Hey everyone. Before we get started, I just wanted to give out a big thanks to Joshua Ott for sponsoring this review with his Patreon donation. (At the $60 a month tier, you are allowed to pick one 13ish episode series to be reviewed–which is released in addition to the one article a week I normally put out here on BiggestinJapan.com.) This time around he chose a non-anime, the new Netflix cartoon Disenchantment. So let’s get down to the review!
Disenchantment, Netflix latest original animated series aimed at adults, has had a lot of buzz surrounding it–and that’s to be expected. After all, this is the latest animated work from the creator of Futurama and The Simpsons. But while the art and humor fits well with its brethren, Disenchantment often feels more different than similar.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gp_RnJcb8Ig
Why this is begins with the premise. The Simpsons is about the wacky struggles of a working class family and the town they live in. Futurama is about the workers of an interplanetary delivery company in the far future and the adventures they have along the way. Disenchantment, however, is about the princess of a fantasy kingdom who wants more out of life than being married off in a royal alliance.
Springfield is a town where something new and strange is always happening–and how each character interacts with what is going on is the setup for much of the shows humor. Futurama’s future has an entire universe to play with–not to mention time and other dimensions.
But in Disenchantment, the Kingdom of Dreamland–i.e., where the majority of the show is set–is the most boring part. Now, let’s be clear, the greater world itself is exceptionally fun to explore. From ancient cities and wise gurus to Hansel and Gretel reimagined as cannibalistic serial killers, the pure insanity of the fantasy world is limited only by the imagination of its creators.
Dreamland itself, however, is nothing more than a medieval castle city. It’s got pubs and opium dens, starvation and the plague. But when it comes to the magic that permeates the rest of the world, there’s little of it to see beyond the fairy prostitutes who lurk in the back alleys. Even the kingdom’s salamander Queen and three-eyed chancellor act like any human character with the exception of a few humorous quirks. In the Kingdom of Dreamland, the fantastic is made normal. “Disenchantment” indeed.
In fact, the kingdom only gets interesting when things from the outside come in and mess up the status quo–be that an exorcist, a wedding delegation, or an army of Vikings. And that is the point. Despite the incredible world of fantasy surrounding us, we’re trapped in this boring kingdom–just like the protagonist, Bean.
Unlike The Simpsons or Futurama, Disenchantment is focused on the life of a single protagonist, Bean. The aforementioned princess, she hates her life in the Kingdom of Dreamland. Bean longs to be free of her cage, to travel the world, fall in love, and have adventures–or maybe just get really drunk in as many crazy places as possible.
Ever since the death of her mother, her purpose in the kingdom has been horribly clear: marry a prince to secure an alliance for Dreamland. But the problem with this is the fact that anyone with a functioning pair of ovaries could fill this role. It has to do with who she was born as not who she is as a person.
But as much as she has convinced herself that she is trapped in her role, it isn’t her father who has trapped her there, it is herself. If she really wanted to, she could leave at any time–and she wouldn’t be alone; her friends Elfo and Luci would join her without a thought. Moreover, while the world is dangerous, she is far from helpless and can even go toe-to-toe in a sword fight with experienced warriors.
There really is nothing stopping her from going out on adventures–and she does so several times throughout the first season. However, when she heads out into the greater world, it’s always because she is driven to leave–usually in order to save her friends. What’s stopping her from escaping her princessly life isn’t physical, it’s mental.
When left alone, Bean will get drunk or high rather than go on an adventure. After all, what’s easier, going down to the pub while railing at the world for being unfair or making an effort and hitting the road?
At her core, Bean is selfish and entitled. She likes her comfort and doesn’t what to give it up. And that’s understandable. She is a princess after all.
But here’s the thing about Bean, the problem she’s having isn’t the problem she thinks she’s having: What she really wants isn’t freedom, its a purpose–a purpose beyond marrying a random prince.
Bean is at her happiest when she has something to do: be that a quest to find a pendant or planning a killer party while her father is out of town. In fact, the high point for her is when her father makes her an ambassador. In this episode, we see Bean as she could be–smart, decisive, and able to rise to the challenges before her. In fact, it’s only the direct interference of her personal demon, Luci, that makes everything fall apart spectacularly.
This need to have a meaning to her life is likewise why Bean chooses to leave with her resurrected mother in the season finale. Bean’s mother tells her that she has a great destiny and, of course, this is exactly what Bean wants to hear. She doesn’t have to do the hard work of hunting for a meaning to her life or even give up her creature comforts to find it. All she has to do is go off with her mother. And given that her mother’s death is the event that left her disenchanted (pun intended) with her fate as a princess, it’s no wonder she accepted so easily.
Beans arc is far from finished by the end of the first season. She’s been led astray by the very words she wanted to hear from the very mouth of the person she wanted to hear those words from. But, who’s to say that the grand destiny her mother has planned is any better than the one her father had planned?
When it comes down to it, Bean simply wants what all of us want, to find something we love to do. And no matter the planning or scheming, that’s something no parent can force.
This singular thematic focus is what makes Disenchantment work dramatically–even as it’s often overshadowed by witty wordplay and shocking visual humor. It’s also what sets it apart from The Simpsons and Futurama.
Though, that’s not to say that Disenchantment doesn’t stumble in other areas. A lot of what plagues this first season is confusion about the status quo. At first, it seems like Disenchantment’s the story of a princess running away from home with two odd companions. But all too soon, she’s back in the castle having much more mundane adventures.
At the same time, it’s hard to get a grasp on the rules of what you’re watching. Is continuity a thing or do things reset each week? Are the characters static (like Homer, Bart, etc.) or will they change and grow based on their experiences? It’s not really until the end of the season that you really see what kind of show it is–a show that’s episodic but that does have an overall arc in which the characters grow and change.
Likewise, due to the comedic nature of the series it’s hard to tell what is truly dangerous and what isn’t–a problem when trying to build tension for the more dramatic scenes. While people die all the time in the show (usually as a gruesome punchline), it’s unclear what can actually harm our main characters and what can’t. Water from a well with a dead horse in it gives only a stomach ache. However, a single arrow proves lethal.
But the good news is that by the end of the first season, what Disenchantment is and what it’s trying to be is much more clear. On the episodic level, it’s a sarcastic, often shocking comedy full of grim humor and witty dialogue. On the seasonal level, it is a drama about trying to find your place in the world–and how the only person who really gets in the way of finding it is you.
So while the first season was a bit rocky, I am certainly excited to check out season 2 whenever it arrives.
Disenchantment can be seen on Netflix.
Top Image Source: Netflix US on Twitter
Be First to Comment