Love, Death + Robots is back for its fourth anthology volume, bringing us twisted tales from otherworldly realms and sci-fi hellscapes. From rip-roaring war zones to classic homages to certified crowd-pleasers, LD+R refuses to be defined by art style and is instead united by a love of creation. Volume 4 is presented by the visionary genius of Tim Miller and David Fincher, with Jennifer Yuh Nelson returning as supervising director—to say it’s a winning team is an understatement. While Vol. 4 is an overall phenomenal ride, each episode deserves its own spotlight:
CAN’T STOP
When legends honor legends: David Fincher brings the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ iconic 2003 performance of “Can’t Stop” at Ireland’s Slane Castle to string-puppet life. The camera zooms through the venue, revolving around the band and their audience as they play their hearts out and bounce to the music with reckless abandon, keeping the entertainment factor sky-high. It’s a fired-up and funky way to kick off Volume 4—make sure your sound is cranked up to 11 as you join the crowd in unadulterated admiration.
Director: David Fincher
Music, Lyrics, & Performance: Red Hot Chili Peppers
Animation Studio: Blur Studio
Voice Cast: Anthony Kiedis, Flea, John Frusciante, Chad Smith
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE MINI KIND
Directors Robert Bisi and Andy Lyon pay tribute to the beloved alien invasion genre on a tiny scale, using tilt-shift techniques to manipulate your perspective in every way. Its ridiculously fun framing gives it a tabletop game feel—but it’s so layered and intricate it deserves many a rewatch to catch all the references and details. Clocking in at just over five minutes, “Close Encounters of the Mini Kind” mixes love, humor, and bite-sized storytelling for a rollercoaster ride from start to apocalyptic finish, and you’ll be eating up every second of it.
Director: Robert Bisi & Andy Lyon
Writer: Robert Bisi & Andy Lyon
Animation Studio: BUCK
SPIDER ROSE
LD+R supervising director Jennifer Yuh Nelson helms this episode and injects the season with series staple cyberpunk, adapting a short story by sci-fi veteran Bruce Sterling. “Spider Rose” is gorgeous and fluid, weaving a delicate dance of love and loss as a grieving mechanist heads on a mission of revenge with her newfound (and adorable) companion. And when the action hits, the use of colors and lighting are striking, while the violence befits the brutal nature of the world it floats in. Shoutout to the creatives for the phenomenal art style and animation, allowing you to fully feel every pulse of poignant emotion.
Director: Jennifer Yuh Nelson
Writer: Joe Abercrombie, based on the short story by Bruce Sterling
Animation Studio: Blur Studio
Voice Cast: Emily O’Brien, Feodor Chin, Piotr Michael & Sumalee Montano
400 BOYS
John Boyega proves he’s one of the best in the sci-fi game as the voice of our hero, Slash, leading us and his gang on this explosive post-apocalyptic adventure. As one of only two 2D episodes in Volume 4, “400 Boys” doesn’t need any more dimensions to smash into ours. The depth of shading and monochromatic but always vibrant hues—with each frame meticulously hand-drawn—are captivating, taking you back to those childhood days when comic book panels filled your eyes with one-punch-two-smack-three-kapow! wonder.
Director: Robert Valley
Writer: Tim Miller, based on the short story by Marc Laidlaw
Animation Studio: Passion Animation, a Division of Passion Pictures
Voice Cast: John Boyega, Ed Skrein, Sienna King, Dwane Walcott, Rahul Kohli, Pamela Nomvete & Amar Chadha-Patel
THE OTHER LARGE THING
Cats and the unquenchable thirst for world domination go hand-in-paw, and “The Other Large Thing” takes it to the next level. Chris Parnell voices our ferocious feline with the right amount of pompous relish, while John Oliver brings a delightful zest to said cat’s new robotic butler. The animation is…well…quite frankly, a little bit terrifying, throwing into harsh light the characters’ rather mundane and puny existence that is at war with their big plans. It’s elastic and uncanny and always with a touch of humor, keeping you giggling all the way through (and ready to welcome your new overlord).
Director: Patrick Osborne
Writer: John Scalzi
Animation Studio: AGBO
Voice Cast: Chris Parnell, John Oliver, Fred Tatasciore & Rachel Kimsey
GOLGOTHA
LD+R takes a break from pure animation and dives into some live-action. But don’t let that pull you out: “Golgotha” employs a whole lot of pretty great VFX to entertaining effect (if you can believe tentacled robots are real, that is). The always hilarious Rhys Darby plays a vicar welcoming an alien race to Earth; they believe their messiah has been reborn…as a dolphin. It’s goofy and fun and a little bit ridiculous—until the explosions start, and then chaos reigns and the comedy blasts off (quite literally).
Director: Tim Miller
Writer: Joe Abercrombie, based on the short story by Dave Hutchinson
Animation Studio: Luma Pictures (VFX)
Voice Cast: Rhys Darby, Moe Daniels, Graham McTavish, Phil Morris, Michelle Lukes & Matthew Waterson
THE SCREAMING OF THE TYRANNOSAUR
Star Wars meets Mad Max meets Jurassic Park for a brutal battle of dinosaurs and genetically modified gladiators in “The Screaming of the Tyrannosaur”. The hyperrealistic details—the dinosaurs’ scaly textures, the gore-tastic wounds, even the lines of spittle from their gaping maws—are so well rendered that any movement is visceral. Based on a short story by Stant Litore, this episode is a smorgasbord of sci-fi homages and sweeping cinematic shots that belong on a much bigger screen.
Director: Tim Miller
Writer: Tim Miller, based on the short story by Stant Litore
Animation Studio: Blur Studio
Voice Cast: MrBeast & Bai Ling
HOW ZEKE GOT RELIGION
A WWII B-17 plane is sent into occupied France to bomb a church before Nazi forces can summon an ancient evil. What starts off as a straightforward flying mission quickly descends into demonic madness where the occult and ultraviolence collide. The second 2D animated installment in this season, “How Zeke Got Religion” is breath-snatching in its hand-drawn comic book-style gore and blood magic, twisting you up in its hellish embrace until you don’t know which way is up.
Director: Diego Porral
Writer: J.T. Petty, based on the short story by John McNichol
Animation Studio: Titmouse
Voice Cast: Keston John, Braden Lynch, Roger Craig Smith, Gary Furlong, Bruce Thomas, Andrew Morgado & Scott Whyte
SMART APPLIANCES, STUPID OWNERS
This episode is Creature Comforts but with sentient household appliances…who are done with comforting. From thermostat arguments to a neglected toothbrush to an intelligent toilet, “Smart Appliances, Stupid Owners” will guarantee you’ll never look at your home the same way again. The all-star voice cast, combined with the episode’s homage to claymation, evokes the right amount of whimsical comedy grounded in the realities of home living.
Director: Patrick Osborne
Writer: John Scalzi
Animation Studio: Aaron Sims Creative
Voice Cast: Melissa Villaseñor, Ronny Chieng, Amy Sedaris, Kevin Hart, Josh Brener, Nat Faxon, Niecy Nash-Betts & Brett Goldstein
FOR HE CAN CREEP
“For He Can Creep” takes us back to 1757 London for a tale of Satan, cats, and poetry. This debauched feline history uses a graphic hatching style to emulate 18th century etchings, while also drawing inspiration from classical music (delivered in style by composer Rob Cairns). Dan Stevens lends a haughty prowess to the devil himself, emphasized by the rousing score to create a virtuoso performance of art, evil, and (hopefully) a new appreciation for pets.
Director: Emily Dean
Writer: Tamsyn Muir, based on the short story by Siobhan Carroll
Animation Studio: Polygon Pictures Inc.
Voice Cast: Dan Stevens, JB Blanc, Jim Broadbent, Nika Futterman, Jane Leeves & Dave B. Mitchell
It’s really a testament to each team’s tireless hard work that they were able to showcase such tight storytelling in the shortest amount of time with the largest impact possible. It won’t take you long to zoom through Love, Death + Robots Volume 4 but it will take you a long while to get these stories out of your brain. In a time when GenAI is threatening to make the sci-fi dystopia genre a reality, it’s refreshing to see the heights of creativity that only humans could truly reach; long may it continue.
