Casting Olivia Colman as the voice of a demonic AI is only the first stroke of genius in this sprightly animated movie, produced by Phil Lord and Chris Miller (The Lego Movie, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse). As Pal, a passive-aggressive Siri-like program installed in everyone’s devices, she’s cranky, imperious and furious about being replaced by an updated model. “Just do what you always do and stare, slack-jawed, at the screen,” she says, witheringly, before her first act of violence: turning off the wifi.
Meanwhile, artsy teen Katie Mitchell (Broad City’s Abbi Jacobson) is excited to leave Michigan for California, where she’ll start film school and finally “meet her people”. Her technophobic dad, Rick (Danny McBride), insists the whole family drive her, but the machine apocalypse ignited by Pal proves to be a roadblock along the way.
The film retains a warm sense of humour about technology’s grip on society. Even mum Linda (Maya Rudolph) is addicted to her phone, Instagram-stalking the perfect Posey family (voiced by John Legend and Chrissy Teigen). There’s a playfulness, from an avalanche of possessed Furbys (and their oversized leader) to the goofy short films Katie makes (Monchi: Fear Eats the Soul riffs on Fassbinder and features her googly-eyed pug). The animation mixes CGI with 2D drawings scribbled over the images, as though Katie is doodling on the frame.
