By ABBY GROFF
Staff Writer
Last month, Netflix released a new original animated film titled The Mitchells vs The Machines. Producers Phil Lord and Chrisopher Miller have managed to create another cinematic masterpiece. Other notable films they’ve been involved in are Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018), Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009), and The Lego Movie (2014). All of the listed titles are some of the best family movies with fast-paced comedy, beautiful animation, and memorable casts. Lord and Miller never miss.
The Mitchells vs The Machines’ main protagonist is a college bound film-lover named Katie Mitchell. Before she leaves for film school, her father, Rick, wants to spend their last moments together as a family on a road trip to her school in California. There’s a turn of events, and the next thing you know the AI apocalypse has begun. It’s up to Katie, Rick, her mom, Linda, and her little brother, Aaron, to save humanity.
The movie is an homage to pop culture and meme culture. Some of the references are a bit outdated, but funny nevertheless. Many of the jokes are targeted for younger viewers, but there are underlying adult themes for parents as well such as maintaining a strong bond within a family or understanding that all families are different and none are perfect. Katie and Rick’s relationship is struggling, but throughout the story they are learning how to understand each other better.
Overall, The Mitchells vs The Machines was simply just fun to sit and watch. I felt like a kid again knowing I was enjoying something that wasn’t even really intentionally made for my demographic. The style was unlike any other animation I’ve seen before, yet still similar to Into the Spider-Verse, which was also produced by Sony. The messages hit home and I felt a personal connection to Katie and her conflicts. This is definitely a movie to watch with the family, or even by yourself if you’re in need of something to watch. I’d rate The Mitchells vs The Machines 4 ½ stars out of 5.