| Next Gen | |
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 Film poster outside China | |
| Directed by |
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| Written by |
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| Story by | Wang Nima |
| Based on | 7723 by Wang Nima |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography |
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| Edited by | Matt Ahrens |
| Music by |
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Production companies |
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Release date |
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Running time | 105 minutes |
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| Budget | $30 million[1] |
| Box office | $2.4 million (China only)[2] |
Next Gen is a 2018 animatedscience fictionaction film based on the onlinemanhua7723 by Wang Nima (which was originally published inBaozou Manhua,[3] which Wang founded and led), and directed by Kevin R. Adams and Joe Ksander. Starring the voices ofCharlyne Yi,John Krasinski,Jason Sudeikis,Michael Peña,David Cross andConstance Wu, the film tells the story of a lonely rebellious teenage girl living in a world where sentient robot technology is commonplace, and a top-secret weaponized robot, who, through a chance encounter, meet each other and form an unlikely bond that they must use to stop a vicious threat. It was released onNetflix on September 7, 2018, and was produced almost exclusively usingBlender.
13-year-old Mai Su lives with her mother Molly in Grainland. When Mai was young, her father left home and later died, after which Molly became emotionally dependent on robots, causing Mai to feel left out and develop a hatred and annoyance for robots and technology in general.
In the present, Molly and Mai attend a product launch at the IQ Robotics headquarters. Annoyed by Molly, Mai wanders off, stumbling into a secret lab owned by Dr. Tanner Rice, who has been working on an offensive robot called 7723. Mai accidentally activates 7723, before being apprehended by security and returned to her mother. At the launch, Justin Pin, CEO of IQ Robotics, reveals a new generation of Q-Bots to the public, but secretly designed them to explode on command. 7723 leaves the lab to find Mai, but is pursued by law enforcement, fighting them until he falls to the lowest levels of the city, damaging his memory core.
While going to check on her dog Momo, Mai finds 7723 in her backyard, but after seeing his weapons system, she lets him stay in the shed, using him and his weaponry to intimidate a group of bullies led by Greenwood, before embarking with 7723 on shenanigans throughout the city, forming a tentative friendship. As 7723 accumulates more memories, he struggles to decide which to keep. When Mai confronts him, he reveals if he reaches full capacity, he will undergo atotal reset that will delete them all. Mai suggests deleting his core systems to make room, but 7723 warns that he would lose functionality despite gaining storage.
7723 becomes apprehensive about using his abilities under Mai's orders, after she angrily orders him to kill Greenwood, which he refuses. Angered by Greenwood failing to understand why she's even upset with her, Mai goes to hit Greenwood with her baseball bat, but stops just after Greenwood begins to cry, snapping Mai out of her anger. 7723 subsequently deletes his weapon system to save his memories and prevent himself from hurting others, promising to never let Mai down and make amends. 7723 unknowingly gets spotted by Molly's Q-Bot, allowing Dr. Rice to find him. Rice goes to Mai's house toformat 7723's memory and take him away, explaining that he built 7723 to prevent an upcoming crisis. Pin arrives, and Rice’s appeal prompts Pin to announce his plan to kill all humanity. Without his weapons, 7723 struggles to fight Pin and his bodyguard robot Ares who kidnaps Molly, before 7723 flees with Mai and Momo into the sewers.
Rushing to IQ Robotics to rescue Molly, Mai is quickly apprehended, but 7723 arrives and they make up. They find Dr. Rice, who warns them of Ares, before Pin kills him. Mai notices that Pin's mannerisms are mimicking Ares', and after the resulting fight is taken to a nearby sports stadium, the truth is eventually and publicly revealed: Ares had killed Pin and used a bionic skeleton in his body. Pin once told Ares to make the world "perfect," which Ares believes will only happen through humanity's extinction. With his plans exposed, Ares begins detonating the Q-Bots and merges with a powerful assault armour to overpower 7723. Mai rescues Molly and evacuates the stadium, but is captured by Ares' Pin body.
Severely damaged and unable to fight Ares, 7723 initiates a total reset to restore his weapons and save Mai. With his memory now gradually being deleted, he shares one last goodbye with Mai before battling Ares. 7723 manages to fatally damage Ares' main body, but his reset completes, becoming inert. A weakened Ares attempts to destroy the now-vulnerable 7723 through his Pin body. However, Momo distracts him, allowing Mai to decapitate Ares. 7723 re-activates but fails to recognize Mai.
Mai re-teaches 7723 the pleasures of life and steers him in the right direction, allowing him to gradually start to regain his old memories. She befriends classmate Ani, Greenwood and her former bullies, having reconciled with her mother and made peace with her past. As Mai plays soccer with her friends, she invites 7723 to join them.
Next Gen is a Canadian-Chinese-American co-production.[4]
In May 2018, it was announced thatNetflix had purchased worldwide rights toNext Gen, ananimated film directed by Kevin R. Adams and Joe Ksander, for $30 million. The deal excluded China.[5]Charlyne Yi,Jason Sudeikis,Michael Peña,David Cross, Kitana Turnbull andConstance Wu would lead the voice cast.[6][7]
Regarding the project being acquired by Netflix, Ksander stated:
Buying the film for the price they [Netflix] did was great for everybody involved, but more importantly, they've been a partner who's been really supportive of what we were trying to do.[8]
R. Adams added that:
Studios weren't sure how it [Next Gen] fit an animated children's film with Marvel-like action. Netflix was the most generous and they're in a place where they can take a risk.[8]
Next Gen was "effectively 100% created inBlender."[9]
The film was released worldwide except in China by Netflix on September 7, 2018.[10] The film was released theatrically in China on July 19, 2019 byAlibaba Group andWanda Group.
The Japanese version usesDream Ami’s song “Next” as its ending theme.[11]
Next Gen has received positive reviews. On thereview aggregatorRotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 86% based on seven reviews, with an average rating of 5.7/10.[12]
InRichard Roeper's review for theChicago Sun Times, he criticized the film's indecisiveness in what audience it was aiming for and said "It's a chore just to keep up with all the shifts in tone, and by the timeNext Gen reaches the finish line, we're more exhausted than exhilarated."[13]
However, Joel Keller of Decider found no major problems to prevent enjoyment of the film, writing, "Our Call: STREAM IT. Great voice performances, some funny moments, and a central relationship that will immediately suck you in make NextGen a fun watch for the entire family."[14]
| Award | Date of Ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annie Awards | February 2, 2019 | Outstanding Achievement for Animated Effects in an Animated Feature Production | So Ishigaki, Graham Wiebe | Nominated | [15] |
| Annie Awards | February 2, 2019 | Outstanding Achievement for Character Design in an Animated Feature Production | Marceline Tanguay | Nominated | [15] |
| Annie Awards | February 2, 2019 | Annie Award for Voice Acting in a Feature Production | Charlyne Yi | Nominated | [15] |
| Golden Reel Awards | February 16, 2019 | Award for Non-Theatrical Animated Feature Film | Next Gen | Won | [16] |
| Kidscreen Awards | February 13, 2019 | Best One-Off, Special or TV Movie | Baozou,Tangent Animation, Netflix | Nominated | [17] |
| Kidscreen Awards | February 13, 2019 | Creative Award - Best Animation | Next Gen | Won | [17] |
| Kidscreen Awards | February 13, 2019 | Creative Award - Best Design | Next Gen | Won | [17] |
