10 Recent Movies NOBODY Expected To Be This Good

9. The Mitchells Vs. The Machines

Free Guy Ryan Reynolds
Netflix

The Mitchells vs. the Machines was originally supposed to be released by Sony in early 2020 under the title "Connected," but due to both production delays and the pandemic, the animated sci-fi comedy was removed from the studio's release schedule.

At the start of this year, it was announced that Netflix had bought the film from Sony, and given the mediocre-at-best quality of most major studio pictures acquired by the streaming giant, it was totally reasonable to have so-so expectations.

Even with The Lego Movie's Phil Lord and Christopher Miller aboard as producers, it also made sense to be a little unsure of Gravity Falls creative director Mike Rianda making his directorial debut on such a large-budget project.

Even those who were hoping for broadly positive reviews couldn't have anticipated the near-universal praise for the film's heartfelt script, memorable characters, and imaginative direction.

It ended up landing a phenomenal 98% on the Tomatometer, placing it above even recent higher-profile animated hits such as Raya and the Last Dragon and Luca.

The film's popularity will make it a tough one for the Academy to ignore for the Best Animated Film Oscar next year, which is quite the glow-up for a movie many assumed was in trouble after Netflix picked it up.

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Contributor

Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.