Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
A friendship with a top-secret robot turns a lonely girl's life into a thrilling adventure as they take on bullies, evil bots and a scheming madman.
Next Gen is a competent but largely derivative animated adventure that borrows heavily from familiar genre touchstones — Iron Giant, Big Hero 6 — without adding much new. The plot follows a predictable arc of lonely protagonist befriending a secret robot and facing a corporate villain, hitting expected beats with little surprise. The voice acting is solid and the 3D animation is polished enough, offering some visual flair in action sequences. However, the film's conception is formulaic and its emotional beats feel recycled, keeping Novelty low. The ending delivers a reasonably satisfying emotional resolution but leans on well-worn sacrifice tropes without subverting them.