Love, Death + Robots is an animated series with multiple different animators on set. The television series made its debut on Netflix in March 2019. Created by Tim Miller and produced by David Fincher, this show has a very unique blend of fantasy, sci-fi, and creative storytelling themes. What stands out most about this show is its diverse animation styles, ranging from realistic CGI to 2D drawings, with each episode having completely different genres, narratives, and ideas.
Each episode is a story of its own, often going through themes of humanity’s relationship to technology, death, love, and the consequences of the advancements of technology itself. These stories are not dead set on a singular theme, giving the series the opportunity to make switches from carefree light hearted stories to psychological horror stories. To have that opportunity is one of the most noticeable strengths of the television series being appealing to almost every kind of audience.
In my opinion, what makes Love, Death + Robots very captivating to its audience is its capability to make complex topics in short bursts. Typically each episode runs 20 minutes or less. The series is filled with absolutely beautiful visuals and narratives that were actually thought out, which constantly mixes the genres between horror, comedy, dark, and emotional depth. Episodes like “Sonnies’s Edge” and “The Witness” represent intense action and visuals nothing seen before. While others such as “The Drowned Giant” and “Zima Blue” dive more into philosophical themes with lingering beauty.
The series really goes into depth about what it means to be human in a world that is constantly developing with technology, making the audience question the roles of technology, artificial intelligence, and how society comes into play in shaping all of our lives. Its series just leaves their audience in a complete daze about how to feel about their perspectives on their lives because of how random and creative each episode is. To finish it, Love Death + Robots is a demonstration of how creative people can be with animation for short story telling. The show’s commitment to blending genres, beautiful visual designs, and well thought out themes has honestly set a new standard for animation.
