It's been a while since the legendary Matt Groening threw upon us another new animated franchise, and with the death of Futurama lingering on among cartoon fans, and The Simpsons' quality dwindling with each new season, it's nice to have something fresh, something... enchanted.
As with most western animations, Disenchantment is digital. It's easy to compare its visual fidelity to that of The Simpsons in its present state: it's nothing particularly special, but nothing all that impressive, either.
The show itself follows a sense of dread that it uses entirely for satirical purposes, and sometimes even a little social commentary, but of course you can't expect too much depth in an animation that's orientated around a naive and depressed elf, a problematic princess, and a cat-like demon companion.
With the first few episodes focusing on the characters and their nonsensical adventures, there's not much direction in the show, more so subtle mentions of what could be coming towards the end, and I can't say I particularly enjoyed it -- after all, I am used to Futurama and The Simpsons taking on the approach of having a different theme and narrative each episode, which I certainly prefer.
While the jokes in the show struggle to land, there's something about Disenchantment that has you wanting to watch more, something that holds you in; I believe that's the fact that despite its overall mediocrity, the show fills a significant gap in the more serious adult animation side of the genre. It is unique, and it overall is an enjoyable visual experience.
Disenchantment certainly feels like the spiritual successor to Futurama and The Simpsons, it holds many similarities and carries itself with the very same types of humour and themes; the only problem is it being linear in its first season, focusing heavily on the narrative towards the end. It begins to lose its charm, and it's certainly difficult to really care about the narrative alongside the nonsensical activities that occur in-between.
