Elfo is the tritagonist of Disenchantment. He lives in Dreamland, and is Princess Bean's half-elf companion and friend. Elfo is voiced by Nat Faxon.
Appearance
Elfo is a lime-colored elf hybrid that is short in stature and has a pig-like snout. His ears are pointed, in reference to the common trope. He has messy hair and an angry demeanor. He has a large overbite, with a wavering lip. He wears a brown vest with a v-neck that is opened to reveal his neck. he wears short blue shorts and has spiky brown shoes, possibly to hold his feet which may curl up on the toes. He has four fingers, unlike the humans with five, and the Dankmirians with three.
Personality
Original Character
Elfo begins by being dissatisfied with life in Elfwood. For him, something does not seem quite right. He has had enough of being happy all the time - suffering the elvish equivalent of depression. Making candy all day to get paid in candy just doesn't make sense to him anymore. As such, he is savvy of his own genre and has outgrown his elven tropes. He craved freedom and adventure. To that end, he desires to see the outside world, despite how unscrupulous and miserable it may be.
Character Development
Once outside of the kingdom, Elfo is shown to be both excitable and naive: he is excited to be embarking on a new adventure, but naive as to what to expect. He is definitely not savvy about the world beyond Elfwood - asking a gnome "what is war?" - but his elvish disposition makes him optimistic in the face of danger: that and the fact that he has lived a sheltered existence and doesn't know what to be afraid of or who to trust. Given his mixture of traits, he could be described as happy-go-lucky meets devil-may-care.
Life outside the walled kingdom of Elfwood is a steep learning curve for Elfo, and the longer he is in exile the more his personality evolves. For example, he gets drunk and has fights, is subjected to human experimentation and experiences love with a human for the first time. When it comes to admitting his crush on Bean, his shyness leads him to lie - he makes up a girlfriend as a cover story to disguise his feelings. Luci's demonic presence also influences him and he even uses Luci's tail to hit him. He gets more savvy as his adventures progress, and his character develops greatly, as does his usefulness. His ability to read makes him an invaluable asset to his new adoptive family, as he remembers reading in the guide book - Frogo's Best Of Dankmire - of the location of a hidden lever in the dining hall. This proves crucial for the safe escape of the Royal delegation.
Identity
Elfo is half elf, it has not been confirmed which race his mother was. Pops does provide a few clues on his mother being an ogre.
- Elfo being half ogre is supported by Pop's taste for larger women (S01E09).
- Elfo is saved from the ogre village by the Ogre Queen, who was not aggressive towards humans and elves. She also let them pick Legendberries to save the elves. Most of the ogres have the same nose, but the Ogre queen has the same style of nose as Elfo. At the end of the scene she seems to recognize Elfo's name as well. (SO2E05)
- In the same episode Pop's tries to explain how he got Elfo's mother killed, although he doesn't finish his story it is likely that he had some part to play in the ongoing war between elves and ogres.
Skills
- Elfo can read.
- Elfo is a decent assembly worker, though lacks the attitude to do it gleefully.
- Elfo is quite good at playing the flute: he performs for the royalty in the throne room as well as on other occasions.
- Elfo is impeccable at fighting with a dagger. (SO2E05)
Appearances
Season 1
Part 1
- 1. "A Princess, an Elf, and a Demon Walk Into a Bar"
- 2. "For Whom the Pig Oinks"
- 3. "The Princess of Darkness"
- 4. "Castle Party Massacre"
- 5. "Faster, Princess! Kill! Kill!"
- 6. "Swamp and Circumstance"
- 7. "Love's Tender Rampage"
- 8. "The Limits of Immortality"
- 9. "To Thine Own Elf Be True" (dies)
- 10. "Dreamland Falls" (corpse)
Part 2
- "Tiabeanie Falls" (gets still alive)
Cultural References
- Siddharta Guatama (c. 563/480 – c. 483/400 BCE): Elfo's story of renouncing a walled kingdom in pursuit of experiencing the real world is borrowed from the story of the Buddha. (S01E01)
- The Hobbit (1937): Leaving relative comfort in search of adventure is also what Bilbo Baggins does. (S01E01)
- The Dark Crystal (1982): The draining of Elfo's blood to acquire it's life rejuvenating properties is uncannily similar to the draining of the essence of Podlings by Skeksis to regain their life force in this classic Jim Henson fantasy film. (S01E02)
Trivia
- His design is a mixture of two characters, Bart Simpson and one of the elves from a in-universe television show, The Happy Little Elves from The Simpsons, creator Matt Groening's earlier show.
- His nose bears a striking resemblance to Cubert J. Farnsworth in Futurama.
- In fact, in season 2 episode 10 A Clone of My Own, (which is Cubert's debut appearance), Cubert mocks the professor's view of what being a scientist is all about, saying it is more like what being a magical elf is about.
- Due to his optimistic outlook, Elfo seems to be okay with King Zog stealing his blood.
- His cousin, Examplo, is the reference photo for elves in the dictionary.
- He is allergic to apples, though minor and not deadly.
- His name literally means Elf in Romance languages like Portuguese, Spanish and Italian.
- He watered the Hooker Fairy's plants while she was in rehab.
- He has a thing for princesses:
- According to Luci, Elfo reeks of flop sweat and licorice.
- Although apparently dead, Elfo washes up on Mermaid Island. The question is: do mermaids possess the magic required to revive him?
- The secret of not knowing who his mother was, and his father tiptoeing around telling him, is likely a reference to Jon Snow from G.R.R Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire. Both felt like outcast from home and ultimately left to make something of themselves.
- In Season 1 Episode 9 during the scene with Old Man Touchy when they first found out Elfo wasn't a pure elf Sorcerio foreshadowed an easter egg in the season 2 reveal. Sorcerio said "Tacking an "O" on the end of "Elf"? Bah!" - "It's suspiciously on the nose." The "O" being exaggerated in Sorcerio's wording and the second sentence using said "O" to make fun of his nose witch appeared to be that of an Ogre's nose reconfirms the second half of Elfo's heritage with Ogre Queen.
Quotes
- Gnome: We're at war!
- Elfo: What's war?
- Lady Lingenberry: I'm drowning!
- Elfo: I'm Elfo!
- Elfo: I'm an optimist: I say the flask is half full...
- Luci: It's not.
- ____________________
- Elf King: Take one step further - you're on your own. No elf has ever returned. Not even Returno.
- Kissy: Elfo, you'll die up there.
- Elfo: I'd rather die a big death, than live a small life.
Videos
