The Electric State brings Simon Stålenhag’s art to life with stunning accuracy.
Netflix’s upcoming film “The Electric State” started with a unique graphic novel by Simon Stålenhag. The novel features eerily drawn animatronics and robots, cultivating around the classic yet epic trope of robot war. It should come as no surprise that this could be the perfect blueprint for Netflix to bring it to life. The upcoming hit film is not only exciting for action fans but also for artists and graphic designers across the globe. It stars Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt and is directed by the Russo brothers. This film is action-packed and brings the original graphic novel to life. Keep reading for some of the mind-blowing recreations Netflix has achieved compared to the original book!
Skip, or Cosmo isn’t skipped over!
In the book, Skip is the robot companion who assists teenage Michelle to help find her brother. In the film, she is played by Millie Bobby Brown, and Skip is now named Cosmo. However, it seems that Netflix has done him justice compared to what we’ve seen in the trailer. Not only in making him appear reliable and helpful but also in giving him the same design as in the book. Short, yellow, and with that same toothy smile and black nose. Even the metal hair swoop is the same!
Rubber, or metal duckies?
In the original story, a more pleasant and light sight is abandoned and rusting giant yellow duck animatronics, the illustrations in a desert setting. The same is seen in the trailer, in the same setting! Not only did Netflix make sure to include this in the trailer, but on one of the movie posters, a duck in the far back is in view! What’s most intriguing is the designers kept the bullseye of the duck. Literally. On the chest of the bot is a bullseye archery target design!
“War machine, comin atcha!”
The rusting and non-functioning robot featured on the cover of Stålenhag’s work is shown in the Netflix trailer in a single shot. With the same broken wires, tendrils, and bent-over posture, Netflix recreated the eerie vibe of this broken-down bot. It appears to be a war machine, which, ironically, is the name of one of the characters of the Russo Brothers’ previous Marvel films.
1-800-54-HEART: The Electric State Billboard Brought to Life
In the work of Stålenhag, one of the smaller details is a unique heart-shaped billboard in the form of a robot with lettering. “Lifebuddy”. As you can see, for a moment in the trailer, the same replica is shown! It’s done perfectly, down to the “R” missing from “HEART”. Like the ducks, it is also shown in its original setting.
Here, kitty kitty!
Viewers don’t know whether to think this cat animatronic is cute or scary. It may be a mix of both. While cute, I think many would run for their lives if this robot came after them. In the book, one of the illustrations is what appears to be a cat mascot hanging over a bridge, not functioning. In Netflix’s trailers for the film, we see this design brought to life, literally and figuratively. As seen in multiple trailers, we see this same mascot stomping on other robots several times.
It is fighting against humans and waving a frayed American flag, and at one point dragging its hand across a greenhouse where Millie and Pratt’s characters are seen. While the designers at Netflix replicated this cat exactly how it was illustrated, it seems like it will have even more involvement in the movie.
VR Headsets: A Key Detail That Made It In Netflix’s The Electric State
The special VR headsets in the book were used by everyday humans, but also to control some of the robots and bigger ones. In the trailer, one of the slow shots shows a school classroom with children all using the same yellow headsets. In another shot, Michelle puts one on herself. And we’ll see how much these come into play in the movie!
You can spot even more examples in the trailer versus the graphic novel of “The Electric State. It’s safe to say that, overall, Netflix was able to replicate the haunting imagery of decayed cities, the skeletal remains of giant war machines, and the desolate highways that are depicted in the book. With the eerie aesthetic of shots of massive robotic wreckage, derelict structures, and vast, empty landscapes, Stålenhag’s novel is being brought to life in the most epic way. The Electric State comes out on Netflix on March 14th!
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