Hazbin Hotel Season 1 Review

TV & Film

Mar 30

If any animated show is sweeping the wider pop culture landscape, it is "Hazbin Hotel." Once an online crowdfunded YouTube pilot made by creative Vivienne Medrano aka ''Vivzepop’, the show was picked up by A24 Studios and produced into a full series now airing on Amazon Prime. So, how did this series fare? Did it reach the heights of heaven, or did it truly descend into hell?

"Hazbin Hotel" is the story of Charlie, the Princess of Hell, who opens up a hotel in hell in order to redeem the souls of sinners so they can go to heaven and thus deal with the overpopulation issue hell faces. With her friends Angel Dust, Serpentious Husk, Nifty, Alastor, and girlfriend Vaggie, they try to find a way to seek redemption and create close bonds along the journey. The series gives off the vibe of a Disney renaissance film but in hell, with Charlie playing the role of a Disney princess and her subjects being horrible demons, which creates an interesting juxtaposition as the series unfolds.

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The show does an interesting job of subverting what many know about the usual mythology of heaven and hell, playing off expectations while adding its own unique twists. The series focuses on deep themes of redemption and what it means to be better even in the afterlife of hell, really questioning what it means to even have an afterlife in the first place.

One of the brightest spots of the series is, of course, its characters, many of whom are quite well-rounded and always have a presence thanks to the amazing voice actors who play them. During the series, we begin to peel away the layers of the characters, seeing deeper and more complex sides to them beyond how they are introduced. They all play off each other very well, and each has a unique dynamic with the others, a highlight being of course the mysterious Alastor voiced by Amir Talai who gives quite a sophisticated and unique voice to the Radio Demon.

Beyond the characters, the show shines with its musical numbers, each one sung by the great voice actors of the cast. This series is also a musical, with each episode containing at least one or two songs sung by the magnificent singers of the series. Each song gives off the vibes of a Broadway musical akin to Disney films of the Renaissance era.

If there is one criticism of "Hazbin Hotel," it is that the small number of episodes in Season 1 is not enough time to fully develop the story. With Season 1 only 9 episodes long, certain parts of the story fly by, and not every character has time to breathe and reflect on things outside the main plot. This made for a fun yet extremely rushed first season.

Overall, "Hazbin Hotel"'s first season is very much a success and has a lot of great potential moving forward. Vivziepop and her crew at A24 should be proud of what they made, and it is a great boon for the independent animation industry as a whole. Hopefully, more and longer seasons can come with Season 2 already in the works.

Final Score: 8/10

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