Disenchantment is not the charm

Disenchantment, from The Simpsons creator Matt Groening, is set in a mythical medieval world. The story begins with Princess Bean trying to avoid an arranged marriage. She adventures with Elfo, an overly optimistic elf, and a diminutive demon named Luci. In Bean, Groening updates his strong female protagonist—Lisa (The Simpsons) and Leela (Futurama) were the first iterations—but leaves her with few, if any, noble qualities.

The same goes for the entire show.

Netflix recently released episodes 21 to 30 of Disenchantment, which deserves something stronger than its TV-14 rating: The series overwhelmingly couches its humor in sexual gags, occult imagery, violence, bestiality, and irreverence toward God. In the “Stairway to Hell” episode, Elfo tries to anger God with increasingly vile blasphemies. When Bean’s maid scrubs her, she declares the princess is “as clean as a child on his funeral day.” Sick stuff. The “adult jokes” will not, as Groening has claimed, “go over kids’ heads.”

Call me—a Futurama and early-years Simpsons fan—seriously disenchanted.

Hollywood Reporter asked Groening about Disenchantment being more “profane or gory” than his previous projects. Groening responded that Netflix allowed “amazing creative freedom” but added, “We limit ourselves.” If Disenchantment demonstrates Groening’s restraint, I’d hate to see his indulgence.