Love, Death & Robots is a compilation of animated short stories which spans several genres, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, and comedy. In it, world-class animators bring captivating tales to life in a unique experience of different narratives, animation styles, and themes. The episodes are made by various animators and produced by different animation studios from multiple countries.
Each episode is connected to at least one of the themes of love, death, or robots – hence the title Love, Death & Robots. Unfortunately, the series was in production limbo for 11 years. Fortunately, Netflix decided to distribute the project, and the series has since received acclaim from critics for its creativity, animation, diversity, and unique plot.
9. “Kill Team Kill”
A group of Green Berets enters a creepy forest on a rescue mission after another team is lost there. However, soon after they perform some reconnaissance, they find the missing team gruesomely massacred by something not human – something with giant teeth and claws. They soon find out that this something is the result of a project involving the creation of killing machines for military purposes. When they stumble onto the creature, it starts acting “unpatriotic”, killing without remorse. To make it out alive, the Green Berets must work together to subdue the beast capable of taking out a whole special forces team
8. “The Very Pulse of the Machine”
Martha Kivelson and Burton are two astronauts on a mission aboard a Space Exploration Vehicle. They’re traveling across one of Jupiter’s moons, Io, when their ship crashes onto the surface, killing Burton and gravely wounding Kivelson. When Kivelson’s oxygen levels reach critical levels, she must siphon oxygen out of the deceased Burton’s suit. With the closest base being miles away, she must drag Burton’s corpse across the vast expanse of land so she can continue to use her late comrade’s oxygen.
However, when Kivelson’s wounds slow her down, she uses her suit’s medical capabilities to take a dose of morphine to numb the pain. What follows is a trippy episode complete with Kivelson’s hallucinations as her perception of reality starts to wane.
7. “Swarm”
“Swarm” is a controversial episode that uses amazing 3D animation to tell the story of Simon and Galina, two scientists studying a complex star system known as the Swarm. When Simon visits the Swarm to gather important information that could further the human race, Galina is hesitant to help him, as his motives are morally murky. After all, the Swarm is a perfectly functional ecosystem in which all the creatures work together. If humans were to harness that power it would corrupt its sacredness. But the Swarm isn’t all it seems, and the arrogance both of Simon and humankind leads to a dark ending with the survival of the human race hanging in the balance.
6. “Three Robots: Exit Strategies”
In this continuation of the “Three Robots” episode from the first volume, we follow three robots named K-VRC, 11-45-G, and XBOT 4000 as they travel across a post-apocalyptic Earth which saw its end due to a machine uprising. As the trio visits several facilities, they find deceased humans from different social classes.
The episode is tongue-in-cheek and a critical parody of social classes in today’s society. The main message is that at the end of the day, we all end in the same way despite our social standing. Although the episode is comical, its message is serious about the selfishness and short-sightedness of those who met their demise.
5. “In Vaulted Halls Entombed”
“In Vaulted Halls Entombed” opens on a military mission deep in the mountains of Afghanistan. A squad of Special Forces soldiers are following insurgents into a tunnel system to rescue a hostage when they find a strange glowing lichen and dead bodies. They go deeper and deeper into the tunnels to evade the enemy, but the enemy isn’t who they thought it would be. What they find is an ancient and terrifying evil related to an H.P. Lovecraft novel and its theme of discovering something you shouldn’t. They also find a bleak ending to their story, like most episodes of Love, Death, & Robots.
4. “Night of the Mini Dead”
“Night of the Mini Dead” is one of the most amusing episodes in volume 3 of Love, Death & Robots. After a couple gets freaky in a graveyard, desecrating the sacred ground, they trigger a zombie apocalypse. Hordes of zombies roam across the city, the country, and the world. With the invasion of the walking dead spanning from downtown LA to the Vatican, the world must decide to end the apocalypse at a steep price.
With a quirky bird’s-eye point of view animation (hence the name “Night of the Mini Dead”), it’s a unique and comical take on the apocalypse movies we’ve become obsessed with. It also points out how insignificant humans are compared to the vastness of the universe, making it a gloriously existential episode.
3. “Mason’s Rats”
“Welcome to the Ratpocalypse.” When Farmer Mason discovers a pest problem in his barn, he calls an exterminator to rid him of the infestation. Unfortunately, Mason discovers that the rats that plague him have evolved to the point of using weapons such as spears and arrows. Fortunately for Mason, the extermination company is able to provide him with the latest TrapTech technology – a cold, killing machine that decimates the rats without mercy.
But the story isn’t all about death to the rat uprising. It’s also about finding solidarity in unexpected places and not jumping to conclusions about the nature of others.
2. “Jibaro”
In “Jibaro,” a force of knights are traveling through the forest when they’re confronted by a beguiling, dangerous mythical creature – a siren adorned with gold and jewels. However, instead of luring them with a sweet song like the sirens of Greek mythology, the siren drives the men into a violent state with her screeching voice and seductive dancing. But when a deaf knight proves to be immune to her charms, they become obsessed with each other for their respective selfish reasons. What follows is the story of their deadly attraction, complete with blood, greed, love, and death.
The episode is a work of art akin to watching a bewitching interpretive dance. It’s a metaphor for toxic relationships based on mutual selfish desires and how love can quickly turn sour
1. “Bad Traveling”
“Bad Traveling” is a tale of a nautical disaster. When a shark-hunting ship is attacked by a therapod, a giant man-eating crustacean, most of the ship’s crew is killed, and the vessel is left partially destroyed. When the creature makes its nest in the ship’s hold, the surviving crew decides to draw straws to determine who will make contact with the destructive crustacean. They choose to send Torrin, the ship’s navigator, and he descends into the depths of the ship with the expectation of not making it out alive. However, the opposite happens, and he is able to communicate with the crustacean. He strikes a deal with it – his life in exchange for the crustacean’s passage to a place called Phaedin Island.
It’s a short about morality, mutiny, and self-preservation, as terrible things are done for the greater good.
