Disenchantment

""Ever wish you could live in a place where people were really, truly happy"?"

- Bean [In Dreamland]

""I'm sick of being happy all the time. I wish just once I could go somewhere where people are miserable"."

- Elfo [In Elfwood]

Disenchantment is the creation of The Simpsons and Futurama creator Matt Groening and Josh Weinstein, and was released on Netflix on August 17th, 2018. It is a fantasy fiction adventure cartoon set in a mythical Middle Ages time period and features a variety of well-known creatures of folk lore including elves, ogres, giants and mermaids, as well as it's own novel species such as Dankmirians and Maruvians, and of course, humans. It follows the twin tales of disenchantment of the alcoholic protagonist Princess Tiabeannie of Dreamland ("Bean" for short) - who rebels against her father King Zog and step-mother Queen Oona in search of happiness - and her newfound elf buddy Elfo who has exiled himself from Elfwood in search of misery. She finds herself cursed by a personal demon (daemon) Luci for reasons unknown to her (but known to the audience). As the trio embark on a quest to find the Elixir of Life, Bean and Elfo's paths are entwined in the discovery of their true identities.

"Malfus: Immortality is folly: those who desire it become blind to what is precious and right before them. Our daily lives, that we may live each day and say... Laughing Horse: "Hahahahahaha!" Malfus: You know, I'm profoundly lonely but I think you should leave.""
 * An Aesop: Aesops abound. eg.

"Malfus: [Of immortality] The monotony, the repetition, the monotony, the repetition... beat ...the monotony, the repetition."
 * This is arguably an attempt to laugh at the seriousness of the tone here, but it is none the less true as it relates to King Zog.
 * The Alcoholic: Bean is driven to drink by her father.
 * Anvilicious: In S01E08, "The Limits of Immortality"

"Elf King: "How can the world's greatest race be racist?" Bean: [Stares directly to the viewer while this line is delivered after she goaded the Elf king]."
 * Break the Fourth Wall:

"Elfo: Well now we know something we didn't know yesterday!""
 * Captain Obvious Aesop:

"Jester: Oh no!"
 * Affectionate Parody: Of the High Fantasy genre.
 * By Wall That Is Holey: a nod is given to this classic piece of cinema when an ogre falls on Elfo, only for his tiny body to fit exactly through the hole in the ogre's chest.
 * Call Back:
 * When Elfo says "screw the 'Jolly Code'" you can hear the elf called Weirdo make a creepy groan, in a call back to his earlier appearance.
 * The "King Fight" at the beginning of season 1 is called back to with a "Queen Fight" at the end of the season.
 * When Elfo pulls another lever to escape.
 * Catch Phrase:

"Elfo: Hi, I'm Elfo! / Doink."

"Luci: Do it! Do it, do it, do it! / Noice!"

"Luci: Princess Tiabeanie, you are hereby cursed from the deepest depths of the underworld!"
 * Cliff Hanger: literal one at the end of S01E01 (obviously designed to make you want to watch the second episode immediately after).
 * Curse: Luci, the demon, curses Bean in S01E01:

"Bunty: We'll scrub you right up, as clean as a child on his funeral day. Arms up! Ow, how my Charlie sparkled on this mornin' when they heaved him into the burial pit." Bean: He's in a better place now. Bunty: Oh yes...beat...down there with all his little friends. Bean: Argh! Not so hard!. I'm sorry Bunty, I don't mean to be insensitive about your dead whatever, I just really don't want to marry this wealthy prince."
 * Dead Baby Comedy:

"Bean: I hate this feeling... Bunty: Sobriety, ma'am?"
 * Deadpan Snarker: Bunty

"Elfo: Singing at work is not happiness - it's mental illness."
 * Deconstruction: Plenty of tropes get broken down. eg.

"Bean: I might as well give up and accept that I'll never be anything more than a wealthy queen of a fabulous faraway kingdom...[sniffs]...it's my destiny."

"Kissy: I can't go all the way."
 * Deconstructive Parody:
 * The whole show is this about the fantasy genre.
 * Hansel and Gretel get a disturbing cameo.
 * The deconstructed parody is Reconstructed to be worse than the original.
 * Demonic Possession: In S01E03, Luci the demon
 * Deus Ex Machina: A griffin. Twice..
 * Double Entendre:

"Bean: A fairy? Maybe she can help us. Do you do magic? Fairy: Sure, I've done a trick or two. What do you have in mind?"

"Luci: Hold on - there's something I've always wanted to try. [Rotates Bean's head 3 times]. So cool! I didn't even know the human body could do this! Bean: It can't..."
 * Dream Land: The citadel where the humans live is called "Dreamland".
 * The land of the elves - "Elfwood" - appears from another dimension and is an example of a dreamworld within a dreamworld.
 * Exorcist Head:
 * Fantasy World Map: Foreshadowed in S01E01 in King Zog's chamber.
 * Foreshadowing:
 * Bean's three wishes in S01E01 include.
 * The on Big Joe's carriage in S01E03 and it's relation to  in S01E08.
 * I Always Wanted to Say That: Played With when Luci jumps into Bean's mouth:

"Elf King: How can the world's greatest race be racist?""
 * Irony: plenty of irony to go around:
 * Verbal irony:

Luci's role is to steer Bean "towards the darkness" - that much the audience is let in on. Luci doesn't seem to know what she is being steered towards exactly, and Bean doesn't realise she is being so steered. Thus the audience is left to figure out the nature of what it is towards which she is being steered. The dramatic irony is that it is "King Zog: How do I look? Spiffy, right? I had the dogs lick me clean twice."
 * Dramatic irony:
 * Jerkass: The selfish, vain and arrogant King Zog.

"Stan The Executioner: We best be-heading to work. Hahahaha. It's an executioner joke. You'll 'ear all of them in the first 15 minutes. Then it's basically just human tragedy."
 * The Jester: Jester
 * The Kingdom: Dreamland
 * Lame Pun:

"Elf King: Elfo - no! It is forbidden! [to leave Elfwood]. [Elfo pulls a lever] Superviso: I don't know why we keep that lever there."
 * This joke manages to Pun, explain itself and lampshade that Tragedy is being Played For Laughs, all at the same time.
 * Lampshade Hanging:
 * In S01E01:

"[ Elfo pulls a lever ] Bean: How did you know that was there? Elfo: Unlike some people, I read the guide book."
 * In S01E06:

"Home owner: Hey! You can't park on my lawn! Viking: My flaming arrow says I can. Home owner: You've got a talking flaming arrow? Viking: What? No, it's just a regular arrow. Home owner: Well I'm sorry. Things get confusing in a world with occasional magic and curses. And while I'm a fan of such worlds, I just feel some more clearly set out rules for what can and cannot happen would help - erghhh [shot with the arrow]. Viking: He says it's ok to park here."
 * In S01E04:

"Odval: Incredible! All that malarkey with the magic elf's blood actually paid off. Sorcerio: It took all season but it did - and by "season" I mean fall or summer or whatever this is."
 * Leaning on the Fourth Wall: In S01E010:

"Sven: Why are there so many dead things floating in the "Elixir of Life"? Bean: A little bug never hurt anyone... Unnamed Viking: What about that squirrel?" Elfo: Oh, that's my pet "Bloaty". Sven: Wait a minute... you named your pet squirrel "Bloaty" before he died and got all bloated? Elfo: And your name is "Sven" and you're a viking sooo we're all a little obvious here, aren't we? Come one. Drink up."
 * Leap of Faith: At the end of
 * MacGuffin: elf's blood, the Eternity Pendant, and the combination thereof.
 * Meaningful Name: Luci is short for Lucifer - and is a Maru demon, similar to the daemons of His Dark Materials.
 * Parodied with all the elves having silly elfish names like Elfo, Shock-o, Superviso, Return-o ("No one returns - not even Returno!") and Weirdo (who is clearly a perverted elf) etc.
 * Lampshaded by Elfo in S01E04:

"Merkimer: [to Bean] I've loved you since the moment you killed my brother."
 * Moral Dilemma: Bean has to decide whether to
 * The second season sets Bean up for another:
 * Prince Charming: Bean wishes for a "boyfriend who is a good listener". Instead she gets
 * Prince Charmless twice. The first being the inbred Prince Guysbert, and the second being his brother, Merkimer.

"Bean: Sorry, I've lost track. What are we praying for now? Nun: Oh for... we are praying - Sister Tianbeanie - that God might see fit to help the poor. Bean: If you want to help the poor why don't you just melt this God guy down [points to big gold statue of God] and pass him out like coins? I mean: cut out the middle man, right guys? Nun: Huh! Blasphemer! How dare you bring logic into the house of God!"
 * Satire, Parody, Pastiche:
 * Satire of religion (Pythonesque):

"Queen Oona: Your daughter feels useless because she is useless. King Zog: But she's hurtin'. Queen Oona: Her purpose is to be married off to unite kingdoms. Like we do. Make offspring like Derek."
 * Satire of royalty:

"Bean: All this wedding hassle for a stupid political alliance! I thought that I'd get married for true love or because I was wasted... Bunty: Lots of reasons to get married ma'am: I got married for a goat. Now let's hurry - the prince'll be here any minute to marry ya, and, time permittin', beat meet ya."
 * Parody of fairy tales and high fantasy.
 * Features elves, giants, mermaids, humans, enchanted forests etc.
 * Pastiche of Disney.
 * A hooker fairy looks an awful lot like a washed-up old Tinker Bell...
 * The Protagonist: Princess Tiabeannie ("Bean" for short).
 * Pun-Based Title: Episode titles such as "Swamp and Circumstance", "To Thine Own Elf Be True"
 * The Quest: To find the elixir of life, of course.
 * Royal Blood: Parodied with an homage to Monty Python and the Holy Grail, as pointed out at Monty Python's Holy Grail An Influence.
 * Running Gag:
 * Luci likes to ride on the back of as many of the other characters as possible.
 * The "Plague Patrol" cart features a number of times.
 * Talking Animal: Played With as King Zog assumes (without question) that Bean's demon is a talking cat.
 * Tragedy: Played for Laughs.
 * Troperiffic: this has the potential to be one of those shows.
 * Wedding Day:
 * Deconstructed:


 * Wicked Stepmother:
 * Who Wants to Live Forever?: The quest for the elixir of life (as in Holy Grail) and the Eternity Pendant.