Review: Netflix’s Disenchantment
Netflix
Creator: Matt Groening
Starring: Abbi Jacobson, Eric André, Nat Faxon, John DiMaggio, Tress MacNeille
It”s been a few years since we’ve been blessed with anything new by Matt Groening. If you’re not familiar with the name, you are definitely familiar with his work. He’s the creative genius behind one of televisions longest running television programs, “The Simpsons” and another not so long running but relatively successful cartoon show, “Futurama”.
![](http://www.geekspeak.tv/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/BeanElfoLuci-300x188.jpeg)
I recall with both “The Simpsons” and “Futurama” the “fans” took awhile to come around. “The Simpsons”, at the time it debuted as it’s own show, not as a skit on “The Tracy Ullman Show”, it was met with a lot of backlash. The show was criticized for being against the grain of what television audiences were used to seeing in a “Modern American Family” and…it was a “cartoon.” Since the debut of “The Simpsons”, the American viewing public has accepted cartoons as a medium for situation comedy. “Futurama”, never caught the fire that “The Simpsons” did, but it is considered a cult classic and still regarded as one of the best sit-coms to date. Unlike “The Simpsons”, “Futurama” appealed to the more “Geeky” viewer being a sci-fi show.
![](http://www.geekspeak.tv/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Elfos-300x167.jpg)
Princess Tiabeanie or “Bean” for short is a Princess who doesn’t want to be forced to marry or give up her spoiled party girl ways. On the night of her wedding, in episode 1, she is cursed by a demon Luci, voiced by Eric André, whose sole purpose is to make Bean do bad things. This was a little problematic and not really hashed out. Bean was already a handful and rambunctious. Her personal guard asks to be sent on a Crusade rather then watch the spoiled princess before the demon ever makes an appearance. She didn’t really need the demons help. I don’t know if this was some sort of set-up for later seasons, but it left me wondering about his actual purpose in the trio.
![](http://www.geekspeak.tv/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/SameKings-300x225.jpg)
The storyline for “Disenchantment” isn’t too shabby. Reminds me a bit of a mix between “Lord of the Rings” and “Game of Thrones”. It’s not like the previous Groening comedies where every episode is its own stand alone. This is a narrative and follows a plot line through most of its season. The King wants Elfo’s magical blood in order to create an immortality elixir but then banishes him when he banishes Bean for partying too hard and being a spoiled brat. “Disenchantment” does end on a cliff hangar that I hope Netflix allows Groening to complete. I look forward to this being one of his great works on par with “Futurama”, I hope he outdoes them both.