La nueva generación

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.

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.

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 animation is great, the characters are likeable and it has a lot going for it that being said the story was extremely basic which made it whilst enjoyable pretty forgettable at the same time. A film most of the family will enjoy though and there will certainly be a lot worse out there of this genre.

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.)