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GLBLove Death + Robots Is Back… as Good as Ever?
0Article by Jerry Bonner
I love animation in all its varied forms. I loved anime (Speed Racer, G Force, Star Blazers, Marine Boy, etc.) before it was even called that. I just called them "those Japanese shows" as did most folks. Not the most culturally sensitive statement, sure, but this was the '70s and I was six. Cut me a little slack, please.
So, when Netflix and Blur Studio's collection of animated shorts, Love Death + Robots, premiered in 2019, I was immediately taken with it. Mostly because of its slick use of CGI animations and (typically) dark, gritty themes, but also because I pitched a rather similar concept to LD&R to an executive at HBO about twenty-five years ago and he just stared at me like I had seventeen heads then quickly ushered me out of his office.
How times change, eh?
But now here in 2025 the fourth season of Love Death + Robots has premiered and it is, for the most part, quite excellent. I'm going to break down each of the ten episodes individually and rate them individually from 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent).
Reference: Love Death + Robots
Episode 1: Can't Stop
A glorified music video of a very OK song pushed out by an aging punk band is not the best way to kick off a new season, but I understand why it was chosen to do so because of the BIG names attached. This episode was directed by series co-creator, David Fincher, and the band (and song) is the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Can't Stop.
As I hinted at, I find this song to be exceedingly average. Why not go with something a bit more rocking from Chili Peppers' back catalog like Higher Ground, Suck My Kiss, or True Men Don't Kill Coyotes? Can't Stop is the definition of middle-of-the-road dad rock (or worse yacht rock) that does next to nothing for me. Blah. Double blah.
The animation by Blur Studios is quite good, depicting the Chili Peppers and their fans as puppets on (virtual) strings, but it's really nothing more than a glorified performance video with not much of anything that's visually compelling, especially for a show like LD&R, to keep the viewers interested.
I crave and/or expect much, much more from this series (and Fincher himself) than something I would have seen on the crapfest that was Total Request Live in the early 2000's.
Rating: 1.5/5
Episode 2: Close Encounters of the Mini Kind
Now this is more like it. Episodes like Close Encounters of the Mini Kind are why I adore Love Death + Robots. It has the wacky sensibilities of an old school Looney Tunes or Tex Avery animated short but mostly it's like if the zany, Tim Burton film, Mars Attacks, was made into an isometric, 2.5D Diablo clone.
Reference: Love Death + Robots
It's fast. It's funny. And its on-point humor is black as pitch. Bravo to Buck for crafting one of this season's best episodes.
And Buck's contribution to season three of LD&R, Night of the Mini Dead, isn't to be missed either.
Rating: 4.5/5
Episode 3: Spider Rose
What is interesting right out of the gate with Spider Rose is that I absolutely do not recall watching this episode the first time I went through this season.
Typically, that's not good
but Spider Rose is the exception because of the top drawer animation by Blur Studios found here, especially in regard to the two main characters, Rose/Lydia and Little Nose for Profits. Their interactions are precious even with the heartbreaking twist at the end.
In terms of the narrative, two main threads are prevalent here: Can the power of love quench the thirst for revenge? Followed by the haunting words of Khan the second Star Trek film when quoting a Klingon proverb: "Revenge is a dish best served cold. And it is very cold... in space."
Rating: 4/5
Episode 4: 400 Boys
One of the things that Love Death + Robots does exceptionally well is post-apocalyptic stories and the 400 Boys is definitely that as it is based on a short story by Marc Laidlaw (of Half Life and Portal fame).
Reference: Love Death + Robots
Here we find a devastated urban landscape where rival gangs live by the principles of the ancient samurai. When a merciless new group emerges, the titular 400 Boys, former enemies and gang factions must join forces to take down these giant babies quite literally.
While the storytelling is a bit muddled, especially at the end, the animation found in the 400 Boys (by Passion Animation Studios) is sublime, evoking ancient cave paintings and the artistic stylings of the primeval peoples of times and places long forgotten.
Rating: 3/5
Episode 5: The Other Large Thing
This episode is, essentially, a riff on the fantastic Pinky and the Brain cartoons of the mid-'90s mixed with a heavy dose of Idiocracy and the reality presented in that film we, most certainly, seem to be living in today.
Overall, The Other Large Thing is just charming, breezy fun especially of you like the two pieces of entertainment cited above. And Chris Parnell is diabolically wonderful as Sanchez, the scheming feline.
Rating: 3.5/5
Episode 6: Golgotha
I love Rhys Darby but does Rhys Darby love me? Probably not, but a boy can dream, can't he?
Reference: Love Death + Robots
Rhys stars as a reticent vicar in Golgotha - a story, ultimately, about a different kind of messiah, one the late, great Douglas Adams would certainly approve of. It's an odd mash-up of live action and CGI which is a weird aesthetic vibe for LD&R. It's akin to Who Framed Roger Rabbit? with serious religious overtones, and I'm not sure that entirely works especially in a short, ten minute format.
But, hey, Rhys Darby.
3 Rhys' out of 5 Darby's
Episode 7: The Screaming of the Tyrannosaur
A cool homage to the muscular gladiator tales of the ancient Romans mixed with a bit of the Hunger Games. It's pretty flimsy, story-wise, but it has titties, dinosaurs, and a good amount of blood... unfortunately though, it also has Mr. Beast in a supporting voice role AND I CANNOT ABIDE BY THAT.
If I was a twelve-year-old boy this would be the greatest thing I've ever seen. Unfortunately, I'm a fifty-four-year-old man... and it's still pretty damn awesome. Not gonna lie.
Rating: 4/5
Episode 8: How Zeke Got Religion
Awful title... fantastic story.
At the same time, this a loving tribute to both the B-17 sequence in the 1981 animated classic, Heavy Metal, and Mike Mignola's exquisite work on the Hellboy comic series. Kudos to Titmouse for delivering an animated classic here which just hits on every level.
My only complaint is... I wish it was longer, as in feature-length. The best episode of this season. Hands down.
Rating:5/5
Reference: Love Death + Robots
Episode 9: Smart Appliances, Stupid Owners
This is, by far, the funniest short of the fourth season, focusing on anthropomorphic household "smart" items. The humor is punctuated by dynamic voice actors, including: SNL Alum Messlia Villasenor, Kevin Hart, Amy Sedaris, Ronny Chieng, and Nat Faxon.
This concept should be a daily comic strip that's already been running in your local newspaper for the last five years. Why has no one thought of this yet?
Rating: 4/5
Episode 10: For He Can Creep
A tale of gothic horror befitting of Poe, Marlowe, or Jackson... but with a haughty cat named Joffrey as the protagonist.
And my compliments to Polygon Pictures for delivering one of the best and/or most fearsome depictions of Satan (voiced by Dan Stevens) that I've seen in some time.
The best one-liner of the series is also found in this sublime episode, "All critics are Satan..." And, with that rebuke, I will end my critique of the fourth season of Love Death + Robots forthwith.
Rating: 4.5/5
I sincerely hope you enjoyed this animated romp as much as I did which highlights the true strengths of 3D/CGI animation. Here's to the fifth season of Love Death + Robots... may its cancellation never even be whispered and its next broadcast be upon us before my hair turns even grayer!
