The Owl House is an animated fantasy-comedy, created by Dana Terrace. The series premiered on January 10, 2020 on Disney Channel, and came to a final conclusion on April 8, 2023.
Overview
The series follows self-assured teenage girl Luz, who discovers a portal to another realm where humans are not well-liked.
Luz partners with a rebellious witch named Eda and her diminutive demon sidekick, King, who was indeed once a king and is searching for a way to restore his titles and glory. Despite not possessing any magical abilities of her own, Luz pursues her dream of becoming a witch by serving as Eda's apprentice and learning the ways of magic.
In the second season, directly following the end of the first season, the main characters work together to return Luz to the Human Realm, help Eda confront her curse, and search for the truth about King's past while contending with the Boiling Isles' ruler, Emperor Belos, who is preparing for the mysterious "Day of Unity".
The finale specials follows Luz's journey to save the Boiling Isles from the chaotic Collector.
Cast
Main
Recurring
- Matthew Rhys as Emperor Belos
- Alex Lawther as Philip Wittebane
- Isabella Rossellini as Bat Queen
- Mae Whitman as Amity Blight
- Tati Gabrielle as Willow Park
- Bumper Robinson as Principal Bump
- Issac Ryan Brown as Gus Porter
- Parvesh Cheena as Tibbles
- Eden Riegel as Boscha
- Cissy Jones as Lilith Clawthorne
- Jorge Diaz as Mattholomule
- Erica Lindbeck as Emira Blight
- Ryan O'Flanagan as Edric Blight
- Zeno Robinson as Hunter, Derwin
- Deb Doetzer as Gwendolyn Clawthorne
- Peter Gallagher as Dell Clawthorne
- Felicia Day as Bria
- Harvey Guillén as Angmar
- Nik Dodani as Gavin
- Debra Wilson as Terra Snapdragon
- Avi Roque as Raine Whispers
- Elizabeth Grullón as Camila Noceda
- Michaela Dietz as Vee
Production
The Owl House was created by Dana Terrace, previously worked on Gravity Falls as a storyboard artist and later a director on the 2017 DuckTales reboot. The show was originally scheduled for release in 2019, but was delayed to early 2020. The animation is provided by Rough Draft Korea, Sunmin Image Pictures, and Sugarcube Animation.
The visual design of the show was inspired by various European painters including Remedios Varo, John Bauer, and definitely Hieronymus Bosch, who was best known for his surrealistic depictions of hell. Dana Terrace also took a lot of inspiration from Russian architecture as well as medieval church art.
The second season, consisting of 21 episodes, began airing on June 12, 2021. It was renewed for a third season ahead of the season two premiere and was later confirmed by Dana Terrace to not only be shorter, but also be the last season. Dana later admitted on a Reddit AMA this was because the show "did not fit the Disney brand." Numerous fans took this to meaning that it had something to do with the LGBTQ+ references, but Terrace denied this, citing other complex behind-the-scenes reasons.[1][2] Production Associate Rebecca Rose also denied that the show's production had anything to do with either Bob Iger or Bob Chapek, joking that the latter "probably has no idea that the show even exists".[3]
Marketing
The first trailer premiered on June 10, 2019 during the show's Annecy 2019 panel, which was uploaded onto the Disney Channel's YouTube channel.
The intro was released at the On San Diego Comic-Con on July 20, 2019, while the outro was released on October 4, 2019.
LGBTQ+ representation
The Owl House has been praised for featuring several characters who are LGBTQ+, in particular the growing romance between the characters Luz Noceda and Amity Blight.[4][5] On July 7, 2020, series creator Dana Terrace implied this, when responding to a fan who posted a screenshot from the upcoming episode "Enchanting Grom Fright" on Twitter which showed one of the characters in the show, Amity Blight, putting her hands on the shoulders of Luz Noceda and looking into Luz's eyes. Claiming "there is no heterosexual explanation" for Amity's action, Terrace responded, "there really isn't". On August 8, 2020, the episode, written by Molly Ostertag, aired, and it featured a scene in which Luz and Amity dance together while casting spells to defeat "Grom," a demon that manifests as their deepest fears. The animation supervisor for the show, Spencer Wan, referred to their intimate dance as "the gay thing" and the first time he got to "do anything even remotely queer."
On September 2, 2020, during a Reddit AMA, Dana Terrace confirmed that Amity is intended to be a lesbian and that Luz is bisexual.[6] The two girls represent Disney's first animated LGBTQ+ regular characters.[7] Additionally, in the episode "Understanding Willow", one of the main characters (Willow Park) is shown to have two dads. Some noted that the beginning of the show's second season, which began airing in 2021, continued to build up the relationship between Amity and Luz, with Luz reciprocating Amity's feelings at the end of "Escaping Expulsion". Others praised Amity's character evolving outside her "relationship with Luz." In the episode "Through the Looking Glass Ruins", Amity kisses Luz on the cheek.
On July 24, 2021, the series introduced Raine Whispers in the episode "Eda's Requiem." Raine are non-binary character, as Raine goes by they/them pronouns. The character are voiced by trans and non-binary actor Avi Roque.[8]
In the episode "Knock, Knock, Knockin' on Hooty's Door", Luz and Amity officially become a couple. GLAAD praised the episode, saying they were excited to see a "wonderful and affirming message" from the series. Jade King of TheGamer praised the series for having a fictional universe where queer characters can "learn to love themselves without the fear of ridicule," comparing it to the similar approaches in Steven Universe and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, noting the relationship between Luz and Amity.[9]
In March 2022, Lilith was confirmed to be aromantic and asexual during a charity livestream, via an in-character letter read by the character's voice actress Cissy Jones. Jade King of The Gamer noted that Cissy Jones said that her letter during a charity stream saying that Lilith didn't have any romantic attractions was "basically canon," further confirming those identities.
On May 21, 2022, Luz and Amity kissed each other on the lips in the episode "Clouds on the Horizon". It is the first same-sex kiss between the main characters in a Disney animated series. A promotional video released on September 25, 2022, depicted Luz in a new outfit with a pin on her beanie, picturing the bisexual flag. The pin prompted reactions on social media sites and some media outlets, with the term "THE BI PIN" trending on Twitter. In "Thanks to Them" Luz comes out bisexual to her mother with a video on her laptop saying "Hi! I'm Bi!", and introduced another non-binary character named Masha.
Reception
Critical reception
The Owl House has received a positive reception from critics. Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media rated the show 4 out of 5 stars and said putting different elements together made the series quirky and likable. It was also described as well written and animated, and speculated that "the show likely will be one you will want to watch alongside your older kids and tweens, giving you the opportunity to discuss these kinds of themes as they come up." LaughingPlace.com's critic praised the series for its unique visuals and voice acting, stating "The performances fit together beautifully as the diversity in their delivery showcases the characters’ unique roles in the Demon Realm." Collider's Dave Trumbore gave the series' first episode a 4-star rating, feeling that the episode "has got a dark, yet darkly comic edge to the whole thing." The conservative evangelical Christian religious television network, called the Christian Broadcasting Network attacked the show, declaring it was part of a "witch agenda to make witchcraft look positive," an assessment that a writer for The Mary Sue called "hyperbolic," and stated that a "rebellious Latina witch" is, to those like CBN, "probably the scariest thing," while stating that the show sounds like "a ton of fun." While Kevin Johnson of The A.V. Club was critical of the series, stating that they were not "buying the developments between Amity and Luz," and praised Eda's character, Ben Bertoli was more positive. He wrote that Terrace and those working on the job had done a great job creating a fantasy world, relatable characters, and predicted a "big animation fandom." Additionally, Nick Venable wrote that fans of Gravity Falls and Steven Universe would love the series because the "otherworld-ness of The Boiling Isles immediately asserts itself" while the show makes "relationships feel genuine and tactile," following in the footsteps of those shows. At the same time, Colin Hickson of Comic Book Resources praised the series, while noting that the opening of the series would give "any Gravity Falls fans a major sense of déjà vu." As of 2023, it currently holds the #5 spot on Ranker's "The Best Disney Channel Cartoons Ever Made" list; following behind DuckTales (2017) (#4), Kim Possible (#3), Phineas and Ferb (#2), & Gravity Falls (#1).
Gallery
Videos
Trailers
Clips
Miscellaneous
Trivia
- This is the first Disney Channel animated series & as well as the first series by Disney Television Animation overall to be released in the 2020's.
- Yet it is also the first DTVA series to both premiere & conclude during that time.
- This is the first Disney work with an LGBTQ+ protagonist. While previous Disney works had LGBTQ+ characters, all of them were side characters.
- Amity is the first openly lesbian Disney character, as previous gay Disney characters had their sexuality implied rather than shown.
- Luz is the first openly bisexual Disney lead character.
- Dana Terrace confirmed Luz is bisexual, while Amity is confirmed to be a lesbian.
- "Eda's Requiem" introduced Raine Whispers, who are non-binary.
- Additionally “Thanks To Them” introduced another non-binary Disney character, Masha, who are Vee's friend from summer camp.
- This show has a total of ten characters who are confirmed LGBTQ+.
- With this series, Dana Terrace is the sixth woman to create a series for Disney Television Animation, after Sue Rose (Pepper Ann), Chris Nee (Doc McStuffins), Daron Nefcy (Star vs. the Forces of Evil), Krista Tucker (Fancy Nancy), and Nicole Dubuc (The Rocketeer).
- This is the second series where Alex Hirsch is featured in a magical setting, opposite to his past series, Gravity Falls, which is magical, but paranormal.
- He also voices demons such as King in this series or Bill Cipher from Gravity Falls.
- It also featured a kid (Luz in this setting, Dipper and Mabel Pines in Gravity Falls) who travels into a place where it was alive with magic.
- Both shows also featured puppetry (Bill controlling Dipper, Collector's boiling isles citizens)
- Both shows also shows the main location taken over by the bad guy and made their own image.
- Both shows featured the main heroes leaving the place to return (Dipper and Mabel head back home, Luz heads back to the Demon Realm)
- Both shows also has codes to decipher and put apart forms the answer.
- This is the fourth Disney Channel series to feature a Latina protagonist after Wizards of Waverly Place, Stuck in the Middle, and Gabby Duran & the Unsittables.
- The first letter of each episode title in each season spells out a phrase:
- Season 1: "A witch loses a true way."
- Season 2: "Seek the key fear the lock."
- Season 3: "Thanks for watching."
- One scene of each episode also contains a freeze-frame of an eye code in Cyrillic alphabet in the background and reads a sentence:
- Season 1: "Two witches torn apart, now alone. Two hearts of stone. A curse of feather and mud, a betrayal of blood skies".
- Season 2: "Seething seas and puppet strings, he no longer dreams of kings as above rush darkened skies as below his father lies."
- Due to Disney Channel in Italy shutting down prior to the series' premiere in Italy, the series ended up premiering its entire first Season in Italy on February 5, 2021, on Disney+, making this the first time a Disney Channel series has had its premiere on Disney+ instead of Disney Channel.
- This is the second animated Disney series where the main character of the show gets wound up in another world. The first being Anne from Amphibia (along with Sasha and Marcy).
- They both have a crossover (Chibi Tales, Comic Con)
- Both acknowledged shows through Easter eggs.
- Both are credited as Special thanks in the end episode.
- Featured the villain (Belos, Core) who assimilates something big (Titan's Corpse to Belos, Moon to Core) to commit genocide.
- At the finale, Main Character dies and fades away and later resurrected from the dead.
- Both experience a Time-Skip and improved the lives of the characters shown in the epilogue in the series finale (10 years for Amphibia, 4 Years for The Owl House).
- In 2021, it won the Peabody Award for "Children's & Youth Programming".
- The show was originally pitched to Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon before being pitched to Disney. Terrace has gone on record saying that had the series been picked up by either network, or even Netflix, it would not have met with her expectations as it has with Disney.[10][11]
- Originally meant to be the last DTVA animated series to have serialized elements and story arcs alongside Amphibia, it is now the 4th-to-last DTVA story-driven animated series, with Hamster & Gretel being the 3rd-to-last one, and Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur being the 2nd-to-last one, and Hailey’s On It! as the last one, as 2 of the shows were announced and greenlit before, and one of them was announced and greenlit after the announcement in October 2021 that Disney Television Animation would be moving serialized story-driven shows to Disney+, and having the Disney Channel focus more on episodic-musical driven series due to the success of Big City Greens and The Ghost and Molly McGee, though the latter series is somewhat serialized as of Season 2.
- This is overall the 8th series by DTVA to be serialized/story-driven, following Gargoyles, Gravity Falls, Star vs. the Forces of Evil, Tangled: The Series, DuckTales (2017), Big Hero 6: The Series, and Amphibia.
- Wander Over Yonder and Milo Murphy’s Law are technically serialized with continuity and story arcs, but in WOY's case, it didn’t get serialized until Season 2 and the overarching story was mainly in the background during that season, so the show was mainly episodic. MML was also episodic mostly but it had two standalone season-long story arcs that mainly took a backseat because of the filler episodes, with Season 1 being about Pistachio monsters, and Season 2 being about Octalian aliens.
- This is overall the 8th series by DTVA to be serialized/story-driven, following Gargoyles, Gravity Falls, Star vs. the Forces of Evil, Tangled: The Series, DuckTales (2017), Big Hero 6: The Series, and Amphibia.
- A number of episodes were planned, but didn't get made:
- Luz Noceda and Eda Clawthorne are playable characters in a crossover game Disney Heroes: Battle Mode. While several other characters and objects from this show appear as badges/avatars.
References
External links
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