Netflix's Series Super Giant Robot Brothers! Will Use Unreal Engine To Create Animation

You tell me there's going to be a series called "Super Giant Robot Brothers!" on Netflix, and I'm 100% going to watch that series. You tell me it's going to use the Unreal Video Game Engine to animate it, and I'm not only in, but also drooling a little. Tuesday, Reel FX released a video giving us a behind-the-scenes look at how the Unreal Engine is going to be used to create the new animated series, and director Mark Andrews ("Brave") explained how it all works. Here is his description of the series in case you need something more than the title to sell you. (I didn't.) He said:

The world is under attack and stopping it on our side are these two super giant robot brothers, Shiny and Thunder, made by our teenage genius, Alex Rose. And they have to fight kaiju and save the world in every episode. The story is really about this family that have sibling rivalries all the time. That comedy action element was super, super attractive to me as a storyteller and a filmmaker.

I don't know about you, but that sounds pretty awesome! 

Unreal Engine has been used on productions like "The Mandalorian," but this is more extensive. As you can see in the video, this is a full production pipeline, complete with motion capture. Unreal Engine can render characters in real-time, which lets you get a real sense of what's going on and what the finished product will be like. 

Andrews said, "Not only are we writing the script, you make the assets, and then we get onto the stage. And there is a chance to see it in action again and rewrite on the stage." That's super cool, and opens up a whole new world in terms of what is possible in animation. They can shoot around the mo-cap actors as they work and get different angles and shots.

I know the video is long, but it's absolutely worth watching. DP Enrico Targetti speaks about his work in live-action, and how this allows that same sort of feel in a CG series, and what having lighting on the stage that you see on the screen can do. You can see what he means as he's telling you about it. It's fascinating! I will stop gushing now, but I implore you to watch and see how it all works. 

Netflix will release 10 episodes of "Super Giant Robot Brothers!" later this year.