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 Dominican-American human girl from Gravesfield, Connecticut who accidentally stumbles upon a portal to another world instead of going to a juvenile detention summer camp. She arrives on an archipelago known as the Boiling Isles, formed from the remains of a dead Titan, and befriends the rebellious witch Eda Clawthorne (alias "The Owl Lady") and her adorable demon roommate 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.

The second season, directly following the events of the first season finale, follows the main protagonists working together to return Luz to the Human Realm, help Eda confront her curse, and search for the truth about King's past while contending with the tyrannical Emperor Belos and his minions.

Characters

 * Alanna Ubach as Luz Noceda
 * Wendie Malick as Eda Clawthorne
 * Frank Welker as King and Hooty
 * Lauren Tom as Willow Park
 * Phil LaMarr as Gus Porter
 * Elizabeth Daily as Amity Blight
 * Erin Fitzgerald as Lilith Clawthorne
 * Neil Ross as Emperor Belos
 * Max Casella as Hunter

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 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 Varga Studio in Hungary. 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.