Elfo, Bean, and Luci falling off a cliff Image : Disenchantment ( Netflix ) It makes a certain amount of sense that Matt Groening’s third TV series would be Disenchantment. If The Simpsons tackles our heightened present through the eyes of a dysfunctional nuclear family, and Futurama skewered an imagined future influenced by the whims of 20th century science fiction, then Disenchantment broadly examines “the past” via the medieval fantasy genre. Like Groening’s previous shows, Disenchantment sports an impressive setting bounded only by the writers’ imagination, in this case the kingdom of Dreamland, and an ever expanding cast of characters, two elements crucial for his brand of humanism and satire to flourish. Anyone weaned on Groening’s work will find that his new series fits exactly in his wheelhouse but with one obvious difference: It’s streaming on Netflix instead of airing on television. Advertisement Reviews Disenchantment C "Chapter I: A Princess, an Elf, and a Demon Walk Into A Bar" Episode 1 Now, that’s not necessarily a prohibitive factor, but Netflix’s few creative restrictions and seemingly limitless budget constitute a double-edged sword for TV writers, especially those weaned on writing for network. Groening and showrunners Josh Weinstein and Bill Oakley are all veterans of the traditional half-hour sitcom, complete with commercial breaks and tight act structure, and they have done some of the medium’s best work within those constraints. Will the platform’s freedoms affect the quality of Disenchantment or will it be business as usual but with ten episodes at once instead of weekly installments? Unfortunately, Disenchantment’s pilot, “Chapter I: A Princess, an Elf, and a Demon Walk Into A Bar,” falls into a familiar streaming trap: It plays like an extended first act rather than a discrete episode. Written by Groening and Weinstein, the pilot inelegantly introduces the series’ main characters without much regard for pacing or timing, taking its sweet time playing in the world of Dreamland but rushing through the character relationships. It begins haphazardly and ends on a semi-literal cliffhanger, and while plenty of events occur in between, none of it carries much weight or significance. Worst of all, it’s all around light on jokes. “Chapter I” scans as an introduction ostensibly satisfied in the knowledge that audiences will forgive its flaws because they’ll most likely just power through to the next episode right away. While that might be true, Disenchantment’s first impression still isn’t terribly strong. (It should be noted that future episodes of Disenchantment are stand-alone installments and don’t necessarily have this problem.) Disenchantment introduces us to Princess Tiabeanie (Abbie Jacobson)—the rebellious party animal daughter of King Zøg, ruler of Dreamland—who is set to be married off to Prince Guysbert of the nearby kingdom of Bentwood in order to secure an alliance between the two empires. Naturally, she’s opposed to the wedding, but has reluctantly accepted that her impeding nuptials represent her lot in life. On her wedding day, she discovers that she’s been cursed with her own personal demon (Eric Andre), Luci, who is tasked to steer Bean towards the darkness, unaware that she’s primed for that direction anyway. Meanwhile, in the hidden world of Elfwood, the young Elfo (Nat Faxon) chafes against the cloying cheeriness of his homeland, reminiscent of Smurf Village only adorned with candy. After being caught cavorting with Kissy the Elf, he’s sentenced to death by hanging (from the Gumdrop Tree, of course), but escapes Elfworld in search of a new life. He ends up in Dreamland just as Bean is about to be married. All hell breaks loose and the three eventually escape the kingdom. Prince Merkimer (Matt Berry), Guysbert’s brother and Bean’s new groom after Guysbert is fatally impaled by a chair at the wedding, chases after them at the behest of Zøg. There are a handful of good moments here and there—Elfo expressing frustration at the nonsensical candy economy in Elfworld, the jester cracking wise at Zøg’s expense only to be thrown out a window by an executioner, the Wish Master being a Wash Master—but “Chapter I” doesn’t put nearly as much effort into establishing character as it does setting. Granted, there’s only so much work one can accomplish in a pilot, but most of the main relationships on Disenchantment feel too convenient (or, worse, arbitrary) because it takes way too long to bring the trio together. Compare this episode the Futurama pilot: Fry meets Leela four minutes into the episode and then meets Bender eight minutes in. Meanwhile, it takes 24 minutes to bring Elfo into the fold. Sure, Disenchantment relies on some character shortcuts—Luci is the devil on Bean’s shoulder while Elfo harbors what’s bound to be an unrequited attraction to her, whadya need a road map?—but they don’t compensate for the general lack of care involved. By the time the trio are jumping off a cliff together to avoid returning to Dreamland, the show acts like their bound by friendship, but it feels unearned. The world is fully formed from the get-go, but the people are so far too thin. Even Bean feels pretty one note and we spend the most time with her character. Advertisement Obviously, Disenchantment will develop and relationships will fall into place, but the goal of a first episode, regardless of whether it premieres on TV or the Internet, should be to get audiences to stick around. It feels like Disenchantment is banking on audiences liking the fantasy world enough to just soldier on, but Groening’s best work always foregrounds character as well as setting, grounding proceedings in balanced emotion. There’s a moment when Bean asks her new companions to identify the feeling inside her that she doesn’t want to drink away, and Elfo believes that it’s hope. It’s a nice moment that connects with the character’s waywardness, but it feels untethered to the wackiness that precedes and follows it. Disenchantment will likely clarify all of this in subsequent episodes, but right now, everything feels like a means to service the world when it should be the other way around. Stray observations On Disenchantment Signage: 1. “Welcome to Dreamland: Now With 5 Village Idiots”; 2. “Now Entering Enchanted Forest: Beware of Racist Antelope.” 1.<doc-sep>The Simpsons creator Matt Groening and Netflix have scheduled their new fantasy-minded animated comedy series, Disenchantment, to debut in August. “Viewers will be whisked away to the crumbling medieval kingdom of Dreamland, where they will follow the misadventures of hard-drinking young princess Bean, her feisty elf companion Elfo and her personal demon Luci,” Netflix said of the show. “Along the way, the oddball trio will encounter ogres, sprites, harpies, imps, trolls, walruses and lots of human fools.” Broad City‘s Abbi Jacobson (“Bean”), Eric Andre (“Luci”) and Nat Faxon (“Elfo”) lead Disenchantment‘s voice cast. The series will stream its 10-episode first season on August 17th; Netflix has already ordered a 10-episode second season. “Disenchantment will be about life and death, love and sex, and how to keep laughing in a world full of suffering and idiots, despite what the elders and wizards and other jerks tell you,” Groening previously said of the series. As evidenced by four teaser images, Disenchanted bears the hallmarks of Groening’s drawing style, with the characters resembling those of The Simpsons and Futurama. Disenchanted marks Groening’s first new animated television series since Futurama debuted in 1999.<doc-sep>The first teaser for Matt Groening’s new Netflix series, Disenchantment, doesn’t want anyone to forget his previous series. The teaser opens with references to Futurama and The Simpsons, two of the most popular cartoons in modern times, before showing a brief glimpse of Groenig’s new series. Disenchantment takes place in a medieval setting, where kings and paupers very much exist. We don’t learn too much from the teaser, but it does introduce the king and his daughter, who’s in some kind of trouble that she must face her father over. A brief synopsis of the series follows: From the mind of Matt Groening, comes the 10-episode adult animated comedy fantasy series, Disenchantment, launching on Netflix, August 17, 2018. In Disenchantment, viewers will be whisked away to the crumbling medieval kingdom of Dreamland, where they will follow the misadventures of hard-drinking young princess Bean, her feisty elf companion Elfo, and her personal demon Luci. Along the way, the oddball trio will encounter ogres, sprites, harpies, imps, trolls, walruses, and lots of human fools. Abbi Jacobson, Nat Faxon, Eric Andre voice the main trio, with Futurama favorites John DiMaggio and Billy West also lending their voices. Disenchantment will be available to stream on Netflix on Aug. 17.<doc-sep>LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The creator of the long-running animated TV series "The Simpsons" brings his first new show in 20 years to Netflix NFLX.O this week, a story that centers around a drunken princess, an elf and a demon. Set in a medieval world called Dreamland, “Disenchantment” is creator Matt Groening’s take on shows like HBO’s blockbuster fantasy series “Game of Thrones.” Speaking at the show’s Los Angeles premiere on Tuesday, Groening said the program is “more emotional” than “The Simpsons” or his other animated hit, “Futurama.” He said Netflix gave him “free rein” to create whatever he wanted. Netflix Inc will release all 10 episodes of “Disenchantment” on Friday.<doc-sep>
Disenchantment, the new Matt Groening show on Netflix. (Image: Netflix) Matt Groening doesn’t make TV shows very often — after The Simpsons and Futurama, he doesn’t really need to, does he? — so the arrival of Disenchantment, now streaming on Netflix, is inevitably something of an event. Disenchantment is another animated show, set in what Netflix calls a “crumbling medieval kingdom” called Dreamland. The clothes certainly signal the Middle Ages, but the presence of a friendly elf named Elfo and a devilish demon named Luci suggest this project has much of its mind on fantasy epics like Game of Thrones and The Lord of the Rings. The central character is Bean, a princess whose voice is provided by Broad City’s Abbi Jacobson. She’s a plucky young woman who drinks too much and says things like, “I want to be in charge of my own destiny” — in other words, medieval or not, she’s the very model of an enlightened 21st-century mindset. So is much of the humor here. A typical joke will have Bean say to a stranger, “What, now you’re highwaymen?” and the response is, “Highway-people: We’re a gender-neutral kleptocracy.” Political correctness: It’s so funny! Elfo, voiced by Nat Faxon (The Descendents), and Luci, voiced by Eric Andre (Adult Swim’s The Eric Andre Show), are contrasting types vying for the heart and mind of their pal Bean. Luci tries to tempt Bean to act badly, and Elfo sets a better example as an amiable elf who’s a bit dim. Groening created the series (it has a 10-episode first season, with a second one already picked up by Netflix), but its showrunner is Josh Weinstein, a Simpsons and Futurama vet who also worked on kids shows like Gravity Falls and the 2015 reboot of Danger Mouse. Disenchantment feels more kid-friendly than the other Groening shows. Watch the trailer for Disenchantment: It’s also structurally different from previous Groening work. Each episode averages out to a solid commercial-free half-hour, making it longer than one of Groening’s Fox-network shows, and the episodes frequently conclude with cliffhangers, to tempt you to binge the next installment. The result is often an episode that feels stretched out to suit the ongoing story arcs. I guess the idea is to take the viewer on an epic quest that’s also Bean’s inner journey of self-discovery, and those two things are jarring — they don’t really meld into a unifying whole. Story continues Disenchantment is pretty to look at — the background illustrations are often lovely — but it’s not very funny. The producers have said the show is filled with a budding mythology and lots of Easter eggs for the fan base it hopes to build, so if you’re into that kind of detail-oriented viewing, this may be a show for you. Disenchantment is streaming now on Netflix. Watch: Matt Groening reveals the surprising inspiration behind Disenchantment: Read more from Yahoo Entertainment: