Even as the rest of the entertainment industry seems intent on writing the medium off as juvenile, the realm of animation has been thriving over the last few years. There is a show that feels like it should get more attention than it does. A show like Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has a decent-sized fan base, but more people were turned onto its greatness when it was winding down rather than right from the start. Disney's The Owl House feels like it's close to winding up in the latter category, which is a shame, given how good it has always been.
The Owl House was created by Dana Terrace and begins with a standard setup. Luz, a big fantasy nerd, is happy to learn that magic and monsters are real when she meets Eda and her pet monster, King. Eda takes Luz under her wing to teach her how to be a witch in her own right and also to find a way to get Luz home after she was cursed.
The shows geared towards kids or young adults live and die based on their characters. It's a kiss of death if they are grating or not fun to spend time with. Owl House's characters are charming and engaging, with the mostly teen cast managing to feel authentic, and the adults being equally competent while emotionally maladjusted. Everyone is a winner, with the notables being Luz, her classmates, and the demon Hooty. The show's various villains are hateable, and it would be hard to find a favorite among them.
It takes some time for The Owl House to find its feet. Luz, Eda, and King swap bodies is where the show really finds itself in the first few episodes. Eda puts the trio back in their original bodies before doing a body swap on the people around them so the three leave as everyone else fights one another. It is a fun episode that highlights how playful and mischievous the show can get, and the ones that follow run with this even further. It becomes exciting to watch when the show allows its characters to get into all sorts of chaotic action or just for fun.
The shows and films that break out of the Disney mold are more revolutionary than they are likely to be, because of the strong family friendly image that Disney has. Owl House has a sinister edge that is very different from Doctor Strange's. A giant dragon made entirely out of fingers stands out because it's not much of a story in the world. Sometimes the strangeness of the Boiling Isles is used as a clever, if horrifying gag, such as Hooty or school lockers that eat students.
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In many ways, Owl House is similar to Gravity Falls. One area where it surpasses its spiritual predecessor is that it keeps the tension high even in episodes that are meant to be emotional rest. Luz and her friends are going to have a lot of stakes in the second season. It feels like a real relief when Luz and Hunter escape at the end of the second season of the show, because it was set in the mind of the show's main villain, Emperor Belos. It's easy to forget that the show isn't getting the chance to continue on like it and its creators would very much like to.
The Owl House is still worth watching even though it has been cut off at the knees. It is shaping up to be one of Disney's best animated series in recent years, if not ever, and it is best to realize that now rather than after it.
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