The Mitchells vs. the Machines (2021)
Summary
What's it about?
The good bits
The bad bits
What is it similar to?
Oscar's recommendation
Parent/carer alerts
Swearing
Violence
Fear
Autism alerts
Sensory details
Spoilers
Skills
Oscar's rating




Summary
A fantastically fun family movie about family love, teamwork and saving other people. It's also about accepting your family member's different interests, and not growing too obsessed with gadgets, screens and innovention.
What's it about?
Katie Mitchell has been working on home-made internet movies and now she is moving to college. However her father Rick has cancelled her plane tickets so that he can take her to college himself with the whole Mitchell family. At first Katie was very disappointed and embarrassed, but then a smartphone tries to take over the world by sending all humans out of planet Earth and replacing them with robots, gadgets and appliances. Can the whole Mitchell family stop that evil smartphone before it's too late, or will the smartphone prevail and remove the whole human race from Earth?
The good bits
The movie had unique hybrid animation that combines flat and three-dimensional animation together, along with a heartwarming story about a dysfunctional family working together to save the world despite their differences and interests. There were very appealing themes such as family, innovention, teamwork, appearances and reality. There were a lot of funny jokes and humor throughout the film, witty dialogue and good support and encouragement for LGBT+ rights, such as Katie having a romantic relationship with another girl. I would also like to point out that the film contained a lot of great visual effects.
The bad bits
There was nothing I can remember I didn't like about this film.
What is it similar to?
The movie is similar to A Goofy Movie from 1995 because it is about a father taking his child on a road trip throughout america, yet unintentionally making his kid feel embarrassed. It is also similar to Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse from 2018 mostly for it's action sequences as well as it's hybrid animation which feels like animation with with both two-dimensional and three-dimensional aspects. This movie was also similar to The Lego Movie from 2014 due to having a similar dialogue with a lot of action and stunning visual effects.
Oscar's recommendation
I would recommend this film to the whole family, as well as anyone who likes hybrid animation, action and world saving. Some autistic people might prefer another film with just three-dimensional animation as well as not a lot of action and fighting or bright colours and visuals. Some people might feel anxious to know what will happen next and whether or not the Mitchell family will save the world. Some people might also worry that there will be a robotic apocalypse one day in the future in which robots try to take over human's lives after seeing this film. There are also other people who might be more interested in a computer-animated film that doesn't focus a lot about adults.
Parent/carer alerts
Swearing
There are some words spoken throughout this film such as "idiot", "idiotic", "butt" and "foolish humans". There was also other words such as "dang it", "jerk", "stupid" and "heck". There might be other words spoken such as "hell", "damn", "scumbag" and "oh my God". There was also toilet humour such as the whole Mitchell family throwing up after eating out at a poorly received restaurant. Katie made a short film about her dog licking his own "butt". Aaron has to go to the toilet at some point, and ends up reading in the toilet. There is also a running gag about the Mitchell kids tricking their father into getting kissed by their dog.
Violence
There is a lot of cartoony violence with no blood, mostly towards the robots. Whenever the robots are killed, oil splashes out, resembling blood. The whole Mitchell family throw up after eating out at a very poor-quality restaurant. You don't see the vomit and the family have their backs turned on a cliff, but you hear vomiting sounds. One character gets kicked in the private parts. Robots would crash, get impaled, dismembered, and taken offline. In one scene PAL the smartphone demonstrates how her owner has mistreated her by poking, swiping, zooming, demanding a song and ordering pizza.
Fear
This film contains references to adult-friendly movies such as Taxi Driver and Portrait of a Lady on Fire. This is a lot of apocalyptic destruction, but it's made comically and not so frightening. There is one scene in which a line of creepy toys called "Furbies" spring to life and attack the Mitchells, later on followed by a giant Furby toy that stomps around the shopping mall chasing the Family. This scene might frighten some people with autism and younger children, especially for the Furbies creepy designs and voices. The film also contains references to Indonesian films, such as Tentang Dia, Surat Kecil untuk Tuhan, Ada Apa dengan Cinta? and Dancing in the Rain. Pal MAX robots fly down to earth from the sky to capture humans and trap them in flying pods. The robots also have built in weapons in their arms such as guns.
Autism alerts
Sensory details
This film has a lot of surprising moments and bright colours and flashy special effects. Some people with autism might be unnerved by the bright colours, special effects, loud noises and sudden moments. Some People with autism might also be affected with having a smartphone with a face and life of its own as the main villain, and also when the smartphone gets destroyed in the end. other people might feel scared by the Pal MAX Robots who attack humans and send them away to space forever. Other people might feel anxious to know whether or not the Mitchells will save the world very quickly. Some people with autism might also be anxious to know what will happen next and what's going to happen to all of the characters in the end.
Spoilers
Skills
The story is quite complex so the some people with autism might need to watch with either a parent or guardian so that they can ask questions about what is happening in the story and what are the characters are feeling.
Oscar's rating




