Netflix’s ‘The Electric State’ Is a ’90s-set Alt-Reality for the Whole Family

In Netflix‘s new retro-futuristic sci-fi flick The Electric State, it’s the mid-1990s and the robot uprising is over. In its wake, the sentient machines — who were fighting for a life outside of their servitude to the human race — have been banished to a swath of desert in the Midwest. Another casualty? People are less connected to each other than ever before, thanks to tech company CEO Ethan Skate (Stanley Tucci) who has invented the Neurocaster, a helmet that links people to an addicting virtual network.

Rebellious teenager Michelle (Stranger Things‘ Millie Bobby Brown), however, prefers reality. As she sets out on an adventure to find her genius little brother, with the help of a misfit bot and smuggler Keats (Chris Pratt), the mission will take her across the country, as they band together with some wacky droids (Woody Harrelson voices the resistance’s leader, a stoic Mr. Peanut bot, for instance) and face major trouble.

Netflix

The link between Michelle and her brother remains strong throughout the movie, teases executive producer Angela Russo-Otsot, who is the real-life younger sister to the film’s directors, Joe and Anthony Russo (Avengers: Endgame). “It’s a story about a girl searching for her brother, but the bond that exists between them is very much alive throughout the film,” she says, “regardless of how separated they may feel.”

It was a personal endeavor working alongside her brothers on this project, Russo-Otsot admits. “I think to tell a story that is about family at its core [with them] was pretty special,” she says. “Having grown up in the ’80s and ’90s, [it] was a lot of fun for us to lean into that [time period] and pay homage to some of the things that really resonated with us when we were young.”

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And the ’90s influence is all over this film. The warehouse where Pratt’s character Keats stores his smuggling treasures is even filled with fun easter eggs for eagle-eyed viewers. The movie is also jam-packed with bots, some with very recognizable voices. In addition to the physical roles above, and those played by Ke Huy Quan (Dr. Amherst), Jason Alexander (Michelle’s government-appointed guardian Ted), and Giancarlo Esposito (Colonel Marshall Bradbury), expect to hear Anthony Mackie, Brian Cox, Jenny Slate, Alan Tudyk, Hank Azaria, Rob Gronkowski, among others, voicing the rebellious robots.

Electric State is powerful film, packed with fun references and a rollicking adventure — and it’s also perfect for all ages, says Russo-Otsot. “This one is for the entire family to sit down and enjoy together,” she says. “That’s another thing that was very special for Anthony and Joe and I working on it, because it is one that we can share with our own children. I’m really looking forward to that.”

The Electric State, Streaming Now, Netflix

From TV Guide Magazine

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