The Mitchells vs. the Machines

Not all that dissimilar to The Croods, the odd The Mitchells vs. the Machines gives us a dysfunctional family with a young son and teenage daughter feeling too controlled by her family. The Mitchells also end up on the run, although the circumstances are, to be fair, far more bizarre.

Just days before Katie (Abbi Jacobson) is about to enter college, her well-meaning but overbearing father (Danny McBride) cancels her flight and plans a cross-country road trip hoping to bring the family closer together before she leaves. What the Mitchells couldn't realize is after starting out on their trip the world's biggest tech company would have their AI go berserk and begin the robot apocalypse. Now, while still dealing with their own drama, the Mitchells will attempt to save the world.

The journey, and running from robots attempting to capture all humans and rocket them into space, will bring the family together as Katie will begin to see circumstances from her father's point of view, and he will finally take a real look at the woman his daughter is growing into. The family is rounded out by as the peace-keeping mother (Maya Rudolph), Michael Rianda as Katie's dinosaur-obsessed younger brother, and the odd family dog Monchi who will play a pivotal role in the fight against the machines. 

Now available on Blu-ray and DVD, and still available on Netflix, The Mitchells vs. the Machines is a quirky animated film most notable for its production design of using a variety of animated styles, although less successfully than Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. In a year that so far still lacks a stand-out animated feature (other than the documentary Flee), The Mitchells vs. the Machines offers a fun, feel-good film that should appeal to audiences of all ages.

Watch the trailer