Disenchantment Season 1 (2018)
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Disenchantment Season 1 Review
Disenchantment is a Netflix adult fantasy comedy animated series created by Matt Groening. The first season consisting of ten episodes premiered in 2018.
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“Speak no more of Leavo, Speako!“
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This is a show that is split into parts instead of seasons, but they are ten-episode long seasons basically, so I would continue to call them like that. Being a fan of both ‘Simpsons’ and especially ‘Futurama’, I was pleasantly surprised by this show being a mix of the latter with the more adult, sex jokes of ‘South Park’. Clearly, Groening did something different this time around and that needs to be respected.
The animation is quite different. Yes, the characters have their typical Groening looks – ugly noses, teeth and that pronounced chin abound in almost everybody, especially humans. But besides that, the animation is much more beautiful, complex and polished than your typical Groening production with the backgrounds being particularly superb.
I also liked the score here and the voice acting is quite strong. The humor needs a lot of improvement, but usually comedies start off weaker and get better later on. As for the characters, Bean is a typical feisty, rebellious princess, but a somewhat darker edge to her differentiates her from others of a similar type. Luci is this very fun demon with a very dark humor and King Zog is very well realized and the relationship between him and his daughter is very well developed. Elfo is the best of the bunch so far as his many lines of dialogue are silly and very funny while his personality is infectiously goofy.
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A Princess, An Elf, and a Demon Walk Into a Bar is your standard beginning that introduces us to this Middle Ages world effectively, but is too dramatic instead of comedic, which is something that this entire season struggled with. The scenes in the land of the elves were the funniest here undoubtedly. For Whom the Pig Oinks is at its funniest in the Merkimer moments as he is this very goofy prince whose big personality is a lot of fun.
The Princess of Darkness is a forgettable episode concerning some thieves that isn’t particularly entertaining. Castle Party Massacre is a messy, flawed episode that amusingly sets up Elfo’s romantic obsession with Bean, but ultimately this storyline did not go anywhere.
Faster, Princess! Kill! Kill! is a repetitive episode about Bean being good at nothing, but at least the relationship between her and Zog is superbly developed here. They have a complex dynamic that is loving, but toxic at the same time. Swamp and Circumstance is all about the fight for this canal and I couldn’t care less. It is interesting that in this show the one-off episodes are actually weaker than the interconnected ones, which rarely happens in animated comedies.
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Love’s Tender Rampage is chaotic, but entertaining in certain stretches. The Limits of Immortality isn’t funny, but at least it is quite adventurous in its quest-like storyline. To Thine Own Elf Be True is a strong, dramatic and dark precursor to the chaos that would erupt in Dreamland Falls. Both episodes lacked humor for the most part, but at least in terms of storytelling, they are excellent. I am intrigued by what will happen next as Queen Dagmar’s villainous side was unexpected and the twists all worked in this exciting finale.
Overall, the first season of Disenchantment is rarely especially funny. The sexual jokes worked the best, but for the most part this season is just an introduction that also favored drama and storytelling first and foremost for better and for worse. Still, the world building and the characterization are set up very well here, so the possibilities are endless if the humor strengthens in later seasons.
Worst Episodes: A Princess, An Elf, and a Demon Walk Into a Bar and Faster, Princess! Kill! Kill!
Best Episodes: To Thine Own Elf Be True and Dreamland Falls.
