First Trailer Arrives For Sony's 'Connected'

The first trailer for Sony Pictures Animation's new film Connected really hypes up the involvement of Phil Lord and Chris Miller. Not by name, but the trailer is selling it as coming from the "visionary minds behind" Spider-Man Into The Spider-Verse and The LEGO Movie.  As well they might- Spider-Verse wasn't the biggest success financially, but it made waves throughout the industry and transformed Sony into a major player in feature animation.

Lord and Miller's role in the project seems to be lesser than with Spider-Verse- they're credited as producers, with Mike Rianda and fellow Gravity Falls alum Jeff Rowe writing and directing. Formerly known as The Mitchells Vs The Machines, it sees the eponymous family encountering a robotic uprising during a family trip.

The first trailer is focussed more on the film's first act. We meet the Mitchell clan and our point of entry is through Dad Rick (Danny McBride) as he laments how he's grown apart from daughter Katie (Abby Jacobson), "We used to be so connected". Now she experiences the world through her phone and technology.  Rick sees the opportunity of Katie leaving for college as an opportunity for a cross-country road-trip- and a chance to reconnect with his family.

Along the way, they run into something even more challenging than spending all that time in a cramped car with your family- a technological uprising. Across the world, devices from mobile phones to appliances and an innovative new line of personal robots rise up and turn on their human masters. With the help of two malfunctioning robots, the Mitchells must pull together to save each other- and maybe the world.

Although the art style is very different, you can tell that technologies developed for Spider-Verse are employed here. It's more classically cartoony but still has a hand-painted look that gives it a real sense of vibrancy. The characters have real personality and it doesn't look quite like anything else out there. The technology looks (appropriately) more classically CG- and when the gadgets rise up, it looks like the film will have an enjoyably chaotic feel, with tons of opportunity for slapstick humour and smart gags alike.

Combining the manic sci-fi action and the relatable family comedy looks like a really shrewd move. This has the potential to connect (no pun intended) with audiences of all kinds. If this wasn't on your radar until now, this trailer may well convince you that this promises to be one of 2020's most exciting mainstream releases.

Connected is due to hit cinemas in North America on September 8, 2020. The UK release will follow on October 8.