The Owl House Season One Review

Kids shows: They’re not just for kids.

…Or at least that’s what I’ve been telling myself as I’ve made it through the hellscape that is the past year by relying on comfort television. And speaking of hellscapes, what a wonderful one Dana Terrace has created in The Owl House, which takes place in a demonic realm called the Boiling Isles, inhabited by monsters, demons, and of course witches.

It shouldn’t be a surprise this show is great. The creator also worked on the new DuckTales and Gravity Falls, and this show has the same savvy, off-kilter sense of humor mixed with adventure.

Here’s the scenario: Protagonist Luz the Human is a weirdo in our world, obsessed with fantasy novels and the internet, and biding her time at school as a social outcast. That backstory may seem tailor-made to Disney’s audience right now to the point of being patronizing, but things take a fun turn when Luz stumbles through a portal into the Boiling Isles and wants to fulfill her dream of living a Magic Girl adventure in a world where magic is fueled by bile and your mentor prefers running cons to teaching magic. It’s hopeful optimism meets lake of blood NOW ON DISNEY.

But it’s a heck of a lot of fun. The aforementioned mentor is Eda the Owl Lady, rogue witch and purveyor of junk from our world. Her cuddly companion may or may not be the King of Demons in the body of a dog with a skull on its face, and her friends make unspeakable horrors in their spare time. The collision of upbeat and unsettling makes a great basis for humor and occasionally for solid lessons about growing up and trying new things.

The show also got a lot of praise for a budding LGBTQ+ romance that is utterly charming, and refreshing to see on a Disney show, but is also one in a number of delightful moments like the one I present to you now:

The Magical Mentor we all deserve.

The Owl House has been cleared for a second season, so go watch the first immediately.

4 Hooty the Owls out of 5. Now streaming on Disney+.