How a dysfunctional family road trip became a high-stakes battle against global robot domination

Entertainment · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: When a tech entrepreneur renders his AI assistant obsolete, she retaliates by launching a global robot uprising. The only hope for humanity lies with the Mitchells, a quirky, disconnected family on a cross-country road trip. This animated hit blends chaotic family dynamics with a unique, hand-painted watercolor visual style.

Conceived by director Mike Rianda after his work on the series Gravity Falls, the film draws from his personal family experiences and a childhood fascination with robots. Originally titled Connected, the project underwent several release delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic before Sony sold the worldwide distribution rights to Netflix for approximately $110 million in January 2021. The film finally debuted on the streaming platform in April 2021.

To achieve its signature aesthetic, the production team reused technology from Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, though they pivoted from a comic-book style to a hand-painted watercolor look. This involved using 2D-style effects, such as squiggles for fur and brush strokes for natural elements. To represent the protagonist Katie Mitchell’s internal state, the animators implemented 'Katie-Vision,' a technique that integrates stock 2D and live-action footage into the CG environment.

The film’s technical ambition extended to its antagonists. Animation supervisor Alan Hawkins developed a method for the PAL MAX Prime robots to break apart mid-movement, utilizing negative space inspired by the morphing effects in Terminator 2: Judgment Day. These sleek, polished robot designs were intentionally contrasted against the more organic, watercolor-styled humans to emphasize the collision between the Mitchells' world and the machine uprising.

Beyond its visual flair, the film earned widespread acclaim for its humor and emotional core, securing nominations at the 94th Academy Awards and winning at the 27th Critics Choice Awards. It also achieved a rare feat for an animated feature by using the actual sounds of a real-life social media star—Doug the Pug—to voice the family dog, Monchi, prioritizing authenticity over traditional human voice acting.

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