Disenchantment Season 1 Review

Disenchantment follows a trio as they deal with their drunken somewhat of a princess lead. Bean (Abbi Jacobson) doesn't know what she wants out of life and ends up with a personal demon (Eric Andre). This character is named Luci and acts as that devil on your shoulder. To help balance those two out comes the overly happy and out of place Elfo (Nat Faxon). The star cast doesn't stop there however as so many great actors lend their voices to various roles.

This is a Netflix Original series from the creator of The Simpsons and Futurama, it's a Matt Groening adult animated comedy. I lean it more towards Futurama in terms of style being even more adult than that. With that being said, with the darker material I still think most audiences could enjoy this as it would have been something I could have watched when younger. This is a structured series with each episode building towards the overall narrative, but also having its own separate theme. This worked well and I honestly wish there was more of it in this initial season.

The animation was great here bringing a high quality look and some fascinating creatures. With this taking on a fantasy setting they had some more mystical elements while also cracking jokes at that. The show was generally funny too with good moments that did lean towards being more dramatic as well. I don't think it quite hit the mark that Futurama could at times, but it could go there in the future.

The core cast is great, I especially liked the lead character that has nothing but negative influences towards any decision she makes. This was well structured, had some great surprise voice characters and a different overall plot. This was based around one group of characters that don't really care and just try to get through their tasks so they can reach the bar. It would have been nice to see more from the side characters, as this really did just focus on Bean's tale.

The Conclusion

Disenchantment Season 1 delivers a great new animated show for Netflix being a fresh take on the Simpsons and Futurama formula. It's great to see them go darker with the jokes while also nailing some of the darker aspects of the time. You could see them mentioned or shown, but not directly commented on using them more for the humor.

The cast was great, with voiced lines that delivered depending on what was needed in the moment. There's a lot of potential for this show going forward and while I'd like to see additional episodes in a season they may have hit a sweet spot here telling a confined story. It would also be great to see the mystical elements explored further as this centered around humans and their interactions with the magical side of things.

Disenchantment Season 1 Review at Home with Streamed Viewing
Screening was Provided by Netflix (1st seven episodes)

Rating Overall: 7.4