By Courtney Wentz | Assistant Editor
Oscar’s Hotel for Fantastical Creatures, created by YouTube’s KickThePj, is a short film turned web series buried under cat videos and make up tutorials.
Oscar’s Hotel is about a hotel for unusual and mystical creatures, temporally being run by the owner’s nephew and the only human, Oliver, played by YouTuber Chris Kendall. Kendall has been in two other short films by KickThePj. The series follows Oliver taking care of the odd guests and trying to handle the strange events going on within the hotel, like venturing into another dimension and dying in the middle of the series.
The web series was originally a short, ten minute film on YouTube funded by New Form Digital, but the power of the fans came into play and Vimeo became interested in creating a six episode web series. The series was written by Pj Liguori, Sophie Newton, and Louis Grant, and directed by Pj Liguori, the creator of the series. The Jim Henson Creature Shop made the costumes and puppets seen in episode two “Hunger Pains,” where food from the freezer comes to life and hold Oliver hostage.
Besides Oliver, the only other character from the original short film is Mo Nay, who is like Oliver’s best friend and is a painting. He gives Oliver positive advice with his whimsical voice and takes Oliver to Artlandia, where Mo Nay isn’t just a section of a painting. He has a buff human-like form.
Many YouTubers were involved in the making of Oscar’s Hotel, along with two special guests in the last episode. The entire cast couldn’t be in Los Angeles filming the series, so they lended their voices, but those who could be on set, were put into eccentric and dazzling costumes, like the Hermit, played by Grace Helbig, who is quite forgetful and the Queen Bee, Hannah Hart, who makes bee puns every time she speaks. Patrick Stewart and Alfred Molina play two fish characters obsessed with funny hats.
The original short film can be watched for free on YouTube and also on Vimeo, along with the first episode “Party Nightmare.” To see the other episodes, they can be purchased on Vimeo for $9.99 and be downloaded to your favorite device.
