Futuramais one of my all - prison term favorite show . It ’s one of the first things my now - husband and I bonded over when we met . So I was delirious to see that creator Matt Groening was moving from sci - fi to fantasy withDisenchantment . After watch the whole season , which debuted last Friday on Netflix , I can safely say it ’s a fine show . Not big , but not bad either . And the final couple of episodes may blow you off .
Disenchantment is Netflix ’s latestanimated series , helmed by co - executive producers Groening and Josh Weinstein . It ’s about a loth princess name Bean ( Abbi Jacobson ) , who drinks , gamble , and misdemean her way through Dreamland with the assistant of her two friends , a happy - go - favorable elf name Elfo ( Nat Faxon ) and Luci ( Eric Andre ) , a mischievous demon who ’s been direct to Bean ’s side by dark , deep force .
The show ’s fuck off a pretty wide response , all over the board . Some have praised Groening ’s return to form , others say it ’s too similar to his other appearance , The Simpsons and Futurama . Honestly , both of those things are on-key . There are some things that make it stand out from the bunch , as well as others that fall vapid . Here are some of the thing we liked the most about the debut time of year of Disenchantment , as well as what we ’d like to see improve .
We Loved…
…The Unique Yet Familiar World
Disenchantment is a show that ’s go to mean one thing to Groening vivification fans , and something different to everyone else . If you ’re someone who ’s watch The Simpsons casually , and maybe never really cull up on Futurama , it ’s a precious , dizzy show to watch . However , for those who ’ve grown up with Groening ’s work , it finger a little dissimilar . It ’s almost like a security blanket , giving us many of the tropes , jokes , and themes we ’ve grown up with in his previous show , along with his distinct animation vogue . grant , it ’s not always good to continue in your consolation zone — and I have some issues with it I ’ll get to at the end of this berth — but as a major Futurama devotee , I did enjoy seeing elements of the show I love in this new one .
Of course , there are some matter that serve Disenchantment resist apart , the tale structure being the master one . The time of year was full of standalone episodes and side secret plan that did n’t really go anywhere , as Groening is wo nt to do , but you could feel it was always moving toward something . And move toward something it did ( again , more on that in a bit ) . There ’s also a lot more violence in this show , like a lot , a lot , a lot . The Hansel and Gretel sequence nonplus especially stinky near the end , though I did n’t really heed .
…Abbi Jacobson as Bean
Broad City ’s Jacobson has step into the role of Princess Bean , a disaffected 19 - year - one-time girl who drinks a lot , enjoys sexual urge , and is constantly frustrated with how her father is treating her . It ’s sort of a intermixture of Leela and Lisa , with a good for you dose of Bender Bending Rodriguez throw in there . And I really , really like her . She ’s a arise princess case who ’s look for for who she is — a very Disney Princess chronicle — but she does so in a way that works for her . Because , in the death , Bean does know who she is . Really , she ’s just hold back for everyone else to understand her too . Plus , Jacobson is gravid in the theatrical role , bringing a sizable mix of energy and informality .
…The Animation Backgrounds
The character animation in the show is kind of miscellaneous . It ’s bad in the earlier episodes , which sometimes looked rickety , jumbled , or even kind of lazy . They ’ve meliorate as the series has gone on , but they ’re still not the finest work Groening and his squad have done . The backgrounds , on the other hand , are breathtaking . I ca n’t evidence you how much I love the scenery in many of the shot , especially the land of Dreamland . The backgrounds look like a mixture of Disney ’s Robin Hood and the Fractured Fairy Tales shorts fromRocky & Bullwinkle , giving the show a sense of timeless existence while devote tribute to some of the great in classic invigoration . A side note : I also like how the chess opening credits for each episode are sartor - made to play off scenes from that sequence .
…That One ‘Rock Band’ Scene
There is one scene that was so uproariously laugh - out - loud funny it ’s deserving a scout , even if you do n’t plan on streaming the entire time of year . It ’s comedy gold . During instalment three “ The Princess of wickedness , ” we see Bean , Elfo , and Luci taste - testing a little teen rebellion — which inescapably result in an existent taste test of her stepmother ’s drug . What result is a uproarious two - minute soliloquy where Bean sound through all the stages of shape a band with her best friends Elfo and Luci . She swan on from the very first practice , where they call to be together evermore , to the time she unavoidably state “ Screw you all ! ” and goes solo , at last culminating in their heartfelt reunion tour where love will unfeignedly keep them together . It ’s an fantastically random panorama that come out of nowhere , has no burden on the plot , and does n’t get bring up again . But it works so amazingly well , and Jacobson hand over it with faultless comedic timing .
…Bean’s Choice (and the Whole Season Finale)
Netflix only made the first seven sequence of Disenchantment uncommitted to critic , mean a lot of them did n’t get a chance to see the final few episodes . This lead some to question whether the promise of a tale arc was actually going to be observe through on . It paid off , big time .
In the second - to - last sequence , “ To Thine Own Elf Be True , ” Bean learns the scandalous Sojourner Truth about what happened to her mother — she was turn to stone thanks to a poison , and her father ’s time of year - long hunting for the Elixir of Life was to convey her back . edible bean procures a single free fall of elf ’s blood and has to decide whether she ’ll use it to revive her dead friend Elfo , or save her mother . In a move that surprised even me , Bean choose her female parent .
The final episode deals with the ramification of that choice for secure , but mostly for worse . Bean get skinny to her mother , eager to connect with someone after her father had emotionally abandon her , while everyone else ( let in her father ) slowly come across that the queen ’s revival may not actually be the respectable affair for the kingdom . Then , it culminates in a solid cliffhanger ending that makes me athirst for the next 10 episodes .
What really instill me was how , upon watch “ Dreamland Falls , ” you empathise how Disenchantment left us all the breadcrumb to get us to that point . Some of the episode might have been standalone account , but they all connected — for example , Bean not get meter to find her mother ’s body in the crypt back in instalment three . I ’m tempted to go back and see how much I missed .
We Didn’t Love
…How Elfo’s Story Changed
Elfo was one of my favorite character betimes on . The show introduced him as theHermey the Misfit Elfof his orphic elven biotic community . Only it was n’t toy dog he did n’t want to make , it was confect — and instead of wanting to be a dentist , Elfo want the freedom to be depressed . Lo and behold , Elfo leaves the grove and finds himself in a man where everyone is depressed . And when compared to those common people , he is n’t miserable at all — he ’s a cheery optimist who ’s never heard of war , offers an superabundance of gratitude to everyone he meets , and jumps in a rag river without knowing how to float . Because it ’s fun !
If this character sound familiar , it ’s because it ’s basically Fry from Futurama , the pollyannaish foreigner who does n’t sympathize the earth he ’s in but dammit he want to try . And know what ? I was fine with that . Because he was cute and funny , and he was the saint to Luci ’s Old Nick on Bean ’s shoulder . I liked Elfo . That is , until they went full Fry and turn him into a lovesick puppy over Bean .
By episode four , Disenchantment decide that Elfo ’s main story bow was being in love with Bean and wanting a relationship , much like how Fry pined over Leela for most of the series . This take the sails right out of what could have been a fun and quirky side character , making him boring and repetitive . “ Love ’s Tender Rampage ” was one of the worst installment of the time of year for that very understanding . I do n’t care if Elfo is in love with Bean , because it ’s not his story , it ’s hers . I ’d rather we focus on Bean ’s personal journeying , with the help ( and malice ) of her two protagonist . On that note , Luci is fine but kind of all over the piazza . He ’s speculate to be a demon at the whim of these evil wizards , but they only pop up up , like , a mates prison term throughout the season . Luci ’s just there to be Bender .
…(Some of the) Pop Culture Stuff
In The Simpsons , it makes sense to havepop refinement references , because the show literally reflectsthe democratic culture of our fourth dimension . Futurama had a different justification because it took place in the hereafter , so it was able to draw back on our own “ ancient history ” in way that keep our soda water cultivation relevant . However , Disenchantment does n’t have any of those apology . And yet , we have view where police carriages and Equus asinus conduct high - speed chases , a creepy guy rope re - enact The Exorcist , and the Constable Line : Do Not baffle taping .
I have no problem with dad civilisation references in show like this … when they work , or dish up a purpose . And there were times they did . For object lesson , I loved when , after the Vikings “ invaded ” Bean ’s party , that one guy cable pointed out the inconsistency of rules in their magical world after asking if the Viking ’s pointer could blab out . That was not only funny , it was a fun quip on an be trouble in lots of fantasy lore , that sometimes take a shit changes for no reason . But the overt dad culture nods , without any reason being there other than “ LOL this exist , ” felt less like apt comment and more like something from Shrek or Family Guy .
…Its Preventable Growing Pains
Earlier in the postal service I mentioned how Disenchantment ’s “ unique yet familiar world ” can be comfort for fans of The Simpsons and Futurama . However , it also can be a job . The last dyad of instalment may have been on a whole other point of quality , but that does n’t excuse some of the error made in the first place in the season . Groening ’s shows have a tendency to palpate underwhelming ahead of time on , giving us episodes and storylines that are more wearisome than engaging , and this show was no exception .
I was especially unimpressed by the two - parter series premiere , where Bean had to escape conjoin the admittedly screaming Matt Berry as Prince Merkimer . It felt like the same joke repeat several times — Bean does n’t desire to get married , does a matter to fend off sustain married , drink booze . And the other vitality was so poor at clip , I could n’t serve but marvel if part of it was from the archetype that got pitched to Netflix before the series pick - up . This would be o.k. , except it feels like Groening should have learn from his mistakes by now . There ’s no alibi for wonky and discrepant brio from a big - name Maker who ’s give us so much great piece of work .
The last duo of instalment showed a narrative maturity that we have n’t seen from Groening ’s workplace in a long time , and I ’m sure that ’s in no small part thanks to Weinstein , who wreak on Gravity Falls . But there are some pothole Disenchantment keeps stumble into that I would wish to see the team learn to hop over in the next 10 episode , and possibly beyond .
AnimationFuturamaMatt GroeningNetflixThe Simpsons
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