Disenchantment: A Missed Opportunity

 


I recently sat down to watch The Simpsons creator Matt Groening’s new Netflix show, Disenchantment, and I was… wait for it… disenchanted. The show looked promising from its first trailer a few months ago, but ultimately fails to cast a spell on its audience. It just lacked the magic of The Simpsons or Futurama. Okay, I promise that was my last fantasy-based joke. I am a huge fan of The Simpsons and Futurama and maybe that set my expectations too high. Allright, let’s do this.

The series starts off with Princess Bean of Dreamland about to be wed to a Prince from the Bentwood. She receives the demon Luci as a “gift” from two unknown figures that spy on her through a crystal ball. They appear to have nefarious plans for her, but this plot gets lost in a variety of subplots throughout the show. As the events in Dreamland unfold, we meet Elfo in the land of elves. These magical creatures reject Elfo, who desires to feel more than just happiness. Elfo leaves his home and begins to explore the human world. The first episode is actually fine with me. I really enjoyed the gag with the Iron Throne and the Prince’s head. It did suffer from some pacing issues and I had issues with the voice actors, more on that later.

As the series progresses we get plots involving an “elixir of life,” Luci trying to turn Bean evil (which is connected to the two figures watching her from afar), and a secret society involving Bean’s mother. All of this is clumsily thrown into episodes that try to stand alone and feed the overarching story at the same time. They have too many threads and I don’t think they ever found a way to balance the episode stories and the total arc. For example, they would take odd breaks from the episode’s story to remind us about the elixir and that adds to the show’s pacing issues. My problem isn’t the fact there is a larger story being told, it’s just the poor execution.

I don’t think a serialized show is in Matt Groening and company’s DNA. Futurama and The Simpsons are both sitcoms and are done incredibly well and loved by many. Neither show really concerns itself with a big story. There are a few instances of continuity in The Simpsons, usually related to the deaths of characters, but I can’t think of many multi-episode stories. Futurama made a gag of its continuity but those elements are used as connective tissue and jokes, not to push a larger narrative. It should go without saying that I am not counting the four Futurama movies as serialized episodes, even though they were shown on TV as such, they were first released as individual films.

I think this show could be a great sitcom. Luci and Elfo are total opposites and can play well off of each other. It’d be funny to see Bean fending off suitors her father sends in his attempts to gain a larger kingdom. I also think you could develop some of the supporting cast more if you don’t worry about a bigger story. It’s frustrating to me because I loved the fantasy setting of Futurama: Benders Game and know the talent to do this show is there.

This show also suffers from some unimpressive voice acting from Abbi Jacobson as Bean and Eric Andre as Luci. They deliver their lines with little to no enthusiasm. Bean’s voice comes off more like she’s telling a story than acting one out. She is the main character and I really expected more emotion to be given through the voice. Animation really depends on its actors to bring their characters to life. Without the proper delivery and tone the lines don’t match the scene and facial expressions. Put it this way, if you closed your eyes and listened to Bean you’d have no idea what emotion she was supposed to be expressing.

Luci comes off less sarcastic and more like he’s bored. It sounds like Andre wanted to portray indifference but instead it sounds bland. Even in action sequences Luci’s voice doesn’t change much. I feel that the character was meant to be similar to Bender from Futurama. Bender is a robot and has more emotion from the actor than Luci does. Andre doesn’t put the conviction into Luci the was John DiMaggio did for Bender. I mean, he really made me believe that Bender wanted to “kill all humans.”

Speaking of John DiMaggio, he and other familiar Groening voice actors are in this show. He, Tress MacNeille, and Maurice LaMarche provide the best voice acting on this show. DiMaggio channels his inner Sal (the construction worker from Futurama) with his portrayal of King Zog. He is able to express excitement and sadness and you can hear the difference even if you can’t see the picture. MacNeille’s prostitute fairy is hilarious. She also does the voice for Queen Oona, Zogs current wifeand their son. LaMarche’s classic monotone voice plays well as Zog’s prime minister Odval. I’ve always enjoyed the deadpan humor many of LaMarche’s characters have.

While I have sprinkled in some positives throughout this review, if you can’t remember them, it’s because there’s not a lot of them. There is a great episode in which we see adult versions of Hansel and Gretel living in the witch’s house. Some small scenes, like the underground sex party with the magician and Odval, also made me chuckle. But this is not enough to save the show.

Maybe it’s my adoration of Futurama and Benders Game that I judged this show so harshly. I was really disapointed with this show, but because I love Groening’s other shows, I will give season 2 a chance. Maybe the writers will learn to tell a cohesive story. I want to like this show. I really do. What did you all think of Disenchantment? Do you agree or disagree with my critiques? Let us know in the comments below.

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