The Liberator (miniseries) explained

Genre:War drama
Creator:Jeb Stuart
Director:Greg Jonkajtys
Starring:
Narrated:Mike Rowe
Composer:
Country:United States
Language:English
Num Episodes:4
Producer:
  • Alex Kershaw
  • Łukasz Dzięcioł
  • Natalia Lacosta
Animator:Trioscope Studios
Editor:Akın Özçelik
Runtime:45–56 minutes
Company:
  • A&E Studios
  • Unique Features
Network:Netflix

The Liberator is an American adult animated war drama television mini-series created and written by Jeb Stuart.[1] It is based on the book The Liberator: One World War II Soldier’s 500-Day Odyssey by Alex Kershaw.[1]

Directed by Greg Jonkajtys, the miniseries was released on November 11, 2020, on Netflix.[1] [2] [3]

Synopsis

The Liberator takes place during World War II where maverick U.S. Army officer Felix Sparks and the 157th Infantry Regiment fought for over five hundred days alongside the Allied forces during the Italian campaign.[4]

The Liberator is a character-driven action miniseries based on the true story of World War II infantry commander Felix "Shotgun" Sparks, who led the members of the 157th Infantry Regiment of the 45th Infantry Division, an integrated group of white cowboys, Mexican Americans and Native soldiers drawn from across the west. Sparks and his battalion of "Thunderbirds" were classic citizen soldiers, and for over 500 days they led a special group of American soldiers from Italy to France to the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp, through some of the most grueling battles of the war, becoming one of the most decorated American combat units of World War II. The unit received eight combat awards for service in Italy, France, Germany and Central Europe [5]

Production

Announced in November 2018, the miniseries's production was handled by A&E Studios and Unique Features with animation services by Atlanta-based studio School of Humans.[1] In January 2019, Bradley James was cast in the leading role of Felix Sparks and Martin Sensmeier was cast as Samuel Coldfoot.[6] [7]

Filmed primarily in Poland, some additional scenes were filmed in Atlanta.[8]

The animation team behind the series launched Trioscope Studios, with the show as its first series in production.[9] The miniseries was the first to use Trioscope Enhanced Hybrid Animation, a technique that blends live-action actors with CGI. In a November 2020 interview, Trioscope chief content officer Brandon Barr stated that the project had been "particularly challenging", while arguing that anime opened the door for other visual techniques and styles.[10]

Release

The limited series was released on Veterans Day, November 11, 2020.[11]

Reception

Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the miniseries a score of 59 out of 100, based on 7 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[12]

Reviewing the miniseries for Rolling Stone, Alan Sepinwall gave it 3.5 out of 5 stars and said, "The Liberator more often than not is an effective reminder about why pop culture keeps revisiting World War II material again and again."[13] On contrast, Daniel Fienberg of The Hollywood Reporter called the show a series which is "very watchable" but is infuriating due to its "inconsistent focus and narrative choices" even though his interest never wavered due to the interesting and "eye-popping" animation. Fienberg concluded that people should check out the show for the animation, for a commemoration of Veterans Days but to be prepared for frustration over "how much more complicated, and how much richer" the actual history is and how the show could have been better.[14]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Netflix Orders World War II Animated Drama Series The Liberator. November 15, 2018. Netflix Media Center.
  2. Web site: Matthews. Liam. Best New Shows and Movies on Netflix This Week: Dash & Lily, The Liberator. November 5, 2020. November 6, 2020. TV Guide. https://web.archive.org/web/20201106172415/https://www.tvguide.com/news/best-new-shows-and-movies-on-netflix-this-week-dash-lily-the-liberator/. November 6, 2020. live.
  3. Web site: Netflix Orders Innovative Animated World War II Drama Series 'The Liberator' From A+E Studios, Unique Features & Jeb Stuart. Nellie. Andreeva. November 15, 2018. November 10, 2020. Deadline Hollywood. https://web.archive.org/web/20200721183604/https://deadline.com/2018/11/netflix-greenlights-animated-world-war-ii-drama-series-the-liberator-based-book-alex-kershaw-1202502715/. July 21, 2020. live.
  4. Web site: Sarto . Dan . Trioscope's Gripping WW2 Animated Drama 'The Liberator' Premieres Today . . November 12, 2020 . November 11, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201112223235/https://www.awn.com/animationworld/trioscopes-gripping-ww2-animated-drama-liberator-premieres-today . November 12, 2020 . live.
  5. Wilson, John B. (1999), Armies, Corps, Divisions, and Separate Brigades, Washington, D.C.: Department of the Army, ISBN 978-0-160499-94-4
  6. Web site: The Liberator: Netflix Enlists Medici's Bradley James for WWII Animated Series. Bleeding Cool. Ray. Flook. January 22, 2019. January 22, 2019.
  7. Web site: 'The Liberator': Martin Sensmeier To Star In Netflix's Animated World War II Drama Series. Deadline Hollywood. Denise. Petski. January 31, 2019. November 9, 2020.
  8. News: Star of Netflix WWII series 'The Liberator' has Jacksonville roots . Tom . Szaroleta . 2020-11-08 . . 2023-08-29 . subscription . https://web.archive.org/web/20230127010719/https://www.jacksonville.com/story/entertainment/television/2020/11/08/bradley-james-star-netflix-wwii-series-liberator-has-jacksonville-roots/6166362002/ . 2023-01-27 . live.
  9. Web site: White . Peter . L.C. Crowley, Brandon Barr & Greg Jonkajtys, Team Behind Netflix's 'The Liberator', Launch Trioscope Studios. Deadline . January 22, 2020 . November 16, 2020.
  10. Web site: Layton . Mark . TBI In Conversation: Trioscope's CCO on launching Netflix's 'The Liberator' & an animation revolution . November 9, 2020 . Television Business International . November 10, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201110224937/https://tbivision.com/2020/11/10/tbi-in-conversation-trioscopes-cco-on-netflixs-the-liberator-and-launching-an-animation-revolution/. November 10, 2020. live.
  11. Web site: 'The Liberator': Netflix Drops Trailer, Premiere Date For WWII Animated Series. Deadline. Alexandra. Del Rosario. October 24, 2020. November 9, 2020.
  12. Web site: The Liberator . . . 2023-08-28.
  13. 'The Liberator' Revisits World War II Through a New Lens . Alan . Sepinwall . Alan Sepinwall . 2020-11-09 . . 2023-08-28 . subscription . https://web.archive.org/web/20221225231101/https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-reviews/liberator-netflix-review-rotoscope-1085649/ . 2022-12-25 . live.
  14. Fienberg . Daniel . 'The Liberator': TV Review . November 10, 2020 . . November 12, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201110235811/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/the-liberator-tv-review . November 10, 2020 . live.

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