The Mitchells vs. The Machines Boasts a Voice Cast For the Ages

This week Netflix debuts their new animated feature film The Mitchells vs. The Machines, an animated action adventure from director Mike Rianda, who's been a writer and creative director for Gravity Falls. Setting up like an anti-Incredibles, The Mitchells vs. The Machines centers on a decidedly average family of four who, whilst on a road trip to drop the eldest daughter off at college, find themselves in the middle of the robot apocalypse. Now they'll have to band together to find the courage and ability to save themselves and maybe also the world. The film is produced by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, Oscar-winning producers of Into the Spider-Verse and The LEGO Movie, and it promises to be a creative, exciting, and funny animated adventure. It's also stacked with a cast of voice actors who are likely to sound familiar. Just in case you have trouble placing them, we're here to help.

Abbi Jacobson as Katie Mitchell

Broad City star Abbi Jacobson stars as Katie Mitchell, the oldest of the two Mitchell children, who's on her way to film school in the movie. She's kind of the oddball in her family, at least when it comes to her dad, who doesn't understand what his teenage daughter is doing making YouTube movies all day. Since wrapping Broad City in 2019, Jacobson has appeared in the film Six Balloons and voiced the lead character in the Netflix animated series Disenchantment.

Danny McBride as Rick Mitchell

Comedic actor/writer/producer Danny McBride has carved out his own niche in Hollywood over the last decade or so. After showing up in supporting roles in films like Pineapple Express and Tropic Thunder, McBride co-created and starred in Eastbound and Down, the HBO comedy that attracted a growing chorus of critical raves over its four seasons and a dedicated fanbase. Most recently, he created and starred in another HBO series, this time The Righteous Gemstones. In The Michells vs. the Machines, McBride voices Rick Mitchell, the father of the family, who insists on a cross-country road trip to drop Katie off at film school, no matter how disastrous their family vacations tend to go. When the robot apocalypse descends, Rick's outdoorsy, tech-hating worldview ends up serving him well.

Maya Rudolph as Linda Mitchell

Saturday Night Live alum Maya Rudolph is one of the funniest and hardest working comedic actresses in the game. You know her from movies like Bridesmaids, Sisters, Away We Go, and the recent Netflix comedy Wine Country; she was recently Emmy-nominated for her performance as the Judge on The Good Place, and she shows up frequently on SNL these days, playing Vice President Kamala Harris. She's currently a voice on Big Mouth and in the upcoming Pixar film Luca. She plays the voice of Linda in The Mitchells vs. the Machines, mom to the family and frequent peacemaker when Katie and Rick are feuding.

Mike Rianda as Aaron Mitchell

Director Mike Rianda will lend his vocal talents to the film as younger brother Aaron, a sweet, nerdy kid who loves dinosaurs, his sister, and the bug-eyed family pug, Monchi.

Eric Andre as Mark Bowman

Comedian and actor Eric Andre is probably best known as the creator and host of The Eric Andre Show on Adult Swim, his appearances in TV shows like Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 and Man Seeking Woman, and films like Rough Night. He also voiced one of the hyenas in the recent remake of The Lion King. Most recently, Andre starred in the Netflix movie Bad Trip, opposite Lil Rel Howery and Tiffany Haddish. In The Mitchells vs. the Machines, Andre plays Dr. Mark Bowman, a tech genius who — and try to act surprised — invents a fleet of robot personal assistants that end up turning on humanity.

Olivia Colman as PAL

Oscar- and Emmy-winning actress Olivia Colman voices PAL, the automated virtual assistant that ends up becoming the leader of the robot uprising. Colman was an actress working in British comedies for years before steadily reaching more visibility and notoriety in the United States with crossover hits like Broadchurch and smaller roles in TV shows like The Night Manager and movies like The Lobster. In 2018, Colman starred as Queen Anne in The Favourite for which scored a surprise Best Actress Oscar win over Glenn Close (Colman was nominated for an Oscar again this year for her role in The Father). Most prominently, Colman played Queen Elizabeth II in the two most recent seasons of Netflix's The Crown.

Blake Griffin as PAL Max Prime

NBA star Blake Griffin lends his voice to The Mitchells vs. the Machines as PAL Max Prime, the most prominent of the evil, rampaging robot army. Griffin is a 12-year NBA veteran who's played for the Los Angeles Clippers and Detroit Pistons before just this spring signing with the Brooklyn Nets. The 2011 Slam Dunk Contest winner has branched out into acting as well, in the Whitney Cummings movie The Female Brain and opposite his Mitchells cast members Abbi Jacobson (on Broad City) and Eric Andre (on The Eric Andre Show).

Additional Voices

As is typical of animated films these days, the voice cast is stacked with comedic talent even in relatively minor roles. Current Saturday Night Live star Beck Bennett and SNL alum Fred Armisen voice Eric and Deborahbot 5000, respectively, a pair of robots who defect from their marauding brethren and help the Mitchells. The great Conan O'Brien voices Glaxxon 5000, one of the evil robots. And Chrissy Tiegen, John Legend, and Charlene Yi voice the Posey family, the Mitchells' neighbors whose teamwork and seeming perfection seem to show up the Mitchells at every turn.

The Mitchells vs. The Machines premieres Friday April 30th on Netflix.

Joe Reid is the senior writer at Primetimer and co-host of the This Had Oscar Buzz podcast. His work has appeared in Decider, NPR, HuffPost, The Atlantic, Slate, Polygon, Vanity Fair, Vulture, The A.V. Club and more.