The Mitchells vs. the Machines · reception & legacy
2021 · Mike Rianda
How The Mitchells vs. the Machines has been received, argued over, and remembered.
The arc
Dumped straight to Netflix in April 2021 after the pandemic scuttled its theatrical release, it became an instant critical hit — and has since climbed to 'best animated film of the 2020s so far' status in many fan rankings, with growing grumbles that it deserved a big-screen life.
What's debated
The perennial fight: was it robbed at the Oscars when Encanto took Best Animated Feature, and would it be a cultural juggernaut if Sony had put it in theaters?
Its footprint
The pug Monchi (voiced by actual internet celebrity Doug the Pug) triggering a robot meltdown — 'dog, pig, dog, pig, loaf of bread... system error' — and the demonic giant Furby are endlessly quoted and memed; Katie Mitchell also became an icon as a rare openly queer lead in a big studio animated film.
Where it stands
A certified Letterboxd darling — one of the highest-rated mainstream animated films of its decade on the platform, beloved by the exact chronically-online film-kid demographic it depicts.