Disenchantment: Matt Groening is Back

Groening is back. On August 17th, Netflix released his new show Disenchantment. After binging this show over the past few days (solely for the sake of bringing new content to our blog), my feelings are mixed. As a huge fan of Futurama, when I saw Groening had made a new show I was stoked. I went in expecting a continuation of my most beloved show, something that Disenchantment definitely is not. At times it’s difficult to separate these shows from each other in your head, especially considering they use the same art style and some of the same voice actors, but by the end of the first season it’s hard not to see them as completely different universes.

Despite their similarities, this show is very different from Futurama. Futurama is written on an episode by episode basis, with very little story progression or inter-episode plot. This works very well for the show, serving as a show that can be easily watched at any episode without trying to remember where we left off in the last. Disenchantment, however, is written as a saga, similar to shows like Breaking Bad where each episode builds off the others beforehand and creates a very linear timeline over the course of the entire season*. This format in itself creates a very different show from Groening’s previous creations (Futurama, The Simpsons, Adventure Time, etc.). Personally I like this change in Groening’s style. It makes each episode more memorable and less dependant on one liners and animated sketches. It also allows the show to have more depth, creating deliberate voids in viewer knowledge like character backstory, only to be intentionally revealed at a later episode. Overall I think the format works for what Groening is building as potentially a multi-season show with a grand finale and great unveil.

Another great aspect of Disenchantment is the integration of pop culture references. Most are not very obvious but if you are paying attention you get a ‘if you know, you know’ feeling from them. This sometimes tends to work against the show at times. Some episodes rely too heavily on pop culture references for entertainment and novelty, and leave the show lacking of its own comedic value, instead capitalising on the hope that every viewer has the same viewing background as its creators, and can identify the dozens of references over the entire season.

Characters in Disenchantment are frankly, not great. Most don’t seem particularly realistic or relateable. Bean, the main protagonist, is written as a 16 year old girl who sometimes has a drinking problem. At times it seems they crammed the persona of Bender into her body without realizing it, just for a quick alcoholism gag. The best written character is Luci the demon, but even then it seems the writers were willing to trade character development for a quick one liner, usually not very good.

Now don’t fret because there is a lot of comedic value in this show, you just need to pay attention. So many jokes are hidden, written on a sign in the background or thrown casually into character dialogue. It’s even at the point where you can get a gag out of the closed captions that you wouldn’t realize was there otherwise. The comedy is also written with a clever style similar to other pieces of Groening’s work. Stay awake and you’ll have a good laugh.

Overall I can say I am glad to have watched the show. While I know that we have bagged on Netflix in the past, Juice even saying he’d trade his subscription for an extra Jimmy John’s sandwich every month, I think Netflix finally is on the right track for an animated series, something that they have long been missing (I refuse to dignify Big Mouth as a show). Hopefully they take into account audience response for Part 2 to Disenchanment, which has great potential for the plot and many cliffhangers that I want to have filled in.

-Dishwasher