Pleasantly surprised by "Little Demon" on FX/Hulu

Submitted by action_lawyer_comics t3_z6kawu in television

I'm at the age where if I talk about animated shows, even adult ones, I might as well be shouting for kids to get off my lawn. But I love animation, and shows like Dragon Prince and the She-Ra reboot have been some of my favorite shows of the decade. So of course when I got Hulu and Disney+ on Black Friday discounts, I made a beeline for new animated shows.

But so far, it's been rough. Nonsensical plots, unsympathetic characters who only exist to make jokes and do bad things, and a lot of over the top blood and gore for extra "edginess." Maybe this is me showing my age, but I really miss shows like Futurama, Mission Hill, and Home Movies that managed to both be weird, funny, and occasionally gross, but also lead with characters I wanted to cheer for and get better, even if I was ready to laugh uproariously when they didn't.

So imagine my surprise when I made it past the gore and gratuitous nudity of Little Demon's first episode and found characters who were sympathetic in their own ways, making good decisions or making bad ones that I understood, and in between the off-brand Cenobytes and bloodthirsty Catholic mercenaries, there was a grounded-ish plot.

I was particularly gutted by the end of episode 2, where after spending the episode using her power of possession to try and do good and having it backfire horribly, >!she decides to not use it and allows a squirrel to die at the hands of a distracted driver!<.

If you're like me and struggling to find an adult animated show that knows the difference between shouting and emotion, you should check it out. Also, it has Danny DeVito as the devil.

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antonjakov t1_iy1vsrj wrote

i was unexpectedly moved by the portrayal of her friend’s self image about his body. male eating disorders don’t get a lot of media coverage, and it was surprisingly tastefully done amidst the absurdity

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JacksonIVXX t1_iy3tjsw wrote

Danny's daughter plays little demon and Aubrey Plaza plays her mom. It is a great show.

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Nihilblistic t1_iy2wn3c wrote

I'd say you shouldn't discount the "showing your age" bit. For me lot of mature shows have kind of devolved into "look at all the adulting happening" themes which, at least to me, are kind of sad in how self-congratulatory and self-affirming they are.

It's like a window into a bunch of writers trying to make peace with getting old, while trying to "say something" about a middle class problems they've immersed themselves in.

Just my two cents.

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Dayofsloths t1_iy39mqg wrote

I like to think I'm a fan of low brow humor, but them ending an episode chanting "peepee poopoo" did nothing for me.

It really doesn't feel like the show knows the age of the audience it's going for, are they trying to appeal to 6, 16, or 36?

If it gets good reviews, I'll give it another shot, but the couple episodes I tried didn't win me over

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xyzzyzyzzyx t1_iy4aglu wrote

The daughter is still a kid sometimes. The dad is still a kid all the time.

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action_lawyer_comics OP t1_iy619vk wrote

Yeah, I get that for sure. But I will say, they at least built up to that moment. Some of the shows I tried watching would be happy just chanting peepee poopoo for no reason. It's not a definitive recommendation, but it least has one foot in the "adult animation shows for actual grown ups," which is more than what I can say for a lot of the others I've tried.

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NamisteHome t1_iy2ym84 wrote

I loved this show! My favorite part was when they had literal actual >!Richard Kind!< in that one episode about >!the devil's bastards.!< He was one of the better supporting stars of Curb Your Enthusiasm.

When the devil unzipped himself in the first episode I was so disappointed that his "real form" didn't turn out to be just an animated Danny DeVito. Look, we all know what body that voice belongs to, you can't fool me with that bitmoji avatar. Just draw him how he actually looks and I'll be content.

Can't wait for season 2.

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sliph0588 t1_iy3erbx wrote

There is a lot of heart in this show. It also happens to be fucking hilarious. The dog episode crushed me. My oldest is getting up there and his time is coming.

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AvatarJuan t1_iy5s4cx wrote

> But so far, it's been rough. Nonsensical plots, unsympathetic characters who only exist to make jokes and do bad things, and a lot of over the top blood and gore for extra "edginess."

What shows?

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action_lawyer_comics OP t1_iy60sig wrote

Pretty much anything in the Family Guy umbrella, Paradise PD, Rick and Morty, and Solar Opposites

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AvatarJuan t1_iy63xq3 wrote

I like Bob's Burgers and The Simpsons. Also "Close Enough" (from the creator of Regular Show)

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action_lawyer_comics OP t1_iy64k39 wrote

Love Bob's Burgers and The Simpsons. I've also been watching a lot of older kids' animation like She-Ra and Kipo and loving those as well. I'll have to check out Close Enough. Thanks!

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demoran t1_iy33k1p wrote

You should really give anime a try.

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