Robotomy
Two teenage robots survive high school on a violent planet.
Robotomy is an American animated television series created by Michael Buckley and Joe Deasy for Cartoon Network. It aired from October 25, 2010 to January 24, 2011, and follows two teenage alien robots on the planet Insanus. The series was produced by Cartoon Network Studios and World Leaders Entertainment, with Christy Karacas as co-executive producer and director.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Science fiction comedy
- Dark comedy
- Splatter
- Comedy drama
- Creator
- Michael Buckley, Joe Deasy
- Voices
- Patton Oswalt, John Gemberling
- Creative director
- Christy Karacas
- Composer
- Joe Wong, Didier Leplae
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English
- Network
- Cartoon Network
Facts from the source article.
Plot
Thrasher and Blastus are teenagers on Insanus, a planet of barbaric alien robots who kill each other without reason. The duo, slightly less horrific than their peers, tries to get through high school and manage their lives with mixed results. Thrasher, a tall robot voiced by Patton Oswalt, wants to win the affections of Maimy. Blastus, a short robot voiced by John Gemberling, seeks popularity; he is mostly sensitive and non-criminal, unlike most robots, but is impulsive and overconfident. Thrasher is calm and reserved but often follows Blastus's poorly conceived plans.
Production
Michael Buckley and Joe Deasy created the series, originally titled Horrorbots, and produced it through World Leaders Entertainment in New York. Three years before broadcast, the network contacted Buckley to develop a series; he enlisted Deasy, and they pitched five ideas that were all rejected. Six months later, a second wave of ideas also failed. Another six months later, frustrated, they submitted a rough premise of Robotomy, which was accepted. Buckley described the plot as 'Superbad meets the Transformers meets WWE.' The animation style required different skills than World Leaders' other show, The Venture Bros.; Robotomy was animated by the Chowder production team, focusing on humor of movement and timing, squash and stretch. Co-executive producer Christy Karacas's art style provided very clean polished lines. The planet Insanus, originally called Killglobe, was conceived as unending chaos with weaponry, duskiness, and scarred land. Karacas enjoyed designing robots of varied sizes and shapes. The series was animated by Hong Ying Animation in Taiwan.
Broadcast and reception
Robotomy premiered on October 25, 2010 on Cartoon Network after a new episode of Mad. A World Leaders crew member said the network was blending its Adult Swim brand with its youth demographic; the series targeted an older demographic but remained appropriate for a broad age range. The debut drew 1.7 million US viewers with a 0.2 Nielsen rating for adults 18–49. The season averaged 1.5 million viewers and a 0.2 rating. After ten episodes, the series ended on January 24, 2011, making it the shortest run of any original series on the network until surpassed by Elliott from Earth in 2021. Renn Brown noted Patton Oswalt's high-profile casting as contradictory to the show's short run. Will Wade of Common Sense Media found it suitable for older teens, calling storylines thin and focused on school as a battlefield. Aaron Simpson of Lineboil described the storylines as irreverent and the chaos similar to Superjail! minus dismembered bodies. The series was added to Netflix in 2013 after a Warner Bros. deal.
More in Television Series by Cartoon Network Studios
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced