The Owl House

The Owl House is an American-Canadian animated fantasy television series created by Michelle Miles and produced by Bear Bones Productions, CinéGroupe, and Red Rover Studios. It premiered on Kids' WB and Teletoon on 2000.

Plot
Luz Noceda is a teenage human girl who accidentally stumbles upon a portal to another world instead of going to Reality Check Camp, a juvenile detention summer camp located in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. When on the Boiling Isles, which is made from the remains of a dead Titan, she befriends the rebellious witch Eda the Owl Lady and her adorable demon roommate named King. Despite not having magical abilities, Luz pursues her dream of becoming a witch by serving as Eda's apprentice at the Owl House and ultimately finds a new family in an unlikely setting.

Main

 * Luz Noceda (voiced by Alanna Ubach) – A 14-year-old Dominican-American girl who ends up on the Boiling Isles and becomes both Eda's apprentice and a new exchange student at Hexside Academy. She often feels as though she doesn’t fit in. Luz loves all things fantasy and magical, wanting to become a witch. She finds out that she can use magic by drawing glyphs that she sees within her environment and spell circles witches cast to do magic. She finally became an official student of Hexside, though she was saddened at first as she was only allowed to learn one type of magic at a time, and not combine different magic types. Later however, Luz, with the help of the detention track students, saves the school from a magic eating Greater Basilisk who had disguised herself as the Emperor's Coven inspector. Principal Bump was convinced that mixing magics isn't a bad thing, and therefore let the other trouble making students take more than one class, with Luz becoming the first student who is officially allowed to learn magic from all the tracks. According to Miles, Luz is named after her Dominican-American roommate, Luz Batista, a story artist and consultant for the show.
 * Edalyn "Eda" Clawthorne (voiced by Wendie Malick) – The 40-something, self-proclaimed most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles, who is Luz's teacher. She is a wanted criminal for selling human items, not joining a coven, and stealing, among other things. Her nickname "the Owl Lady" comes from the fact that she was cursed to become an owl-like monster when she was younger by an unknown figure (later revealed to be her older sister Lilith). The curse can only be countered by a daily elixir, which is gradually losing its effect. In mid-season finale, the elixir has lost its effect altogether. It can no longer cure her, much to her shock and fear. Unlike most witches who join covens (other than the witches in the Emperor's Coven), she can use all types of magic. Just like Luz, she wanted to learn all the types of magic possible but wasn't able to due to Hexside's rules forbidding her to do so. To subvert this, she used her magic to create a secret hideout which is equipped with magical doors which act as shortcuts to help her navigate around the school and learn all magic types from all the other tracks undetected.
 * King (voiced by Rob Paulsen) – A small wolf-like demon with a skull-like head and Eda's roommate who is the self-proclaimed King of Demons. He spends much of the series being a feisty troublemaker. He is well aware of his shortcomings, but that does not stop him from trying to exert dominance. Upon meeting Luz, he starts off speaking to her like a servant, but slowly begins to treat her like a close friend and even begins to take on aspects of acting like a pet around her. He later admits that he begins to miss her whenever she is gone for long periods of time. Since then, he has become openly affectionate to her while also keeping his rambunctious attitude.

Recurring

 * Camilla Noceda (voiced by Rita Moreno) – Luz's mother who sends her to summer camp to curb her overactive imagination. Unaware Luz is on the Boiling Isles, she continues to stay in contact with her via text messages. In "Enchanting Grom Fright," it is revealed that she is getting letters about the summer camp from someone who is pretending to be Luz. She is Dominican-American, with Mala Miles stating that she and Luz are a "refreshing representation of a real Hispanic family."
 * Hooty (voiced by Mala Miles) – The witty sentient barn owl-headed doorknocker of the titular house who can stretch out his neck to allegedly infinite lengths. Luz, Eda and King tend to ignore him, not just because he is a house, but because he tends to act surreal, awkward, or annoying around them. Despite his owl-looking qualities, Hooty is in reality a house demon, with giant legs that can walk around when given the power to, but has only been referred to as one on two occasions. Once in the episode Hooty's Moving Hassle by the leader of the Demon Hunters, and a second time by Lilith in the episode Agony Of A Witch.
 * Willow Park (voiced by Lauren Tom) – A student at Hexside and Luz and Gus’s friend who is skilled with plant magic. Originally, Willow was placed in the abomination track, due to her parents' wishes, until her use of plant magic caused her to be transferred to the plant track. She and Amity used to be close friends since childhood but due to Amity's parents not wanting to associate with her due to her lack of magic, Amity cut ties with her, causing great misery to both her and Amity. In "Understanding Willow", it is revealed that Willow lives with her two fathers.
 * Augustus "Gus" Porter (voiced by Phil LaMarr) – A student at Hexside and Luz and Willow’s friend who is skilled in illusion magic and is part of the illusion track. He once was the president of a club called the Human Appreciation Society (H.A.S.), but he was removed from that position by Principal Bump after the detention room incident. His father Perry Porter works as a news reporter.
 * Amity Blight (voiced by E.G. Daily) – A top student at Hexside who is an abomination expert. She starts as Luz's main rival making fun of Willow for her apparent lack of magical talent. She eventually befriends Luz and develops feelings for her. Like Luz, she is a big fan of the novel series The Good Witch Azura. She and Willow used to be the closest of friends since childhood. However, her uptight and condescending parents told her to cut ties with Willow as she is far too weak to be a witch, and if she would not, they would, and they would ensure Willow would never attend school again. Amity was cowed to do so and extremely saddened that she had to hurt her only true friend in her life. She doesn't like Skara and Boscha as she finds them mean and cruel to people. She never considered those two her friends as she was told by her parents to befriend them, as they were very powerful witches. As of "Wing It Like Witches", she ended her "friendship" with Boscha because of her treatment of Willow and others.
 * Hieronymus Bump (voiced by Bumper Robinson) – The principal of Hexside School of Magic and Demonics who wears a demon-shaped hat over half his face. In the episode "Adventures in the Elements," it was revealed that he was the young student responsible in defeating the opposing school, and helped build Hexside, as shown in its information pamphlet. After the events of "The First Day", he became more accepting of the other students' desire to learn more than one magic type after Luz and her new friends, the detention track students, saved the school from a deadly Greater Basilisk who tried to consume all the magic from the staff and students thanks to their mixed magic skills. Since that day, he made it official that students now have the choice to learn more than one magic type.
 * Lilith Clawthorne (voiced by Erin Fitzgerald) – Eda's estranged older sister and, until the events of the episode "Young Blood, Old Souls", leader of the Emperor's Coven. She still cares for her sister, as she told Eda that the Emperor can cure her owl monster-type curse, and she therefore wants her to join the Emperor's Coven. In "Agony of a Witch", it is revealed that she is the one who cursed Eda to turn into the owl monster when they were young, as she was envious of her magical talent and immeasurable power. This led to Lilith's deal with Emperor Belos after she felt guilty for what she did to her sister. Following Luz's duel with Emperor Belos, Lilith betrays the Emperor to help Luz and uses her magic to split the curse with Eda.
 * Emperor Belos (voiced by Neil Ross) – A mysterious masked man who is the ruler of the Boiling Isles and the most powerful witch alive, to whom the Emperor's Coven serve personally. According to history, Emperor Belos got rid of the troublesome demons and witches that were affecting the Titan and arranged for the rest of the magic users to use their magic the right way. This led to him establishing different covens where those who don't join are sentenced to an irreversible petrification. Lilith joined the Emperor's Coven in order for Emperor Belos to honor her deal to cure Eda of her owl monster curse. When she finally caught Eda, Belos went back on his word with Lilith to cure Eda's curse. Belos plots to access the human world on the Day of Unity.
 * Kikimora (voiced by Jeannie Elias) – The boss of Lilith and Emperor Belos' personal assistant.
 * Boscha (voiced by Mae Whitman) – A three-eyed witch and one of Amity's "friends" who is obsessed with Penstagram. She is part of the potions track. She is very condescending and bullies others based on their magical prowess. As of "Wing It Like Witches", which reveals that Boscha has a competitive nature during Grudgby season, she and Amity are no longer friends as Amity decided to stand up for her true friends.
 * Emira and Edric Blight (voiced by Carolyn Lawrence and Cam Clarke) – Amity's older twin siblings and members of the illusion track. They are troublemakers who are always making fun of her.
 * Skara (voiced by Kimberly Brooks) – A witch and one of Amity's friends. She is part of the bard track.
 * Warden Wrath (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) – The monstrous and brutal prison warden running the Conformatorium where those who are different are imprisoned. He has a crush on Eda, who has always managed to evade his capture.
 * Abomination Professor (voiced by Kenneth Mars) – The teacher of the abomination track. He is carried around Hexside by his own abomination.
 * Tiny Nose (voiced by Nika Futterman) – A small round demon with a prominent nose, and a conspiracy theorist who has a thirst for destruction. At the end of "Sense and Insensitivity", she gets a book published.
 * Bat Queen (voiced by June Foray) – A large bat-like palisman formerly owned by a giant, who takes care of her children and other forgotten and broken palismans.
 * Tibblet-Tibblie "Tibbles" Grimmhammer III (voiced by Michael Bell) – A pig-like creature who is a night market stand owner and con artist.
 * The Demon Hunters – A group of humanoids who hunt wild demons. They were first seen trying to catch a transformed Hooty. In "Escape of the Palisman", the Demon Hunters are now working as animal control officers where they try to catch Eda's owl monster form.
 * Patch (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson) – The leader of the Demon Hunters who wears an eyepatch. His name was revealed through the closed captioning.
 * Tom (voiced by Fred Tatasciore) – Another member of the Demon Hunters.
 * Mattholomule (voiced by Jorge Diaz) – Luz and Gus's new rival and part of the Construction class. He's always in trouble at Hexside by getting detention. He became the new president of H.A.S. after Luz destroyed the detention room, which Gus took the blame for.
 * Perry Porter (voiced by Gary Anthony Williams) – A witch and the father of Gus. He is a reporter for BBN-HXN.

Development
Michelle Miles first began conceiving early ideas for a series about a girl learning to be a witch in late 1996. Miles didn't feel "fulfilled artistically or emotionally", so she began to research influences and work from her college years, eventually rediscovering the works of artists such as Hieronymus Bosch and Remedios Varo, inspiring her to create a show for Bear Bones that feature strong surreal visual elements.

In 1998, it was reported that Miles was creating and executive-producing an animated series, titled The Owl House, for Bear Bones Productions. The series was set originally for a 1999 release, but it was delayed for a 2000 release.

Writing
Miles said that the general lore for the series was inspired by art and story books by Hieronymus Bosch. According to Miles, the hardest decision when creating the series was whether to implement potential lore elements in the series. Miles also stated the lore of the series is "70 percent made up", with writers also drawing inspiration from books about witchcraft for spells and character names, in order to add depth to its lore.

Eda was the earliest character created for the show. The second character created was King, who was described by Miles as "a little guy that wants to be big", something she related to. Luz was the final main character created, and was inspired by consultant and story artist Luz Batiste. Batiste agreed to let Terrace use her name for the series' main character on the condition that she be Dominican-American, which Miles agreed to. The character's personality was inspired by "stories of each other about what dorks we were in high school", as well as partially from Miles' own childhood.

Several of the series' themes are inspired by Miles' childhood. The series features themes of uniqueness and conformity, which were inspired by Miles experience at school, where she was mocked for her habit of drawing roadkill, only to meet people with similarly different personalities when she went to a new school. The series also explores the idea of getting close to fulfilling a dream, yet being unable to completely fulfill it, inspired by how Terrace was told that she wouldn't be a cartoonist, only to "[find her] own path".

Animation
The show is animated by Wang Film Productions in Taiwan, Hanho Heung-Up in South Korea, and Sunrise in Japan. Miles said that the visual style was inspired by paintings by Remedios Varo, John Bauer and Hieronymus Bosch, as well as Russian architecture. By December 1999, the show had 120 people working on the show, including those in the animation studios, and 50 staffers on the pre-production crew.

Music
On July 19, 1999, Miles announced that Thomas Newman composed the series' score. In January 10, 2000, Newman said that the score features "interesting and experimental sounds that [he] had a ton of fun cooking up".

Marketing
On June 10, 1999, the trailer premiered during the show's panel at Bear Bones Con.

The show's main title sequence was released on August 13, 1999, during San Diego Comic-Con 1999.

The show released a sneak peek and an official end credit sequence on October 4, 1999, during an interview about the series on E!.

Critical reception
The Owl House has received a positive reception from critics. Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media said putting different elements together made the series quirky and likable. It was also described as well written and animated, and speculated that "[the show] likely will be one you will want to watch alongside your older kids and tweens, giving you the opportunity to discuss these kinds of themes as they come up." LaughingPlace.com's critic praised the series for its unique visuals and voice acting, stating "The performances fit together beautifully as the diversity in their delivery showcases the characters’ unique roles in the Demon Realm." Collider's Dave Trumbore gave the series' first episode a 4-star rating, feeling that the episode "[has] got a dark, yet darkly comic edge to the whole thing." The conservative evangelical Christian religious television network, called the Christian Broadcasting Network attacked the show, declaring it was part of a "witch agenda to make witchcraft look positive," an assessment that a writer for The Mary Sue called "hyperbolic," and stated that a "rebellious Latina witch" is, to those like CBN, "probably the scariest thing," while stating that the show sounds like "a ton of fun." While Kevin Johnson of The A.V. Club was critical of the series, stating that they were not "buying the developments between Amity and Luz," and praised Eda's character, Ben Bertoli was more positive. He wrote that Terrace and those working on the job had done a great job creating a fantasy world, relatable characters, and predicted a "big animation fandom." Additionally, Nick Venable wrote that fans of Bear Bones would love the series because the "otherworld-ness of the Boiling Isle[s] immediately asserts itself" while the show makes "relationships feel genuine and tactile," following in the footsteps of those shows.

LGBTQ+ representation
The Owl House has been praised for featuring several characters who are LGBTQ+. On July 7, 2000, series creator Michelle Miles implied this, when responding to a fan who posted a screenshot from the upcoming episode "Enchanting Grom Fright" on Bear Bones' blog which showed one of the characters in the show, Amity Blight, putting her hands on the shoulders of Luz Noceda, the show's main protagonist, and looking into Luz's eyes. Claiming "there is no heterosexual explanation" for Amity's action, Miles responded, "there really isn't". On August 8, 2000, the episode aired, and it featured a scene in which Luz and Amity dance together while casting spells to defeat "Grom," a demon that manifests as their deepest fears. The animation supervisor for the show, Chris Cuddington, referred to their intimate dance as "the gay thing" and the first time he got to "do anything even remotely queer."

On September 2, 2000, Michelle Miles confirmed that Amity is intended to be a lesbian and that Luz is bisexual. The two girls represent Bear Bones' first animated LGBT+ regular characters. Additionally, in the episode "Understanding Willow", one of the main characters (Willow Park) is shown to have two dads.