‘Olive Place’ Is A Surreal Cartoon Set In A Hotel With Bizarre Guests

Jarrod Prince’s Olive Place is a lo-fi technical kaleidoscope that blends puppetry, live action, pixilation, stop motion, and hand-drawn animation.

Burt and Belle, a pair of hotel porters, navigate the demands, challenges, and oddities of their bizarre guests on a daily basis. This inspired work moves freely between narrative, music, and surreal detours — including a sequence inside the belly of an old frog. Prince clearly has ambitions for an ongoing series, and this quirky creation would be a refreshing departure from much of the uninspired studio fare. This indie effort has the potential to attract a devoted following.

“Olive Place is a character-driven world inspired by surreal shows like The Mighty Boosh, Sesame Street, and Twin Peaks,” says Prince. “I wanted to create something immersive and cozy where anything could happen. It started life as a short film but evolved into more of a pilot episode as time went on.”

Prince is an Australian animator and director with a decade-and-a-half of experience in commercial animation, specializing in character design and background art.