Big Laughs with Alien Probes and Diabolical Cats

Tim Miller and David Fincher’s animated anthology series Love, Death & Robots returns to Netflix for a fourth season, and it confirms something cat owners have suspected for a while: They are indeed trying to conquer humanity. The Emmy-winning series remains true to form with stunning creativity, fantastic black humor and genuine surprises that illustrate the series’ evolution. Not every segment is outstanding, but there are no stinkers in the bunch.

In the opening segment, Fincher hearkens back to his music-video roots with a rocking depiction of the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ classic 2003 performance at Ireland’s Slane Castle, portraying the iconic musicians and their fans as bobblehead puppets on strings. The band’s adrenaline-pumping stage theatrics are perfectly captured here, including an homage to their habit of wearing socks — and nothing else — on stage. There’s no underlying message, but you can’t go wrong with awesome visuals and the Peppers’ mega-hit “Can’t Stop.”

Great Humor in Season Four

Close Encounters of the Mini Kind challenges the Peppers with a hilarious alien invasion told from a unique perspective: Imagine if Independence Day and War of the Worlds were fought by sped-up figurines. In this segment, creators Robert Bisi and Andy Lyon get big laughs through human stupidity in a knockdown-funny eight minutes. The animation is spectacular, unique, and perfect for the subject. (Let’s just say the alien probes do exactly what you’re thinking they will.)

Badass felines also take center stage in The Other Large Thing as Sanchez, a cat hellbent on world domination, finally gets the missing piece of his diabolical plan. Sanchez’s mews and purrs mask his distaste for the grotesque and slovenly creatures who aren’t feeding him tuna for every meal, but their new robot servant can understand him — and isn’t fond of how he’s treated. What happens next isn’t pretty, and serves as a warning to every cat owner: Keep an eye on those kitties, because they’re up to no good.

For He Can Creep is set in London, 1757, and also features an epic battle of furballs versus evil. Dan Stevens voices Jeoffrey the cat, whose distraught poet owner has caught Satan’s eye. But the Prince of Darkness did not expect such a formidable enemy. Director Emily Dean delivers incredible animation in a sharp finale, as Satan and his cat nemeses change shape in a vicious battle. It’s a violent entry, but it also sneaks in a few good chuckles.

Humanity’s arrogance, foolishness and cruelty are repeatedly addressed in season four. Episode 6, Golgotha, has Miller directing Rhys Darby as a nervous priest who’s been chosen to address alien visitors who look like squids wearing mechanized suits. They’re deeply religious beings who are searching the galaxy for a messiah, and their chosen savior isn’t fond of humanity, to put it mildly. Darby’s fear, bewilderment and eventual acceptance of fate mirrors his character’s crisis of religious belief. This live-action entry says a lot in a short run time, drawing comparisons to Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.

Spectacular Animation

Miller has two other shorts in Love, Death & Robots Volume Four. They’re both well-made, but don’t have the impact or comedy of the best entries. 400 Boys features John Boyega, leading a voice cast of disparate teams facing their biggest threat ever in a post-apocalyptic world. The 400 Boys are basically giant babies stomping rivals into goo, and the lighting and shading of the 2D animation are masterful. The segment plays like 1979’s The Warriors after the nuclear holocaust. There are rich characterizations and bloody action, but the overall story doesn’t have much depth.

The same can be said about Miller’s The Screaming of the Tyrannosaur. The motion capture CGI episode stars YouTuber Mr. Beast in a futuristic “bread and circus” display, in which Miller transposes Roman classism to a space station above Jupiter. Plebeians race to the death while riding dinosaurs, while wealthy patricians watch from hovering platforms without a care about the suffering and carnage below. This segment has the most cinematic production values of the season, especially in a climactic scene where gladiators ride a triceratops and a tyrannosaurus rex into bloody combat.

Finally, the penultimate Smart Appliances, Stupid Owners adds to the laughs by telling its story from the perspective of our gadgets. Each appliance spouts a line or two of dialogue: The smart toilet isn’t happy after taco night, for example, and a vibrator is confounded by its purpose. The CGI animation mimics Claymation, and achieves the effect while also being understated. This short is packed with celebrity voice-overs from the likes of Ronny Chieng, Amy Sedaris and Kevin Hart, but it needs more time to develop. The entire season is a breezy watch meant for mature audiences: You don’t want kids asking about alien probes or sex toys.

Love, Death & Robots Volume Four premieres exclusively on Netflix on Thursday, May 15th. You can watch it here.