Review: Disenchantment “Part One”

Disenchantment is finally here, and it is a fantastical progression of Matt Groening’s trilogy.

Overview:

In Disenchantment, we meet Princess Bean of Dreamland, a tough, adventurous young woman born into a traditional life of nobility. However, she is unlike any conventional princess, she would rather drink at the local pub than follow her father’s orders for getting married. Her demons come to life, literally, in the dark formed Luci, who has an affinity for anything evil. With some encouragement from her new evil-conscious, she protests being wed or following any of her father’s orders for that matter.

At the same time, we meet the most rebellious elf in magical elf kingdom, Elfo. Making out with the chief’s daughter and not understanding the concept of being paid in candy to make candy gets Elfo banished from his village. Forced into the world of adventure, Elfo quickly learns that being the badass of the sweet elf kingdom doesn’t mean he is a badass to the rest of the world. He navigates his way to Dreamland and unintentionally helps Princess Bean get out of her wedding. Bean, Elfo, and Luci escape experiencing the world.

The king manages to get his daughter to return home and allows Elfo to join her should the kingdom be able to test him for his magical elf properties. Elfo’s blood is supposed to offer regenerative abilities, but the kingdom has a difficult time making it work. The trio of friends helps to solve the problem – interrupted by there many drunken misadventures. Through the ten episodes, we find out that there is more to these characters than what first appears, including Elfo’s origins and what happened to Bean’s mother.

Our Take:

Where to start? This was an unexpected adventure. Expectations were well laid out on the table, knowing Matt Groening’s shows as intimately as we do. The theory that Groening may be caring on a theme of timelines from the present with The Simpsons to the future with Futurama and now going back in time has not been lost on anybody. However, this is a natural progression for the creator for anything else he would have tried in a present timeline would be intensely criticised and forever compared to The Simpsons. In fact, there are many new trails taken, and Disenchantment stands on the brand new ground.

Going to Netflix may have presented Groening and his creative team new challenges, but it also opened some new doors. What I, and I am sure you are expecting was for the characters to be established so that they could go on random misadventures each episode. Instead, we are offered an overall arching story carried out through the series. There is significant character development in that completely replaces the traditional sitcom format. Disenchantment provides the fantastic adventure that goes along with its setting.

Bean is an excellent female character. She will probably be referred to as a strong feminist lead, but she is not that complex. Bean is an everywoman as much as Homer Simpson is an everyman – except not as dopey. She is a young woman who wants to experience life with a vibrant heart for her friends and family. For a princess, Bean shows us what being adventurous and authentic to ourselves should look like.

Elfo is pure gold as far as characters go. This little green dude just wants to be cool. Where Elfo comes from he was the worst they come, but meeting Bean and her very evil friend Luci shows Elfo just how naïve he is in the world. He is the equivalent of a child being homeschooled in a sheltered environment and then moving to LA to discover himself. But, he is brave, and his quote from the first episode defines him well, “I would rather die a big death than live a small life.” Elfo’s humour and innocence make for the best one-liners the series has to offer. Which makes me hope that Elfo never finds himself – is that horrible to say?

Luci’s lousy influence is a necessity for the series and the characters. Luckily, he fits the role perfectly. The demon is limited in its magic, but he sure makes a good drinking buddy. Though he has a serious affinity to all things nefarious, Luci also shows us that he has a complex character. Though he will probably never admit it, he has a real soft spot for his new friends.

This was something close to ground-breaking – without all the messy shaking up – in that it makes a new blend of theme and format. What we expect from a fantasy is drama and ongoing plots ala Game of Thrones. What we expect from an animated sitcom is lovable characters and humour. There is also the morals that Groening’s previous shows, that we look out for our friends and family no matter how dysfunctional they can be. Disenchantment finds an ideal balance between both, and we are genuinely invested in these characters. It’s a wonderful way of storytelling, and it has a talented team of established writers and creators behind it.

Disenchantment gives us everything we could have hoped for and more. I had to binge-watch the shows in order to bring you, excellent people, this sick review. However, I would recommend savouring all the moments over a week. There was a bit of a challenge starting the show and not knowing the characters, but one episode is enough to make you want more. Just enjoy it, I guess that’s what I am trying to say. Finishing the first part I can say confidently that you will love these characters as much as you do characters you’ve had hundreds of adventures with, maybe even more.