Let me be very clear: Michael Rianda’s first animated feature film, The Mitchells vs. The Machines, is fantastic, laugh out loud funny, and one of the best things I’ve seen this year. The movie is about a dysfunctional family that takes a cross-country road trip to take their daughter to college, only to be interrupted by an apocalyptic machine uprising.
One of the reasons this movie works so well is the screenplay Rianda co-wrote with Jeff Rowe. They’ve perfectly captured what so many families are going through in terms of how technology has changed the way we connect with our friends and family. In addition, while I could go on and on about the script and dialogue, I need to take a moment to praise the brilliant animation. As you watch the film, you’ll want to hit pause about a million times to see all the little things placed in the frame, and many of the same animators that helped bring Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse to life worked on Mitchells vs. the Machines. The film features the voices of Danny McBride, Abbi Jacobson, Maya Rudolph, Eric Andre, Olivia Colman, Beck Bennett, Fred Armisen, Conan O'Brien, Chrissy Teigen, and John Legend.
During the quick but fun interview, Rianda talked about where the idea for the story came from, how he wanted to make something personal and unique, the reaction of the animators when he told them what he wanted to do, and how the film has a secret robot language that can be decoded.
Check out what he had to say in the player above and below is exactly what we talked about.
The Mitchells vs. The Machines was produced by Phil Lord and Chris Miller and is now streaming on Netflix.
Michael Rianda:
- Where did the idea come from?
- Making a personal and unique film at a studio.
- How did the animators react when he told them what he was trying to do in the movie?
- A lot of the animators worked on Spider-Verse.
- Easter eggs?
Here’s the official synopsis for The Mitchells vs. The Machines:
The Mitchells vs. The Machines is an original animated comedy from director Mike Rianda (Gravity Falls) and producers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, The Lego Movie), about an everyday family's struggle to relate while technology rises up around the world! When Katie Mitchell (voiced by Abbi Jacobson), a creative outsider, is accepted into the film school of her dreams, her plans to meet “her people” at college are upended when her nature-loving dad Rick (voiced by Danny McBride) determines the whole family should drive Katie to school together and bond as a family one last time. Katie and Rick are joined by the rest of the family, including Katie’s wildly positive mom Linda (voiced by Maya Rudolph), her quirky little brother Aaron (voiced by Mike Rianda), and the family’s delightfully chubby pug Monchi for the ultimate family road trip. Suddenly, the Mitchells’ plans are interrupted by a tech uprising: all around the world, the electronic devices people love – from phones, to appliances, to an innovative new line of personal robots – decide it’s time to take over. With the help of two friendly malfunctioning robots, the Mitchells will have to get past their problems and work together to save each other and the world!
