Disenchantment
A game of groans (and laughter)
Fantasy Futurama” sums up new Netflix series Disenchantment, from Simpsons creator Matt Groening. Set in a medieval city that’s part Game Of Thrones, part Monty Python And The Holy Grail, this ten-episode first season is a wryly amusing introduction to a series that never quite finds its groove.
The show follows Bean, a harddrinking, thoroughly modern princess who, in the first episode, avoids being married off while picking up two odd companions – a naïve, optimistic elf called Elfo, and shadowy, sarcastic demon Luci. The pair serve as angel and devil over Bean’s shoulders, and are often the driving force behind her misadventures, whether a stag do on the high seas or a night of thievery.
This is a Matt Groening series for the boxset generation, with richly detailed backgrounds designed to be freezeframed and pored over. It’s a world rich with ideas, and one that gleefully subverts fantasy fiction tropes in amusing ways – the seemingly idyllic life of the elves, for example, is a tedious hell for anyone who stops to notice.
Voicework, including favourites from the cast of Futurama, is strong, as is the simple art style. But it’s never as smart as Futurama, as relatable as The Simpsons, or as funny as either, leaving it adrift among Groening’s animated output. When the writers hit their stride it could be something special, but for now Disenchantment is merely an entertaining oddity. Jordan Farley