Comparing Matt Groening's 'Disenchantment' with his previous work 'Futurama' is being unfair to the shows, here's why
Ever since Matt Groening's 'Disenchantment' first came out, there have been rampant discussions comparing the show with one of Groening's previous projects, 'Futurama'.
When 'Disenchantment' first came to Netflix on August 17, 2018, it took audiences to the crumbling medieval kingdom of Dreamland and followed the adventures and misadventures of Princess Teabeanie (Abbi Jacobson), her fiesty elf companion Elfo (Nat Faxon) and her personal demon Luci (Eric Andre). Along the way, the oddball trio encounters ogres, sprites, harpies, imps, trolls, walruses and human fools.
'Futurama', on the other hand, followed the adventures of a slacker in Philip J Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1,000 years and is revived in the 31st century - a time when whatever he knows about anything is irrelevant. He then finds a job with an interplanetary delivery company. We first follow Fry on his attempts at adjusting to life in the future. And adjusts he does with ease. We then see him and his crew at the delivery service on their many interplanetary misadventures.
Coming from the masterful mind of Matt Groening, both shows feature the same distinctive Groening approach that makes them not just watchable but also memorable. Even so, comparisons were rampant. Audiences - both fans and critics of the genre and the creator - continued to point out what 'Disenchantment' lacked and how, if it were to not repeat its mistakes and learn from the previous projects, it would make for a better watch.
Sure, we understand comparisons coming into play considering how Groening is the mastermind behind them both, but it is especially faulty at the audience's end to judge the show with respect to another one. Not to reiterate that the show is different, its plotlines and treatment is different, and so is the team behind it.
Without even giving the show any chance to grow, develop and evolve, audiences started calling out the show for its inadequacies against a show that was released on a network (Fox) in 1999 with a different production deal than that for a streaming platform (Netflix). In addition to this, it is not exactly the show's shortcomings if fans would rather stick to comparing two different genres - fantasy and sci-fi.
If you were to ask us, the only thing that is comparable is the art style.
'Disenchantment' will be returning to Netflix for the second part of season 1 on September 20, 2019.