Is ‘Disenchantment’ a Disappointment?
August 23, 2018
Matt Groening, the creator of “The Simpsons,” and “Futurama,” recently made his foray into fantasy with a Netflix Original titled “Disenchantment.”
The show follows the story of a rambunctious princess named Bean (Abbi Jacobson) and her best friends, the devil’s-lettuce-smoking demon, Luci (Eric Andre) and the annoyingly happy yet appropriately named elf, Elfo (Nat Faxon).
“Disenchantment” has a humor that one could describe as a mixed bag. Certain parts are bust-your-gut laugh inducing. However, the majority is somewhat lacking and in some cases, plain unfunny. It’s something that really takes the idiom of “humor is subjective” to heart.
“Here the jokes are more muted, and they’re in the service of a continuing story whose major payoffs have to be delayed. That is not Groeningesque,” The New York Times said.
Some people will love its humor and some will hate it. However, it seems to have somewhat of an assortment for everyone. Whether you enjoy humor that’s dumb, clever, sarcastic, crude, cringe-worthy or any other, there’s sure to be at least a few jokes for you.
The art and animation is again, a mixed bag. Some shots are these wide angled, awe inducing paintings, where the love and hard work is apparent, and the fact that you’re watching a cartoon is completely forgotten.
And other times the art style fades into this washed out cookie-cutter animation where the characters and their actions feel static, and you’re painfully aware you’re watching a cartoon.
“The first ten episodes of Disenchantment are like being on a road trip, where instead of slowing occasionally to enjoy the scenery or stopping to gawk at or admire some noteworthy roadside attraction, the narrative seemingly moves for the sole purpose of racking up as many miles as possible,” Screen Rant said.
“Disenchantment” takes place mainly in the kingdom of dreamland, and moves around that kingdom primarily, with a few excursions here and there. However, they seem to simply push the story along with little change to location other than one occasion.
While there is nothing innately wrong with frequenting your character in one fairly large kingdom setting, it’s the way it’s done in “Disenchantment” that’s the problem.
Few of the locations we are introduced to are interesting, and the one that really is, is wasted on one episode, with only about ten minutes being in the new location.
“… the lack of anything as unfamiliar or daring is what holds “Disenchantment” back,” The Verge said.
Overall, “Disenchantment” is entertaining, and definitely worth a watch. But you have to be prepared for what you’re getting yourself into; a slow burner with somewhat disappointing humor and a much better assortment of episodes in the late season.