Don't tell me to give Disenchantment a chance because Futurama "started slow" too. Futurama definitely went on to hit its stride, but it was funny and quotable from the very start. I *still* hear people making references and quoting Futurama. For example, in the very second episode we get the famous, "I am going to build my own theme park, with blackjack and hookers!" line, a line that spawned an entire meme. The first season introduced Zapp Brannigan (extremely funny and quotable) the Robot Devil, and there are some classic episodes, like A Big Piece of Garbage. Disenchantment however is not funny or quotable at all. It is a slow, tedious slog, filled with unoriginal characters, settings, and a plot that goes nowhere.
There's more room for comedy and grand ideas in science fiction because SF is the art of the possible. Futurama was genius because it managed to be both hilarious and have clever SF plots. For example, the time travel episodes connected to other episodes while maintaining a SF logic. Look at the episode "Roswell that Ends Well," a (hilarious) story that developed into a larger plot where Fry is the "chosen one" to ward off an encroaching evil. And, thanks to the open nature of SF, Futurama was able to have fantasy-focused plots, like "The Honking" and even "Bender's Game." Fantasy isn't as strong as SF because fantasy has stricter boundaries. SF can be post-apocalyptic, set in a space station, a military setting, or just a few years from now. SF can even be part fantasy, like Star Wars. Fantasy by itself however is usually set in a castle or the woods, and sure enough, those are Disenchanted only two locations. Disenchanted also features fairies, ogres, and elves: more standard fare. The only new or interesting element Disenchanted introduces is the king's wife, who appears to be a member of a Zora-like race from the Zelda series.
But it is not just the limitations of fantasy that hold Disenchantment back, but the show's stubborn choice to play it safe. Disenchantment is filled with stock, boring characters who are all the same, including the protagonists, who feel like they don't "fit in." A spoiled brat princess who wants to be a warrior? That is a plot as old as time. An elf who doesn't like being a happy elf? It sounds like the creators saw that crappy Will Ferrel (spelled right?) movie and just ran with that plot. The elf even remarks in episode nine, when approaching the other elves, "I smell cocoa, caramel, and conformity!" Wow, what a rebel. How about you take charge and muster up ambition instead of complaining about how the world works, dude?
The choice of employing such malcontent characters-- characters who refuse to fit into society-- as the protagonists of Disenchantment is both tactical and insulting. The creators of Disenchantment are trying to pander to a demographic, the demo being misfits, losers, basement dwellers: people who have always wondered why they don't "fit in" while stubbornly refusing to change and/or better themselves. After all, who else would watch an animated sitcom about three bores who run away from responsibility to play in a fantasy world? Sounds like the comics and video game industry to me. (By the way, the creators of the show are very wealthy, productive people: they certainly "fit in.")
So, we don't have the interesting SF plots of Futurama, the story goes nowhere, the characters are tedious and unoriginal, but perhaps Disenchantment's greatest sin is how unfunny and slow it is. You chuckle (not laugh) about every 25 minutes or so, and the pandering continues even to Disenchantment's humour, trying to make you laugh with bouts of gore and violence, a cheap shock tactic. But nowadays such cartoon violence is ancient, old hat. The most famous episode of Rick and Morty (a tedious and overrated show) is the one where Rick turns himself into a pickle and slaughters a group of sewer rats: but really, the violent parts of that episode were the most forgettable.
There's also a monologue in Disenchantment where a priest-type character proclaims skepticism in her belief in God, ending with the line, "If I talk with confidence, you dopes will believe anything I say." Shots at people who believe in God. That's great, guys. Enjoy that false feeling of superiority, and that big empty hole in your heart. (The princess character also brags about not being a virgin and also unwed. Is this not a destructive message?)
I suppose the show has some potential. The colours are beautiful, many backgrounds looking like they were done with watercolours. I also like the design of the demon Luci... but not the voice. He's well designed, almost always appearing in profile form, with a long black pointed tail and tiny cute horns: I can see the design working well in his own comic strip. But the voice spoils him. Luci would've been stronger with a voice more like Bender's from Futurama, instead of some smarmy hipster-type dude. Bender's voice is different, and it needs to be different because he is a robot. Luci meanwhile sounds like someone you reach when calling customer support. It's weird too, the similarities between Luci and Bender: both are misanthropes, both smoke cigars and drink hard liquor, both say "chump" like it's meant to be funny. (Luci is not the only element ripped from Futurama, there are actually many. For example, the king's wife continually makes jokes about her biology (tentacles, eggs, etc) just like Zoidberg did in Futurama.) But a lot of Disenchantment's art looks good and Luci's black sprite design is the highlight. Maybe the most original and clever part of the show.
Disenchantment is a slog. Only the Simpsons/Futurama die-hards will defend this criminally unfunny, slow, bad series. If you showed Disenchantment to any group (adults, teens, pre-teens), you'd squirm all the while because of the painful silence from the crowd. If this was Groening's first effort he'd be forced out of television and into a different field (perhaps even a literal field, like landscaping or agriculture or something). It doesn't help that so much of the season is a tease. Apart from the tired gags (rejected from Futurama?) the plot offers no closure. For example, Elfo's lineage is a major plot point, but we don't see any payoff: and, after this limpness of this first season, I'm not motivated to waste any more time to see where the plot goes.
Avoid.
There's more room for comedy and grand ideas in science fiction because SF is the art of the possible. Futurama was genius because it managed to be both hilarious and have clever SF plots. For example, the time travel episodes connected to other episodes while maintaining a SF logic. Look at the episode "Roswell that Ends Well," a (hilarious) story that developed into a larger plot where Fry is the "chosen one" to ward off an encroaching evil. And, thanks to the open nature of SF, Futurama was able to have fantasy-focused plots, like "The Honking" and even "Bender's Game." Fantasy isn't as strong as SF because fantasy has stricter boundaries. SF can be post-apocalyptic, set in a space station, a military setting, or just a few years from now. SF can even be part fantasy, like Star Wars. Fantasy by itself however is usually set in a castle or the woods, and sure enough, those are Disenchanted only two locations. Disenchanted also features fairies, ogres, and elves: more standard fare. The only new or interesting element Disenchanted introduces is the king's wife, who appears to be a member of a Zora-like race from the Zelda series.
But it is not just the limitations of fantasy that hold Disenchantment back, but the show's stubborn choice to play it safe. Disenchantment is filled with stock, boring characters who are all the same, including the protagonists, who feel like they don't "fit in." A spoiled brat princess who wants to be a warrior? That is a plot as old as time. An elf who doesn't like being a happy elf? It sounds like the creators saw that crappy Will Ferrel (spelled right?) movie and just ran with that plot. The elf even remarks in episode nine, when approaching the other elves, "I smell cocoa, caramel, and conformity!" Wow, what a rebel. How about you take charge and muster up ambition instead of complaining about how the world works, dude?
The choice of employing such malcontent characters-- characters who refuse to fit into society-- as the protagonists of Disenchantment is both tactical and insulting. The creators of Disenchantment are trying to pander to a demographic, the demo being misfits, losers, basement dwellers: people who have always wondered why they don't "fit in" while stubbornly refusing to change and/or better themselves. After all, who else would watch an animated sitcom about three bores who run away from responsibility to play in a fantasy world? Sounds like the comics and video game industry to me. (By the way, the creators of the show are very wealthy, productive people: they certainly "fit in.")
So, we don't have the interesting SF plots of Futurama, the story goes nowhere, the characters are tedious and unoriginal, but perhaps Disenchantment's greatest sin is how unfunny and slow it is. You chuckle (not laugh) about every 25 minutes or so, and the pandering continues even to Disenchantment's humour, trying to make you laugh with bouts of gore and violence, a cheap shock tactic. But nowadays such cartoon violence is ancient, old hat. The most famous episode of Rick and Morty (a tedious and overrated show) is the one where Rick turns himself into a pickle and slaughters a group of sewer rats: but really, the violent parts of that episode were the most forgettable.
There's also a monologue in Disenchantment where a priest-type character proclaims skepticism in her belief in God, ending with the line, "If I talk with confidence, you dopes will believe anything I say." Shots at people who believe in God. That's great, guys. Enjoy that false feeling of superiority, and that big empty hole in your heart. (The princess character also brags about not being a virgin and also unwed. Is this not a destructive message?)
I suppose the show has some potential. The colours are beautiful, many backgrounds looking like they were done with watercolours. I also like the design of the demon Luci... but not the voice. He's well designed, almost always appearing in profile form, with a long black pointed tail and tiny cute horns: I can see the design working well in his own comic strip. But the voice spoils him. Luci would've been stronger with a voice more like Bender's from Futurama, instead of some smarmy hipster-type dude. Bender's voice is different, and it needs to be different because he is a robot. Luci meanwhile sounds like someone you reach when calling customer support. It's weird too, the similarities between Luci and Bender: both are misanthropes, both smoke cigars and drink hard liquor, both say "chump" like it's meant to be funny. (Luci is not the only element ripped from Futurama, there are actually many. For example, the king's wife continually makes jokes about her biology (tentacles, eggs, etc) just like Zoidberg did in Futurama.) But a lot of Disenchantment's art looks good and Luci's black sprite design is the highlight. Maybe the most original and clever part of the show.
Disenchantment is a slog. Only the Simpsons/Futurama die-hards will defend this criminally unfunny, slow, bad series. If you showed Disenchantment to any group (adults, teens, pre-teens), you'd squirm all the while because of the painful silence from the crowd. If this was Groening's first effort he'd be forced out of television and into a different field (perhaps even a literal field, like landscaping or agriculture or something). It doesn't help that so much of the season is a tease. Apart from the tired gags (rejected from Futurama?) the plot offers no closure. For example, Elfo's lineage is a major plot point, but we don't see any payoff: and, after this limpness of this first season, I'm not motivated to waste any more time to see where the plot goes.
Avoid.