LOVE, DEATH & ROBOTS: A New Wave Of Adult Animation

The revival of anthology series has taken course over the past few years, with shows like Black Mirror and American Horror Story leading the way, and this time around, Netflix has taken a leap of faith on Tim Miller’s and David Fincher’s dream child — Love, Death & Robots. The new series is composed of 18 animated tales that range between 5-20 minutes in length, and in them you’ll find far more than what the series’ title suggests. With its own otherworldly representations of aliens, cats, monsters, and sentient yogurt, Love, Death & Robots is a wonderfully bizarre crossroads where surreal narratives and adult animation meet.

Love And Death

The show is definitely not meant for everyone to enjoy (Netflix shouldn’t expect families to gather around their living room television screens for this one), but the show benefits by playing to the notes of these particular themes and ideas. Many episodes draw from the absurdity of its predecessors and find themselves in dystopian futures or galactic settings, while others are more thoughtful and lighthearted in their experimentation and offer slight commentaries on the human condition in an outlandish manner. Whether the episodes fill you with suspense or make you laugh with their eccentricity, the show has plenty to be enthralled by.

Episodes like “THREE ROBOTS”,  which follows the titular trio touring the post-apocalyptic world, and “WHEN THE YOGURT TOOK OVER”, a what-if scenario where yogurt comes into power, are completely over the top without being throwaways, as they’re actually some of the more enjoyable episodes to look out for. That’s not to say zaniness is what holds the series up, but it adds a wonderful contrast to the darker tones found in the likes of “SONNIE’S EDGE” and “THE WITNESS” — grim tales of horror and suspense. Whatever the setting or plot may be, each story is imaginative, structurally adept, and, perhaps most importantly, entertaining. As a viewer, I was left constantly guessing and intrigued up until each Shyamalan-esque conclusion.

Beyond the fantastical narratives, the show unapologetically uses vulgarity, nudity, and gore like a well-aimed weapon. One could expect as much as a product of Miller and Fincher — directors of Deadpool and Fight Club, respectively — as its black comedy and obscenity fit well into the atmosphere the series creates. Multiple animators and directors came together and brought unique visions and engaging material with them for this series, and they’ve created a genuine adult anthology with imagination at its center and a favorable medium in animation.

Robots

Although it can’t be said for every one of the 18 episodes, it’s impressive how the show creates believable characters and worthy story development. As for the episodes that don’t amount to these feats, their sole purpose is to offer thought-provoking content in a visually stunning manner, and in that they succeed. The series’ emotional spectrum is presented through art that is spectacular and hypnotizing, and that is the true forte of Love, Death & Robots.

The mass amount of animators who were brought on board for this project implemented their different styles and offered something new to each narrative, and the show’s production quality shines a light on what today’s animation technology could accomplish. The show frequently adopts a video game cut scene aesthetic, coming as close to live action as possible (“ICE AGE” is an exception where Topher Grace and Mary Elizabeth Winstead are actually in the flesh), while other episodes use more familial styles of animation similar to cartoons and feature films. If you find yourself uneasy or confused by the aberrant nature of the show, you’ll at least remember it for its ever-changing and meritorious animation.

Cats

Beyond the obscurity and visuals, there’s only so much to be found in adult animation, as is the case for Love, Death & Robots. The stories are short-lived and hence quickly paced or offer no closure or proper resolution. That isn’t necessarily a flaw for a show like this, but it feels like the series is made strictly for these distinct elements, and once passed that the series is nothing more than a novelty meant to revitalize what was found in Bakshi’s Fritz the Cat. Love, Death & Robots successfully reaches what it wants to be and is potentially the start of something that could be amazing, but until then, it’s sheerly unadulterated entertainment.

Love, Death & Robots: Conclusion 

Love, Death & Robots was intended for a very niche audience, and for them it’ll prove a masterfully-crafted acid trip that makes for an almost cathartic experience — or, at the very least, a fun one. Through stunning animation, the series illustrates surreal worlds and fantastical themes, and although at times the stories are hard to digest, they’re certainly thought-provoking and worth discussing. The short episode lengths make this an easily bingeable Netflix series, and by the end of it, viewers can at least appreciate the insane spectacle they’ve just witnessed.

What did you think of Love, Death & Robots? Have you binged it and all its weirdness?

All episodes are now streaming worldwide on Netflix.