Asia Pop Comic-Con boasts to be one of the biggest (if not the biggest) conventions in the Philippines, and the Netflix panel treated everyone to a special screening of an animated movie called Next Gen. You can actually check out the teaseron Netflix, but it can’t be found anywhere else online. There is a look at the poster, however, courtesy of IMDb:
Here’s the synopsis:
When Mai stumbles into a secret lab and awakens a powerful robot, it’s the beginning of a life-changing friendship—and an epic adventure.
As per Deadline, the movie is actually an adaptation of the comic 7723 by Wang Nima.
I’ll admit, the synopsis isn’t enticing enough, but the movie actually impressed on so many levels. Animation was topnotch, and the story can be heartfelt when it needs to be. The worldbuilding is fantastic as well, and though it looks like a kids’ movie, it gives a commentary on the consequences of being too dependent on technology.
Probably the film’s strongest point is the design of all the different robots. The lead bot—7723—can be cute and clumsy, but when the action starts, he totally kicks ass. You can actually compare him to Baymax of Big Hero 6, but I swear, he has more impressive weapon systems that make for dazzling visuals. The main robot baddie also looks like something straight out of Gundam.
As for the film’s weak points, you could say that some of the dialogue can get a tad cheesy, and the physics can be all over the place. Nevertheless, it’s a kids movie, and like Star Wars, what’s important is having fun—not taking things too seriously.
Next Gen also has a great cast involved. You have the likes of Michael Pena (Ant-Man) and David Cross (Arrested Development) included in the film. You’ll also recognize Charlyne Yi’s voice as she plays Chloe in We Bare Bears and Ruby in Steven Universe. Jason Sudeikis (Horrible Bosses) voices the main villain, and you also have John Krasinski (The Office) providing the voice of 7723.
I’ll admit, I didn’t know what I was walking into with Next Gen, but I think a lot of people will come out of this movie immensely satisfied. The world is fantastic, and the animation is absolutely wonderful. I can’t wait to check out the film again when it officially releases on Netflix.
No release date has been set for Netflix’s Next Gen.
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