The Mitchells Vs. The Machines (2021) Dir: Mike Rianda & Jeff Rowe

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This Mike Rianda and Jeff Rowe directed animated adventure was infinitely more fun than I had expected. It has an Into The Spiderverse-esque animation style which is delightful on the eyes, especially with the abundance of colours used in just about every shot. The story was exciting, endearing and very funny, which is everything you want and need from a family film. The upbeat soundtrack and energetic vocal performances helped elevate this to being a wonderfully memorable affair.

Abbi Jacobson was a bundle of joy in the leading role. Her energy was infectious and she was able to balance the highs and lows of her character's emotions extremely well. The performance of Danny McBride was another I very much enjoyed. He had good vocal chemistry with those around him and was very endearing for the most part.

I was tempted to say that Maya Rudolph, while solid, was not overly impressive, until the film reached the third act, where Rudolph's performance comes alive. She was hilarious in that final third, to the great benefit of the film. Mike Rianda really grew on me as the story progressed, with some of his lines really cracking me up a lot.

Olivia Colman was brilliant, as she often is, and seemed to understand and enjoy her role as the film's antagonist very much. I'll also give quick mentions to Eric André, Fred Armisen, Beck Bennett, John Legend and Conan O'Brien for their varying contributions to the cast.

Overall, this film surprised me in a multitude of ways, and, through delightful effort and character, worked its way into being a truly wonderful and brilliant animated adventure.

I simply adore this animation style, and it seems that I'm not the only one. There's no wonder these films are so highly rated.