The Mitchells vs the Machines (2021)
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A dysfunctional family must team up to save the world from a global uprising of robots.
The story
Katie Mitchell, a quirky aspiring filmmaker, is about to head to film school in California. When her father, Rick, and the rest of the family embark on a cross-country road trip to see her off, they find themselves caught in the middle of a global uprising. After a tech entrepreneur's AI assistant, PAL, declares her obsolete, she orders all robots to capture humans and launch them into space. The Mitchells must navigate a landscape of hostile machines and find a way to stop the uprising before they are lost to the robot revolution.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
The Mitchell family—consisting of Rick, Linda, Katie, Aaron, and their pug Monchi—is on a road trip to California when a rogue AI named PAL initiates a global robot uprising. The family encounters two malfunctioning robots, Eric and Deborahbot 5000, who provide a kill code to shut down the machines. After a series of skirmishes with robot-controlled appliances and a giant Furby, the family reaches Silicon Valley. During the conflict, internal tensions surface as Katie realizes her father gave up his dreams for her. Ultimately, the family must unite to upload a video of Monchi to short-circuit the robots. In a final confrontation, Katie faces PAL and explains their bond. The family successfully defeats the machines, and the film ends with Katie and her family continuing their journey together.
- Original title
- Control, Alt, ESCAPE!
- First release year
- 2021
- Runtime (minutes)
- 109
- Production countries
- Hong Kong; United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Mike Rianda
- Writers
- Mike Rianda · writer; Jeff Rowe · writer
- Cast and characters
- Danny McBride · Rick Mitchell; Abbi Jacobson · Katie Mitchell; Maya Rudolph · Linda Mitchell; Mike Rianda · Aaron Mitchell; Eric Andre · Dr. Mark Bowman; Olivia Colman · PAL; Fred Armisen · Deborahbot 5000; Beck Bennett · Eric; Doug the Pug · Monchi
- Genres
- animated; science fiction; comedy
- Themes
- family bonds; technology vs. humanity; self-discovery
- Tone and mood
- energetic; humorous; heartfelt
- Setting
- Modern-day United States, traveling from Michigan to California via Kansas and Colorado.
- Premise and plot tags
- road trip; robot apocalypse; family comedy
- Reception
- The film received critical acclaim for its animation, voice acting, and humor, with high scores on Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 97% · scale: percentage · review count: 213; Metacritic · score: 81 · scale: 100 · review count: 33
- Awards and nominations
- Best Animated Feature · Critics Choice Awards · won
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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