It's been a while since I wrote a blog post, so here's a post about a cool cartoon I like, The Owl House.
The Owl House was created by Dana Terrace. It follows Luz, a human girl who enters a portal to a world of magic and demons. There she attends school with the intention of becoming a witch and eventually trying to get back home.
Now, that's a very simplified summary. Though the "teenager goes to magic school" thing is a pretty standard foundation for a show aimed at teens and young adults, The Owl House has much more going on. This show offers a lot of fun and in depth exploration of both its characters and the world they inhabit. There are people in the animation industry, for both shows and films, who are making a difference with the kind of stories they tell. Let's take a look at some examples of how.
Dark magic
Right off the bat The Owl House has been accused of promoting witchcraft and Satanism, but seeing as Gravity falls faced a similar response, it feels like that might almost work as a seal of approval.
I know dark themes and imagery in a Disney production isn't a new concept; I'm sure Chernabog faced some pushback with his debut, but what makes this show stand out is how much it embraces the world it takes place in. The Boiling Isles, the land in which The Owl House takes place, is literally made up of the bones of a dead titan. There are strange demons wandering the streets, both loveable and disturbing. There are bizarre magical world versions of real world things, a lot of which don't meet any kind of health and safety standards whatsoever. But haven't you always just wanted to summon magical elements with glyph circles?
As long as she doesn't draw a transmutation circle...
Everything that makes up The Boiling Isles contributes to the world building of how magic works and how the the inhabitants live with, or under its power. With the existence of Witches and humans across portals to separate worlds and the imposing presence of a mysterious emperor, there's a lot for the show to explore and have fun with. This brings me to my next point.
Story telling
In the age of streaming where episodes are neatly compiled in one place, you don't need to worry as much about viewers missing significant plot details; this means more modern shows are becoming story driven with strong emotional moments. I imagine the popularity of The Last Airbender and various anime probably play into this; the former being a game changer for children's animation in terms of themes and storytelling, and the latter influencing The Owl House in its story beats, stunningly animated action sequences, and even its art style.
More story driven shows means more character development, more drama, more world building, and more heartbreak emotional investment. There's lot's of creative, sometimes creepy, fun that The Owl House offers to be enjoyed and obsessively theorised. What role do the bones of the giant titan play in the wider story and the origin of magic? Do they play any role at all? Is the golden guard a literal puppet created to be manipulated by the emperor? Is this fuzzy wuzzy demon baby connected to something catastrophic and sinister?
The king of demons!
I realise these questions sound like nothing if you haven't seen the show, but I love this stuff!
This is a terrible segway, but there's also another thing that this particular show has gained some notoriety for; it's LGBTQ+ representation.
Representation
I know calling this "pushing boundaries" is patronising, but my main point is that writers and artists still have to really fight just to get this kind of thing in their shows. A lot more shows have been making progress in that regard over the past few years, and The Owl House is a significant example.
The bond between characters Luz and Amity doesn't feel slapped on, because you see their interactions as a developing relationship. Amity is first introduced as a kind of bully character, but throughout the show we learn more about her situation and why she behaves that way without sweeping it under the rug. She is a well written character who wants to do better, so she does, and in the process grows closer with Luz and her new friends. She's a significant character in the show and isn't just mentioned in passing.
Time is taken to focus on Amity and Luz navigating their new relationship as well; moments that can't be as easily brushed over or edited to make it seem like they're just really good friends. Obviously censorship is a whole other complex topic, but if kids out there know that the "true" versions exists, I can only hope that it provides some kind of comfort for them. Luz and Amity are a canonical couple, one lesbian and one bisexual, and I know that means so much to a lot of people. This includes Amity's voice actress, Mae Whitman, who recently came out as pansexual and has praised the show for providing representation that she didn't have growing up. With Dana Terrace being bi, and writer Molly Ostertag being gay, it's not wonder this show pushed so much for decent representation.
Another character worth mentioning is Raine Whispers, the non binary head witch of the bard coven. They are played by Avi Roque, a trans nonbinary latine actor, so there's a lot of good representation there too. Raine has only appeared in one episode so far, but they are sure to appear in more after having a bit of a reunion with one of the shows main characters. Also, they use a violin to create melee attacks and I just think they're cool.
Unfortunately, The Owl House will only get three seasons, with it's third being made up of three 44 minute specials, but I'm still looking forward to whatever emotional dark magic shenanigans it brings.
