A New Classic

​Once in a great while, you happen upon something, resulting in an unexpected and delightful surprise. And who’d have thought that I would find it buried deep in the comedy section of a Netflix queue? Not wishing to keep any of you in suspense any longer, I will let you know I refer to the Sony Pictures Animation feature Mitchells vs. The Machines.
 
Written and directed by Mike Rianda and Jeff Rowe, co-written by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, this is one comedy gem that does not deserve the obscurity that sometimes comes with a pandemic teamed with the streaming option. The characterizations of a dysfunctional family are spot-on. The comedy gags are robust and plentiful, and the message, which is more powerful than one might expect for a family film, is timely without being overwhelming. 
 
Clocking in at a lengthy 114 minutes (a tad longer than most animated comedies), Mitchells vs the Machines never loses its footing or pacing as it careens from one plot point to the next. The story, in a nutshell, concerns the desire of a father to get to know his filmmaking daughter with a cross-country road trip across the country to film school. Along the way, a jealous smartphone AI (sound familiar?) seeks revenge against all humanity for being replaced at a product announcement for a better and flashier version. Society is on the verge of distinction, and it is up to one family, the Mitchells, to stop the machines from disposing of the whole human race.
 
The look of the piece is the perfect blend of computer animation, live photos and old-fashioned hand drawn which makes it distinctly unique from the start and a visual treat from start to finish. It is a job extremely well done by the entire animation staff from top to bottom.
 
The vocal performances from everyone, Danny McBride and Maya Rudolph, down the line to John Legend and Conan O’ Brien, are all top-notch.  This is an excellent way for adults and kids to spend two hours of their entertainment week without the guilty feeling that you get from binging on the creative cotton candy of so-called other “tent-pole” films.  
 
To put it quite simply, Mitchells vs the Machines is as good as it gets. Go see it!