TV Review: Disenchantment Season 1 (2018). Can Matt Groening pull off another feat of animation magic?

Image courtesy of Netflix

Tv Review: Disenchantment (2018) by Ben Jeffries (19/8/2018)
Season 1 (Original Release Date - 17/8/2019)
10 episodes, 25-36 minutes
Comedy, Fantasy, Animation
Streaming on Netflix


Matt Groenings first new show in nearly 20 years is all about magic, monsters and teenage rebellion. How strong is it’s spell? 

The first new series from creator Matt Groening (The Simpsons, Futurama) in almost 20 years, this time working in partnership with show runner Josh Weinstein, Disenchantment hit Netflix with a binge-ably sized 10 episode 1st season. Set in the fantasy kingdom of Dreamland, the series follows delinquent princess Bean (Abbi Jacobson), as she takes every opportunity she gets to drink, fight and gamble as while attempting to avoid her royal duties of being married off to strangers, doing as she’s told, and generally appearing respectable. She’s accompanied by Luci (Eric Andre), a literal devil on her shoulder, bound to Bean by mysterious forces, and Elfo (Nat Faxon), a magical Elf from Elfwood, on a journey to experience more than the monotonous sweetness and mindless happiness of his homeland.

Groening and Weinstein (writer/producer on The Simpsons)are both veterans of the network tv business, where deadlines and episode length are set in stone, and the pair obviously enjoyed the opportunity to stretch their creative wings in the  more creatively open nature of the Netflix model. At roughly 35 minutes long the first episode of Disenchantment is almost 50% more show than a standard episode of a network animated sitcom (about 21 minutes without ads). That doesn’t equate to 50% more jokes though and ultimately, while we’re introduced to the majority of the important characters during a fun tumble through Dreamland, the episode is a little thin on comedy and the plot leans a little too heavily on convenience to drive the narrative. The generous run time allows for too much air between high points in the script and in the end the episode feels a bit flat as a result. Things tighten up as the series progresses though, with the runtime wound back to about 26 minutes plus credits and the writing finding more business for Bean and her pals to get mixed up in over the course of each episode.

Bean, Elfo and Luci tend to get carried away form time to time. 

Image courtesy of Netflix.

The show really hits its straps in the final three episodes of the season, not only connecting narrative dots, paying off early hints, and setting up ongoing mysteries for the next stretch of 10 episodes (which Netflix has already ordered, date tba), but in finding moments for comedy to come from character rather than more obvious jokes, and also using action to develop character. There’s a moment in episode 9 where several plot critical events are all cleverly set up in a 30 second slapstick scene and each pays off organically as the rest of the episode unfolds. It’s a piece of plotting equal to any of the best Futurama episodes, and the only problem is that there aren’t more moments like it earlier in the season. As written the show might have struggled to hold onto an audience week to week on network television but, as a binge watch, the steady ramp up in pace drew me in by small measures here and there, not only deepening my investment, but cleverly setting different hooks along the way to pull on in later episodes.

If you’ve seen a cartoon with Matt Groening’s name on it before, you’ll find a lot of the design here warmly familiar. From Bean’s round buckteeth to Elfo’s snoutish nose every character is distinct, adhering to Groening’s rule that a character should be instantly recognisable by their silhouette alone. The backgrounds are detailed, colourful, and textured. Street scenes are littered with sight gags and pun signs, while nature scenes feature intricate woodlands and impressive desert dunes, all in the pastel colouring which is a cornerstone of Groenings style. As in Futurama, complicated shots featuring the camera moving through multiple planes in space, special effects, or character motions that would be hard to animate by hand are all done using cgi, which here jibes much more organically with the hand drawn elements than we’ve seen in earlier shows. That partnership is so harmonious partly thanks to modern high resolution digital animation techniques, but also the much more cinematic nature of the animation in Disenchantment. Shots are wider and more generous, and special care has been paid to the lighting throughout the show, adding a dynamic, more natural shadowing to the characters as they move through the world.

Where the show looks familiar, if you’ve seen even just a handful of Futurama episodes you’ll probably recognise at least a few of the supporting vocal performances as well. John DiMaggio, the voice of Bender on Futurama, plays Bean’s father King Zog. His wife Queen Oona is played by Tress MacNeille who voiced several Futurama characters such as Mom, while various courtiers and subjects are played by Billy West, Maurice Lamarche, and Lauren Tom, all members of the Futurama ensemble. Abbi Jacobson’s comedic delivery is on point as Bean, deftly landing wry one-liners, but she also gets some serious dramatic moments to work with as the series gets to it’s climax, giving Bean a genuine despair and frustration as she’s forced to make difficult choices. The most accomplished performance is Nat Faxon’s Elfo, who finds room in the characters naive inexperience to explore a bit of the normally up-beat little elf’s desperation and frustrated anger. Eric Andre’s performance as Luci is the most naturally delivered, but he’s a little under served in the script and most of his dialogue is sardonic quips or one-liners, though there is a dramatic moment later in the run where Andre delivers the simple line, “Who did that?” in such an emotionally fraught  way that I’m looking forward to seeing where he gets to take the character in the future.

If, like me, you’ve been quietly missing Futurama, Disenchantment isn’t a complete replacement, but it’s familiar enough to ease those pangs in the beginning and develops into a show that very well might make it’s own place in your heart. The first episode of Disenchantment doesn’t weave the strongest spell, and the show is yet to leverage it’s fantasy setting to the fullest, but in 10 episodes it manages to grow into an enchanting comedy adventure. Matt Groening has been quoted as saying that they have a long term plan for where they want the story to go, and that the show is already littered with clues and hints. With 10 more episodes already in the pipeline I’m looking forward to seeing the show continue to develop and grow.

7/10

Disenchantment is Produced by: The Curiosity Company, The Ululu Company, Netflix
Distributed by: Netflix
Created by: Matt Greoning, Josh Weinstein
Starring: Abbi Jacobson, Nat Faxon, Eric Andre, John DiMaggio,