The Owl House Creators Talk Creepy Prior To January 10 Premiere
From the sounds of it, if you like Gravity Falls, Steven Universe, or the DuckTales reboot, you’re going to like The Owl House.
From Pinnochio’s nightmarish equine transformations on Pleasure Island to the clown with the tearaway face from the Nightmare Before Christmas, Disney animation has never been afraid to express a spooky side. The latest Disney channel original series, The Owl House, continues that trend for a modern audience with a demonic twist.
Creator Dana Terrace worked on Gravity Falls and the new DuckTales reboot before trying to devise her own series. “I was at an old job where I wasn’t feeling quite fulfilled artistically or emotionally, and I wanted to create my own thing,” Terrace told Newsweek back in October.
Spending eight years growing up in Catholic school, Terrace developed an affinity for classic religious painters like John Bauer and Hieronymus Bosch, whose twisted takes on angels and demons would make for a “cool show in that art style.”
“I was exorcising some demons by working from them,” Terrace said.
Yeesh. Sounds creepy. But, hey, I like creepy. I enjoyed Scooby Do, Jonny Quest — B grade horror — you name it. So, for me, The Owl House sounds great.
Hooty Hirsch
Even greater is Gravity Falls showrunner Alex Hirsch (who plays Hooty, the Owl Lady’s house) talking about the new show.
“She wanted to pick my brain in the early days of the series when the original pitch was ‘girl hangs out with witch in hell,'” Hirsch said.”I feel like Owl House is bringing back a world where you can laugh but also be grossed out and maybe a little scared.”
Gravity Falls, which included its own mythos of cryptids and omnipresent triangle tricksters, has a “number of characters” that would get along with the cast of The Owl House Hirsch said. “If Disney ever asked for a Flintstones meets the Jetsons with these two shows, I’d pick up the phone.”
Hirsch feels that The Owl House harkens back to the days of Aaahh!!! Real Monsters and Courage the Cowardly Dog, when animated television wasn’t afraid to get eerie.
So, join me on the couch on January 10.
But keep the light on, please…