The Daily Stream: The Owl House Is A Story That Loves Stories
(Welcome to The Daily Stream, an ongoing series in which the /Film team shares what they've been watching, why it's worth checking out, and where you can stream it.)
The Series: "The Owl House"
Where You Can Stream It: Disney+, DisneyNow, YouTube
The Pitch: Do you like "Halloween Town"? Of course you do, you're clearly a connoisseur of quality cinema. Now, imagine if "Halloween Town" was written by one of those fan-fiction authors who crams every crevice of their story with the kind of detail that would make even J. R. R. Tolkien drool. Now, stop imagining "Halloween Town" because, frankly, you've been holding onto that franchise for too long. It's time to let go. Instead, turn your mind to "The Owl House," an animated series created by Dana Terrace. The story follows Luz Noceda (Sarah Nichole-Robles) after she stumbles into the Demon Realm, a dimension apart from our own that's inhabited by magic and monsters.
Although Luz is trapped on the Boiling Isles, an archipelago fashioned from the decaying remains of a titanic cryptid, and stuck living with Eda Clawthorne (Wendie Malick), a booze-addled witch under the thrall of a vicious curse, she finds herself falling in love with her new world and her new neighbors. Well, most of it, and most of them. Let me explain.
Why it's essential viewing
For media that was marketed to children (past tense intentional, we'll get to that later), "The Owl House" showcases an impressive depth of characters. There's King (Alex Hirsch), a younger version of the same near-cosmic cryptid that the Boiling Isles are literally made of, who lives with Eda and Luz in the titular Owl House. Speaking of, Hooty lives there, too. I, uh, won't be explaining him. I don't think I can. I don't think I should. Anyway, both Eda and Luz come packaged with family trauma. For Luz, it's her overprotective mother. For Eda, it's her sister who works for a government that criminalized Eda's every manner of living. Oh, and she might have had something to do with Eda's curse, which transforms her into a giant owl monster. See? The title makes sense.
Apart from them, there's Emperor Belos (Matthew Rhys), a tyrannical ruler set on controlling all the magic in the Demon Realm. When summarizing his backstory, imagine if the book version of Howl from "Howl's Moving Castle" was evil. There are also the students of Hexside (more on that later, too), like Willow Park (Tati Gabrielle) and Gus Porter (Isaac Ryan Brown), who befriend Luz even though she can't perform magic as they can. And what teen fantasy drama would be complete without some rivals? Enter Amity Blight (Mae Whitman), Luz' rival-turned-spoiler-warning-but-it's-too-late-now-girlfriend, and Hunter (Zeno Robinson), Belos' Golden Guard. For him, imagine if Zuko died ... many, many times in the service of his father, Fire Lord Ozai.
We're just scratching the surface, here. "The Owl House" is a complex, character-driven narrative that is made all the more interesting by how it reflects stories that have come before. And, with that, it's time to get nerdy.
A story that loves stories
"The Owl House" is a series that's unafraid to wear its inspiration on its sleeve. There are the obvious links, such as how Luz attends Hexside School of Magic and Demonics (which would be an obvious pull from "Harry Potter" even without Grudgby and Flyer Derby, two magical sports that spend more than a little time ragging on Quidditch), but there are also some more subtle pulls, like how at least one person in the art department is a massive "Digimon" fan. The picture above the slide is from season three, episode two, "For The Future." See the figure with the obscured mouth and the sun-and-star-themed wizard attire? Tell me that's not Wizardmon. There's also a poster in season two, episode thirteen, "Any Sport in a Storm," that blatantly depicts some of the original Digidestined as a Flyer Derby team.
Then there are examples of popular media that "The Owl House" weaves into the narrative and aesthetic fabric. Consider "Hollow Knight," which features anthropomorphic insectoid imagery (compare it to Emperor Belos' armor, as well as the armor worn by his soldiers) and significant themes of unnatural control (once again ... look to our boy, Belos). Also consider "She-Ra and the Princesses of Power," which features one of modern media's greatest enemies to lovers arcs. Luz and Amity aren't dead ringers for Adora and Catra, but they're pretty damn close. If I had to pinpoint the strongest influences on "The Owl House," it would be these two pieces of media. From art style to story content, you can feel them in Dana Terrace's work, and you can feel the respect for their origins, too.
In other words, "The Owl House" is a story made by a lover of stories. It's Tumblr given life.
What could have been
I was only ten years old when "Firefly" got canceled. At the time, science fiction lay outside my realm of interest, so its cancellation didn't impact me, and yet I vividly remember it affecting everyone else. In a word? The fan response felt ... biblical. There was wailing and gnashing of teeth. The whole thing was an Ordeal with a capital "O." And, sure, we could go on a tangent about all the reasons that's an uncomfortable thought in the year of our lord 2023 but we're not here to talk about Joss Whedon's revolting antics. I mention "Firefly" because that sense of heightened distress is distressingly similar to my initial reaction to "The Owl House" being canceled.
It's an open secret that Disney does not play kindly with media featuring LGBTQIA+ representation but, while "The Owl House" notably stars a bisexual character, Dana Terrace believes that Disney wanted to focus on less serialized content. By the way, that doesn't mean that Disney dislikes episodic television, that means that Disney dislikes episodic television with a connected storyline. So, you know, like "Avatar: The Last Airbender."
instead of receiving all the seasons that it deserves (present tense intentional), and in a move that once again merits the "Firefly" comparison, Disney begrudgingly offered "The Owl House" a severely truncated third season to tie up its plot. As of this writing, two of the three episodes have been released. Both of these episodes showcase montages and nods to story elements that were cut or otherwise condensed to make time for something adjacent to a satisfying conclusion. And now I'm gnashing my teeth, again.
If you have the chance, give "The Owl House," this wondrous feat of word building and character development, some love. You deserve it in your life.