Blending 2D Draftsmanship And CG Craftsmanship: Behind The Animation Of Emmy-Winning ‘400 Boys’ (EXCLUSIVE VIDEO)

Passion Pictures has given us exclusive access to an in-depth behind-the-scenes video put together on the making of 400 Boys, Robert Valley’s Emmy-winning contribution to Netflix’s latest season of Love, Death + Robots.

The video offers a rare inside look at how Valley and his team combined his distinctive 2D sensibilities with cinematic 3D staging to push his signature style to new heights.

For Valley, adapting Marc Laidlaw’s 1983 story was as much a creative challenge as a technical one. “There’s no such thing as limitless freedom in these jobs,” he told Cartoon Brew in a previous interview. “You have to thread the needle in a way, and to be honest, I actually really enjoy that.”

The new featurette highlights that balance. Passion Pictures’ workflow shows how sequences were broken down between hand-drawn character animation and 3D camera setups, with technical director Christian Mills identifying where greater dimensionality could enhance Valley’s draftsmanship. Animator Martial Coulon’s After Effects work, which Valley praised for its ability to simulate depth without breaking the look of the film, is also on display.

The behind-the-scenes footage also underscores Valley’s classic cinematic influences. He cited The Warriors and City of God as touchstones, not just for visual style but for how to elevate an ensemble cast so “each character is a main character.”

Color design also gets a spotlight. Art director Patricio Betteo pushed Valley into less familiar palettes. “On this one, we ventured into some other colors that I’ve never really used before comfortably,” Valley has previously explained. “It was very much about restraint.”

Passion’s new video makes clear that 400 Boys was as much about experimentation as it was about adapting a familiar and already successful aesthetic. Valley himself described it as “a story about two films,” the first establishing characters, the second exploding into spectacle. The behind-the-scenes short captures how those two halves came together, revealing a process that’s both highly technical and entirely singular.