Amazon's "Hazbin Hotel"

[John Adams]

Posted: 1/21/24 at 10:36am

Huh.

Doesn’t this sound good?
        an “adult animated musical series” featuring a talented cast of voice actors, including recognized Broadway stars, Alex Brightman, Lilli Cooper, Jeremy Jordon, Christian Boyle, Daphne Rubin-Vega, James Monroe Iglehart, Darren Criss, and Patina Miller
        High praise from critical sites like rogerebert.com (a sweet, raunchy time many adults, especially musical theater nuts, will proudly enjoy), decider.com (The episodes will have you on the edge of your seat, while filling your heart with equal parts joy and angst. […] STREAM IT!!!), and an 89% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes
        a “maverick” production history, with the pilot being financed by Patreon followers, and entirely drawn by freelance animators. The 2019 pilot received over 90 million views on YouTube, but was stalled from production due to the strike. The show is currently produced by highly prestigious entertainment company A24, as well as Bento Box Entertainment, and Amazon Studios.

Doesn’t that sound pretty amazing? Obviously, your mileage may vary, but I was extremely disappointed by the first 4 of the 8 total episodes uploaded on Amazon Prime.  Here are my thoughts:
        It did not take very long to see that the moniker “adult” is not synonymous with “mature”. I found nothing about the series to contain anything an adult might find to be more intriguing, or thought provoking compared to that of a child, or adolescent. It seems pretty clear to me that the use of the word “adult” is singularly meant as a warning regarding the gratuitous use of expletives. I feel comfortable using the adjective “gratuitous” because if all the expletives were removed, nothing about the characters, or the plot would be effected. The characters’ behaviors/actions are just as bad or good whether they swear or not. Same is true regarding plot lines. The use of expletives is just there to be there.
        I find the animation difficult to watch. First, there’s the color pallet. I mean, I get that the setting is the Underworld, but there’s sooo much red/black *everywhere*…  It can be difficult (given that the animation is highly 2-dimensional and flat) to distinguish the characters from their backgrounds. As an example, look at the preview images for episodes S1E1 and S1E4. Do you find it easy to distinguish the characters’ bodies from the background? Maybe you do, but I don’t (maybe due to the size of the preview images?). I find the character designs to also be a hindrance. They are so similarly stylized that it can be difficult to distinguish a character’s face from their headgear/costume. Also, there’s an over-abundance of red valentine hearts sprinkled onto characters’ clothing/body parts. Given how similarly many of the characters are drawn, I found these valentine hearts to get in the way of identifying who was who. Too many characters sport the same valentine identifier.
        RE: the songs in this musical, I have yet to hear one that I would want to hear again. Honestly, I can’t even remember an identifying refrain, or hook from any of them. Like the expletives, I find the songs to be just “there”. (Except I can remember the expletives used.)
        The use of humor (when it’s there) is pretty pedestrian. In at least one instance (so far) it borders on being offensive. SPOILER:

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

There’s a lead character named Vaggie (rhymes with, Maggie). Another character chooses not to use her name, but instead calls her, “Vagina”. LOL, right?. Also, if you’re not paying complete attention, or know the spelling of the character’s name ahead of time, it can sound like the character’s name is “Faggy”.

I don’t really understand yet why the show is called “Hazbin” Hotel. The actual name of the hotel in the series is “Happy Hotel”. Maybe there will be an explanation after episode 4. After 4 episodes though, I don’t feel invested in any character, or the story itself (it sure is moving at a snail’s pace,,,). I don’t yet see why so many Broadway stars have leant their talents to the project, or why a second season has already been approved. So I don’t really care for the show. What about you?

PS: In contrast, there’s a show on Amazon’s Freevee (formerly IMDb) channel that I absolutely adored, but got no mention at any of this season’s TV award shows. It’s called “Primo”. Well-worth watching.

Updated On: 1/21/24 at 10:36 AM