Animator Vivienne Medrano (known by her handle, VivziePop) has a true rags-to-riches story on her hands with the adult animated show Hazbin Hotel. After releasing an independently produced pilot on YouTube in 2019, it racked up millions of views and a passionate enough fanbase that it got a series order from Prime Video and A24. Almost five years later, we are finally seeing the series come to fruition, and it’s as enjoyable as you could hope.
Hazbin Hotel follows the daughter of Lucifer, the princess of Hell, as she opens a hotel where she promises to offer some of the underworld’s nastiest demons a chance at redemption with the goal of reducing the overpopulation of Hell. While the episodes are more effective as individual units than a cohesive story, there is one thing that this show does not lack whatsoever: passion.
The tone of the series is a mix of manic energy and incredibly dark humor. This tone is likely to be the make-or-break factor for most viewers. Some may find it to be annoying, akin to an R-rated version of an overly hyper cartoon; others will be charmed by what feels like a (semi-)wholesome spin on ideas and genres that are generally very crude.
Hazbin Hotel is a strong expansion of this world
Granted, Hazbin Hotel is at its best when it goes all-in on the more mature themes. The best episode of the five screened for critics in advance is set in Hell’s porn industry and uses the crude premise as a stepping stone for a deeper exploration of themes of sexuality. Thankfully, even when the show goes crude with its jokes and content, it feels like it is for a substantial purpose, not just for shock value.
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So far, it seems that the structure of the show has each episode centered primarily around one character’s subplot with the rest of the characters playing supporting roles. Naturally, this leads to some episodes being more compelling than others. Many of the characters are designed to be unlikable at first and have redemption arcs in their episodes, but they could still be off-putting to some viewers nonetheless.
The voice cast of Hazbin Hotel has a nice mix of established stars, regular voice actors, and relative newcomers. The lead is played by Erika Henningsen, who is best known for her work in stage musicals, making her incredibly well-suited for the musical sequences. Also from Broadway is Blake Roman, who has one of the most enjoyable supporting turns in the cast. Other notable voice turns come from Keith David, Stephanie Beatriz, and Amir Talai.
Vivienne Medrano’s signature style is as alive as ever here, with the animator able to do even more thanks to the increased budget from backing by A24 and Amazon. The character design is obviously very creative, but the moments that stand out most artistically are the musical numbers, which have a perfect level of energy to them.
Hazbin Hotel might not be a masterpiece of adult animation, but it’s plenty enough fun to be worth the watch. Although this seems more likely to appeal to fans of the pilot than bring in new viewers, it’s worth the wait for those who enjoyed Medrano’s concept 3 years ago.
Hazbin Hotel streams on Prime Video with 4 episodes on January 19, followed by two more each week. Five out of eight episodes reviewed.
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Rating: 7/10
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