“Disenchantment” Season 2 Review by Josh Davis (MILD SPOILERS)
October 5, 2019 9:25 am |
Created by Matt Groening (“The Simpsons” and “Futurama”), “Disenchantment” follows Bean (Abbi Jacobson), a boozy, rebellious princess in the medieval kingdom of Dreamland. Her father, King Zøg (John DiMaggio) is searching for a way to resurrect his first wife, who was turned to stone when his daughter was just a toddler. Enter Elfo (Nat Faxon), a naïve elf with magical, healing blood and Luci (Eric André), Bean’s own literal personal demon whose function in the show is to ensure that wackiness ensues.
After an enticing finale last year, “Disenchantment” Season 2 debuted on September 20, picking up where it left off, “Star Wars” style, with the heroes fractured across the landscape.
Bean, now reunited with her long-lost mother Queen Dagmar (Sharon Horgan), quickly learns things are not what they seem and sets off on a journey to reunite with her friends. Unfortunately for the show, that journey takes only an episode or two before everyone is safely back in Dreamland, as several sort of bottle episodes are mixed in with those that actually move the plot forward.
Episode 4, for instance (“The Heart is a Lonely Hunter”), sees Zøg literally dating a bear. Bean, referencing her father’s two wives, quips, “a witch, a lizard, a bear – god, are you building an ark?”
Those accustomed to Groening will find a familiar animation style, familiar sight gags (a dungeon sign reads “take a skull, leave a skull”), and familiar themes and character archetypes.
Unlike “The Simpsons,” which completely eschews long term storytelling, or “Futurama,” which only occasionally bothered with such ambitions, “Disenchantment” mostly attempts to have an overarching plot.
While the other two shows had enough going for them in terms of groundbreaking comedy and strong characters, Disenchantment’s cast is not quite as memorable, despite recycling several voice actors. John DiMaggio was a standout as Bender in “Futurama” and plays a similar lout in King Zøg. But while Bender was generally endearing despite being a murderous, alcoholic robot, Zøg is less so as a murderous, alcoholic king.
The excellent Eric André (probably the standout of the show) is the better Bender analogue as Luci, and Jacobson is likeable enough as Bean. Still, there’s something lacking here.
“Disenchantment,” if given the chance, could eventually grow into a worthy prehistoric successor to Groening’s previous two shows – but it’s still got centuries to go to live up to the comedic highs of the early Simpsons, or the exquisite emotional peaks of the best episodes of Futurama (“Jurassic Bark” and “Meanwhile”).
For Netflix viewers unfamiliar with those other two shows, “Disenchantment” probably reads as an average comedic streamer with a few laughs. “Glow” or “BoJack Horseman” it’s not, but if you’re looking to turn off your brain to pass a few half hours, it’ll do just fine.
PCL Rating: Taste It
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: FRESH 🍅
Share this:
Tags: Disenchantment, Disenchantment 2019, Disenchantment Season 2, Josh Davis, netflix, pop culture leftovers, Television Reviews, tv
Categorised in: Television Reviews
This post was written by Leftover Brian
Comments are closed here.