THE MITCHELLS VS. THE MACHINES - (L-R) Abbi Jacobson as “Katie Mitchell", Maya Rudolph as “Linda Mitchell", Danny McBride as “Rick Mitchell”, Doug the Pug as “Monchi”, Mike Rianda as “Aaron Mitchell”, Fred Armisen as "Deborahbot 5000" and Beck Bennett as "Eric". Cr: ©2021 SPAI. All Rights Reserved.
The Mitchells vs. The Machines is Netflix's exciting new animated movie that will premiere on the streaming platform at 3:00pm (SGT) this April 30!
The computer-animated science fiction comedy produced by Sony Pictures Animation follows a dysfunctional family that winds up having to save Earth from a robot uprising while on a road trip.
To get you pumped and excited to see it, we've come up with a list of reasons why this movie is not one you want to miss:
The duo behind the Academy Award-winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse also produced this movie
Phil Lord (left); Chris Miller (right)
Phil Lord and Chris Miller are no strangers in the animated film department. The duo first made their debut when they wrote and directed Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs back in 2009 though it was really the success of 2014's The Lego Movie that made them household names. Their vision for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse to have a unique style that combines computer animation with traditional hand-drawn comic book techniques resulted in a critically-acclaimed film that eventually won Best Animated Feature at the 91st Academy Awards, being the first non-Disney/Pixar film to win the award since Rango (2011).
It has unique art direction and visuals
Director Mike Rianda wanted the movie to have a “hand-painted watercolor style” but it was a big challenge for a 3D movie considering watercolor is traditionally a 2D technique. Michael Lasker, the CG Supervisor for Spider-Verse, was roped in to help since that film had also faced similar challenges trying to mimic the feel of more two-dimensional art. The end product is definitely a unique style that gives the film a distinctive feel that separates it from other animated films.
It's stacked with a talented cast
The voice cast behind the characters in The Mitchells vs. The Machines have 2 Oscars, 1 Tony, 6 Emmys and 12 Grammys between them. Talented beyond belief, yes. Do these awards mostly belong to just one individual? Does it matter?
There's Abbi Jacobson of Broad City fame lending her voice to the film's main protagonist, Katie Mitchell; with reputable comedians Danny McBride and Maya Rudolph playing Katie's parents Rick and Linda respectively; director Rianda rounding up the Mitchell clan as Katie's younger brother Aaron; Eric Andre as Dr. Mark Bowman, a scientist and founder of PAL Labs; Olivia Colman from The Crown voices PAL: a virtual assistant; Charlene Yi as Abby, Aaron's love interest; Saturday Night Live former and current cast members Fred Armisen and Beck Bennett as Deborahbot 5000 and Eric – damaged robots from PAL Labs; one of Hollywood's most beloved couple – John Legend and Chrissy Tiegen – as Jim and Hailey Posey, the Mitchells' neighbors and Abby's parents; Conan O'Brien as an evil robot from PAL Labs; and professional basketball player Blake Griffin voiced a sleek robot from PAL Labs.
THERE'S AN ANIMATED PUG NAMED MONCHI
There's no real talk about a talented cast without mentioning potential fan-favourite character – Monchi the pug. Internet celebrity Doug the Pug provided all of the grunts, sneezes, barks, licks, and other dog noises for Monchi. He is based on Mike Rianda’s sister’s pug, Monchichi, who, much like his cartoon counterpart, was very excitable, wall-eyed, and had a hard time catching things.
BONUS!
Here's the cast answering some questions from a virtual junket that took place last week:
The Mitchells vs. The Machines premieres on Netflix on April 30.