up their animation style in a BIG way. Mind you this is the same studio that made Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, so that’s not something new to them. But where Pixar is lauded for making stories appealing to all ages and leaving items in their movies that are specifically for parents, Sony has pivoted and made their stories appealing for everyone and made THEIR animation with tidbits for kids and the younger generation. It is littered with memes and bizarre items/humans that kids will immediately grasp and that confuse parents. It leaves something for kids to come back to again that becomes an inside joke for them. This makes for a very enjoyable movie for the whole family.
On top of this, there is the perfect amount of sidequests for the Mitchells to go on and the use of supporting characters. In regards to those supporting characters, two of the AI hench-robots join the Mitchell family in their quest due to a malfunction and truly become human and a part of the family. Their presence adds lightness as we get to watch their inner programming to capture all humans clash with their discovery of the joys of family. There is a rival family that the Mitchells run into repeatedly who they can’t help but fall short against when they compare themselves. Such comparisons act as a baseline for their fellowship level and how much they can accomplish as a group. I don’t love the final payoff with them though as it comes down to an Instagram followers joke, which leaves a bit to be desired. The best part of the movie comes at the end of the second act when the Mitchells journey into a mall to attempt a mobile upload of a kill code for the AI. What they don’t expect is for the AI to have taken over the toy store, and particularly for them to have to face an army of Furbies. The demonic way that these Furbies, and particularly how their leader, talk is hysterical; and it takes the movie to a place of dark humor that somehow works incredibly well.
I have a few negatives to discuss. Mostly, the story itself isn’t breaking new territory. We know at the end the family will work together and overcome the AI enemy. I know the tension isn’t the main part of this movie and the main point is to show the characters come together; but if Sony can somehow combine the any-man-quality of Spider-Man and get everyone to like Miles Morales, a character that got racist hatred, I know they can make a family dynamic more interesting than them trying to bond. Also, the family dog is really hit or miss for me as it does capture how dogs can be incredibly stupid at times, but a dog that is so ugly it’s cute in a real life can’t always translate to a dog that is so ugly it’s cute in an animated movie.
All in all, this is a solid watch and the best kids’ movie of the year so far.
7/10
Until I see another one.