Next Gen

2018 Netflix (Animated)

Directors: Kevin R. Adams, Joe Ksander

Writers: Kevin R. Adams, Joe Ksander

Stars: Jason Sudeikis … Justin Pin; Michael Peña … Momo; David Cross … Dr. Tanner Rice / Q-Bots; Charlyne Yi … Mai; Constance Wu … Molly; Kiana Ledé … Greenwood

Production companies: Baozou Manhua, Netflix,Tangent Animation

When I saw the blurb for Next Gen, my first thought was that it would probably be a knock-off of a 2014 Disney offering, Big Hero 6. Rotten Tomatoes accurately described that one as “Agreeably entertaining and brilliantly animated” and I figured that if Next Gen met that criteria, it would ensure a pleasant Sunday evening for me.

I noticed that Next Gen was a Canadian / Chinese collaboration, which I found interesting. Both countries have limited but excellent track records in animated film. I visualized intelligent North American dialogue in a locale resembling Hong Kong, and in fact, that’s what I got.

The protagonist, Mai Su was immediately front-and-center, a rebellious girl on the cusp of adolescence, and she rang true.

The human characters in the movie aren’t as richly detailed as they are in Pixar, but everything else is excellent. The backgrounds have the type of photo-realism seen in Incredibles II.

The dialogue is marvelous. When Mai meets 7723, the secret and highly-irregular project developed at a large robotic firm that really should have had a fruit as its logo, she realizes the robot intends to follow her and snaps, “That is super creepy. I mean, really, what are you thinking? We hang out, become best buds, take on the world, share a deep and moving journey of discovery together?”

7723 replies “Okay,” and that’s pretty much what happens. Arya Stark in one of her rougher patches might have said, “A girl is media savvy.”

The plot isn’t as cloying and saccharine as is seen in most America efforts at such a plotline, and indeed earns a PG rating by presenting some plot elements that may dismay younger kids. Not all the good guys live. 7723 can understand what Mai’s pug, Momo, is saying, but since Momo sounds like he was housebroken by Gordon Ramsey, 7723’s profanity filter translates most of the dog’s dialog into a long series of beeps. Mai herself has some believable rough edges, including self-absorption and a rather vicious, if unfocused, desire for revenge.

Justin Pin (voiced by Jason Sudeikis) damn near steals the show. He’ll remind you of somebody.

It’s often laugh-out-loud funny, well paced, and has a tremendous amounts of explosions that destroy a fairly large portion of a futuristic Hong Kong-like city.

But I can’t help but wonder: with the quality of the dialog the other characters enjoyed, just how rich might Momo’s invective have been?