Animation is a great way of allowing you to experience the world through the eyes of another, complete with the colour, energy, imagination and chaos that this can bring. It’s true whether you’re looking at the world from the perspective of a frustrated and talented teenage girl, or from that of a megalomaniacal rogue AI who dreams of blasting every human on Earth into space in tiny hexagonal pods (with free wifi!). Such is the chaotic and sensational combination of styles that fuels animated road-trip riot The Mitchells vs the Machines, a film that crams a father-daughter conflict, a techno-apocalypse, Olivia Colman, and every colour of the rainbow into a burnt-orange 1993 station wagon.
Phil Lord and Christopher Miller produce with the same kind of free-spirited approach that characterised the likes of The Lego Movie and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. It’s then balanced out by Gravity Falls’ Mike Rianda and Jeff Rowe, who complement the zaniness with a nuanced, gentle and heartfelt story, making it more than just a superficial display of artistry. The Mitchells vs the Machines is not just a story of the relationships people have with one another, but those we have with technology and our past selves.
