Invader Zim

Invader Zim. Jhonen Vasquez, creator. Jordan Reichek, director (pilot), Steve Ressel, director. USA, S. Korea: Sunwoo Entertainment aniomator, / Wumberlog Productions (pilot) & Nickelodeon Animation Studio, 30 March 2001-10 December 2002 on Nickelodeon, 10 June-19 August 2006 on Nicktoons. 2 seasons, 27 episodes. Running time: 24 minutes. Succeeded by a monthly comic book series from Oni Press, 2015-2021, and a movie, INVADER ZIM: ENTER THE FLORPUS, on Netflix 16 August 2019.[1]

Dark comedy SF animation for older children.

Zim's "mission is to conquer Earth and enslave the human race." In this he is accompanied by "his is malfunctioning robot servant GIR [...], an ineffective and erratic Standard Issue Information Retrieval (SIR) unit hastily made from spare parts found in a trash can."[2][3]

Responding to a Facebook request by Lisa Yaszek for title of works relevant for "soft robots," Claire Moss cites Invader Zim and notes "a backpack with legs, robotic Santa suit" and "robo parents," probably too rigid for soft robotics, but robots.

RDE, with thanks to Claire Moss and Lisa Yaszek, 5Nov25