This is a Netflix original animated film about a girl and her killer robot. The animation and action are great, the characters are engaging, and the story is pretty original. Also, this movie is the spiritual successor to 9, my all-time favourite movie! And my friend Dave Colvinson actually worked on it! If you're browsing through Netflix looking for something to watch, I'd recommend checking this out. I think it's a good time! Definitely a hidden gem! Spread the word! More people need to see this!
328 Reviews
Okay, but it could have been a lot better
Wizard-813 April 2020
While I am giving this Chinese/North American co-production a recommendation, I feel I should point out it's more of a marginal recommendation. Before I get into the faults of the movie, let me list some of its positive attributes. For starters, the movie looks great. The computer animation is not quite as slick as Pixar, but it's pretty close, giving the audience some great visuals and some great production design. Next, the movie certainly doesn't have any dull spots, always remaining interesting at any point. Also, the action depicted is spectacular and very exciting to behold.
If they only had a better script, however, this movie would have been a knockout. But as it is, there are some serious flaws with the writing that hold back the movie significantly. First, while I earlier said that the movie is never boring, it all the same feels way too long (106 minutes!) and the padding is extremely evident. Another big flaw is the lead teenage girl character. She is so sullen, so sour, so filled with anger and hate that it takes forever before we can start warming up to her. Also, the start of her relationship with the robot is not sketched out very well; it's hard to see how the two managed to connect so quickly and become fast friends.
Despite the inadequate script, I am still giving the movie a mild thumbs up. Adult viewers will best approach this movie with lower expectations than usual so there's a better chance they will enjoy it. Kids will probably look past the flawed writing and enjoy the whole package. There are certainly a lot worse family films for a family to watch (though there are also a lot that are much better.)
If they only had a better script, however, this movie would have been a knockout. But as it is, there are some serious flaws with the writing that hold back the movie significantly. First, while I earlier said that the movie is never boring, it all the same feels way too long (106 minutes!) and the padding is extremely evident. Another big flaw is the lead teenage girl character. She is so sullen, so sour, so filled with anger and hate that it takes forever before we can start warming up to her. Also, the start of her relationship with the robot is not sketched out very well; it's hard to see how the two managed to connect so quickly and become fast friends.
Despite the inadequate script, I am still giving the movie a mild thumbs up. Adult viewers will best approach this movie with lower expectations than usual so there's a better chance they will enjoy it. Kids will probably look past the flawed writing and enjoy the whole package. There are certainly a lot worse family films for a family to watch (though there are also a lot that are much better.)
Amazing animation. Netflix is in the game!
pmsingtiger7 September 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Next Gen is about a girl Mai who is dealing with a lot of anger issues after her dad left (Which is hinted that he died at some point in the film). Her mother has a huge affinity for robots while Mai cannot stand them because of how they are used against her and taking away any human interaction that she craves. When Mai comes across Project 77 (no he does not get a name in the movie) she is just as unwilling to trust this robot like any other, but when he follows her home she realizes the unique aspect of his design when he blows a small robot up. They begin to create memories together but due to damage that 77 sustained earlier he can only keep so many memories and must choose which ones to delete so he will not end up going into a system reboot. Through out his time with Mai he learns mortality and the concepts of love and attachment and how much Mai really needs him and other people in her life. All of this comes crashing down when the Robots development CEO Pin comes looking for 77 and you find out that he intends to destroy all human life. A huge battle ensues and 77 must give up his memories for Mai to restore his weapons system to fight the massive robot Aries.
This story is sad in so many ways. It shows Mai and her distraught emotions over her father leaving (and possibly dying) and her mom trying to cope through her love of robots and ignoring the problems with her daughter. It shows humanity is something you must chose and that our memories are priceless with the people we love. Everything about this movie was a win for me. The animation style was crisp and as strong as a Pixar or Disney movie I would even say that it exceeded DreamWorks animation in a lot of aspects. There is a vague similarity to big hero 6, but for me I feel this movie touched on a lot of better subjects and that the character depth was better on the main two characters than all the supporting ones. Where as Big Hero 6 felt like it had a forgivable villain this movie was facing it's own demons by creating a robot that thought everything should be perfect when humanity itself cannot obtain any level of perfection.
I wish that they would have made more progress in the end with 77's memories being restored. I also would have liked to have a little more backstory on Mai's father and if he died or the funeral they went to was something else entirely? My complaints aren't very many, I'm excited to see what Animation Netflix comes out with next because this was an amazing start in my book.
There is something here, brought down by an annoying lead.
CaZSuede-27 September 2018
There is something compelling about making a movie that observes Man's ever more reliance of machinery to find joy and meaning into their lives. Mai's mother uses it to forget about her husband, others use it to enhance their entertainment factor or as a way to impress others.
The world building is pretty good, especially how robotics weaves itself into the future USA. As a marketer, I feel bad that we are going to bombard people with branding 24/7 to get them to buy our products.
This could have been a fantastic film if it weren't for such an self centered main character, who plays a selfish, petulant child nearly throughout the whole movie, treating her "friend" as a machine, blaming him and throwing guilt on it when it only has good intentions. There is something rotten about her soul, as she never learns her lessons from the pain she inflicts, whether it is being mean to her mom and causing a bully to cry, through most of the movie.
The robot character, 7723, is a much more compelling (although it is a low bar) character, someone learning human emotions but is a robot, similar to the Iron Giant, but he as long as he plays subservient to it's master Mai, it's growth is limited.
The movie somewhat redeems itself at the end. It could have taken the easy, Disney ending, but it took a bit of a smarter move, in the vein of The Iron Giant. It also helped redeem the annoying Mai who has to change from the role of taker to provider. However, by the time she learns her lesson, it is too late.
The world building is pretty good, especially how robotics weaves itself into the future USA. As a marketer, I feel bad that we are going to bombard people with branding 24/7 to get them to buy our products.
This could have been a fantastic film if it weren't for such an self centered main character, who plays a selfish, petulant child nearly throughout the whole movie, treating her "friend" as a machine, blaming him and throwing guilt on it when it only has good intentions. There is something rotten about her soul, as she never learns her lessons from the pain she inflicts, whether it is being mean to her mom and causing a bully to cry, through most of the movie.
The robot character, 7723, is a much more compelling (although it is a low bar) character, someone learning human emotions but is a robot, similar to the Iron Giant, but he as long as he plays subservient to it's master Mai, it's growth is limited.
The movie somewhat redeems itself at the end. It could have taken the easy, Disney ending, but it took a bit of a smarter move, in the vein of The Iron Giant. It also helped redeem the annoying Mai who has to change from the role of taker to provider. However, by the time she learns her lesson, it is too late.
Great visuals but story and characters fall short
d3daniel198 September 2018
The visual finish on this movie is close to on par with recent animated blockbuster films which is a great achievement.
Unfortunately I feel like it was held back by some questionable choices of voice actors (that didn't seem to match the characters), low quality voice acting and a story that doesn't really make you care about the characters enough to worry about what is happening on screen.
So all in all a great effort, with some notable downsides.
Unfortunately I feel like it was held back by some questionable choices of voice actors (that didn't seem to match the characters), low quality voice acting and a story that doesn't really make you care about the characters enough to worry about what is happening on screen.
So all in all a great effort, with some notable downsides.
Cussing and an Obnoxiously angry little girl
dntshootmwht8 September 2018
Animation was great no issue there. The story was even good. The character of Mai was were it took a negative turn for me, she is angry for a good portion of the movie working through it in various ways but never showing any sign of an improved emotional state just continuously angry, destructive, selfish and cold, honestly maybe to accurate a depiction a child's behavior after losing someone to put into a child's movie and it drags out for far to long. There is a lot of bleeped out cussing. Honestly just really bad character development in a really cool story with sweet animation.
Big Hero 6 for broken kids with rage issues
helmutpadilla9 September 2018
If you are growing good kids don't see this movie with them, it has a lot of violence and bad behavior, if you are growing kids that use bad language, have rage issues and bad behavior this movie is for them.
This movie has an unlikeable manipulative broken little girl as a lead, she is so annoying until the point of want to stop the movie.
The other lead is a likable robot that feels an irrational love for the second human being that he saw, it's designed to learn morality from humans but is not well explained in the movie.
Some parts of the movie don't fit well but the animation is really well, so overall is a good movie.
Fun fact: 6 (from Big Hero 6) is a perfect number, 7723 (original webcomic from this movie) is a prime number and in consequence a deficient number only divisible by 1 and himself.
This movie has an unlikeable manipulative broken little girl as a lead, she is so annoying until the point of want to stop the movie.
The other lead is a likable robot that feels an irrational love for the second human being that he saw, it's designed to learn morality from humans but is not well explained in the movie.
Some parts of the movie don't fit well but the animation is really well, so overall is a good movie.
Fun fact: 6 (from Big Hero 6) is a perfect number, 7723 (original webcomic from this movie) is a prime number and in consequence a deficient number only divisible by 1 and himself.
Fantastic Movie - Not Big Hero 6
benwang-3423710 September 2018
Aside from the film involving robots with feelings this is far from Big Hero 6. I love BH6 and this film is definitely up there with it. Some reviews below were rated poorly based on the main character Mai being an angry brat but that IS her character and if she made you feel that way then her job was complete. Her actions were intended to upset you and make you disagree with them so great job with that!
Those that said the film is too violent are just being overly sensitive. Look at all the kids films/shows out there that are just as violent, if not more - Power Rangers, DragonBallZ,Tom & Jerry, TMNT, The Lion King, etc - Stop being so sensitive people. I thought Momo the dog was the highlight of the show. The beeping was hilarious and we don't really know what is being said, we're just assuming it was cussing but it really added a lot of humor to the film.
I really liked how the film depicted humans as being so dependent and addicted to the robots, much like how we are so addicted to our phones and other technology now. The animation was amazing, kudos to Tangent studios for a great job! Overall the film is fantastic for both kids and adults.
Those that said the film is too violent are just being overly sensitive. Look at all the kids films/shows out there that are just as violent, if not more - Power Rangers, DragonBallZ,Tom & Jerry, TMNT, The Lion King, etc - Stop being so sensitive people. I thought Momo the dog was the highlight of the show. The beeping was hilarious and we don't really know what is being said, we're just assuming it was cussing but it really added a lot of humor to the film.
I really liked how the film depicted humans as being so dependent and addicted to the robots, much like how we are so addicted to our phones and other technology now. The animation was amazing, kudos to Tangent studios for a great job! Overall the film is fantastic for both kids and adults.
Fun
robertandrews-632499 September 2018
Key word here, Frustrating.
johnifxc9 September 2018
Animation: Great
Story Line: Predictable and done before
Voice Acting: Great
Mai's Character: Seriously the worst. Not the voice acting, but her as a character is the absolute worst and ruins this movie. A brat with no redeeming qualities that makes you root for the bad guys in the movie because she is just the absolute worst. The only way anyone could work with or for this girl is if they were programmed against their will to do it. I feel bad for the voice actress voicing her because it might honestly hurt her career being this character.
Work of Art
davidakinyose7 September 2018
This movie speaks out to core issues in detail that most movies for kids don't. It instantly shows what some kids go through from their point of view.
It is also a great story of the value of friendship, that everyone needs someone to lean on.
The parts that are action packed give you an adrenaline rush and the quiet moments really engage your emotions. They do this while still allowing comedy and fun to be thrown into the mix. Most importantly the characters are able to make want root for them and when the characters are at rock bottom It's heart wrenching.
In summary Next Gen is an action packed, fun filled, story of relationships that's definitely worth your time.
I, Robot meets Disney's Big Hero 6
woodnti8 September 2018
Really well done CG. Constant violence from beginning to the end
mchoi10008 September 2018
I felt really uncomfortable watching it with my kids because the movie is filled with anger and constant violence from the beginning to the end. Disney only shows violence 25% of the whole movie where necessary. 85% of this movie is filled with detailed violence.
Phased plasma rifle in the 40Gw range
ryangurr9 September 2018
Interesting but not for kids.
ggardow21 September 2018
This is an interesting story and I like the comentaty on modern society and its dependent nature on personal technology. However if you are looking for a cute story to show your young children, THIS IS NOT THE MOVIE FOR YOUNG KIDS. I am not telling you what to do with your family but I won't show this to my son.
Too violent for young kids
terihanham7 September 2018
This movie had great potential but was brought down by incessant violence, bleeping out of swear words and death/killing themes. Not appropriate for younger kids. Also go bored of robot fighting by the end. Was a waste of a potentially good theme.
Not like big hero 6
jhawk-288838 September 2018
Amazing animation, Mediocre Story, Terrible Main Character
matrixlplus9 September 2018
The team working on the animation did a very good job - the vfx are beautiful.
However, I stopped watching the movie midway as the main character became unbearable with her manipulative behavior. I understand that this is just a kid, but it is really off-putting - the same way, I wouldn't like to be near such person in real-life.
Really cool movie
hongounan7 September 2018
Warning: Spoilers
I think its not for everyone, the rage of Mai, how her mother treated her for the first hour of the movie. I guess these viewers don't have any idea what's it like to be raised up with absence of your father's love.
This is about the story of a messed up kid regain trust of the world, ironically from a AI robot which is probably only 2 months old.
The big fight towards the finale is super awesome, two robot fighting up in the sky, with laser cannons and such a sad and calm light music for contrast. This is the Dream!
I loved it.
This is about the story of a messed up kid regain trust of the world, ironically from a AI robot which is probably only 2 months old.
The big fight towards the finale is super awesome, two robot fighting up in the sky, with laser cannons and such a sad and calm light music for contrast. This is the Dream!
I loved it.
A movie with great potential to sparkle, but is ruined by the failure in shaping the personalities of Mai
ethelieveritas5 January 2019
Warning: Spoilers
I really like the story background that an over-developed AI went out of human's control and planned to eliminate the existence of all humans. Though this kind of themes seems to have appeared in many other movies, the way that the identity of this evil AI and his ambition was covered at the beginning and exposed later along with the development of the story was really noble.
And also, I love the setting that an highly intelligent robot developed humans emotion, became a friend with a human girl, and saved the world with her. In a movie, when a theme of humanity is expounded well, it can sometimes easily stir a resonance and make people feel moved.
But I think there comes the problem: I feel there's a emotional barrier between the robot and the girl, and the theme of the friendship between a robot and a human girl wasn't fully developed. The girl is always acting willfully not caring about the others' thoughts, lack of the understanding to others and has a bad temper. In this circumstance, I feel that the the girl's and the robot's hearts can not be fully connected, and sometimes the plot makes me feel pretty embarrassing: sometimes the emotion seems to raise its temperature, but cease abruptly because of the girl's terrible characteristics setting.
Besides, I can kind of understand maybe the director sets that the girl spend most of her great time with the robots destroying other robots and fighting bad kids for a base that the robot can adeptly use his weapons to fight the evil in the later plot. But still I want to say that I don't think the plot that a girl and robot irresponsibly doing things following their wills seems a good plot, it seems it has less sense and significance than a plot of experiencing, changing, and growing. In one way maybe it integrates the plot, but in the other way, it probably generates other negative effects.
This movie has great background setting, and it has high potential to sparkle. The movie emphasizes the girl's characteristic of rebellion, maybe in a angle of trying to make this movie noble, and I think this is a bold try that deserves encouragements. But personally, I think it brings much more negative effects to the movies than positive ones and kind of ruins the movie.
(P.S. I'm an international student, and I'm just a college freshman, so there maybe plenty of problems in my literal expression. I really tried hard to write this, and I hope you can understand and forgive my poor English)
And also, I love the setting that an highly intelligent robot developed humans emotion, became a friend with a human girl, and saved the world with her. In a movie, when a theme of humanity is expounded well, it can sometimes easily stir a resonance and make people feel moved.
But I think there comes the problem: I feel there's a emotional barrier between the robot and the girl, and the theme of the friendship between a robot and a human girl wasn't fully developed. The girl is always acting willfully not caring about the others' thoughts, lack of the understanding to others and has a bad temper. In this circumstance, I feel that the the girl's and the robot's hearts can not be fully connected, and sometimes the plot makes me feel pretty embarrassing: sometimes the emotion seems to raise its temperature, but cease abruptly because of the girl's terrible characteristics setting.
Besides, I can kind of understand maybe the director sets that the girl spend most of her great time with the robots destroying other robots and fighting bad kids for a base that the robot can adeptly use his weapons to fight the evil in the later plot. But still I want to say that I don't think the plot that a girl and robot irresponsibly doing things following their wills seems a good plot, it seems it has less sense and significance than a plot of experiencing, changing, and growing. In one way maybe it integrates the plot, but in the other way, it probably generates other negative effects.
This movie has great background setting, and it has high potential to sparkle. The movie emphasizes the girl's characteristic of rebellion, maybe in a angle of trying to make this movie noble, and I think this is a bold try that deserves encouragements. But personally, I think it brings much more negative effects to the movies than positive ones and kind of ruins the movie.
(P.S. I'm an international student, and I'm just a college freshman, so there maybe plenty of problems in my literal expression. I really tried hard to write this, and I hope you can understand and forgive my poor English)
A movie about unhealthy relationships
cal-085268 September 2018
Epic Movie With Mature Themes
composerjhiebert7 September 2018
This is a fantastic movie which I greatly enjoyed as an adult. It should be great for kids too, though it has an emotional maturity to it that might make it difficult for audiences that are too young. The climatic fight scene is one of the coolest animation scenes ever, especially with the powerful music soaring along with the robots in the city skies.
I thought it was a Big 6 clone about a spoiled brat. I was wrong.
autul27 July 2019
It's actually about a child's psyche and trauma caused by a broken family. The main protagonist is also fed up with everyone being obsessed with robotic gadgets. The psychological sie of the movie was more akin to Inside Out rather than to Big 6.
With this out of the way...
Visuals: The animation and visuals are stellar, with a mix of Wall-E like plastiky feel with far more photorealistic shots. The most interesting bit to me was the use of combinations of 2D and 3D effects, in case of beam weapon effects for example. But it's only one example of an effect I saw in Next Gen for the first time. There are much more original implementation unique to this movie, which is surprising considering how many 3D animations has been produced so far. And by the way, this is not a Pixar movie! In fact, it's a movie by Tangent Animation. You can watch a lecture by their co-funder on the entire process of creating the movie in Blender 3D by looking up "Blender and Next Gen: a Netflix Original" or #bcon18
Audio: Most notable: 1. The lead protagonist voice acting (Charlyne Yi) 2. The soundtrack containing lots of punk-ish tracks with some hit ballads by the shooting star Grace VanderWaal
Story: I admit the robot friend is a weak link in all this. It's pretty generic and lacks any background story. It's just there wanting to make friends. But the rest is solid. The most satisfying part of the story to me was how dark the writers went with some parts of the movie. And the humor! Oh man, if you haven't seen the tooth brush scene, you've seen nothing! :)
With this out of the way...
Visuals: The animation and visuals are stellar, with a mix of Wall-E like plastiky feel with far more photorealistic shots. The most interesting bit to me was the use of combinations of 2D and 3D effects, in case of beam weapon effects for example. But it's only one example of an effect I saw in Next Gen for the first time. There are much more original implementation unique to this movie, which is surprising considering how many 3D animations has been produced so far. And by the way, this is not a Pixar movie! In fact, it's a movie by Tangent Animation. You can watch a lecture by their co-funder on the entire process of creating the movie in Blender 3D by looking up "Blender and Next Gen: a Netflix Original" or #bcon18
Audio: Most notable: 1. The lead protagonist voice acting (Charlyne Yi) 2. The soundtrack containing lots of punk-ish tracks with some hit ballads by the shooting star Grace VanderWaal
Story: I admit the robot friend is a weak link in all this. It's pretty generic and lacks any background story. It's just there wanting to make friends. But the rest is solid. The most satisfying part of the story to me was how dark the writers went with some parts of the movie. And the humor! Oh man, if you haven't seen the tooth brush scene, you've seen nothing! :)
Good animation, boring story
The-Last-Sith-Lord8 September 2018
The animation quality is pretty good, but the story seems like a cheap version of Big Hero 6.
The whole story seems forced to make the audience feel emotionally connected with the characters, but the scenes feel rushed and the bound of the girl and the robot feels forced at the begin, the two characters really doesn't fit, and the soundtrack also doesn't help to create the emotional bound. (Really, the soundtrack is horrible, takes all the emotion of the scenes away).
It's kind of movie that I recommend to spend time, but probably won't watch a second time.
ABSOLUTE FILTH FOR CHILDREN TO WATCH!
cristinaoliver8 September 2018
My daughter is 4 years old and asks if she can watch this movie. Looking at the PG rating, I said sure! So i'm cleaning my kitchen and I over hear a bunch of bleeping. I thought my mind was playing tricks on me so I rewinded a bit and sure enough, the dog in the movie is cussing and it's obvious what words are bleeping out! I turned it off right away! What is this world coming to?! DO NOT LET YOUR CHILDREN WATCH THIS
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