Netflix’s animated feature Next Gen is heading to the streaming platform on September 7. It’s a story about the power of friendship — and a world in danger — that takes place in a future society in which robots are everywhere. And while that may sound like one of the most adorable places to live, unfortunately, not all of the ‘bots have humanity’s best interests in their programming.
The heroes of the story, Mai and 7723, form an unlikely friendship as they discover the metal menace that threatens the planet. Here’s what you need to know about them before you check out Next Gen on Netflix.
Mai
Most kids would be thrilled to live in a world full of robots. But 13-year-old Mai isn’t. She doesn’t like automatons because they took over professional sports and cost her father his career as a soccer player. And though it may be true that adding robots makes most sports way better, it’s sad when people lose their jobs. And just because Mai isn’t a fan of robots, it’s possible she just hasn’t met the right one yet.
7723
7723 is a freshly manufactured superintelligence robot with an important function. He’s there to save the world from the mechanical army set on destroying all humans. 7723 is big, heavily armed, and designed to soak up knowledge. His artificial learning capabilities gain a new purpose when he meets Mai. When he joins the rebellious teen to try to stop a global threat, he 7723 learns that friendship is even stronger than a 40-gigawatt plasma rifle.
See 7723 and Mai on Next Gen, streaming September 7 only on Netflix.
