Mitchell’s vs. The Machines Review

Hey guys! Gerawallstar here, and I am here to review the new Sony movie called The Mitchell’s vs the Machines. This was originally going to be released in the theaters but because of COVID, they released this movie on Netflix. And the name of the movie was originally going to be a different name called Connected, but they changed the name much later, which i’m glad.  As for what I think about this film in general, I love this film. Its one of the finest films Sony Pictures Animation has done.

Story:

The story is about a girl named Linda who got excited about going to college of her dreams, where her father took her and the family on a College Road Trip. There are a bunch of machines that are destroying humans so its up for the Mitchells to destroy the machines. Now on paper, this does look similar to various road trip movies, and a plot similar to Disney’s College Road Trip and Goofy Movie. But the way they chose to tell this story is fantastic. The best aspects of the movie is the father and daughter relationship between Linda and her dad Rick. I feel like this is a perfect movie/story describing about family life. There are a lot of funny moments in the movie. I laughed a lot at the product placement, including the Furby scene. The climax is so good. There are a lot of beautiful and intense action sequences. The backstory of Rick and his past is well-written. Even the moments where Linda used the song that she and her dad used to sing in the climax is fun. My nitpicks with the story is that while a lot of the humour is great, there are some times where the humour doesn’t land. My biggest problem with the story is the liar-revealed trope. Although, they did a good job with it, we see that trope used so many times in animated movies. I wished that they didn’t use it here. The story is amazing and relatable. I give the story nine stars.

Animation:

Just like the story, the animation is unbelievable. Although the movie is CGI, the characters are designed like they are hand-drawn. I loved the 2D/CGI hybrid in the visuals. In scenes where they use the text box makes the animation way innovative. The way the animators designed the humans is fantastic. The colors look great. The scale of the movie is astounding. The movie feels big. I don’t have nothing to say except that the animation is beautiful and innovative with how they incorporate live-action settings in the beginning of the movie and the credits. I give the animation ten stars.

Characters:

The characters are fantastic. The main character Linda is an excellent and relatable protagonist. I loved her passion, and her imagination. The dad Rick is an empathetic dad. Not only he is funny but he is a relatable parental figure for parents that are afraid to leave the empty nest. Katie is a good character who is very supportive and wise to her family. She gets some good character development later in the movie from being shy to vocal. Her beating up the robots to protect her son reminds me of how Molly Weasley tried to kill Bellatrix when her son died in Harry Potter and the deathly hallows part II. Aaron can come off as annoying sometimes, but he does have a heart, and he is more tolerable/likeable. The villain PAL is a great villain. She may be an electronic device but she is an interesting antagonist with how she uses power to destroy the imperfect family. Her motivations does make kind of sense if you think about it. The dog is okay. The robots are just there. The characters are loveable, I give the characters nine stars.

Verdict:

Mitchells vs the Machines is a fantastic animated film from the Sony library. It may have a questionable liar revealed trope and weak robot characters, but the story, animation, and the characters as a whole make this movie a must watch for the entire family. I recommend this film for family members and young adults who are about to leave home for college for the first time. I give this movie nine stars out of ten.

Gerawallstar

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