Disenchantment Part 1 Review

Matt Groening took us to the future with Futurama, he explores the present with The Simpsons, now he takes us back to the past with his highly anticipated Netflix show Disenchantment.

In the kingdom of Dreamland Princess Tiabeanie AKA Bean (Abbi Jacobson) is the unruly teenage daughter of King Zøg (John DiMaggio). She likes to spend her time going to the pub, drinking, getting plastered and waking up with no memory of what she did the night before. But being a princess she is expected to wed someone to secure an alliance and her desire to be free leads her to befriend Elfo (Nat Faxon) who wants to escape the conformist life of being an elf and Luci (Eric Andre) – her personal demon and a corrupting influence.

Disenchantment was met with a decent if unremarkable critical reaction which is baffling because I loved it. Disenchantment did to the fantasy genre as Futurama did with sci-fi with the new show referencing and satirising everything from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Grimm’s Fairy Tales and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Disenchantment is a great replacement for Futurama.

Matt Groening and Netflix hired many Futurama writers. Josh Weinstein co-developed the show and Simpsons and Futurama fans would recognise names like David X. Cohen and Bill Oakley. As you would expect the humour in Disenchantment is similar to Futurama in both delivery and tone. There is plenty of satire and jokes based on modern culture, visual and verbal gags and like Futurama some of the humour is overtly adult like when Bean, Elfo, and Luci go to a drugs den. Also, like Futurama Disenchantment‘s humour could be pretty dark at times.

Although the humour is dark involving violence and drugs Disenchantment received a 12 rating in the UK. The Simpsons and Futurama had the same rating and it is a relief considering other Netflix adult animated shows rely on swearing, crude humour and showcasing human genitalia (i.e. Big Mouth and F is for Family). Disenchantment doesn’t need that type of humour, it is smarter than that and I laughed more at Disenchantment than those other shows, especially F is for Family.

The main trio in Disenchantment were similar to the main three characters in Futurama. Bean is a girl of action like Leela, Elfo and Fry are both dense characters, and Luci loves being evil, as did Bender. They made for a great team and develop a friendship as the show progresses. Elfo and Luci act as Bean’s personal Yin and Yang – Elfo tries to keep Bean on the straight and narrow whilst Luci convinces Bean to give in to her inhibition – something that doesn’t take much effort. The series also has an unrequited love subplot – Elfo is in the same place as Fry was in Futurama – in love with the female lead but their heart’s desires only see them as friends.

Bean herself is a combination of the three main characters in Futurama. As mentioned she is a no-nonsense girl who has no problem using violence, she can match Bender in a drinking contest and like Fry a loser looking for a purpose. Bean had the most emotional moments because she is grieving for her mother who died when she was young and that’s one of the reasons why she acts out.

Netflix adult animated shows often have an overarching storyline and Disenchantment was no different. The storyline in Disenchantment involved some shadowy figures trying to corrupt Bean through Luci and that there is a prosperity involving the princess. Chosen one storylines is hardly anything new in fantasy fiction – Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, His Dark Materials and Wheel of Time have used trope in some form or another and Disenchantment was just following suit. There was also a subplot involving Zøg trying to find the elixir of life which mixed with the main storyline – leading to an incredible finale that whets the appetite for Part 2.

Futurama had long story arcs, the two biggest being Leela’s true parentage and the reason why Fry got frozen was more than an accident. Disenchantment just happens to be more overt with its long-running storylines, however episodes three to seven work as standalone episodes. Many of them focus on typical sitcom story ideas like Bean hosting a party when her family is away, having to find a job, and embarrassing the family at an important function.

Disenchantment has an excellent cast. Jacobson made a great lead and Andre was awesome as the super-chilled demon – someone who is willing to take the easy way out yet shows there is more to him than being evil. Many Futurama voices returned to work with Groening – there was John DiMaggio (Bender), Billy West (Fry), Tress MacNeille (Mom), Maurice LaMarche (Kif), and David Herman (Scruffy) and they are voice acting veterans. DiMaggio, MacNeille, and LaMarche have recognisable voices and DiMaggio as Zøg has the most interesting role being the hot-headed king with anger issues and trying to figure out how to get Bean to fulfil her potential.

Disenchantment also has some notable British talent offering their voices. The best of them was The IT Crowd‘s Matt Berry who has a distinctive voice and is the show’s Zapp Brannigan – an overly confident, cocky prince who thinks he is God’s gift to women. Noel Fielding was great as the chipper executioner and Lucy Montgomery’s had the biggest role as Bean’s caring and jolly lady-in-waiting.

Disenchantment is a great show for fans of Matt Groening’s previous work – it was just a funny show that was easy to binge on. It doesn’t quite match Futurama because that show had some potent emotional scenes but Disenchantment had a strong start.