It’s the combination we have all been waiting for; Matt Groening and Netflix coming together to create a show. Styled like Groening’s past shows (Simpsons, Futurama) “Disenchantment” is the product of this amazing combination.
The story follows Princess Bean (Voiced by Abbi Jacobson who you should know from Broad City), a medieval princess who we meet right on the eve of her wedding, as we usually meet princesses. Unlike most princesses though, Bean is white-girl wasted and cleaning up at poker. If you hadn’t figured it out, Princess Bean is kick-ass and her end goal is not end up married off like your typical princess. It’s at this point in her life that she is cursed with a personal demon endearingly named “Lucy” (Eric Andre) and the naïve and unimaginatively named “Elfo” the Elf (Nat Faxon) who has escaped his seemingly perfect elf-world to live in the real world. The trio embark on various adventures, usually to the detriment of Bean’s relationship with her royal family and her liver.
Without spoiling anything, Disenchantment should be on everyone’s “to watch list”. It has the same viewing feel as Groening’s previous works, so if you are a big fan of the Simpsons or Futurama then Disenchantment is pretty much an extension from these.
The biggest difference I found was that the main character was, wait for it…
Female.
It took me a while to realise what the difference between Groening’s past works and Disenchantment was and when it hit me, I couldn’t un-see it. Whilst Groening’s main characters always tend to be flawed, especially in their tendencies towards alcohol, Bean is the first main character that is presented to the same flaws. That was kind of surprising to me yet, makes absolute sense again when you consider the fact that Abbi Jacobson’s fame stems from similar antics on Broad City. Presenting a woman not only as a main character but also as the type of alcoholic we’ve come to know in Homer and Fry definitely enhanced my opinion of this show.
I am actually struggling to come up with any possible negatives for this show which is highly unusual for me. If I had to label one, it would only be that there is significantly less episodes for Disenchantment’s first season than either Futurama or The Simpson’s. Maybe this is a trap of comparing a show to it’s long running predecessors or maybe it’s something to do with Disenchantment’s introduction being on Netflix but either way Disenchantment’s short season is a bit of surprise that definitely leaves you wanting to watch more.
I think overall, Disenchantment is a comfortable viewing experience. You’re not going to see anything you haven’t seen from Matt Groening or Netflix before but it is the same sort of humour that made audiences fall in love with Groening’s previous shows. I would liken it to other Netflix animated endeavours like Bojack Horseman or Big Mouth but again on a tamer level. I am definitely keeping my eyes peeled for further episodes and further hints for a season 2.
Review by Brittany Treadwell.
