Disenchantment: Difference between revisions

 

'''''Disenchantment''''' is the creation of ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|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.

 

{{tropelist}}

'''Laughing Horse''': "Hahahahahaha!"

'''Malfus''': You know, I'm profoundly lonely but I think you should leave."}}

* [[Accidental Kidnapping]]: Poor Tess is assaulted, locked in shackles, and dragged to Dreamland, all because, by sheer coincidence, she looks like the [[Girlfriend in Canada]] Elfo described, and [[Could Have Avoided This Plot|Elfo simply can't admit he was lying about it]].

* [[Accidental Murder]]: Bean tends to kill a lot of folks by accident, the first being her fiance, Prince Guysbert

* [[Affectionate Parody]]: Of the [[High Fantasy]] genre.

* [[The Alcoholic]]: Bean is driven to drink by her father.

* [[Anvilicious]]: In S01E08, "The Limits of Immortality"

{{quote|'''Malfus''': [Of immortality] The monotony, the repetition, the monotony, the repetition... [[beat]] ...''the monotony, the repetition.''}}

** Zog; to give one example, in one episode, after someone tells him turkey is good for insomnia, he eats ''two entire turkeys'' in bed.

** Bean becomes this in an episode where she tries to write theater drama; the scene starts with her doing so at a desk covered with cheese and bread, and is now on her ''sixth'' cinnamon roll.

** Elves cannot grow body-hair; Luci accidentally offends one of them by saying whisky will grown hair on his chest. "On the plus side," says Elfo, "we're always bikini ready."

* [[Blessed Are the Cheesemakers]]: The castle actually has a vault in the subbasement specifically for cheese.

* [[Break the Fourth Wall]]:

{{quote|'''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].}}

* [[By Wall That Is Holey]]: a [[homage|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.

* [[The Caligula]]: Zog is a cruel, tyrannical, and incompetent ruler. He often orders subjects beheaded just for annoying him, or some other trivial matter. He over-taxes the elves when they move in simply because they have more money than everyone else (though in his defense, he changes his mind later and gives if back), and confiscates their harvests after "inspecting" it. In one episode where he falls ill, he regrets having all the doctors beheaded.

* [[Demonic Possession]]: In S01E03, Luci the demon {{spoiler|possesses protagonist Bean by jumping into her body when Big Jo arrives to exorcise him.}}

* [[Den of Iniquity]]: The Den of Wonders in the Black Light District, a fantasy equivalent of an opium den. They actually admit children - for a reduced price.

* [[Deus Ex Machina]]: A griffin. Twice. {{spoiler|When the protagonist Bean falls off the edge of the world she is surprisingly rescued by such a chimera, and again at the end as the gang sink into the sand}}.

* [[Devil in Plain Sight]]: {{spoiler|Both [[The Starscream|Odval]] and the [[Sinister Minister|Arch-Druidess]] don't seem to be any worse than the rest of the main cast in Season 1 and most of Season 2, but at the end of Season 2, they use Zog's apparent death to usurp control of the crown and turn Dreamland into a fundamentalist theocracy, secretly doing so for little more than money and power.}}

** The land of the elves - "Elfwood" - appears from another dimension and is an example of a dreamworld within a dreamworld.

* [[Dumb Is Good]]: {{spoiler|Jerry is no-doubt the dumbest member of Dagmar's family, implied to have suffered brain damage when they tried to use the crown on him. He's also one of the few truly decent people in the series, and eventually helps Bean escape at the cost of his own life. Emphasized in a scene later where his soul is seen in Heaven.}}

* [[Everyone Has Standards]]: Bean has quite a few vices, and not a lot of morals or ethics. Drinking and gambling she's okay with. Public nudity, she's fine with. Stealing from her stepmother's purse? Okay, ''that'' makes her hesitate and feel a little guilty afterwards, and likely causes a lot of regret later, seeing as the snake-root gives her even ''less'' morals, enough to approve of grave-robbing. This is lampshaded later, when Oona forgives her for everything ''except'' stealing the snake-root, sternly telling her ''never'' to do it again.

* [[Evil Cripple]]: Zog is, by his own admission, arthritic, anemic, and diabetic, and he makes his health worse in one episode where [[Too Dumb To Live|he gives himself gout on purpose]] after hearing it's a "nobleman's disease".

** "Swamp and Circumstance"; at the Dankmire restaurant, Luci and Elfo are drinking from what looks like a small punchbowl, until a waiter comes by and asks if they'd like to order drinks, telling them the "punchbowl" is a centerpiece.

** "In Her Own Write"; when Bean tries coffee for the first time (it's a new thing at the time), she is disgusted, wondering why anyone would serve beer hot and bitter. After being told what it is, however, she quickly becomes addicted.

* [[Irony]]: plenty of irony to go around:

** Verbal irony:

{{quote|'''Elf King''': How can the world's greatest race be racist?"}}

* [[Gentle Giant]]: Tess, an actual giantess, although unfortunately, she [[Does Not Know Her Own Strength]]

* [[Godiva Hair]]:

* [[Lame Pun]]:

{{quote|'''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''.}}

* [[Lampshade Hanging]]:

** In S01E01:

[Elfo pulls a lever]

'''Superviso''': I don't know why we keep that lever there.}}

{{quote|[ [[Call Back|Elfo pulls a lever]] ]

'''Bean''': How did you know that was there?

'''Elfo''': Unlike some people, I read the [[Call Back|guide book]].}}

{{quote|'''Home owner''': Hey! You can't park on my lawn!

'''Viking''': My flaming arrow says I can.

* [[Sirens Are Mermaids]]: Zigzagged. Sailors ''believe'' mermaids use magical song to lure sailors to their doom, but actually, the magical song is from a herd of walruses (who have [[Black Comedy Rape|something else in mind for victims]]). Mermaids ''do'' prey on humans however, admitting they intended to do so to Bean and Elfo, and that the rubdown they gave them was a marinade (unless their claim of doing so was sarcasm).

* [[So Unfunny It's Funny]]: Jester; most of his jokes involve goats, and Zog gets far more laughs dumping him down a trap door that he has in his throne room for that exact purpose.

* [[Stupid Evil]]: {{spoiler|When Oona tries to sneak onto Dagmar's ship and is caught, Dagmar tries to get rid of Oona by shackling her to an anchor and throwing it overboard. Oona's species has both lungs ''and'' gills (even telling Dagmar that in a previous episode), meaning she can breathe water and thus cannot drown; at most, this is a temporary solution for Dagmar.}}

* [[Tragedy]]: [[Played for Laughs]].

 

== U-Z ==

** [[Deconstructed]]:

{{quote|'''Bean''': All this wedding hassle for a ''stupid political alliance!'' I thought that I'd get married for [[Cliche|''true love'']] or because [[Subverted|''I was wasted''...]]

* [[Wicked Stepmother]]: {{Spoiler|Inverted. The audience is primed to expect Bean's step-mother Queen Oona to be wicked, but it turns out to be her mother Dagmar which is the evil one.}}

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