Even though they unloaded the film onto Netflix, Sony Pictures Animation’s The Mitchells vs. The Machines hits Blu-ray with bonus content.

Because Sony retained the home entertainment rights, film fans are all the better. It’s not often that a Netflix film gets a stacked home entertainment release. And yet, this film also comes with all NEW material including a short film. There’s also an extended cut including 40 minutes of deleted scenes. Trust me, you’re going to want to bring home the Blu-ray for the Solzy Award-winning Best Animated Feature Film of the Year because some bonus content is exclusive to the Blu-ray.

The following is my original review from the film’s release earlier this year:

Think of The Mitchells vs. The Machines as Her meets The Terminator in this all new star-studded comedy launching on Netflix.

The Mitchells are an ordinary family doing ordinary things. They’re certainly like any other family. And yet, they’re going to find themselves having to save the world during the robot apocalypse (Ted Moseby voice: Kids, nobody ever learned anything while watching The Terminator). Anybody with a love of film will also find themselves resonating with Katie Mitchell (Abbi Jacobson). Katie is one of us and has a lengthy list of reels to show for it. Moreover, please pay attention to he room and clothing choices! She fits in with her fellow future film school students. Right before the robot takeover, Katie was arguing with her parents about missing her college orientation. The Mitchells wanted one last road trip together. What nobody expected is what happens next.

PAL Labs founder and tech millionaire Mark Bowman (Eric Andre) is a Steve Jobs type. He’s also not a villain in this situation. He just happens to be very ambitious. Shortly after introducing the next generation of PAL (Olivia Colman), the PAL Max robots (Beck Bennett), things turn sour rather fast. They start an uprising. Anything with a PAL chip is now at war with humans. Smart phones, roombas, and even the cute Furbys! There’s no Beebo to protect and save humanity. It’s all up to the Mitchells of all people to save the day. They are, in all honest, the people we would expect. No superhero is coming to rescue them. Again, did nobody bother to pay attention to The Terminator? I mean, the warning is right in front of us!

Oscar winner Olivia Colman also crushes it in her portrayal of smartphone PAL. She brings a very different approach to playing a phone than Scarlett Johansson did in Her. You can find yourself being amused in one moment while being super scared the next. And to think that the filmmakers thought they lost any opportunity in casting Colman upon winning the Oscar! If this is what she does in voicing a phone, I can’t wait to see what she brings to Marvel’s Secret Invasion!

Regarding the rest of the cast, it’s star-studded. There’s no question about this. Abbi Jacobson is amazingly talented and funny but I can’t help but think about whether an incoming college freshman should be played by someone closer to the age. If this were a live-action film, filmmakers couldn’t get away with this type of casting. I’m not sure if this kind of conversation has come to the world of animation but it’s something to think about. I mean, I can buy into the idea of Danny McBride and Maya Rudolph playing parents of a college freshman. It’s a conversation to have in the long-term but it doesn’t change my love of the film and the message it sends to viewers.

Ultimately, there’s a message in watching this movie. Even with our technological obsessions surrounding us, our family–biological or chosen–is who we depend on with tragedy strikes. Okay, so maybe you shouldn’t create a phone that wants to takeover the world right after you decide to dump it. That would be some good advice, too.

In a perfect world, The Mitchells vs. The Machines could have been an Oscar contender last year. But alas, the pandemic forced Sony to delay and later unload onto Netflix. I would certainly have loved nothing more than to have seen this awesome action-comedy on the big screen. Instead, I’ll just have to settle for my television. It might not have contended last year but rest assured, The Mitchells vs. The Machines is already a strong awards contender for this year.

Bonus Features

• Katie’s Cabinet of Forgotten Wonders: Take a rare look inside Katie Mitchell’s filmmaking process as she gives you an exclusive look into how the movie was made.
  • Katie-Vision!
  • Dumb Robots Trailer
  • The Original “Mitchells” Story Pitch
  • The Furby Scene – How? Why?
  • PAL’s World
• The Mitchells Vs. The Machines: Or How a Group of Passionate Weirdos Made a Big Animated Movie: Go inside the story of The Mitchells vs the Machines and meet a group of first-time filmmakers & talented cast who banded together to take a collective risk on making a unique, original, and totally off-the-wall film about an everyday, epic, world-saving family!
• How To Make Sock Puppets: Katie Mitchell opens the door to her film school. Learn how to make sock puppets who could be extras in your next short film!
• How To Make Katie Face Cupcakes: Enjoy making cupcakes only a mother could love.
• Dog Cop 7: The Final Chapter: Katie Mitchell is back and creating the most hilarious film of her young career – check out an all-new mini-movie, Dog Cop 7: The Final Chapter. In a world where the holidays are being haunted by the Candy Cane Kidnapper, there is only one Dog with the skills to solve the case. (Blu-ray exclusive)
• Katie’s Extended Cinematic Bonanza Cut! Prepare to witness Katie’s director’s cut, an extended version of the original film with over 40 minutes of deleted scenes. (Blu-ray exclusive)
• 8 Bonus Scenes: Get more Mitchells with over 20 minutes of Deleted & Extended Scenes. (Blu-ray exclusive)
• Filmmakers’ commentary (Blu-ray exclusive)

DIRECTOR: Mike Rianda
CO-DIRECTOR: Jeff Rowe
SCREENWRITERS: Mike Rianda and Jeff Rowe
CAST: Abbi Jacobson, Danny McBride, Maya Rudolph, Mike Rianda, Eric Andre, Olivia Colman, Fred Armisen, Beck Bennett, Chrissy Teigen, John Legend, Charlyne Yi, Blake Griffin, Conan O’Brien, Doug the Pug, Sasheer Zamata, Elle Mills, Alex Hirsch, Jay Pharoah

The Mitchells vs. The Machines is now available on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital.

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