There reaches a moment in life when you come to the realization that you're no longer in the demographic sweet spot preferred by the media biz, especially regarding music, the internet and TV. While I’ve heard of Doja Cat, I couldn’t name a single one of her songs. And unless one of my daughters is nearby, I can’t tell you why many current young celebrities are even famous (especially all those yahoos on YouTube).
Speaking of my daughters…when Season One of Hazbin Hotel arrived for review, my first question was, “What the hell is this?” One of them informed me it was a popular animated show on Amazon, but by her tone, I got the impression she wasn’t among its fans. Doing some additional background digging (which I often do for context prior to reviewing programs I’m not familiar with), I learned Hazbin Hotel was created by Vivienne Medrano, a YouTuber who goes by the name of VivziePop, and YouTube was where the show first became popular. No wonder I’d never heard of it.
Perhaps that makes me the wrong guy to review something like this, since I’m likely a generation or two beyond the show’s intended audience. But I’m nothing if not open-minded. After all, I knew nothing about the Fallout video game before reviewing the first season of the TV series, but think it’s one of the best things Amazon Prime ever put out. So the following are initial impressions of Hazbin Hotel from someone who would never have sought it out on his own…
The basic premise is kind of cool. Mostly taking place in Hell, it centers around Charlie Morningstar, the daughter of Lucifer, who opens the Happy Hotel in hopes of giving the damned a chance to redeem themselves. The idea is for this to be an alternative to the extermination of souls, which Heaven currently employs to keep Hell from getting overcrowded. However, building an entire season (let alone two) around such a premise without being rote is a challenge the show struggles with.
In terms of the animation and character design, I was reminded of a few shows my daughters used to enjoy, like The Powerpuff Girls and Teen Titans GO. I suspect VivziePop probably grew up on them, too. These characters are generally defined by exaggerated appearances and vivid colors (primarily red). Though elaborately drawn, they ultimately look like the products of the artists’ influences.
Too often, the show bombards the viewer with an obnoxiously hyperactive tone. It's also continuously and abrasively loud, with a lot of characters yelling. Of course, this style is typical of many modern cartoons, but for some viewers (like yours truly) the overall effect grows numbing pretty quickly.
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| "Ooh...I thought I paid that." |
On the other hand, Hazbin Hotel is admirably inclusive and features several LBGTQ+ characters. Any TV show that can potentially have far-right mouthbreathers crying “woke!” can’t be all bad.
It is also a musical, with two numbers per episode. This is the neatest aspect of the show. Some of the songs are wonderful - sometimes wonderfully raunchy - and nicely fit within the narrative of the episodes in which they appear. I especially enjoyed the numbers that sound almost Disneyesque (at least until you hear the lyrics).
As with anything created for the niche crowd, results may vary. I’m content never to watch it again, but am also not the show’s intended audience and many of my criticisms would be considered virtues by those who go in for this sort of thing. For them, this two-disc set is probably worth grabbing. Fans who’ve enjoyed it on Amazon might consider it as well, since it boasts a great Blu-ray transfer and includes a couple of physical goodies.
EXTRA KIBBLES
AUDIO COMMENTARIES - For all eight episodes.
MINI POSTER
TRADING CARD
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