^{Credit: Haunted Hotel (Netflix)} 

When I heard the title Haunted Hotel, I assumed it was Netflix’s answer to Hazbin Hotel. The two have demonic hotels in common (duh). Keith David lends his voice to both shows, but he only pops up in the pilot of this one. Beyond these surface-level details, Haunted Hotel is a much different adult-oriented cartoon. For starters, it’s not a musical, although one of the characters covers a KPop Demon Hunters song in a YouTube exclusive. You gotta love that Netflix synergy! 

Tonally, Haunted Hotel plays more like Ghosts meets Rick and Morty. Makes sense, as creator Matt Roller was a writer and story editor on Rick and Morty’s second season. Harmonious Claptrap is also one of the show’s production companies. As for the Ghosts comparison, Roller’s show similarly centers on ordinary people managing a hotel that just so happens to be a supernatural hotspot. More than one major character can see and hear the ghosts in Haunted Hotel, however. While the ghosts can’t leave the property boundaries, their existence is an open secret to all those who check in. 

Of course, high-strung owner Katherine (Eliza Coupe) doesn’t get many guests - at least not of the living variety. She inherited the hotel from her brother Nate (Will Forte), who is now a ghost himself. Katherine moves in along with her two children. Despite almost being 30, Skyler Gisondo is still making a steady living playing awkward teens. He voices Katherine’s eldest Ben, who finds himself romancing a flapper girl ghost named Annabelle and a possessed diary that writes back Chamber of Secrets style. Natalie Palamides voices Katherine’s youngest Esther, whose mischievous personality is habitually drawn to the dark arts. 

Katherine has something of an unofficial third kid in Abaddon, a demon damned to walk the Earth as an 18th-century boy. He’s voiced by Jimmi Simpson, whose versatility never ceases to amaze me. There are other strange creatures, such as a sentient honeymoon suite with stalker tendencies, a slasher villain who dresses like Jason Voorhees before he adopted the hockey mask, and a Candleman whose design alone is hilariously disturbing. Like Gravity Falls, though, the charm of Haunted Hotel primarily lies in its core cast. 

The witty comedy and creepy imagery also draw parallels to Gravity Falls, although Haunted Hotel can go further with the latter, being on Netflix rather than Disney. While Haunted Hotel doesn’t have as many ongoing mysteries as Gravity Falls, there are a few looming questions. Namely, how did Ben die? The answer catches the audience off guard, marking an emotional highlight of a season that starts solid enough, but gets better as the characters develop more layers. For all the demented hijinks, Haunted Hotel is about family at its core, touching upon abandonment, grief, and new beginnings. 

At the same time, the show has a ton of fun with its premise, both in terms of writing and visuals. Titmouse supplies the animation, which is naturally packed with clever little touches. For example, whenever a ghost interacts with a solid object, they don’t merely go through it. The animators took the time to draw their spectral auroras glowing. The show also answers the age-old question, “Why can ghosts walk through walls, but they don’t fall through floors?” It’s just one of the many inventive ideas that lend to this premise, which will thankfully be expanded upon in a second season. 

That said, some elements could be improved upon in Season 2. While the supporting ghosts that occupy the hotel are funny, most of them are one-note, which can get old fast if they aren’t fleshed out. The hotel’s lack of living guests can feel like a missed opportunity, although there are some memorable visitors like a demonic cult, a couple of ghost hunters, and the disgruntled Aunt Rose. As creative as Haunted Hotel is, there is a sense of familiarity if you’ve seen Rick and Morty, Gravity Falls, and some of the other aforementioned shows. By the season finale, though, the series comes into its own, giving me hope there’s still plenty of life left in this haunted hotel. 

Nick Spake is the Author of Bright & Shiny: A History of Animation at Award Shows Volumes 1 and 2. Available Now!