A Matt Groening-created Netflix Original sounded too good to be true. It’s a golden age for adult animation, where Futurama references abound normal speech, where Big Mouth inspires hashtags and Final Space does its bit to stave off the hunger pangs for Rick and Morty… Now should be the perfect moment for a serving of Groening goodness.
So why does it feel like I ate a raisin biscuit when I was expecting choc chip?
*pffflerrgh*
Disenchantment is the story of Princess Bean (a Targaryen rip-off right down to her blue shirt and rich, white privilege) and her two buddies Luci (a demon) and Elfo (an elf who wants more from the world than to make gummy lollies). Bean spends most of her time rebelling against her father, King Zog.
From concept to creators (including writer Adam Briggs, AKA half of A.B. Original) this show has the ingredients to be something you can’t pull yourself away from. But I’m telling you, as someone who has devoured many a series in just one night, Disenchantment is not a binge.
The animation is fine, but the faded colour palette and lack of detail don’t make it a world you want to be drawn into. The jokes stumble between predictable, unfinished, and uncertain as to who the target is. The characterisations are Middle Ages versions of ones we already know.
The entire thing is as anaemic as the fight scenes throughout the series, with nothing catching your attention long enough to make you want to stay to find out what happens next.
It fails hardest with Bean. She’s billed as another undistressed damsel (for you Disney kids, think Brave. For comic book fans, think Princeless, Rat Queens and Nimona).
But she’s not a rebel – she’s a rich brat who only challenges the parts of an unfair system that relate to her, while ignoring how her rebellious actions cause the deaths of others. Her privilege is occasionally acknowledged, but with jokes that are such weak up-punches, they don’t land.
This could be a story about a flawed character, instead it’s a watered-down version of The Simple Life filtered through Game Of Thrones.
And I know, comments section: why can’t I just enjoy it for what it is?
Because I can’t enjoy anything for what it is (why do you think I write reviews? It plays to my strengths). But also because I know this could have been done better.
Especially the griffin joke, which may well have been a jab at people who misgender others (I want it to have been a jab, I want to believe they didn’t mean to punch down) but if it was, it failed to make that point clear.
I guess spoilers? Who even cares tho.
It's when that griffin says she's the last female of her kind & she's drawn very "male" coded & has a male voice actor & none of the characters believe her & then proceed to call her he/him for the rest of the episode. Like jeez. /2
— ⚡Ultrans Instinct Bria⚡ (@LifeofBria) August 20, 2018
There is potential. Uma, Bean’s stepmother, is a hilarious nod to evil stepmother tropes in general and the story of Beowulf in particular. Luci is evil but interesting.
When show does address the issue of poverty in the kingdom, it has hints of Monty Python (think Meaning of Life, the skit before ‘Every Sperm is Sacred’).
The actual story, after a six-episode warm up, does become interesting, as does Bean herself. The cameos by Matt Berry and Noel Fielding are excellent.
Disenchantment could be good, but there’s too much hesitation. The team just need to listen to their inner Luci and just “do it, do it, do it, do it”.
(Yes, that is a reference to a line in the show….The only other reference that was memorable was the one about leaving your eggs on the nightstand)
I give Disenchantment 4 Jerrys out of a possible 5 Ricks.