ZooPhobia

Last updated

ZooPhobia
ZooPhobia poster.jpg
Promotional poster/banner
Author(s) Vivienne Medrano
Website ZooPhobiaComic.com
Current status/scheduleEnded
Launch dateJuly 3, 2012 [1]
End dateMarch 19, 2016
Genre(s) Fantasy, slice of life, comedy horror

ZooPhobia is an American webcomic originally published in 2012 by Vivienne "VivziePop" Medrano, from which she later loosely adapted characters and plotlines for her animated musical television series Hazbin Hotel . [2] [3] [1] It follows a young woman named Cameron, who travels to an interspecies sanctuary named Safe Haven. Two ZooPhobia short films, "The Son of 666" and "Bad Luck Jack", were released in 2013 and 2020, respectively.

Contents

Plot

Cameron, a neurotic young woman, is sent to an island sanctuary named Safe Haven by accident after she desperately pleas for a counseling job. [4] She discovers that she cannot leave the island, as doing so would cause it to lose its magic. She spends the duration of the comic trying to lessen her fear of the animals (zoophobia) in Safe Haven, trying to adapt to the unfamiliar environment she was thrown into. [5] [3]

Characters

Release

Although the comic was originally released in 2012, Medrano mentioned creating a webcomic in December 2010. [2] [11] The comic went on hiatus for an indefinite period in November 2016, reportedly because Medrano wanted to focus on developing her unpublished Angels and Demons arc of ZooPhobia into an animated series, which later became Hazbin Hotel. [1] [12] [13] In April 2017, Medrano said that the comic would get a "complete reboot", [14] and hinted at the same in a July 2018 Tumblr post. [15]

Short films

The Son of 666

On January 7, 2013, Medrano announced the development of an animated short film prequel to ZooPhobia as her thesis film for her third year at School of Visual Arts, to follow a younger Damian and his father Lucifer. [16] Titled "The Son of 666", and written, directed, and animated by Medrano herself, [17] the two-minute short film was released to her YouTube channel on April 15, 2013. [18]

Bad Luck Jack

On September 30, 2020, Medrano released a second animated ZooPhobia short film on her YouTube channel, titled "Bad Luck Jack" and 12-minutes-long. It was funded by crowdfunding from her Patreon. The short featured various characters from the webcomic and music by Gooseworx. [2] [1] Medrano said the animated short was "very special" to her. [19] Two songs in the short, "Make a Start" and "The Curse" were written by Sam Haft, while Parry Gripp wrote the song "Monster Fighting Time." [1] Bryson Baugus voiced Jack, Joe Zieja voiced Zill, Reba Buhr voiced Kayla, and Cristina Vee provided Kayla's singing voice. [20] [21] The short was co-written by Medrano and Amanda Heard, and was animated by Medrano and her production company SpindleHorse Toons. [1]

Music video

On October 30, 2014, Medrano released a music video set to "Die Young" by Kesha and Becky G, following the werewolf JayJay hosting a party with other ZooPhobia characters. [22] By November 2019, the animation would accumulate over 50 million views. [23] The video was taken down following the release of the season 1 finale of Helluva Boss "Queen Bee" (in which Kesha appears as Queen Bee-lzebub) due to copyright issues.

Audiovisual adaptation

On March 2, 2016, Medrano announced ZooPhobia: The AudioVisual Adaptation to be in development, adapting the existing and unpublished comic as a semi-animated web series. It was to be scored by Gooseworx, voice directed by Connor "Connorhea" Cheely, and star Whitesin as Cameron Walden and Megan "Inky" Youmans as KayCee. [8] It has not seen completion as of 2024.

Reception

Larry Cruz of CBR compared the journey of the protagonist, Cameron, to Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre . [3] Cruz also praised Medrano's artistic style as "visually appealing," calling it unconventional like a "John Kricfalusi cartoon" and called the storytelling "decent." He also criticized the story of Cameron overcoming her intense fear of animals to be "a little rushed," and said that the designs of the animal characters were too similar to each other. Ahmar Wolf of the Furry Times called the webcomic unique, adding that "whether you think it is good depends on your taste," praised the artistic style, and argued that the storyline is "out there," making it a comic you will either "love or hate." [5]

Dan Short of Animated Views differentiated the animated short, "Bad Luck Jack," from Medrano's other works, saying that it is "equivalent to a Disney Channel program like High School Musical " because it is "wholesome, super tame, contains no sexual references, and has no profanity," making it family-friendly. [1] Short also wrote that the short is visually appealing, and could serve as an introduction to those not familiar with the series. He stated that Kayla stands out because of her Australian accent, and praised the voice cast and musical numbers. Short concluded by calling the short "perfectly enjoyable."

Awards

The animated short "Bad Luck Jack" won a Ursa Major Award in the "Best Dramatic Short Work" category in 2020. [24] [25] [26] The Ursa Major awards are given in the field of furry fandom works and are the main awards in the field of anthropomorphism. [27] [28] The short was also listed as a "Recommended Anthropomorphic Dramatic Short Work" on the Ursa Major Award website. [29]

Related Research Articles

The term independent animation refers to animated shorts, web series, and feature films produced outside a major national animation industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maxwell Atoms</span> American animator, screenwriter, storyboard artist, and voice actor

Adam Maxwell Burton, known professionally as Maxwell Atoms, is an American animator, screenwriter, storyboard artist, and voice actor. He is the creator of the Cartoon Network series Grim & Evil and its subsequent spin-offs, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy and Evil Con Carne.

Rick Zieff is an American actor and voice-over coach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parry Gripp</span> American musician

Parry P. Gripp is an American musician and singer-songwriter. He is the lead vocalist and guitarist for the pop punk band Nerf Herder from its formation in 1994. Gripp writes novelty songs for children, and has been featured on Disney television shows.

"Valentino" is a song by British synthpop band Years & Years and British singer MNEK. The song was written by Olly Alexander and MNEK, the latter of whom served as the track's producer. Accompanied by a music video, "Valentino" was released on 15 February 2019 by Polydor Records, and was featured on the re-release version of Years & Years' second studio album, Palo Santo (2018). The music video was filmed in Stockholm, Sweden, and was directed by Jordan Rossi.

<i>Helluva Boss</i> Animated YouTube series by Vivienne Medrano

Helluva Boss is an American adult animated musical web series created by Vivienne "VivziePop" Medrano. It revolves around the misadventures of the employees of I.M.P, a company in Hell that offers hitman services in the realm of the living. The pilot was released on November 25, 2019, while the first episode of the first season was released on October 31, 2020. Set in the same fictional universe as Hazbin Hotel, the show is produced by SpindleHorse Toons. The first season was released exclusively on Medrano's YouTube channel, as she has done for other animations. The second season premiered on July 30, 2022. On March 27, 2023, the show was confirmed to be renewed for a third season, in active production.

<i>Hazbin Hotel</i> American adult animated musical television series

Hazbin Hotel is an American adult animated musical comedy television series created by Vivienne "VivziePop" Medrano. The series revolves around Charlie Morningstar, princess of Hell, on her quest to find a way for sinners to be "rehabilitated" and allowed into Heaven, via her "Hazbin Hotel", as an alternative to Heaven's annual "Extermination" of souls due to Hell's overpopulation. The series is produced by SpindleHorse Toons in collaboration with A24, Amazon Studios, and the animation studio Bento Box Entertainment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brandon Rogers (YouTuber)</span> American sketch comedian, actor, and writer

Brandon George Rogers is an American YouTuber, actor, and comedian. He plays many characters in his eponymous YouTube channel and co-wrote the adult animated web series Helluva Boss, in which he primarily voices the main character Blitzo, as well as voicing reporter Katie Killjoy in Hazbin Hotel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SpindleHorse Toons</span> American animation studio

SpindleHorse Toons, or simply SpindleHorse, is an American animation production company founded by Vivienne "VivziePop" Medrano in 2018, based in Burbank, California. It is responsible for the Hellaverse shared universe animated series, whose main series Hazbin Hotel is co-animated with Bento Box Entertainment and co-produced with A24. It is the sole animation studio of its spin-off series, Helluva Boss.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vivienne Medrano</span> American animator and producer (born 1992)

Vivienne Medrano, also known by her online alias VivziePop, is an American YouTuber, animator, writer, director, producer, and voice actress. She is best known as the creator of the musical television series Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss. She also created the webcomic ZooPhobia.

Pilot (<i>Helluva Boss</i>) Episode of Helluva Boss

The pilot episode of the American animated musical web series Helluva Boss was written by series creators Vivienne "VivziePop" Medrano and Brandon Rogers, and directed by Medrano and Rick Zieff. It premiered to YouTube on November 25, 2019. It was mostly positively received, and has been viewed over 62 million times, which led Medrano to expand Helluva Boss into a full show.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder Family</span> 1st episode of the 1st season of Helluva Boss

"Murder Family" is the series premiere of the adult animated web series Helluva Boss, following the demonic employees of the assassination company I.M.P on a mission. It premiered on YouTube on October 31, 2020, was written by series creators Vivienne "VivziePop" Medrano and Brandon Rogers, and directed by Medrano and Rick Zieff.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loo Loo Land</span> 2nd episode of the 1st season of Helluva Boss

"Loo Loo Land" is the second episode of the first season of the adult animated web series Helluva Boss, following demon royalty Stolas as he hires the assassination company I.M.P to accompany him and his daughter Octavia to the titular theme park. It premiered on YouTube on December 9, 2020, and was written by series creators Vivienne "VivziePop" Medrano and Brandon Rogers. It was directed by Medrano and Rick Zieff.

The Circus (<i>Helluva Boss</i>) 1st episode of the 2nd season of Helluva Boss

"The Circus" is the first episode of the second season of the adult animated web series Helluva Boss, exploring the story of Stolas' life. The episode premiered on YouTube on July 30, 2022. It was written by series creator Vivienne "VivziePop" Medrano, and directed by Medrano and Rick Zieff.

"Overture" is the first episode of the first season of Hazbin Hotel. It premiered on Amazon Prime Video and YouTube on January 18, 2024, and was written and directed by series creator Vivienne "VivziePop" Medrano.

Alastor (<i>Hazbin Hotel</i>) Fictional character

Alastor "the Radio Demon" is a fictional character created by Vivienne "VivziePop" Medrano who primarily appears in the musical adult animated series Hazbin Hotel as one of the overlords of Hell. He was voiced by Edward Bosco and Gabriel C. Brown in the pilot and a series of music videos from 2019 to 2024, and by Amir Talai in the animated series since 2024. A constantly-smiling sinner, Alastor returns after a seven-year absence to run a hotel known as the Hazbin Hotel with Charlie Morningstar, princess of Hell, whom Alastor seeks to guide and control, while also wanting to free his own soul from the service of an unknown being. He is often accompanied by the hotel's bartender Husk and housekeeper Niffty, and he is considered a rival by fellow overlord Vox and Charlie's father Lucifer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlie Morningstar</span> Fictional character

Princess Charlotte "Charlie" Morningstar is a fictional character created by Vivienne "VivziePop" Medrano who appears as the protagonist of the musical adult animated series Hazbin Hotel as the princess of Hell. She is primarily voiced by Erika Henningsen. Charlie runs the titular Hazbin Hotel, where she hopes to redeem the souls of those in Hell and help them earn a place in Heaven. She is the daughter of Lilith and Lucifer Morningstar and is also dating Vaggie.

<i>Hazbin Hotel</i> (soundtrack) 2024 soundtrack album

Hazbin Hotel (Original Soundtrack) is an extended play soundtrack album released in three parts from the adult animated streaming television musical series Hazbin Hotel. The first part was released on January 19, 2024, the second on January 26, and the third on February 1. The music was composed and written by Andrew Underberg and Sam Haft.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Short, Dan (October 5, 2020). "ZooPhobia: Bad Luck Jack". Animated Views. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 VivziePop (September 30, 2020). "ZooPhobia – "Bad Luck Jack" (Short)". YouTube . Archived from the original on February 11, 2021. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 Cruz, Larry (January 10, 2013). "'ZooPhobia': Fear of an animal planet". CBR . Archived from the original on March 27, 2021. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
  4. ↑ "ZooPhobia". The Webcomic List. June 2, 2013. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
  5. 1 2 Wolf, Asher (January 10, 2013). "ZooPhobia Webcomic". Furry Times. Archived from the original on March 27, 2021. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
  6. ↑ Medrano, Vivienne (August 9, 2012). "fff I'm happy I can finally post lil things of KayCee; shes one of my favs to think about mmhm ^^" . Retrieved August 9, 2012– via Tumblr.
  7. ↑ Medrano, Vivienne (January 21, 2013). "Livestream doodles: Alastor has a huuuuuuge crush on KayCee so doodled them lots xD also all around played with drawing him and such" . Retrieved January 21, 2013– via Tumblr.
  8. 1 2 Medrano, Vivienne (March 2, 2016). ZooPhobia: The AudioVisual Adaptation (Teaser). VivziePop. Retrieved March 2, 2016– via YouTube. My SVA 3rd year film! Yes I've been doing Hell-cartoons this long haha!
  9. ↑ Medrano, Vivienne. "Characters". Official website of ZooPhobia Comic. Archived from the original on February 1, 2021. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
  10. ↑ Medrano, Vivienne (December 6, 2016). Speed Draw – Vaggie Motha – VivziePop. VivziePop. Retrieved December 6, 2016– via YouTube.
  11. ↑ Medrano, Vivienne (December 7, 2010). "Webcomic Ventures". Frightening Enthusiastic. Blogspot. Archived from the original on March 27, 2021. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
  12. ↑ Medrano, Vivienne [@vivziepop] (November 14, 2016). "I'm sorry guys, ZooPhobia is over until I have the time and energy to reboot it. The only art for it is exclusive to Patreon. :c" (Tweet). Archived from the original on November 14, 2016. Retrieved March 27, 2021– via Twitter.
  13. ↑ Miller, Caroline (March 20, 2022). "A24 Reveals Character Images for Raunchy Animated Series Hazbin Hotel". MovieWeb . Archived from the original on March 22, 2022.
  14. ↑ Medrano, Vivienne (April 27, 2017). Messy ZooPhobia Ramble. VivziePop. Archived from the original on May 7, 2020. Retrieved March 27, 2021– via YouTube.
  15. ↑ Medrano, Vivienne (July 8, 2018). "Since people are pointing out to me ZP ended on a cliffhanger of sorts!". VivziePop: The Silly Blog and Art of Vivienne Medrano. Tumblr. Archived from the original on March 27, 2021. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
  16. ↑ Medrano, Vivienne (January 7, 2013). "I wanted to make at least ONE film involving my characters, i figured a little blerb about Damian would be a blast cause he's a fun concept and I feel would make a fun film. But my teacher raised a good point, that without more backstory/info Damian doesn't look very related to his father, So I played around with their designs for the film. It takes place when Damian is a tad younger, and there are canon reasons he'd look a bit different but I haven't gotten these okayed yet. If my teacher thinks the designs are still not working enough i may just do a different film all together, cause I couldn't really bare to change either design too drastically. Though, what ever film I do end up doing I will work insanely hard on" . Retrieved January 7, 2013– via Tumblr.
  17. ↑ Medrano, Vivienne (February 11, 2013). "and a quick attempt at something fun for the opening title of the film, if I can spruce this up with colors it may look neat! Also whats a better title? "Son of 666" or just "666" I dunno :B" . Retrieved February 11, 2013– via Tumblr.
  18. ↑ Medrano, Vivienne (April 15, 2013). The Son of 666 – SVA (Third Year Film). VivziePop. Retrieved April 15, 2013– via YouTube. My SVA 3rd year film! Yes I've been doing Hell-cartoons this long haha!
  19. ↑ Medrano, Vivienne [@vivziepop] (September 30, 2020). "Our newest cartoon is out!! This one was very special, we have been working on it for a long time and it felt weird but wonderful to return to these characters that dominated my early years. We've come a long way 🥰 Thank you to my amazing team for creating this with me. Enjoy!!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on October 2, 2020. Retrieved March 27, 2021– via Twitter.
  20. ↑ Baugus, Bryson [@BaugusBryson] (September 30, 2020). "You can hear me as the loveable Jack in @VivziePop's latest short, "Bad Luck Jack"!! I hope you guys like it! Also thanks to my bud @kellengoff for casting me in such a fun role!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on October 1, 2020. Retrieved October 1, 2020– via Twitter.
  21. ↑ Buhr, Reba [@RebaBuhr] (September 30, 2020). "I'm the speaking voice of Kayla (singing provided by @CristinaVee) in @VivziePop's new animated short ZooPhobia. I want to give a shout out to all the animators because I live for beautiful animation like this!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on October 1, 2020. Retrieved October 1, 2020– via Twitter.
  22. ↑ Medrano, Vivienne (October 30, 2014). "Die Young" – Fan Animated. VivziePop. Archived from the original on October 30, 2014. Retrieved October 30, 2014– via YouTube.
  23. ↑ Short, Dan (November 7, 2019). "Hazbin Hotel[Review]". Animated Views. Archived from the original on November 6, 2020. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  24. ↑ "Voting". Ursa Major Awards. Archived from the original on March 1, 2021. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  25. ↑ dronon (March 14, 2020). "Voting opens for the 2020 Ursa Major Awards". Flayrah. Archived from the original on March 2, 2021. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  26. ↑ O'Reily, Rod (May 2, 2021). "The Ursa Major Awards for 2020". Flayrah. InFurNation. Archived from the original on May 3, 2021. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  27. ↑ TheChainedWolf (March 14, 2020). "Ursa Major Awards 2009: predictions and forlorn hopes". Flayrah. Furtean Times. Archived from the original on November 29, 2020. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  28. ↑ Patten, Fred (July 21, 2013). "The Ursa Major Awards". Cartoon Research. Archived from the original on September 20, 2015. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  29. ↑ "Recommended Furry Art and Literature List". Ursa Major Awards. Archived from the original on February 3, 2021. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.