The Hollow

As an animator I try and watch new shows as they come out, and The Hollow was no different when it showed up on my Netflix feed. As it started, I was cautious. I've seen a lot of puppet animation done poorly or just to save time, but Slap Happy really put their hearts into it, and it shows. The story mixed a lot of themes that I love, and in a way that really mimics what I wish children's programming had more of in general. The story kept me extremely interested, and even the plot points I expected kept me engaged. The sound design was also beautiful, I admire whoever put the time into the music and ambient design on that front. My only issue was the very end, it was just very abrupt and made it feel like the plot and character development was rendered nearly pointless. I still loved the show, and would love for more like it to be made, but I just wish the ending had been crafted with the same care that the rest of the series seemed to be. It's definitely worth a watch though, really. If anyone who worked on it is reading this, keep it up!

I liked it. It had the feel of a kids mystery video game where you find items and clues to use elsewhere. Seemed appropriate for a teen/tween audience. At times I felt a little bit of a (less creepy/scary) Stranger Things or Grimm Adventures vibe.

The story is perfect, and the simple art style is sweet and simple. The only problem is the humor which is quite weak. If you have Netflix I recommend this to you.

I had fun watching this, but I'd be hard-pressed to recommend this series to anyone above the age of 10.

Positives: Very good concept, reminiscent of a tabletop RPG. The mystery and action will keep you interested. There is an interesting world to discover in the Hollow. The characters are nothing special, but when they work together, they have a good dynamic.

Negatives: The dialogue is mostly stale. The humor is very hit and miss, emphasis on miss. The plot is sometimes nonsensical. It really sucks when the audience is much smarter than the characters. The series is not sure of what it is, is it a Rick and Morty style cartoon for adults? Is it aimed at teenagers? Is it aimed at children? No one knows. It tries to do all 3, but does so very badly. When characters are talking or trying to do something, there are annoying pauses between each character, which ruin the pacing.

Season 1 was very creative and ended with a good conclusion. I loved it. But the show should've ended there. I felt very annoyed almost all the way through season 2. Hope they dont make season 3.