Sony ‘Connected’ Movie is Now Coming to Netflix as ‘The Mitchells vs. The Machines’

Netflix has acquired the rights to “The Mitchells vs. The Machines,” formerly knows as CONNECTED from Sony Pictures. The original animated family film from producers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, The Lego Movie), was supposed to hit the theaters in Spring, 2021 after being postponed from October 2020. Netflix is yet to announce a premiere date for the movie.

Sony changed the name from “The Mitchells vs. The Machines” to “Connected” last year, but it has once again reverted to its original title. Netflix has acquired the worldwide rights to the film, which excludes China, reportedly for more than $100 million. 

“The Mitchells vs. The Machines” is about an everyday family's struggle to relate while technology rises up around the world! When Katie Mitchell (voiced by Abbi Jacobson), a creative outsider, is accepted into the film school of her dreams, her plans to meet “her people” at college are upended when her nature-loving dad Rick (voiced by 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 (voiced by Maya Rudolph), her quirky little brother Aaron (voiced by 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!

Mike Rianda (Gravity Falls) wrote and directed the film with Jeff Rowe. The voice cast also includes Maya Rudolph, Eric Andre, Olivia Colman, and Doug the Pug. Will Allegra and Louis Koo Tin Lok executive produced the film.

“I’m so thrilled that everyone at Netflix has been totally in sync with us creatively and are just as excited about the movie as we are,” said Rianda. “Not only because it’s an original story with a creative visual style that we’re extremely proud of, but also so I can prove to my friends that this five-year journey wasn’t an elaborate delusion on my part.”

“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.”

“It’s been a year of uncertainty in regard to what was the fate of our movie, Connected. Finally, I’m happy to say that the movie will be released on Netflix this year!! And not only that...it’s going back to its former title THE MITCHELLS VS THE MACHINE!,” said Guillermo Martinez, Director at Sony Pictures Animation.

“We want Netflix to be the place where families can come and enjoy stories together,” Netflix’s VP of Original Animation Melissa Cobb said. “And while we know no two families are the same, we think the Mitchells will immediately endear themselves to yours. It’s an honor to work with Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, and Mike Rianda to bring this incredibly special film to members around the world.”