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Adventure Time

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This article is about the 2010 animated TV series. For other uses, see Adventure Time (disambiguation).
Adventure Time
Title card
GenreAdventure, comedy, surreal humor, science fiction, fantasy
Created byPendleton Ward
Written byPendleton Ward
Patrick McHale
Adam Muto
Tim McKeon
Merriwether Williams
Steve Little
Thurop Van Orman
Mark Banker
Directed byLarry Leichliter
Creative directorsPatrick McHale (season 1-2)
Cole Sanchez (season 2-present)
Voices ofJeremy Shada
John DiMaggio
Hynden Walch
Niki Yang
Tom Kenny
Olivia Olson
Opening theme"Adventure Time" by Pendleton Ward
Ending theme"Island Song" by Ashley Eriksson
ComposerCasey James Basichis
Country of originUnited States
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes39 (30 aired) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersFred Seibert
Eric Homan
Derek Drymon (season 1)
Pendleton Ward (season 3-present)
ProducersKelly Crews
Pendleton Ward (season 1-2)
Running time11 minutes
(as of September 6, 2010)
Production companiesFrederator Studios
Cartoon Network Studios
Original release
NetworkCartoon Network
ReleaseApril 5, 2010 (2010-04-05) –
present

Adventure Time (initially titled as Adventure Time with Finn and Jake; still used in the related merchandise) is an American animated television series created by Pendleton Ward and produced by Frederator Studios for Cartoon Network. The series focuses on the surreal adventures undertaken by two best friends, Finn the human boy and Jake the dog with magical powers, who dwell in the Land of Ooo. The series is based on a short produced for Frederator's Nickelodeon animation incubator series Random! Cartoons. After the short became a viral hit on the Internet, Cartoon Network picked it up for a full-length series that had a preview on November 9, 2009 and officially premiered on April 12, 2010.[1] The series has been a critical and commercial success, receiving generally positive reviews.[2] This series is rated TV-PG.

Production

Following the animated short, Frederator Studios pitched an Adventure Time series to Nickelodeon, but the network passed on it twice.[3] The studio then approached Cartoon Network, with creator Pendleton Ward delivering them an early storyboard for "The Enchiridion", showing that the premise could be expanded into a series while maintaining elements from the original short: funny catchphrases and dances, an awkward kiss moment with the princess and an "Abe Lincoln moment". Cartoon Network greenlit the first season in September 2008, and "The Enchiridion" would become the first produced episode.[3][4][5][6]

Series creator Pendleton Ward has stated that the artistic style is influenced by his time at CalArts and later working as a storyboard artist on The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack. He tries to include "beautiful" moments like those in Hayao Miyazaki's My Neighbor Totoro and some subversive humor, inspired by series like The Simpsons and Pee-wee's Playhouse.[7] Executive producer Fred Seibert compares the show's animation style to that of Felix the Cat and the Max Fleischer cartoons but says its world is also equally inspired by Dungeons and Dragons and video games.[8] Ward intends the show's world to have a certain physical logic instead of "cartoony slapstick" — even though magic exists in the story, the show's writers try to create an internal consistency in how the characters interact with the world.[7][8]

Many of the series' writers and storyboard artists have a background in indie comics. Pendleton Ward refers to them as "really smart, smartypants people" who are responsible for inserting weirder and more spiritual ideas into the series during its third season.[9]

Ward describes the character Finn as fiery little kid with strong morals, while Jake is based on Bill Murray's character in the movie Meatballs, as a laid-back twenty-something who usually jokes around, but occasionally gives good advice.[7]

Characters

Protagonists

File:Adventure Time - Finn and Jake.png
Finn (on the left) and Jake (the yellow dog) doing their trademark fist bump. The teal-colored video game console on the far right is Beemo.
  • Finn the Human (Voiced by Zack Shada in the short as Pen, Jeremy Shada[10] in the TV series) is a 13-year-old (previously 12 in the short and the series until "Mystery Train") human boy who loves nothing more than going on adventures and saving the day. He wears a self-proclaimed 'awesome hat' that covers his extremely long, beautiful, flowing blond hair (which he cuts off in "To Cut a Woman's Hair"), and is prone to strange exclamations and outbursts. He has a lust for adventure and will help anyone in need, but being so full of energy, he has trouble in situations that require him to do things other than fight monsters. Due to an incident in which he swallowed a small computer, he sings in an auto-tuned voice, but seems to be capable of singing without auto-tune. Finn is believed by many of the inhabitants to be the last or one of the last humans. He is the main protagonist of the show and likely takes his name in the short, Pen, from the show's creator, Pendleton "Pen" Ward.
  • Jake the Dog (Voiced by John DiMaggio) is Finn's best friend and dog with magic powers that allow him to stretch or shrink to any shape and almost any size. He is 28 years old (in magic-dog years). Acting as a confidante and mentor to his energetic pal (though he sometimes gives somewhat sketchy advice), Jake has a laid-back attitude in most situations, but loves adventure and will fight when he needs to. He is the boyfriend of Lady Rainicorn, whom he met in the pilot. His powers help Finn considerably in combat and transportation, but are also sometimes used as nothing more than jovial forms of expression. He is also shown to be quite skilled at playing the viola. He is the deuteragonist of the show.

Recurring characters

File:Adventure Time - Princess Bubblegum and Lady Rainicorn.png
Princess Bubblegum riding Lady Rainicorn in the sky.
  • Princess Bonnibelle Bubblegum (voiced by Paige Moss in the short, Hynden Walch[10] in the TV series, and Isabella Acres when turned younger) - Princess Bubblegum is a hybrid of pink bubble gum and human DNA. She rules the Candy Kingdom, an empire whose inhabitants are also composed of enchanted candies who love to party. Her proficiency in science and fluency in German are a testament to her high intelligence. Finn has a crush on her, but is reluctant to admit it, though in the "Mortal Recoil", he finally admits to liking Bubblegum "a lot", and in the episode "Too Young", the two kiss. While she is typically kind and well-mannered, her temper can be a powerful force when provoked. Marceline reveals that Bubblegum's real name is "Bonnibelle" in the episode "Go with Me". In "Mortal Folly", she admits that she cares about Finn and gives him a sweater she knitted to keep him warm, which proves to save his life against The Lich. In the Season 2 finale "Mortal Recoil", after being possessed by The Lich, she is accidentally shattered and returned to life as a 13-year-old due to the doctors not having enough gum to work with, though it appears that her memories have remained intact. In the episode "Too Young" she becomes 18 again, in order to reclaim her kingdom from the Earl of Lemongrab. In those 2 episodes where she was 13, Princess Bubblegum was voiced by Isabella Acres.[11]
  • Lady Rainicorn (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker in the short, Niki Yang in the TV series) - Princess Bubblegum's half-rainbow, half-unicorn steed who is seen crying in the short, or speaking Korean in the TV series. Despite her being unable to speak English, she seems perfectly capable of understanding it. She can turn objects and people different colors, fly, and shares a love of the viola with Jake, her boyfriend.
File:Adventure Time - Ice King.png
The Ice King casting a magic spell.
  • The Ice King (voiced by John Kassir in the short, Tom Kenny in the TV series) - The main antagonist of the series, the Ice King spends the majority of his time kidnapping princesses in hopes that one of them may want to become his wife, even using death threats if they refuse him. Despite being labeled a sociopath by the Cosmic Owl, he is shown to have relationships with the penguins (primarily one named Gunter), as well as snow and ice beasts who populate the Ice Kingdom. The Ice King is then shown in a few episodes as being misunderstood, lonely, and secretly envies Finn and Jake for being immeasurably happy in their causes of which the Ice King wishes to understand. His magic powers (primarily freezing things by hurling 'frozen lightning bolts', summoning snow monsters, and flying with his beard) stem solely from the "powers he stole" that were put into his magical crown which rests on his head. At one point he temporarily lost his heart, who became his own character: Ricardio the Heart Guy (voiced by George Takei).
Marceline holding her electric bass guitar.
  • Marceline the Vampire Queen (voiced by Olivia Olson[10]) - A 1,000-year-old vampire girl introduced as a villain who steals Finn and Jake's homes, but later reveals that she only wanted to scare them to death for fun. Marceline plays a bass guitar, which she made from her family's heirloom battle-axe, and makes songs with Finn every once in a while. She drinks "shades of red" as opposed to blood, but is still vulnerable to sunlight and is capable of turning into a giant anthropomorphic bat. Although she is portrayed as an ally of Finn and Jake in the series, her father is evil incarnate, and she generally lets her own interests come before others. It is implied by the two wounds on her neck, that she was once human. Also, she is a survivor of the "mushroom war" as stated by series creator Pendleton Ward, and in "Memory of a Memory" there's a brief flashback of a young Marceline wandering around the outskirts of a destroyed city. Marceline is the only person to ever address Princess Bubblegum by her first name, Bonnibelle. Though Marceline has many things in common with Finn and teases him for fun (kissing him on the cheek on more than one occasion), the two have made it clear in "Go with Me?" that they do not "like each other in that way." The young version of Marceline in "Memory Of a Memory", where her former boyfriend Ash attempted to get back with her, Marceline was voiced by Ava Acres (the sister of Isabella Acres, voice actress of 13-year old Prince Bubblegum.)[12]
  • Lumpy Space Princess (voiced by Pendleton Ward) - Otherwise known as "LSP", she is princess of Lumpy Space who speaks with a very thick valley girl accent in a manly voice. She is an extraterrestrial creature known as a "Lumper" which looks like a purple cloud with arms and a face, which can convert other beings to their race by biting them, a.k.a. "werewolf rules". LSP is spoiled, constantly sarcastic and constantly seeks to impress her peers, going as far as receiving cosmetic surgery and punching herself into a ball for a clean-shaven Ice King. She is often shown living outdoors with salvaged furniture and appears to be homeless (although in one episode, Finn told Jake that LSP "lives like a hobo" instead of "being homeless"). This is probably because she was banished from Lumpy Space by her parents for speaking rudely to them. After Finn and Jake attempt to find Lumpy Space Princess and bring her home, in "The Monster", Lumpy Space realizes her parents' true love for her, leading her to go home.
  • BMO (Beemo) (voiced by Niki Yang) - Beemo is a sentient video game console that lives with Finn and Jake. His appearance contains elements of Vectrex, Game Boy, and Atari 2600 game hardware. Beemo also has the ability to change into household objects, such as a camera in "Conquest of Cuteness". The letters on his side spell "BMO". He speaks with a Korean accent. Beemo has magical powers that can bring people into the video game they're playing if he presses a button on himself. The button only works if he presses it and potentially releases game monsters into reality. Although Finn and Jake often refer to Beemo as a "him", Pat McHale, creative director, says that Beemo is more of an "it".

Minor characters

  • Tree Trunks (voiced by Polly Lou Livingston) - Tree Trunks is an elephant friend of Finn and Jake who speaks with a gentle, Texan accent. Tree Trunks lives in a little home in the forest, surrounded by apple trees which she uses to make very good apple pies. In the episode "Tree Trunks", Finn and Jake help Tree Trunks achieve her dream of taking a bite out of the Crystal Gem Apple, only to explode as a result. However, it turned out Tree Trunks ended up in a crystal dimension where she became Quartzion, the dimension's queen who attempted to have her crystal men abduct Finn to turn him into her crystallized king. Fortunately, Jake saves her from herself by removing the Crystal Gem Apple from her stomach before he and Finn take her home.
  • Peppermint Butler (voiced by Steve Little) - Peppermint Butler lives in the Candy Kingdom and is Princess Bubblegum's butler. It is revealed that he is good friends with Death and can summon a portal to the land of the dead. He also has a very dark and strange side, at one time requesting Finn and Jake's flesh. Also, it was revealed on Adam Muto's, story board revisionist's, formspring that he has some cat in him, making him react poorly to the evil in Princess Bubblegum in the episode "Mortal Recoil". It is also implied that he has violent tendencies in "The Eyes", when he calls Finn and Jake to help him dispose of a body he "found" in his back yard. It could also indicate a superior strength, as the creature killed was several times larger than Peppermint Butler as well as being armed.
  • Cinnamon Bun (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker) - Cinnamon Bun lives in the Candy Kingdom. He usually tries to impress people by doing tricks (preferably "doing a flip") or volunteering for tasks, but usually ends up failing. Princess Bubblegum refers to him as being "Half Baked". He became the new Royal Tart Toter after the old Royal Tart Toter went senile.
  • Choose Goose (voiced by Jeff Bennett) is a vendor of magical devices. He mainly speaks rhymes with a lisp. If someone cannot make him a trade for the items he has, he will make them do a challenge or task instead. His voice is reminiscent of Ed Wynn.
  • The Lich (voiced by Ron Perlman) is an ancient sorcerer who had been defeated and imprisoned by Billy after a failed attempt to destroy the world many years ago. After being freed from his prison, the Lich set out to destroy Ooo, but is killed by Finn who uses the sweater Princess Bubblegum gave him to rip off the top of his skull- collapsing his entire body. The Lich reappears in the following episode, where his disembodied spirit survived by taking possession of Princess Bubblegum's body. He was apparently expelled from Bubblegum after she was frozen by the Ice King, but the end of the episode shows the Lich's spirit residing in the Snail's body. Initially named the "Lich King" and referred as so in "His Hero", he was renamed simply to "The Lich" (as of "Mortal Folly" and "Mortal Recoil") during the development process to avoid legal concerns with a World of Warcraft character of the same name.

Episodes

Main article: List of Adventure Time episodes

Each Adventure Time episode is approximately eleven minutes in length, although episodes are often telecast in a pair to form a half-hour program. The series has completed two seasons of thirteen episodes each, and a third season premiered on July 11, 2011.[13] In April 2011, Pendleton Ward stated that writing on a fourth season was underway.[9]

Reception

Reviews

The show has received positive reviews. Television critic Robert Lloyd, in an article for the LA Times covering the new series, said it "strikes [him] as a kind of companion piece to the network's [then] currently airing Chowder and The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack. Each takes place in a fantastical land peopled with strange, somewhat disturbing characters and has at its center a young male person or person-like thing making his way in that world with the help of unusual, not always reliable, mentors."[14] He went on to say that the show is "not unlike CN's earlier Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, about a boy and his imaginary friend, though [it is] darker and stranger and even less connected to the world as we know it."[14] Lloyd also compared it to "the sort of cartoons they made when cartoons themselves were young and delighted in bringing all things to rubbery life."[14]

Awards and nominations

Award Category Nominee Result
2008 Annie Awards Best Animated Short Subject[15] Pendleton Ward
Larry Leichliter
For the original short 		Nominated
2010 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Short-format Animated Program[16] Pendleton Ward
Kent Osborne
Larry Leichliter
For "My Two Favorite People" 		Nominated
2011 Annie Awards Best Animated Television Production for Children[17] Nominated
2011 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Short-format Animated Program[18] For "It Came From the Nightosphere" Pending

Pilot

Adventure Time
Directed byLarry Leichliter
Hugo Morales
Pendleton Ward
Written byPendleton Ward
Produced byKevin Kolde
StarringZack Shada
John DiMaggio
Paige Moss
John Kassir
Dee Bradley Baker
Pendleton Ward
Music byCasey James Basichis
Production
company
Distributed byNicktoons (former)
Cartoon Network (since 2010)
Release date
December 7, 2008
Running time
8 to 11 minutes

The animated short "Adventure Time" aired as part of Frederator Studios' Random! Cartoons, and led to the creation of the animated series.

Plot

The cartoon begins with Finn (named "Pen" in this short) sleeping under a tree and Jake meditating. After they do a little dance (which Jake downloaded from the internet), Lady Rainicorn (a unicorn/rainbow hybrid) flies by in tears. They discover that Lady Rainicorn is so sad because Princess Bubblegum is being imprisoned by the Ice King. Using snowballs, they battle their way past the Iceclops, Snow Golem, and other monsters that inhabit the Ice Kingdom.

A scene from the short.

Eventually, Finn and Jake reach the Ice King's mountain lair. Finn and the Ice King fight while Jake remains outside flirting with Lady Rainicorn, ignoring the battle. Just when Finn seems to be gaining the upper hand, the Ice King uses his "frozen lightning bolts" to freeze Finn in a block of ice. For unexplained reasons, this transports Finn's mind "back in time, and to Mars" where he has a short motivational conversation with Abraham Lincoln. After being told to believe in himself, Finn is returned to the present: just in time to see the Ice King fly away with Princess Bubblegum. Chasing after him using Jake's extendable legs, Finn rescues the princess from the Ice King's grasp. Jake pushes the magical crown off the Ice King's head, thereby removing the King's source of power. The Ice King then plummets off screen, yelling a long list of complex threats of things he will do when he returns.

The story closes with Bubblegum giving Finn a kiss, which embarrasses him greatly. He attempts to leave, but Jake claims that they have nowhere else to go and that there are no adventures that need them. Fortunately, some nearby ninjas are stealing an old man's diamonds, and they both run off in pursuit.

The land of Ooo is post-apocalyptic.[19] According to creator Pendleton Ward, the show takes place after the bombs have fallen and magic has returned to the world. This is referenced at various points in the series — the intro includes a wasteland with an undetonated atomic bomb in it; in the episode "Business Time", Finn and Jake can be seen thawing blocks of ice with homemade flamethrowers, and find things like socks, debris and brain-dead businessmen. In the episode "Videomakers", Jake and Finn refer to "the Great Mushroom War", possibly alluding to the mushroom clouds of a nuclear war. In another episode, they find a large city underwater, but don't mention it, or even take a guess as to why it's there. In the episode "Memory of a Memory" heroes Finn and Jake travel into Marceline's during her childhood. As they approach her and talk to her, the apocalypse is clearly occurring in the background, as a city skyline burns, and buildings are visibly run down. During a presentation at the Toronto Comics and Arts Festival, Ward said that this will likely never be directly addressed in the series but we will likely see more Easter eggs.

Other media

Licensed merchandise

Jazwares has produced an assortment of 2, 5, 10 and 20-inch licensed action figures for the series, aimed for a launch in fall 2011.[20] "Grow Your Own" characters that expand more than 500 percent when immersed in water will hit markets, also.[20] Role playing toys will also be produced, with a 24-inch "Finn Sword" being released first.[20]

Home Media

DVD title Season Aspect ratio Episode count Time length Release date
Adventure Time: My Two Favorite People[21] Season 1 12[21] September 27, 2011[21] (Region 1)

References

  1. ^ "Cartoon Network Premieres Adventure Time with Finn & Jake ~ ApnaDesi". Apnadesi.net. 2010-03-01. Retrieved 2011-04-22.
  2. ^ Kenny, Charles (2010-04-14). "Adventure Time Season 2 Starts This Monday?". The Animation Anomaly. Retrieved 2011-04-22.
  3. ^ a b ""The Enchiridion" Storyboards". Frederator Studios. 2010-04-22. Retrieved 2010-07-14.
  4. ^ "Cartoon Brew, August 29, 2008". Cartoonbrew.com. 2008-08-29. Retrieved 2011-04-22.
  5. ^ ""Adventure Time" Background Development Art". Frederatorblogs.com. 2008-11-11. Retrieved 2011-04-22.
  6. ^ ""Enchiridion" Props in Color". Frederatorblogs.com. 2009-07-16. Retrieved 2011-04-22.
  7. ^ a b c DeMott, Rick (2010-04-25). "Time for Some Adventure with Pendleton Ward". Animation World Network. Retrieved 2010-07-14.
  8. ^ a b Zahed, Ramin (2010-02-05). "And Now for Something Entirely Brilliant!". Animation Magazine. Retrieved 2010-07-14.
  9. ^ a b Webb, Charles (2011-04-28). "It's 'Adventure Time' With Series Creator Pendleton Ward". MTV.com. Retrieved 2011-06-21.
  10. ^ a b c Orange, B. Alan. "SDCC 2011 EXCLUSIVE: Adventure Time Cast Interviews". Movie Web. Retrieved August 20, 2011.
  11. ^ "Behind The Voice Actors - Isabella Acres". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
  12. ^ Behind The Voice Actors - Marceline (Yong)
  13. ^ "Adventure Time Returns July 11 It's the premiere of..." Frederatorblogs.com. 2011-06-08. Retrieved 2011-06-21.
  14. ^ a b c Lloyd, Robert (2010-04-05). "'Adventure Time With Finn & Jake' enters a wild new world". The Los Angeles Times.
  15. ^ "37th Annual Annie Nominations and Awards Recipients". Annie Awards. Retrieved 2010-09-10.
  16. ^ "Emmy Nominations" (PDF). Emmy Online. Retrieved 2010-09-10.
  17. ^ "Adventure Time Nominated for an Annie". Frederator Studios Blogs. 2010-12-06.
  18. ^ "Emmy Nominations" (PDF). 2011-07-14.
  19. ^ "Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game Official Home Page - Article (Pendleton Ward Interview)". Wizards of the Coast LLC. 2011-04-08. Retrieved 2011-08-23.
  20. ^ a b c Jazwares Rolls Out 'Adventure Time' Toy Images
  21. ^ a b c "Adventure Time: My Two Favorite People DVD on September 27th". Toon Barn. Retrieved July 5, 2011.

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