Netflix's Three Robots most intriguing on Love, Death, and Robots

Posted Dec. 11, 2022

By Ava McRae

Cub Reporter

Three Robots, a 2019 animated short story directed by Gabriele Pennacchioli, Victor Maldano, and Alfredo Torres, featured on Netflix’s Love, Death, and Robots, is by far the most intriguing short story seen on the show.

Three Robots was written by John Scalzi, Philip Gelatt, and Tim Miller, and was the second episode of the first season of Love, Death, and Robots. Since the show isn’t one piece, but a multitude of short stories all made by different creators, it was a big deal when this story in particular was renewed for a second episode on the show’s third season. The four characters in the story, robots K-VRC, XBOT 4000, 11-45-G, and a talking cat, were voiced by Josh Brener, Gary Anthony Williams, a computer, and Chris Parnell, respectively.

Although the story has many qualities that make it a fan favorite, one of its best features is its animation. Noticeable at first glance, any viewer who watches the episode for even a minute can see the skill and dedication that went into its artwork. Every aspect from the main characters to a small, seemingly insignificant item in the background is drawn and animated with so much detail that it looks like it was supposed to be the main focus of the scene. This goes without even mentioning the fluidity with which the characters move and speak, which, even though none of the characters are, feels human.

The constant music playing in the background serves to either enhance the humor of the situation or make the audience pay attention. It’s jaunty and lighthearted for the majority of the episode, but when the characters become serious or the creators attempt to spread a message, the music changes its tune to a more serious one or stops altogether, enhancing the abrupt change in mood and causing the audience to pay attention. When the music switches right back to light hearted after a beat of seriousness, it only serves to make that serious moment all the more dramatic.

Although the music, animation and worldbuilding throughout the 11 minutes of content made the story into a fan favorite on the Netflix show, the humor in the story just wasn’t cutting it. The one joke the writers had throughout the episode grew old fast. If this story focused more on world building than comedy, it could have the potential to become a series on its own.