The robots are revolting!

Billed as ‘the world’s most dysfunctional family save the human race from a robot apocalypse’, The Mitchells vs. The Machines could also be summarised as ‘Phone Wars: Revenge of the Siri’.

Speaking as someone who finds gadget AIs tooth-grindingly useless (I’m always being told off by Siri for swearing at it) I was particularly tickled by the idea of Olivia Coleman’s rogue phone AI, PAL, wreaking its revenge on humanity, mainly as punishment for being so slavishly screen addicted in the first place. Although, having said that, if only real world apps were capable of such coherent thought…!

I mention the above, because while the emotional through line of the movie centres on familiar animation tropes (alienated oddball Katie learns to appreciate the true meaning of family, and heal her relationship with her father yadda yadda ) it’s great to have a villain predicated on a genuinely witty satirical idea, and there are plenty of enjoyably acerbic sideswipes at big tech along the way.

As for the perhaps overly familiar dysfunctional family set-up, the Mitchells’ relationships are truthfully observed, the dialogue is sharp, and there are some subtle nods suggesting a healthy new LGBTQ+ normality for mainstream American family film, and not just among the human characters either.

The Mitchells wears its Lego Movie/Big Hero Six/Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs influences perhaps too proudly on its sleeve at times, but it still manages to be fresh and fun, and it distinguishes itself by its inventive mash-up of animations styles, flipping from realistic, to watercolour, to 2D, to a more manga influenced graphic palette, along with moments of live action, all used to good effect.

Verdict: Overall, a great watch for anyone north of 7 or 8 years old – although this old grouch found the breathless pacing over 104 minutes a tad relentless. The Mitchells is overly familiar in places, but there’s more than enough originality in other places, laugh out loud gags and heart to make it breathless time well spent. 8/10

Martin Jameson