A Devilishly Good Show
Hulu’s Little Demon is a dark yet funny animated series about the spawn of Satan
Disney is known for their kid-friendly, family-oriented cartoons, from their animated features to series starring Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Winnie the Pooh. This has changed, however, with Disney’s acquisition of Hulu and 20th Century Studios four years ago–this brought more adult cartoons like The Simpsons, Archer, and Family Guy into the Disney franchise family. The popularity of these adult animated series meant that it was only a matter of time before Disney created their own cartoon for adults, and the result is less Ducktales and more Tales from the Crypt.
Little Demon, which was released on Hulu under Disney’s FX imprint, marks the first original adult animated series for Disney. Created by three writers who used to work at Comedy Central and executive produced by Dan Harmon (who created Rick and Morty), Little Demon is a story about the daughter of Satan trying to live a normal suburban teenage life while being tempted by her father to embrace her dark side. Though this series is very adult with, naturally, every sin imaginable on display, it is very enjoyable for any fan of dark comedy.
The show revolves around 13-year-old Crissy, voiced by Lucy DeVito in her breakout role. After years of being raised by her single mother Laura (Aubry Plaza), Crissy starts gaining strange occult powers. She then meets her father Satan (Danny DeVito) and learns that she is supposed to be the Antichrist. While Satan tries to win both custody and Crissy’s soul, Crissy fights her darker impulses and tries her best to be a normal seventh-grader.
Comedy legend Danny DeVito is perfect as the gruff but charming father and lord of darkness, and the chemistry is natural between him and his real-life daughter Lucy. The writing of the show is very quick and funny but also very dark. Take the opening scene of the series: a young version of Crissy’s pregnant mother gives birth to her Antichrist daughter while running through the woods, hammer in hand to crush the baby’s skull so it does not bring the apocalypse. The scene is shocking and bloody. A few minutes later, 13-year-old Crissy explodes two bullies at her new school, and the scene is as graphic as any Saw film. Still, the remarks made by the characters are funny, with sinister statements and horrific violence mixing perfectly with the drama of the average middle school girl.
Beware: despite being a Disney product, this show is definitely not for kids. Its explicit content includes cursing, sexual jokes and references, nudity, violence, gore, and of course making fun of religion. However, an older teen or adult who is a fan of Helluva Boss or Rick and Morty will really enjoy the show’s humor and dark twists. While not for everyone, those who can handle darker themes should definitely check out Little Demon.