Little Demon summons big laughs in series premiere

At last, my followers, the time is right. The full moon turns red, the witching hour strikes three, and we have just enough chalk for the summoning circle. With a drop of blood, the gateway opens. What will spring forward to haunt the mortal realm? Why, it’s Little Demon, the latest animated adult cartoon airing on FX and streaming on Hulu now. Created by Darcy Fowler, Seth Kirschner, and Kieran Valla, Little Demon features the voice talents of Aubrey Plaza, Lucy DeVito, and Danny Devito. But before we pledge our eternal loyalty, let’s see if Little Demon is truly worthy of worship.

Little Demon follows the story of Chrissy Feinberg Lucy DeVita), who has recently discovered she is the antichrist. As such, she has a lot of obstacles ahead of her, including her blossoming powers, tensions between her parents, and all sorts of people hoping to nip a growing devil in the beelzebub.

The first two episodes of Little Demon have the story beats you might expect. These are coming-of-age tales first and foremost, but with a comedic supernatural angle. Some viewers might roll their eyes in the first episode as Chrissy arrives for her first day of high school; I know I did when I saw the typical high school archetypes arrayed everywhere; bullies, popular girls, nerds, etc. However, so far the high school aspect doesn’t play that big a role. Similar to Rick and Morty, the focus is really on the main core cast, and the townsfolk and schoolmates are more props who help the story along or contribute the occasional quick joke.

Speaking of the jokes, they are pretty alright! There are a lot of very quick quips; a line or visual gag delivered fast just at the start or end of a scene. Because of their speed and absurdity, they often got a laugh out of me. The show also has its fair share of dirty humor and wordplay; you get a good variety of jokes here, and the batting average is pretty high.

The animation on Little Demon is lacking

Moving on to the animation and overall style, there are some pros and cons. I found the human characters bland and a little hard to look at. The style works a lot better once we enter the supernatural realm and we see the monsters and beings that dwell there. The action sequences move smoothly, however I felt as though the animation struggled to match with the vocal performances of the cast, particularly Aubrey Plaza’s. There was a disconnect between the voice and the movement. That’s a problem I saw with other characters too. Not jarringly bad, mind you, but noticeable.

That said, I like the characters, and I think the cast did a good job bringing them life. Chrissy is an enjoyable protagonist. Bring the spawn of Satan (Danny DeVito), she’s capable of raising hell, but as a human child, she has a conscience and a sense of idealism. The second episode, “Possession Obsession,” puts this conflict in the spotlight, and I’m looking forward to seeing it develop as the show goes along.

Plaza, who plays Chrissy’s mother Laura, is great; sounded both badass and jaded. And Danny  DeVito makes for a wonderfully foul-mouthed yet lovable father of lies. The minor cast also does a good job in their roles, with Eugene Cordero playing the geekish best friend Bennigan and Lennon Parham as the extraordinarily accepting and helpful neighbor Darlene.

And those are my thoughts on Little Demon’s series premiere. Overall, a good start. The stories are fun, the jokes are good, and I see a lot of potential as the show finds its footing.

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