‘Hazbin Hotel’s Creator Is an Inspiration for Indie Animators
The first four episodes of Hazbin Hotel have arrived on Prime Video and the response is largely positive—leading viewers to wonder where this new, imaginative, and wickedly funny adult animated series originated.
Hazbin Hotel follows the story of Charlie Morningstar (Erika Henningsen), the princess of Hell, who has the unique idea of opening a hotel to rehabilitate demons so they can get into Heaven. This rehabilitation plan would help with the issue of overpopulation in Hell and provide an alternative to Heaven’s solution, which is an annual extermination of the residents. Charlie is joined on this mission by her girlfriend, Vaggie (Stephanie Beatriz), porn star Angel Dust (Blake Roman), and the “Radio Demon” Alastor (Amir Talai); together they must contend with sinister angels and demonic rivals.
So far, audiences and critics are having a blast with Hazbin Hotel. Catchy tunes, such as “Happy Days In Hell,” are already making their way across TikTok, while audience and critic reviews gush over the raunchy humor and absurd story. Although new audiences will be curious about the show’s origins, there are many fans of the creator who have actually been waiting for this show long before Amazon and A24 ever got involved.
What you need to know about the creator of Hazbin Hotel
Vivienne Medrano, also known by her online alias VivziePop, is the creator of Hazbin Hotel. She first introduced viewers to the concept in 2019 when she uploaded a pilot episode to YouTube. Medrano first started gaining traction in 2012 when she launched the VivziePop YouTube channel and her webcomic ZooPhobia. At the time, she was studying animation at The School of Visual Arts in New York City. Shortly after graduating, she took up freelance animating and founded her own animation studio, SpindleHouse Toons.
By 2016, she had the idea for Hazbin Hotel and decided to put ZooPhobia on hiatus to delve into the project. Fortunately, from the onset, her fans were highly supportive of the idea and are credited with largely funding the pilot episode via Patreon. Once it arrived on YouTube, it was just as well-received as expected, earning high praise and inspiring swaths of fanfiction and fan art. The success even led Medrano to develop a related series, Helluva Boss, which was also uploaded to her YouTube channel. However, there were bigger things in store for Hazbin Hotel than YouTube distribution.
By 2020, A24, the award-winning studio behind Moonlight, Lady Bird, and Everything Everywhere All at Once, picked up Hazbin Hotel for an entire season. This is how, almost five years after a crowdfunded pilot appeared on YouTube, fans’ dreams came true with a full-fledged season on Prime Video. Medrano isn’t the only School of Visual Arts graduate to ink such a deal in recent years. However, what’s particularly inspirational about her story is that she took a wholly independent route to get Hazbin Hotel picked up, which is quite a feat. Not only is her series hilarious and creative, but it also helps give some much-needed recognition to indie animators.
(featured image: Prime Video)
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