Although they only serve as producers on the project, it's easy to tell that The Mitchells vs. the Machines had the backing of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (The Lego Movie, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse). Co-writer/director Mike Rianda shares his collaborators gift for spicing up simple stories (the plot surrounds a dysfunctional Michigan family that is tasked with saving the world from a robot apocalypse while taking a road trip to California) with irreverent humor, richly detailed animation and finding creative ways to explore certain parts of the human experience that tend to get lost in the shuffle (here its primarily the lack of understanding kids have for the sacrifices for the parents made to give them the best life possible and parents not understanding the aspirations of their kids). While that approach isn't quite as rewarding as it was seven years ago when the original Lego Movie came out, it's still different enough from what other animated films are doing right now that it remains fresh. Plus it would be impossible for me to not like a film that features a key scene that portrays Furby's as the horrifying monsters that they truly are and a voice cast that's almost exclusively compromised of hilarious people (Abbi Jacobson, Danny McBride, Maya Rudolph, Olivia Colman, Eric Andre, Fred Armisen, Beck Bennett, Conan O'Brien) bringing their razor sharp comedic sensibilities to their characters. The Lord/Miller machine may break down eventually if they don't create or back projects with more dynamic storytelling, but for now they've carved out their own eccentric, heartfelt corner of the animation universe that is worthy of widespread admiration.
Grade: B+
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