If you were expecting new Phil Lord and Chris Miller-produced 'toon The Mitchells Vs The Machines (formerly known as Connected) to show up in cinemas this year, you'll be disappointed. But there is good news, as it has found a new home, with Sony selling the film off to Netflix, which still plans to debut it in 2021.
The story follows an average family on a road trip who have to face extraordinary circumstances. When Katie Mitchell (Abbi Jacobson), a creative outsider, is accepted into the film school of her dreams, her plans to fly to college are upended when her nature-loving dad Rick (Danny McBride) determines the whole family should drive Katie to school together and bond as a family one last time.
Katie and Rick are joined by the rest of the family, including Katie’s wildly positive mom Linda (Maya Rudolph), her quirky little brother Aaron (director Mike Rianda), and the family’s delightfully chubby pug Monchi for the ultimate family road trip. Suddenly, the Mitchells’ plans are interrupted by a tech uprising: all around the world, the electronic devices people love – from phones, to appliances, to an innovative new line of personal robots – decide it’s time to take over. With the help of two friendly malfunctioning robots, the Mitchells will have to get past their problems and work together to save each other and the world...
"We are overwhelmed by the enthusiasm Netflix has expressed for this movie with this acquisition and grateful to everyone at Sony for making a great picture with us and finding a big way to bring it to audiences," Lord and Miller said in a statement. "We’re really proud of the film we all made together, plus we understand our subscription fees are waived in perpetuity as part of the deal? We’re not lawyers but it does sound right to us."
The Mitchells comes from director Rianda, whose own back catalogue includes cult cartoon Gravity Falls, the film will also feature the voices of Eric André as a tech visionary and Olivia Colman as the crafty AI behind the uprising.