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Anyone who’s been on a cross-country family road trip can tell you all kinds of crazy stories. My own stories include a stockpile of Combos, a screaming match in a sketchy Las Vegas parking lot, and a missing sibling. But no matter how crazy your stories may be, they won’t compare to the sheer insanity of Netflix’s animated road trip comedy The Mitchells vs. the Machines.
The Mitchells vs. the Machines goes on one wild ride with one wildly dysfunctional family. When Katie Mitchell (voiced by Abbi Jacobson) is accepted into film school in California, she’s thrilled to get away from her clueless family and finally connect with her people—so when her dad, Rick (Danny McBride), cancels her flight and decides to turn the trip into a family-bonding road trip, she’s less than thrilled. And it gets exponentially worse when they bumble their way into being humanity’s last hope in the robot apocalypse.
Once the robots arrive and shuttle everyone away with the intention of shooting them off into space, never to return, what starts out as a wacky family road trip turns into an action-packed (but still totally wacky) life-or-death adventure. Though the family has absolutely no training—and, really, no clue as to what they’re doing—Katie’s drive, determination, and out-of-the-box creativity push them to give this world-saving thing a short. But while it puts them in all kinds of danger, making the film totally action-packed, the real highlight of the film isn’t the action; it’s the characters.
This quirky family is full of big personalities. Katie loves producing crazy short films about the family’s dog, while Rick takes a more hands-on survivalist approach to life. Mom Linda (Maya Rudolph) dreams of having the perfect Instagram-worthy family, while little brother Aaron (Michael Rianda) just wants to talk about dinosaurs. And while most people would label this family of misfits “weird,” viewers (especially the young ones) will find them outrageously funny.
What plays out here isn’t just an animated sci-fi thriller. It’s so completely, insanely over-the-top silly that it’s guaranteed to make you laugh out loud on even the worst of days. I don’t think I’ve ever seen my daughter laugh so hard at a movie—and that’s definitely saying something. And I was laughing right along with her.
The Mitchells vs. the Machines isn’t exactly a sophisticated animated film. It’s definitely more silly and slapsticky. But this lovably kooky family and their out-of-this-world exploits will definitely keep the whole family giggling through the whole outrageous adventure.
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