When you watch the first half of the new trailer for “Connected,” you may begin to wonder why the film is actually animated and not just a live-action family comedy about a dad taking his daughter to college. We’ve seen that film a million times, right? Well, it’s when you get to the final half of the trailer when you realize that “Connected” has much bigger things in mind than just a simple family comedy.
To be fair, “Connected” is built around the premise of a dad desperately trying to reconnect with his tech-obsessed children by taking his older daughter on a road trip to college. It’s just that along the way, a tech company releases AI-powered robots that go rogue and begin to take over the world. That’s when the tech-fearing dad and his family must band together to fight the robot uprising and save the day. Seriously, that’s what this film is about.
“Connected features the vocal talents of Abbi Jacobson, Danny McBride, Maya Rudolph, Mike Rianda, Eric Andre, and Olivia Colman. The film is directed by Mike Rianda, best known for his work on “Gravity Falls.” And as the trailer clearly shows, the film is produced by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the duo behind “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” and “The LEGO Movie” franchise.
Here’s the synopsis:
Sony Pictures Animation’s Connected is an original animated comedy from director Mike Rianda (Gravity Falls) and producers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, The Lego Movie), about an everyday family’s struggle to relate while technology rises up around the world! When Katie Mitchell (voiced by Abbi Jacobson), a creative outsider, is accepted into the film school of her dreams, her plans to meet “her people” at college are upended when her nature-loving dad Rick (voiced by Danny McBride) determines the whole family should drive Katie to school together and bond as a family one last time. Katie and Rick are joined by the rest of the family, including Katie’s wildly positive mom Linda (voiced by Maya Rudolph), her quirky little brother Aaron (voiced by Mike Rianda), and the family’s delightfully chubby pug Monchi for the ultimate family road trip. Suddenly, the Mitchells’ plans are interrupted by a tech uprising: all around the world, the electronic devices people love – from phones, to appliances, to an innovative new line of personal robots – decide it’s time to take over. With the help of two friendly malfunctioning robots, the Mitchells will have to get past their problems and work together to save each other and the world!
“Connected” drives into theaters on September 18. Watch the first trailer below.