Created by Matt Groening, the mastermind behind The Simpsons and Futurama, the upcoming animated Netflix show Disenchantment is already creating a buzz ahead of its premiere. The plot seems to entail darker humor than we’re used to watching in the previous shows combined with a theme of medieval fantasy. It follows Princess Bean, who is a rebellious alcoholic fighting against the traditions set in stone by her family, along with her elf companion, Elfo, and a demon called Luci in the kingdom of Dreamland. If this has somewhat spiked your interest, join us in the countdown leading up to the airing date: August 17th.
For Simpsons and Futurama fans, don’t worry. You will come across Groening’s trademark character design yet again. “I developed that style of the large bulgy eyes and ridiculous over-bite when I was 12 years old,” Groening said. “Actually, Elfo is based on the very first character in that style that I drew. He was named Melvin. I used to draw a lot of comics with that guy, and basically gave him an elf hat and pointy ears. Bart and Elfo came from Melvin – Elfo didn’t come from Bart.”
John DiMaggio, who plays the voice of a recurring king character, describes the show as “the offspring of The Simpsons and Game of Thrones“. This time, Netflix provided Groening a more liberal platform, free from the television sitcom restrictions that shaped his earlier shows. “It’s one thing when it’s a 22-minute network sitcom that has commercial breaks every seven minutes. That makes you write in a certain way. If you’re on Netflix and have ten episodes to tell your story, it changes everything. You can tell longer, bigger arcs, you don’t have to reset at the end of every episode. There’s a literal cliffhanger at the end of episode one,” Groening said.
In July 2017, they announced that Australian rapper and comedy writer Briggs is a member of the writing team for the show.
Describing the show, Groening said, “The Simpsons is a family sitcom, Futurama was a workplace comedy, and Disenchantment is a show about three damaged people in a magical world trying to figure out who they are and where they are going. The show takes some dark turns and there is some tragedy. If you’re sensitive, you might tear up at some point.”
“We think it works as a sleepy time, fun, epic fantasy you can watch as you drift off at night. Or, if you’re the kind of person who obsesses (over funny details), there’s something for you there, too.”
The series will feature the voice talents of Abbi Jacobson (Princess Bean), Eric Andre (Luci), and Nat Faxon (Elfo) along with John DiMaggio, Billy West, Maurice LaMarche, Tress MacNeille, David Herman, Matt Berry, Jeny Batten, Rich Fulcher, Noel Fielding, and Lucy Montgomery.
