‘The Mitchells vs. The Machines’ Hilarious Tale of Family Dysfunction | Review

The Mitchells vs. the Machines – a hilarious animated comedy about a dysfunctional family that goes beyond its concept.

Synopsis

The creators of The Mitchells vs. the Machines managed to do the impossible. They took one of the most notorious modern-day problems, combined it with a seemingly trivial story, and managed to create an original and hilarious animated movie!

At first sight, the Mitchells look like a perfectly exaggerated dysfunctional family. But once you take a closer look, the problem of disconnection and being absorbed by gadgets or the storyline of father and daughter growing apart starts to look disturbingly relatable for most urban families today.

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Katie Vs Dick Mitchell

Katie and Dick Mitchell (Abbi Jacobson and Danny McBride) represent the classic “Parents vs. Children” conflict remastered through modern reality. Katie is a talented artist who entered film school in California and is excited about the digital technologies of the future. Her father, otherwise, is incredibly old-school, rejects technology, and preaches outdoor activities.

Main Storyline

The main storyline and the central conflict emerge when a rise of matches begins while the whole family decides to take a “bonding” cross-country road trip. Despite being cartoonishly exaggerated, the Mitchells start behaving like pretty relatable emotional characters in front of the perspective of being the only ones who can save the world. Setting an example, they put away their dysfunctional chase for artificial perfection and embrace their actual values, solid sides, and personalities.

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There is a vital emotional component in the story expressed through a teenage daughter and a middle-aged father who never seem to find common ground, a mother (Maya Rudolph) who is trying to make peace in the middle of the perfect storm, and the youngest son who seems to be the only ultimate victim of the warfare. However, in the face of disaster, the Mitchells manage to emulate a perfectly functioning organism without the need to change or force the course of the event. Their transformation as a family happens naturally without the character’s violation.

This seemingly dramatic and even tragic course of events is expressed through lively and lightweight humor that makes the overall concept acceptable for all ages.

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Phil Lord & Christopher Miller pull Animation to the next level

Putting a character who is also a filmmaker into the central position, Phil Lord & Christopher Miller take the animation to the next level. They set the concept free, experiment with 2D and 3D animation, and allow the main protagonist to create the video sequence herself. Unlike most animated movies we have seen recently, the Mitchells vs. the Machines looks like a daring experiment that cannot be pinned down to a particular studio. Remember how you could quickly tell which studio has created the character from the features, color pattern, or signature moves? The Mitchells vs. the Machines is a whole different story. Like in any good comedy, the story operates through the principle that you don’t know what to expect next. And even if it seems to you that you have already understood the course of events and the outcomes, the character’s reaction, behavior, and course of events will fail your expectations most hilariously.

While most critics and viewers talk about the movie’s original and untrivial way of playing with the notorious “dysfunctional family” theme, the story goes deeper than one of the trendiest concepts in today’s storytelling.

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Pros And Cons of Movie

The Michaels vs. the Machines talk about art, its proper role in modern society, and perspectives in the future. The movie speculates about creativity and how it will never die out even in the most digitally organized and pragmatic community. Once again, the story rolls around different ways to use the technology and the ability to look out of the box even if the course of events seems predetermined by the most accurate algorithms.

Another exciting thing about the Mitchells vs. the Machines is that they don’t touch such topics as social media or any particular digital platforms. Although YouTube does appear in the story, the authors don’t focus on grinding on the influence of the specific trendy digital matters, their pros, and cons. They manage to talk about technology and its perspectives in general without pointing the finger at a particular concept.

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Message from ‘The Mitchells vs. the Machines’ Movie

The whole idea of the movie is that the technology won’t go anyway as well as the traditional family values, outdoor activities, and the need to overcome the notorious emotional gap between generations. The movie highlights that today’s society stands at one of the most exciting development milestones when we shall learn to integrate the future concept into the eternal values and determine future generations’ lives.

The Mitchells vs. the Machines manage to balance between family drama, sci-fi speculation, and a comedy. This way, they tend to hit their primary goal and draw the attention of all modern family members, letting them think about the actual values and the core of their relationship. Not that dysfunctional, after all.