Underplayed Gems

The Mitchells vs. The Machines (2021)

The Mitchells vs. The Machines poster
Original title
The Mitchells vs. the Machines
Directed by
Jeff Rowe, Mike Rianda
Genre
science fiction film, road movie, apocalyptic film
Country
Hong Kong, United States
Runtime
1h 53m
Rated
PG
Rating
7.8 of 10 from 3,411 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

A dysfunctional family must work together to stop a robot uprising from taking over the world. Their road trip turns into a desperate fight to save humanity.

chaoticfunnyheartfeltfast-pacedcolorfulupbeatabsurdfamily-focused

What happens

The Mitchells vs. the Machines is a 2021 animated science fiction comedy film directed by Mike Rianda, who co-wrote the screenplay with co-director Jeff Rowe. Produced by Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation in association with Lord Miller Productions and One Cool Films, the film stars the voices of Danny McBride, Abbi Jacobson, Maya Rudolph, Rianda, Eric André, and Olivia Colman, with Fred Armisen, Beck Bennett, John Legend, Chrissy Teigen, Lo Mutuc, Blake Griffin, Conan O'Brien, and Doug the Pug in supporting roles. The story follows the dysfunctional Mitchell family, who must save Earth from a global uprising of robots. Rianda conceived the film after completing work on the animated series Gravity Falls in 2015. The project was announced in May 2018. To achieve a "hand-painted watercolor" style, technology was reused from the previous Sony Pictures Animation film, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018). Lord and Miller's frequent collaborator Mark Mothersbaugh composed the score. The Mitchells vs. the Machines was planned for theatrical release by Sony Pictures Releasing under the title Connected in 2020. Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on theaters, Sony sold the distribution rights to Netflix outside of China. Netflix retitled it to Rianda and Rowe's original title, and gave it a limited release in the United States on April 23, 2021, before its streaming release a week later on April 30. The film received acclaim for its animation, voice acting, action sequences, themes, humor, and visual effects. It was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 33rd Producers Guild of America Awards, the 75th British Academy Film Awards, and the 94th Academy Awards, and won the category at the 27th Critics Choice Awards. It swept all the categories it was nominated for at the 49th Annie Awards, including Best Animated Feature, making it the second film by Sony Pictures Animation to do so after Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse in 2019. A sequel is in development. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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