Christopher Miller, the producer of The Mitchells vs. The Machines, reveals an image of the first time he met the inspiration behind Monchi, the Mitchell family dog. Monchi is a loveable cross-eyed pug that turns out to be surprisingly useful in the climax of the movie. When the Pal Max robots try to identify Monchi, their system processes him as a dog, a pig, and a loaf of bread, overriding their program, making them burst. Katie, voiced by Abbie Jacobson, attaches Monchi to the hood of their car as a deterrent for attacking robots. Rick Mitchell, voiced by Danny McBride, then plays Katie’s Pug Cop shorts on all of the robot base screens, making them all explode.
The Mitchells vs. The Machines is directed by Michael Rianda and Jeff Rowe and was released on Netflix in April of 2021. The film was produced by Into the Spider-Verse duo Phil Lord and Miller along Kurt Albrecht. It tells the story of a dysfunctional family who embark on a road trip to drop off aspiring filmmaker Katie at film school, shoehorned in by her father who hates technology. Their trip takes a sharp turn when the recently announced Pal (an amalgam for big tech) robots start a global uprising. Audiences have praised the story and it’s message as well as the lovable Monchi.
In a recent Twitter post, producer Miller shared a picture of the inspiration or “voice” behind Monchi. The picture shows celebrity dog Doug the Pug dressed up in a tuxedo in reference to Aaron’s wishes for the family victory dinner. Doug even sports his tongue out, which is Monchi’s signature look.
Click here to view the post on Twitter
The adaptation of Doug the Pug into Monchi is extremely accurate and has made for one of the cutest ugly dogs in movies today. Doug is a dog living in Nashville, Tennessee whose social media following have earned him the status of “celebrity dog.” He is the most followed dog on the internet with over 13 million followers across his social media accounts and was the winner of the People’s Choice Award for Animal Star in 2019.
The Mitchells vs. The Machines has become a landmark title for Netflix, becoming its most-watched animated title and receiving great reviews across all platforms. The movie currently sits at a whopping 98% on Rotten Tomatoes and is up for Best Animated Feature at this year’s Oscars against Encanto, Luca, and the animated documentary Flee. Competition is tough with such amazing titles in the animated category, yet Monchi and the Mitchells’ antics have given Netflix a shot at their first animation win.
Source: Christopher Miller
