''Adventure Time'' is an American
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...
animated television series created by
Pendleton Ward for
Cartoon Network and distributed by
Warner Bros. Domestic Television. The series follows the adventures of a boy named
Finn (
Jeremy Shada
Jeremy Shada () is an American actor, musician and singer. He is best known for his work as the voice of Finn the Human from the American animated television series '' Adventure Time'' and Lance in '' Voltron: Legendary Defender''. He is also kno ...
) and his best friend and adoptive brother
Jake
Jake may refer to:
Name
* Jake (given name), including a list of persons and fictional characters with the name
* Katrin Jäke (born c. 1975), German swimmer
* Jake (gamer), American ''Overwatch'' player and coach
Animals
* Jake (rescue dog), a ...
(
John DiMaggio
John William DiMaggio (; born September 4, 1968) is an American actor. His various voice roles include Bender on ''Futurama'', Jake the Dog on ''Adventure Time'', Marcus Fenix in the ''Gears of War'' series, Dr. Drakken on ''Kim Possible'', H ...
)a dog with the magical power to change size and shape at will. Finn and Jake live in the post-apocalyptic Land of Ooo, where they interact with
Princess Bubblegum
Princess Bonnibel Bubblegum (also called Bonnie or PB, occasionally P-bubs) is a fictional character in the American animated television series ''Adventure Time'', created by Pendleton Ward. She is voiced by Hynden Walch.
Princess Bubblegum rules ...
(
Hynden Walch
Hynden Walch is an American actress. She is best known for voicing Starfire in the ''Teen Titans'' franchise and Princess Bubblegum in ''Adventure Time''. She also voiced Penny Sanchez in ''ChalkZone'', Amore and Lockette in the Nickelodeon ver ...
), the
Ice King
Ice King is a fictional character in the American animated television series ''Adventure Time''. The character was introduced as the main antagonist and, as Simon Petrikov, develops into a supporting character in later seasons. The character is ...
(
Tom Kenny
Thomas James Kenny (born July 13, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for voicing the titular character in ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' and associated media. Kenny has voiced many other characters, including Heffer Wolfe in '' ...
),
Marceline (
Olivia Olson),
BMO (
Niki Yang
Niki Hyun Yang (born in Seoul, South Korea as Hyun Jeong Yang; , June 8, 1985) is a South Korean animator, writer, storyboard artist, and voice actress. After graduating from Hongik University and then CalArts, she became one of the storyboar ...
), and others. The series is based on a 2007
short film
A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...
that aired on
Nicktoons
Nicktoons is a collective name used by Nickelodeon for their original animated series. All Nicktoons are produced partly at the Nickelodeon Animation Studio and list Nickelodeon's parent company (Viacom, now known as Paramount Global) in their ...
. After the short became a
viral hit on the Internet,
Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...
's executives passed on its option before Cartoon Network commissioned a full-length series from
Fred Seibert
Frederick (Fred) Seibert (born September 15, 1951) is an American television producer, co-founder of MTV and the CEO of FredFilms, an animation production company based in Burbank, California. His official biography states he has led five (working ...
and Ward, which was previewed on March 11, 2010. The same year, the series premiered on Cartoon Network on April 5, and ended its eight-year run on September 3, 2018.
The series drew inspiration from a variety of sources, including the fantasy
role-playing game ''
Dungeons & Dragons
''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. (TS ...
'' and video games. It was produced using hand-drawn animation; action and dialogue for
episodes
Episodes may refer to:
* Episode
An episode is a narrative unit within a larger dramatic work or documentary production, such as a series intended for radio, television or streaming consumption.
The noun ''episode'' is derived from the Greek ...
are decided by
storyboarding artists based on rough outlines. Because each episode took roughly eight to nine months to complete, multiple episodes were worked on concurrently. The cast members recorded their lines in group recordings, and the series regularly employed guest actors for minor and recurring characters. Each episode runs for about eleven minutes; pairs of episodes are often telecast to fill half-hour program slots. Cartoon Network announced that on September 29, 2016, the series would conclude in 2018, after the airing of its tenth season. The
series finale aired on September 3, 2018, which was followed by the ''
Distant Lands'' specials and the upcoming ''
Fionna and Cake'' spin-off, which were released on
HBO Max
HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Netw ...
.
''Adventure Time'' was a ratings success for Cartoon Network, with some of its episodes attracting over three million viewers, and despite being aimed primarily at children, the show has developed a following among teenagers and adults. ''Adventure Time'' has received universal acclaim from critics, with much praise geared towards its' originality and
worldbuilding
Worldbuilding is the process of constructing a world, originally an imaginary one, sometimes associated with a fictional universe. Developing an imaginary setting with coherent qualities such as a history, geography, and ecology is a key task f ...
. The show won eight
Primetime Emmy Awards, a
Peabody Award, three
Annie Awards, two
British Academy Children's Awards, a
Motion Picture Sound Editors Award, and a
''Kerrang!'' Award. The series has also been nominated for three
Critics' Choice Television Award
The Critics' Choice Television Awards are accolades that are presented annually by the Critics Choice Association (CCA). They were established in 2011, and the first ceremony was held on June 20, 2011, and streamed live on VH1.com. The fourt ...
s, two
Annecy Festival Awards, a
TCA Award
The TCA Awards are awards presented by the Television Critics Association in recognition of excellence in television. There are eleven categories, which are presented every summer towards the end of the organization's summer press tour.
Due to ...
, and a
Sundance Film Festival Award
The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,660 ...
, among others. Of the many comic book spin-offs based on the series, one received an
Eisner Award and two
Harvey Awards
The Harvey Awards are given for achievement in comic books. Named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman, the Harvey Awards were founded by Gary Groth in 1988, president of the publisher Fantagraphics, to be the successor to the Kirby Awards that we ...
. The series has also spawned various forms of
licensed merchandise, including books, video games and clothing.
Premise
''Adventure Time'' follows the adventures of a boy named
Finn the Human
Finn Mertens, also known as Finn the Human, is a fictional character and one of the two protagonists in the American animated television series ''Adventure Time'' created by Pendleton Ward. He also appeared in the spin-off series '' Adventure ...
(voiced by
Jeremy Shada
Jeremy Shada () is an American actor, musician and singer. He is best known for his work as the voice of Finn the Human from the American animated television series '' Adventure Time'' and Lance in '' Voltron: Legendary Defender''. He is also kno ...
), and his best friend and adoptive brother
Jake the Dog
Jake the Dog is a fictional character and one of the two protagonists in the American animated television series ''Adventure Time'' created by Pendleton Ward. He also appeared in the spin-off series '' Adventure Time: Distant Lands''. He is voi ...
(
John DiMaggio
John William DiMaggio (; born September 4, 1968) is an American actor. His various voice roles include Bender on ''Futurama'', Jake the Dog on ''Adventure Time'', Marcus Fenix in the ''Gears of War'' series, Dr. Drakken on ''Kim Possible'', H ...
), who has magical powers to change shape and size at will.
Pendleton Ward, the series' creator, describes Finn as a "fiery little kid with strong morals".
Jake, on the other hand, is based on Tripper Harrison,
Bill Murray
William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his deadpan delivery. He rose to fame on ''The National Lampoon Radio Hour'' (1973–1974) before becoming a national presence on '' Saturday Nig ...
's character in ''
Meatballs''. This means while Jake is somewhat care-free, he will "sit
inn
Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...
down and give him some decent advice if he really needs it".
Finn and Jake live in the post-apocalyptic Land of Ooo, which was ravaged by a cataclysmic event known as the "Mushroom War", a
nuclear war that destroyed civilization a thousand years before the series' events. Throughout the series, Finn and Jake interact with major characters, including
Princess Bubblegum
Princess Bonnibel Bubblegum (also called Bonnie or PB, occasionally P-bubs) is a fictional character in the American animated television series ''Adventure Time'', created by Pendleton Ward. She is voiced by Hynden Walch.
Princess Bubblegum rules ...
(
Hynden Walch
Hynden Walch is an American actress. She is best known for voicing Starfire in the ''Teen Titans'' franchise and Princess Bubblegum in ''Adventure Time''. She also voiced Penny Sanchez in ''ChalkZone'', Amore and Lockette in the Nickelodeon ver ...
), the sovereign of the Candy Kingdom and a sentient piece of
gum; the
Ice King
Ice King is a fictional character in the American animated television series ''Adventure Time''. The character was introduced as the main antagonist and, as Simon Petrikov, develops into a supporting character in later seasons. The character is ...
(
Tom Kenny
Thomas James Kenny (born July 13, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for voicing the titular character in ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' and associated media. Kenny has voiced many other characters, including Heffer Wolfe in '' ...
), a menacing but largely misunderstood ice wizard;
Marceline the Vampire Queen
Marceline the Vampire Queen is a fictional character in the American animated Cartoon Network television series ''Adventure Time'', created by Pendleton Ward. She is voiced by Olivia Olson in most appearances, by Ava Acres as a child, and b ...
(
Olivia Olson), a thousand-year-old vampire and
rock music
Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...
enthusiast;
Lumpy Space Princess (Pendleton Ward), a melodramatic and immature princess made out of "lumps";
BMO (
Niki Yang
Niki Hyun Yang (born in Seoul, South Korea as Hyun Jeong Yang; , June 8, 1985) is a South Korean animator, writer, storyboard artist, and voice actress. After graduating from Hongik University and then CalArts, she became one of the storyboar ...
), a sentient video game console-shaped
robot
A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the control may be embedded within. Robots may ...
that lives with Finn and Jake; and
Flame Princess (
Jessica DiCicco
Jessica Sonya DiCicco (; born June 10, 1980) is an American actress. She is known for voicing in animated television series and video games. Her first voice role was the announcer for Nickelodeon's educational channel Noggin. DiCicco has since v ...
), a flame
elemental
An elemental is a mythic being that is described in occult and alchemical works from around the time of the European Renaissance, and particularly elaborated in the 16th century works of Paracelsus. According to Paracelsus and his subsequent fo ...
and ruler of the Fire Kingdom.
Development
Concept and creation
According to series creator Pendleton Ward, the show's style was influenced by his time attending the California Institute of the Arts
The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both ...
(CalArts) and his experiences working as a writer and storyboard artist on ''The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack
''The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack'' (also known as ''The Misadventures of Flapjack'', or simply ''Flapjack'') is an American animated television series created by Thurop Van Orman for Cartoon Network. It premiered in the United States on ...
'', a series which ran on Cartoon Network from 2008 until 2010. In an interview with ''Animation World Network
Animation World Network (often just "AWN") is an online publishing group that specializes in resources for animators, with an extensive website offering news, articles and links for professional animators and animation fans. Specifically, AWN co ...
'', Ward said he strives to combine ''Adventure Time''s subversive humor with "beautiful" moments, using Hayao Miyazaki
is a Japanese animator, director, producer, screenwriter, author, and manga artist. A co-founder of Studio Ghibli, he has attained international acclaim as a masterful storyteller and creator of Japanese animated feature films, and is widel ...
's film ''My Neighbor Totoro
is a 1988 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten. The film—which stars the voice actors Noriko Hidaka, Chika Sakamoto, and Hitoshi Takagi—tells the story o ...
'' as inspiration for the latter. Ward has also named '' Home Movies'' and ''Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist
''Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist'' is an American adult animated sitcom that ran on Comedy Central from May 28, 1995 to February 13, 2002. The series starred the voice talents of Jonathan Katz, H. Jon Benjamin, and Laura Silverman. The show w ...
'' as influences, largely because both shows are "relaxing" and feature "conversational dialogue that feels natural nd is neitherover the top orcartoony and shrill".
The series can trace its origin back to a seven-minute, stand-alone animated short film
A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...
of the same name (this short would later be identified as the show's pilot ''post facto''). Ward created the short almost entirely by himself, and concluded its production in early 2006.[ It was first broadcast on ]Nicktoons Network
Nicktoons (formerly Nicktoons Network) is an American pay television channel owned by Paramount Media Networks. The channel is geared towards children aged 7 to 11, and broadcasts reruns of original animated series from sister network Nickelode ...
on January 11, 2007, and was re-broadcast as part of Frederator Studios
Frederator Studios is an American animation television production studio which is a division of Frederator Networks, Inc. It was founded by Fred Seibert in 1997 with its first series launching in 1998. (Seibert resigned from Frederator in Augu ...
' anthology show ''Random! Cartoons
''Random! Cartoons'' is an American animated anthology series that aired on Nicktoons. Much like '' Oh Yeah! Cartoons'', it was created by Fred Seibert and produced by Frederator Incorporated and Nickelodeon Animation Studio. It premiered on De ...
'' on December 7, 2008. After its initial release, the video became a viral hit on the Internet.[ Frederator Studios then pitched an ''Adventure Time'' series to Nicktoons Network, which rejected it five times.] When Nicktoons' rights to commission a full series expired, Frederatorthe short's production animation studiopitched it to other channels. One of the studios that Frederator approached was Cartoon Network, which was interested in producing a full series, but would commit to a deal only if Ward could prove the pilot "wasn't a one-hit wonder". Rob Sorcher, the chief content officer at Cartoon Network, was influential in getting the network to take a chance on the show; he recognized the series as "something that felt really indie ... comic book-y ndnew".
Cartoon Network asked Ward to submit a sample script for their consideration, but Frederator convinced him to rough out a storyboard instead, as "a board would give a better sense of what was on Pen's mind", according to Frederator's vice president Eric Homan. Ward and his college friends Patrick McHale
Patrick McHale VC ( ga, Pádraig Mac Céile; 1826 – 26 October 1866) was born in Killala, County Mayo and was an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that ca ...
and Adam Muto
Adam Muto (born July 19, 1980) is an American writer, director, storyboard artist, animator, and producer known for his work as the executive producer and showrunner of the animated television series ''Adventure Time''.
Career
Muto was a classma ...
(the former of whom served as a writer, storyboard artist, and creative director for the show during its first few seasons, while the latter served as a storyboard artist and creative director for the show before becoming its showrunner) began developing ideas, all the while concentrating on "keep ngthe good things about the original short hile alsoimprov ngon" them. The group's first product was a rough storyboard featuring Finn and Princess Bubblegum going on a spaghetti-supper date. Cartoon Network was not happy with this story, and so Ward, McHale, and Muto created a storyboard for the episode "The Enchiridion!
"The Enchiridion!" is the fifth episode of the first season of the American animated television series ''Adventure Time''. The episode was outlined, written, and storyboarded by Patrick McHale, Adam Muto, and Pendleton Ward. It originally aired ...
", which was their attempt to consciously emulate the style of the original Nicktoons short. This tactic proved successful, and Cartoon Network approved the first season in September 2008. "The Enchiridion!" was the first episode to enter into production.
Ward and his production team began storyboarding episodes and writing plot outlines, but Cartoon Network was still concerned about the direction of the new series. McHale later recalled that during the pitch of an episode titled "Brothers in Insomnia" (which, for various reasons, was scrapped) the room was filled with executives from Cartoon Network. The pitch went well, but the production staff was soon inundated with questions about the stylistic nature of the series. Around this time, Cartoon Network paused the production of the show in an attempt to resolve these creative issues. A number of writers and animators were let go, and in their place, Cartoon Network management hired three veteran animators who had worked on ''SpongeBob SquarePants
''SpongeBob SquarePants'' (or simply ''SpongeBob'') is an American animated comedy television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It chronicles the adventures of the title character ...
'': Derek Drymon (who served as executive producer for the first season of ''Adventure Time''), Merriwether Williams (who served as head story editor for the show's first and second seasons), and Nick Jennings (who became the series' long-serving art director). Drymon, in particular, played a key role at this time, ensuring that both Cartoon Network and the show's production crew were on the same creative page. Thurop Van Orman
Mark "Thurop" Ashton Van Orman (born April 26, 1976) is an American cartoonist, animator, voice actor, television writer, producer and director best known for being the creator of Cartoon Network's ''The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack'', in ...
, the creator of ''The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack'', was also hired to guide Ward and his staff for the first two seasons. The storyboard for "Prisoners of Love" assuaged many of the fears some Cartoon Network executives had expressed.
As production for season one progressed, more artists were brought on board. Dan "Ghostshrimp" Bandit, a freelance illustrator who had also written and storyboarded on ''Flapjack'', was hired as the show's lead background designer; Ward told him to create background art that set the show "in a 'Ghostshrimp World". Ghostshrimp designed major locations, including Finn and Jake's home, the Candy Kingdom, and the Ice Kingdom.[ The position of lead character designer was given to Phil Rynda, who held this role for two-and-a-half seasons. The lead production crew for the show (which included Ward and McHale) were initially hesitant to bring him on board, but they were soon convinced by director Larry Leichliter, who assured them Rynda was talented and could draw in a variety of styles. With the producers satisfied, Rynda quickly began designing characters that were simple but still fell in line with "Pen's natural aesthetic". Around this time, Rynda and McHale began drafting artistic guidelines for the show, so that its animation style would always be somewhat consistent. With many of the lead production roles filled, Ward turned his attention to choosing storyboard artists for the first season. He assembled a team made up largely of "younger, inexperienced people", many of whom he discovered on the Internet. Many of these individuals had backgrounds in ]indie comics
Alternative comics cover a range of American comic book, American comics that have appeared since the 1980s, following the underground comix movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Alternative comics present an alternative to mainstream sup ...
, and Ward has called them "really smart, smartypants people" who were responsible for inserting more idiosyncratic and spiritual ideas into the series.
For the first four-and-a-half seasons of the show, Ward served as the showrunner for ''Adventure Time''. In an interview with ''Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'', Ward revealed that he had stepped down from this role sometime during the fifth season. As a naturally introverted person, he found interacting with and directing people every day to be exhausting. Following Ward's resignation from the post, Adam Muto became the series' new showrunner. Until late 2014, Ward continued to work on the cartoon as a storyboard artist and storyline writer.[ After November 2014, he stopped regularly contributing to episode outlines, but still looked over stories, provided occasional input, and continued to storyboard for the series on a limited basis.][Examples of latter series episodes storyboarded by Ward include:
*
*
* ]
Production
Writing and storyboarding
In terms of tone and genre, Warda self-professed fan of ambivalent emotions, such as feeling "happy and scared at the same time"has described the show as a "dark comedy". He has also cited the fantasy role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons
''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. (TS ...
''of which many of the show's writers are devoteesas an inspiration for the show.[ In the United States, the series is rated ]TV-PG
The TV Parental Guidelines are a television content rating system in the United States that was first proposed on December 19, 1996, by the United States Congress, the television industry and the federal communication commission (FCC), and went ...
; Ward said he never wanted to push the boundaries of the PG rating, noting in an interview with Art of the Title
Art of the Title (AOTT) is an online publication dedicated to title sequence design, spanning the film, television, conference, and video game industries. The publication is both an educational and historical resource and a contemporary publicati ...
that he "never really even thought about the rating ... we don't like stuff that's overly gross. We like cute stuff and nice things".[ Ward intended the show's world to have a coherent physical logic, and although magic exists in the story, the show's writers tried to create an internal consistency in the characters' interactions with the world.]
In an interview with ''The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'', Ward said the show's writing process usually began with the writers telling each other what they had done the previous week to find something humorous to build on. He also said, "A lot of the time, if we're really stuck, we'll start saying everything that comes to our mind, which is usually the worst stuff, and then someone else will think that's terrible but it'll give him a better idea and the ball just starts rolling like that".[ Because of the busy schedule of writing and coordinating a television series, the writers did not have time to play ''Dungeons and Dragons'', but they still wrote stories they would "want to be playing D&D with".][ Sometimes, the writers and storyboard artists convened and played writing games.][ One game that was often used is called ]exquisite corpse
Exquisite corpse (from the original French term ', literally exquisite cadaver), is a method by which a collection of words or images is collectively assembled. Each collaborator adds to a composition in sequence, either by following a rule (e.g. ...
; one writer starts a story on a sheet of paper, and another writer tries to finish it.[ But while a few episodes (such as the fifth-season episode " Puhoy" and the sixth-season episode " Jake the Brick") have been generated using this game, Ward has confessed that "the ideas are usually terrible".] Former storyboard artist and creative director Cole Sanchez
Cole Phillip Sanchez (born March 1, 1985) is an American artist, voice actor, writer, storyboard artist, director, and producer who is best known for being a writer, storyboard artist and director on the animated television series ''Adventure Time ...
said episode scripts are either created by expanding the good ideas produced by these writing games, or are based on an idea proposed by a storyboard artist in the hope it can be developed into an episode.
After the writers pitched stories, the ideas were compiled onto a two-or-three-page outline that contained "the important beats". The episodes were then passed to storyboard artists (often referred to colloquially as "boarders"). While many cartoons are based on script pitches to network executives, Cartoon Network allowed ''Adventure Time'' to "build their own teams organically" and communicate using storyboards and animatics
A storyboard is a graphic organizer that consists of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence. The storyboarding process, in t ...
.[ Rob Sorcher said this novel approach was sanctioned because the company was dealing with "primarily visual people", and that by using storyboards the writers and artists could learn and grow "by actually doing the work".] The storyboard artists generally worked on an episode in pairs, independent from other storyboarders, which, according to freelance writer David Perlmutter in his book ''America Toons In'', countered creative ennui
In conventional usage, boredom, ennui, or tedium is an emotional and occasionally psychological state experienced when an individual is left without anything in particular to do, is listlessness and dissatisfaction arising from a lack of occup ...
and prevented episodes from being "alike in either content or tone". The storyboard artists were given a week to "thumbnail" (roughly sketch out) a storyboard and fill in the details complete with action, dialogue, and jokes.[ The series' showrunner and his creative directors then reviewed the storyboard and made notes. The artists were then given another week to implement the notes and to clean up the episode.][ Storyboard writing and revising usually took up to a month.][
]
Animation
Following the writing revisions, voice actors would record their parts for the episodes and an animatic would be compiled to reduce the running time to the necessary eleven minutes. Specialized artists then created prop, character, and background designs. According to former lead character designer Phil Rynda, most of this pre-production was done in Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop is a raster graphics editor developed and published by Adobe Inc. for Windows and macOS. It was originally created in 1988 by Thomas and John Knoll. Since then, the software has become the industry standard not only in raster ...
. While the episodes' design and coloring was done at Cartoon Network Studios in Burbank, California, the actual animation was handled in South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
by either Rough Draft Korea or Saerom Animation
Saerom Animation, Inc ( ko, 새롬 애니메이션) is an animation studio located in Seoul, South Korea which was founded in 1987 by Kil Whan Kim. While it mainly animates shows from American animation studios, the company has started making its ...
.[ Animating an episode often took between three and five months alone.][ The animation was hand-drawn on paper, which was then digitally composited and painted with ]digital ink and paint
Traditional animation (or classical animation, cel animation, or hand-drawn animation) is an animation technique in which each frame is drawn by hand. The technique was the dominant form of animation in cinema until computer animation.
Pr ...
.[ Executive producer ]Fred Seibert
Frederick (Fred) Seibert (born September 15, 1951) is an American television producer, co-founder of MTV and the CEO of FredFilms, an animation production company based in Burbank, California. His official biography states he has led five (working ...
compared the show's animation style to that of ''Felix the Cat
Felix the Cat is a cartoon character created in 1919 by Pat Sullivan and Otto Messmer during the silent film era. An anthropomorphic black cat with white eyes, a black body, and a giant grin, he was one of the most recognized cartoon characte ...
'' and various Max Fleischer
Max Fleischer (born Majer Fleischer ; July 19, 1883 – September 25, 1972) was an American animator, inventor, film director and producer, and studio founder and owner. Born in Kraków, Fleischer immigrated to the United States where he became ...
cartoons, but said its world was equally inspired by "the world of videogames ".
While the episodes were being handled in South Korea, the production crew in the United States worked on retakes, music scoring, and sound design
Sound design is the art and practice of creating sound tracks for a variety of needs. It involves specifying, acquiring or creating auditory elements using audio production techniques and tools. It is employed in a variety of disciplines including ...
.[ Upon being completed, the animation was sent back to the United States, at which point it was inspected by the production crew, who looked for mistakes in the animation or "things that didn't animate the way he staffintended".][ These problems were then fixed in Korea and the animation was finalized.][ From story outlining to broadcast, it took between eight and nine months for each episode to be created; because of this, multiple episodes were worked on concurrently.][
While a great majority of the series' episodes were animated by Korean animation studios, ''Adventure Time'' occasionally featured guest animators and directors. For instance, the second-season episode "]Guardians of Sunshine
"Guardians of Sunshine" is the sixteenth episode of the second season of the American animated television series ''Adventure Time''. The episode was written and storyboarded by Ako Castuera and Tom Herpich, from a story by Mark Banker, Steve Littl ...
" was partly rendered in 3-D to emulate the style of a video game. The fifth-season episode " A Glitch is a Glitch" was written and directed by Irish filmmaker and writer David OReilly, and features his distinctive 3-D animation. Animator James Baxter animated select scenes and characters in both the fifth-season episode " James Baxter the Horse" as well as the eighth-season episode "Horse & Ball". The sixth-season episode "Food Chain
A food chain is a linear network of links in a food web starting from producer organisms (such as grass or algae which produce their own food via photosynthesis) and ending at an apex predator species (like grizzly bears or killer whales), de ...
" was written, storyboarded, and directed by Japanese anime
is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...
director Masaaki Yuasa
is a Japanese director, screenwriter, and animator affiliated with Science SARU, a Japanese animation studio which he co-founded with producer Eunyoung Choi in 2013. Yuasa previously served as president of Science SARU, but stepped down from t ...
, and was animated entirely by Yuasa's own studio Science SARU
Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe.
Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...
. Another sixth-season episode, " Water Park Prank", features Flash animation
Adobe Flash animation or Adobe Flash cartoon (formerly Macromedia Flash animation, Macromedia Flash cartoon, FutureSplash animation, and FutureSplash cartoon) is an animation that is created with the Adobe Animate (formerly Flash Professional) p ...
by David Ferguson. A stop-motion episode titled "Bad Jubies
"Bad Jubies" is the twentieth episode of the seventh season of the American animated television series ''Adventure Time''. The episode was written, storyboarded, and directed by Kirsten Lepore, and filmed entirely via stop motion. It originally ...
", directed by Kirsten Lepore
Kirsten Lepore is an American animator, best known for her stop motion short films like "Sweet Dreams", "Bottle", and "Move Mountain". From 2014 to 2015, she worked on an episode of the American cartoon series ''Adventure Time'' entitled "Bad Jub ...
, aired near the middle of the show's seventh season. Finally, Alex and Lindsay Small-Butera, noted for their web series ''Baman Piderman'', contributed animation to the eighth-season episode "Beyond the Grotto" and the ninth-season episode "Ketchup
Ketchup or catsup is a table condiment with a sweet and tangy flavor. The unmodified term ("ketchup") now typically refers to tomato ketchup, although early recipes used egg whites, mushrooms, oysters, grapes, mussels, or walnuts, among o ...
".
Cast
The series' voice actors include: Jeremy Shada (Finn the Human); John DiMaggio (Jake the Dog); Tom Kenny (The Ice King); Hynden Walch (Princess Bubblegum); and Olivia Olson (Marceline the Vampire Queen). Ward provides voices for several minor characters and Lumpy Space Princess. Former storyboard artist Niki Yang voices the sentient video game console BMO in English, as well as Jake's girlfriend Lady Rainicorn in Korean. Polly Lou Livingston, a friend of Pendleton Ward's mother Bettie Ward, plays the voice of the small elephant named Tree Trunks
In botany, the trunk (or bole) is the stem and main wooden axis of a tree, which is an important feature in tree identification, and which often differs markedly from the bottom of the trunk to the top, depending on the species. The trunk is the ...
.
The ''Adventure Time'' cast members recorded their lines together at group recording sessions rather than individually, with the aim of recording natural-sounding dialogue. Hynden Walch has described these group recordings as being akin to "doing a play readinga really, really out there play". The series regularly employed guest actors for minor and recurring characters, and crew members cast people with whom they were interested in working. For instance, in a panel, both Adam Muto and Kent Osborne
Kent Matthew Osborne (born August 30, 1969) is an American screenwriter, actor, animator, producer, and director. He has worked for such animated television shows as ''SpongeBob SquarePants'', ''Camp Lazlo'', ''Phineas and Ferb'', ''The Marvelou ...
said the ''Adventure Time'' crew often sought out actors who had had roles in the television programs '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' and ''The Office
''The Office'' is a mockumentary sitcom created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, first made in the United Kingdom, then Germany, and subsequently the United States. It has since been remade in ten other countries.
The original series o ...
'' to play various supporting or background characters.
Title sequence and music
When Ward was developing the series' title sequences, the rough draft version consisted of quick shots and vignettes that were "just sort of crazy ndnonsensical", which alluded to the show's theme of quirky adventures.[ These drafts included "the characters ... just punching random ghosts and monsters, jumping through anything and everything ndthere were a bunch of atomic bombs at the end of it".][ Ward later called this version "really silly".][ He sent the draft to Cartoon Network; they did not like it and wanted something more graphical like the introduction to '']The Brady Bunch
''The Brady Bunch'' is an American sitcom created by Sherwood Schwartz that aired from September 26, 1969, to March 8, 1974, on ABC. The series revolves around a large blended family with six children. The show aired for five seasons and, afte ...
''. Inspired by the title sequences of ''The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...
'' and ''Pee-wee's Playhouse
''Pee-wee's Playhouse'' is an American television series starring Paul Reubens as the childlike Pee-wee Herman that ran from 1986 to 1990 on Saturday mornings on CBS, and airing in reruns until July 1991. The show was developed from Reubens's po ...
'', Ward developed a new title sequence featuring a panning sweep of the Land of Ooo while a synthesizer note rose slowly until the main theme was played. Ward's draft for this idea was handed to layout animators, who then finalized the timing for the sequence. From there, the sequence evolved; while Ward added "silly character stuff", Patrick McHale focused his attention on the Ice King's shot and gave him a "high school ear
An ear is the organ that enables hearing and, in mammals, body balance using the vestibular system. In mammals, the ear is usually described as having three parts—the outer ear, the middle ear and the inner ear. The outer ear consists of ...
ook" smile. The crew also struggled to get the shadows in the shot featuring Marceline correct.[ After the panning sweep, the sequence cuts to the theme song, which plays while shots of Finn and Jake adventuring are shown. For this part of the sequence, Ward was inspired by the "simple" aspects of the introduction to the 2007 comedy film '' Superbad''. When the theme mentions "Jake the Dog" and "Finn the Human", the characters' names are displayed next to their heads, with a solid color in the background.][ The sequence was finalized immediately before the series aired.][
The show's eponymous theme song is sung by Ward, accompanied by a ]ukulele
The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings.
The tone and volume of the instrumen ...
. It is first heard in the pilot episode; in that version, Ward is accompanied by an acoustic guitar. For the version used in the series, Ward sang in a higher register to match with the higher range of the ukulele. The finalized version of the theme song was originally supposed to be a temporary version. Ward said, "I recorded the lyrics for the opening title in the animatics room where we have this little crummy microphone just so that we could add it to the titles and submit it to the network. Later, we tried re-recording it and I didn't like it ... I only liked the temp one!"[ Because the series' finalized theme song was originally recorded as a temp track, ambient noises can be heard throughout. For instance, the sound of Derek Drymon typing can be heard while Jake is walking through the Ice Kingdom. According to Ward, much of the series' music has similar "hiss and grit" because one of the show's original composers, Casey James Basichis, "lives in a pirate ship he's built inside of an apartment ndyou can hear floorboards squeak and lots of other weird sounds".][ As the show progressed, Basichis's friend Tim Kiefer joined the show as an additional composer. The two now work together on its music.]
The show's title sequence and theme song have stayed mostly consistent throughout its run, with seven exceptions. During the Fionna and Cake episodes (viz.
The abbreviation ''viz.'' (or ''viz'' without a full stop) is short for the Latin , which itself is a contraction of the Latin phrase ''videre licet'', meaning "it is permitted to see". It is used as a synonym for "namely", "that is to say", "to ...
season three
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...
's "Fionna and Cake", season five's "Bad Little Boy
"Bad Little Boy" is the eleventh episode of the fifth season of the American animated television series ''Adventure Time''. The episode was written and storyboarded by Cole Sanchez and Rebecca Sugar, from a story by Sugar, Patrick McHale, Adam Mu ...
", season six's "The Prince Who Wanted Everything", season eight's "Five Short Tables", and season nine
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...
's "Fionna and Cake and Fionna") the series runs a different intro sequence that mirrors the original, with the major exception that all the characters are gender-bent, and the theme is sung by former storyboard revisionist Natasha Allegri. Likewise, the intro to the series' three miniseries are each unique: the introduction to the Marceline-centric '' Stakes'' (2015) places most of the emphasis on Marceline, and the theme song is sung by Olivia Olson; the introduction to ''Islands
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
'' (2017) adopts a nautical theme, highlights the principal characters in the miniseries, and is sung by Jeremy Shada; and the intro to '' Elements'' (2017) features imagery reflecting the four primary elements in the ''Adventure Time'' universe (that is: fire, ice, slime, and candy) and is sung by Hynden Walch. The introductions to the guest-animated episodes "A Glitch Is a Glitch" and "Food Chain" are each unique, featuring animation courtesy of David OReilly and Masaaki Yuasa, respectively. Finally, the series finale, "Come Along With Me", features an introduction offering viewers a glimpse of future Ooo, one thousand years after Finn and Jake. This intro features the new characters Shermy and Beth and is sung by the latter (voiced by Willow Smith
Willow Camille Reign Smith (born October 31, 2000), known mononymously as Willow (stylized in all caps), is an American singer and actress. The daughter of actors Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, she has received various accolades, including ...
).
The series regularly features songs and musical numbers. Many of the cast membersincluding Shada, Kenny, and Olsonsing their characters' songs. Characters often express their emotions in song; examples of this include Marceline's song "I'm Just Your Problem" (from season three's " What Was Missing") and Finn's "All Gummed Up Inside" (from season three's "Incendium
"Incendium" is the twenty-sixth and final episode of the third season of the American animated television series ''Adventure Time''. The episode was written and storyboarded by Adam Muto and Rebecca Sugar, from a story by Mark Banker, Patrick McH ...
"). While the series' background music is composed by Basichis and Kiefer, the songs sung by characters are often written by the storyboard artists. And while it is a general rarity, the show also occasionally refers to popular music
Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fu ...
. Early during the show's run, Frederator, Seibert's production company, occasionally uploaded demos and full versions of songs sung by the characters to their official website, and when the production crew set up a series Tumblr
Tumblr (stylized as tumblr; pronounced "tumbler") is an American microblogging and social networking website founded by David Karp in 2007 and currently owned by Automattic. The service allows users to post multimedia and other content to a sho ...
account, this tradition of publishing demos and full versions of songs to the public was revived. On November 20, 2015, the label Spacelab9 released a limited-edition 12" LP featuring many of Marceline's songs, which was followed by a 38-song series soundtrack in October 2016.
Setting
Mythology
The show is set in the fictional "Land of Ooo", in a post-apocalyptic future about a thousand years after a nuclear holocaust
A nuclear holocaust, also known as a nuclear apocalypse, nuclear Armageddon, or atomic holocaust, is a theoretical scenario where the mass detonation of nuclear weapons causes globally widespread destruction and radioactive fallout. Such a scenar ...
called the "Great Mushroom War". According to Ward, the show takes place "after the bombs have fallen and magic has come back into the world". Before the series was fully developed, Ward intended the Land of Ooo to simply be "magical". After the production of the episode "Business Time", in which an iceberg containing reanimated businessmen floats to the surface of a lake, the show became explicitly post-apocalyptic; Ward said the production crew "just ran with it". Ward later described the setting as "candyland on the surface and dark underneath",[ noting he had never intended the Mushroom War and the post-apocalyptic elements to be "hit over the head in the show".][ He limited it to "cars buried underground in the background nd other elements that do notraise any eyebrows".][ Ward has said the series' post-apocalyptic elements were influenced by the 1979 film '']Mad Max
''Mad Max'' is an Australian post-apocalyptic action film series and media franchise created by George Miller and Byron Kennedy. It began in 1979 with '' Mad Max'', and was followed by three sequels: ''Mad Max 2'' (1981, released in the Unite ...
''. Kenny called the way the elements are worked into the plot "very fill-in-the-blanks", and DiMaggio said, "it's been obvious the Land of Ooo has some issues".
The series has a canonical
The adjective canonical is applied in many contexts to mean "according to the canon" the standard, rule or primary source that is accepted as authoritative for the body of knowledge or literature in that context. In mathematics, "canonical examp ...
mythology
Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narra ...
or, an overarching plot and backstorythat is expanded upon in various episodes. This mythology mainly involves the nature of the Mushroom War, the origin of the series' principal antagonist the Lich, and the backstories of several of the series' principal and recurring characters. Ward once noted that the details behind the Mushroom War and the series' dark mythology form "a story worth telling", but he also felt the show would be better off if the show "dance around how heavy the back-history of Ooo is".
LGBTQ+ representation
Rebecca Sugar
Rebecca Rea Sugar (born July 9, 1987) is an American animator and screenwriter. She is best known for being the creator of the Cartoon Network series ''Steven Universe'', making her the first non-binary person to independently create a series fo ...
said that after joining the show as a storyboarder, she "became more aware of what we're really saying by excluding GBTQcharacters" from children's TV, which felt "more and more dire" to her. She began working hard to put "LGBTQIA characters in G-rated content" in the years to follow. The show introduced viewers to two queer characters: Marceline the Vampire Queen
Marceline the Vampire Queen is a fictional character in the American animated Cartoon Network television series ''Adventure Time'', created by Pendleton Ward. She is voiced by Olivia Olson in most appearances, by Ava Acres as a child, and b ...
and Princess Bubblegum
Princess Bonnibel Bubblegum (also called Bonnie or PB, occasionally P-bubs) is a fictional character in the American animated television series ''Adventure Time'', created by Pendleton Ward. She is voiced by Hynden Walch.
Princess Bubblegum rules ...
. Sugar tried to foster the relationship between these two characters through her work on the show, and one genderfluid character (BMO). Initially, while many of these queer themes were worked into episodes as subtext (so as to avoid controversy or network censorship), later episodes—such as the series finale "Come Along with Me" and the ''Distant Lands'' special "Obsidian"—openly expanded on these themes, bringing them to the forefront of the series' plot. In a March 2021 '' Vanity Fair'' piece, Sugar said that she was encouraged by the "creative team to put their own life experiences into the character of Marceline," but when this led to a "romantic storyline between Marceline and Princess Bubblegum", Cartoon Network executives intervened. This moment led Sugar and the rest of the show's team to see the limit of what they could accomplish, in terms of representation.
A September 2011 episode " What Was Missing" began hinting at romantic subtext between Marceline and Bubblegum, which fans shipped as "Bubbline" by fans. Early episodes hinted at romantic subtext between Bubblegum and Marceline. Some reviewers hoped that "queer cartoon subtext" turns into "a queer cartoon subplot" or even a main plot in the future, and pointed to the ''Adventure Time Presents Marceline and the Scream Queens'' comic, created as part of the franchise, as fleshing out this relationship. It was also confirmed that Bonnie and Marcy had dated, and their relationship was confirmed in the season finale of ''Adventure Time'', " Come Along With Me" when both kissed. While Bonnie seems to have dated a male character named Mr. Cream Puff, her exact sexuality, unlike Marcy's, has not been confirmed. As such, reviewers have argued that she is either bisexual, non-binary, queer, lesbian, or a combination of some of the latter, as both live in a world where " sexuality is somewhat fluid."
In August 2018, Olivia Olson confirmed that Bubblegum and Marceline had dated and in the season finale of ''Adventure Time'', " Come Along With Me", Marcy and Bonnie kissed, which confirmed them as a couple. In an August 2020 interview, Sugar explained that Bonnie and Marcy that both characters were "centuries-old, millenniums-old," with a relationship in the past, which they were unpacking in an apparent way, and noted that she was trying to, when entering the show in 2010, show the "characters actively in a relationship happening in real-time." Before Bonnie, Marcy had an ex-boyfriend named Ash.
In September 2021, Abbey White, a reporter for ''Insider
''Insider'', previously named ''Business Insider'' (''BI''), is an American financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Insider''s parent company Insider Inc. has been owned by the German publ ...
'' and ''The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...
'', noted the series' interest in "gender nonconformity and gender-swapping", and they argued that Lumpy Space Princess upends gender norms.
Finale and spin-offs
During the last seasons of ''Adventure Time'', there was talk at Cartoon Network about concluding the series. Olivia Olson, who provided the voice of Marceline, said that since this discussion wore on for a while "the ending of the show was getting stretched and stretched and stretched". Chief content officer Rob Sorcher
Robert Sorcher (born December 22, 1961) is an American television executive producer for Warner Bros. Television Group. Sorcher was formerly executive vice president and global chief content officer at Cartoon Network, starting his job in 2008, ...
told the ''Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
'' of the network's decision to end the series, saying:
''Adventure Time'' was playing less and less on Cartoon Network, yet we were moving towards a large volume of episodes. And I really began thinking "he end
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
can't come quickly as a sudden company decision, it needs to be a conversation over a period of time." And it did also strike me that if we don't wind this up soon, we're going to have a generation of fans graduate through the elevisiondemo raphic that Cartoon Network targetsand we won't have completed a thought for them.
Consequently, on September 29, 2016, Cartoon Network confirmed that the series would conclude after its tenth season. The final episode of the series is a special, titled "'' Come Along with Me'';" the special was written and storyboarded by Tom Herpich
Thomas Herpich (born October 4, 1979) is an American artist who is best known for being a writer and storyboard artist on the animated television series ''Adventure Time''.
History
Herpich graduated from the School of Visual Arts (SVA), and was k ...
, Steve Wolfhard
Steve Wolfhard is a Canadian artist who is best known for being a writer and storyboard artist on the animated television series ''Adventure Time''.
History
Steve Wolfhard grew up in Kitchener and then Midland, Ontario and graduated from Sheri ...
, Seo Kim, Somvilay Xayaphone, Hanna K. Nyström, Aleks Sennwald, and Sam Alden, and Graham Falk
''Untalkative Bunny'' is a co-produced animated series about a yellow anthropomorphic rabbit and its life in the big city (closely based on Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.). The show is aimed for kids 6-17. The series consists of small episodes (about ...
. The story was developed by Herpich, Wolfhard, Ashly Burch
Ashly Burch (born June 19, 1990) is an American voice actress, singer, and television writer. She is known for her roles as Aloy in ''Horizon Zero Dawn'' and ''Horizon Forbidden West'', Mel in ''The Last of Us Part II'', Tiny Tina in the '' Bord ...
, showrunner Adam Muto
Adam Muto (born July 19, 1980) is an American writer, director, storyboard artist, animator, and producer known for his work as the executive producer and showrunner of the animated television series ''Adventure Time''.
Career
Muto was a classma ...
, head writer Kent Osborne
Kent Matthew Osborne (born August 30, 1969) is an American screenwriter, actor, animator, producer, and director. He has worked for such animated television shows as ''SpongeBob SquarePants'', ''Camp Lazlo'', ''Phineas and Ferb'', ''The Marvelou ...
, Jack Pendarvis, Julia Pott
Julia Pott (born 13 June 1985) is a British animator, illustrator, screenwriter, producer, and voice actress. She is the creator of Cartoon Network's'' Summer Camp Island'', as well as the voice of Susie McCallister.
Early life and education ...
, and series creator Pendleton Ward.
Former head background designer Ghostshrimp
Daniel James Bandit (born Daniel Rogers James; August 14, 1980), better known as Ghostshrimp, is an American graphic artist, animator and illustrator. His illustration work has appeared in ''The New York Times'', ''The New Yorker'', and on many al ...
returned after having officially left the series during the fourth season.
According to Osborne, Cartoon Network provided the writers with "an opportunity to spend a lot of time thinking about the finale" before production ended.[ In an interview with '']TV Guide
TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news.
The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008.
Corpora ...
'', Muto explained that the show's writers used many of the episodes preceding the finale to conclude minor character story arcs "so we wouldn't have to cram too much in at the very end here." This allowed the finale itself to be "less dense" by simply "hitting the big eatsand then finding vignettes for all the characters ... so we could get snapshots of where they could end up." According to Pendarvis, storyline writing for the series ended in mid-November 2016, with the last storyline meeting being held on November 21.
A tweet by Osborne revealed that the series' final script was pitched to storyboarders, with Alden and Nyström in attendance, on November 28.
This episode was then pitched to the show's producers during the third week of December 2016.
Voice recording for the episode ended on January 31, 2017, as confirmed by a number of cast members, including Maria Bamford
Maria Bamford (born September 3, 1970) is an American actress and stand-up comedian. Her work has drawn critical acclaim and controversy because her humor often uses self-deprecating and dark topics, including her dysfunctional family, depressio ...
and Andy Milonakis
Andrew Michael Milonakis (; born January 30, 1976) is an American actor, comedian, rapper, and streamer. He is best known for his work on '' The Andy Milonakis Show'', a sketch comedy series that aired on MTV and MTV2 from 2005 to 2007. Othe ...
. The series finale aired on September 3, 2018, receiving a largely positive reception.
Around a year later, on October 23, 2019, Cartoon Network announced that four hour-long specials—collectively titled '' Adventure Time: Distant Lands''—would air on HBO Max
HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Netw ...
. The specials aired throughout 2020 and 2021. On August 17, 2021, it was announced that a second spin-off, '' Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake'', focusing on the gender-swapped Fionna and Cake characters, was ordered by HBO Max.
Broadcast and ratings
Episodes
Each ''Adventure Time'' episode is about eleven minutes in length; pairs of episodes are often telecast in order to fill a half-hour program time slot. Before the official debut of the first season, Cartoon Network aired both "Business Time" and "Evicted!
"Evicted!" is the twelfth episode of the first season of the American animated television series ''Adventure Time''. The episode was written and storyboarded by Bert Youn and Sean Jimenez, from a story by Adam Muto. It originally aired on Cartoo ...
" on March 11 and 18, respectively, advertising these showings as "previews" of the series-to-come. The show officially debuted with "Slumber Party Panic" on April 5, 2010.[
During the latter part of its run, the show began to experiment with the miniseries format. The first of these was ''Stakes'' (2015), which aired during the show's seventh season. The following miniseries, ''Islands'' (2017) aired as part of the eighth season. The third and final miniseries, ''Elements'' (2017), aired during the show's ninth season.]
The show's seventh season was originally intended to comprise 39 episodes, ranging from "Bonnie & Neddy" to "Reboot". However, when it came time to upload the seventh season onto streaming sites like CartoonNetwork.com, Cartoon Network chose to end the season with the episode "The Thin Yellow Line", for a total of 26 episodes. This new episode count for the season was cemented by the release of the complete seventh season DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
on July 18, 2017, which included episodes "Bonnie & Neddy" through "The Thin Yellow Line". As such, the episode and season number sequence is accordingly changed, as follows:
For its first six seasons, episodes regularly aired once a week. Starting in November 2014, the show began to air new episodes via "bombs", or weeks in which new episodes debuted every day. This change in airing style disrupted the viewing patterns of some fans, as Dave Trumbore of Collider
A collider is a type of particle accelerator which brings two opposing particle beams together such that the particles collide. Colliders may either be ring accelerators or linear accelerators.
Colliders are used as a research tool in particl ...
explained: "Back when he show
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
was regularly airing in a more traditional schedule, it was a little easier to keep track of the completely insane episodes full of half-explained mythology and lots and lots of non-sequiturs. During the last few seasons, however, hen
Hen commonly refers to a female animal: a female chicken, other gallinaceous bird, any type of bird in general, or a lobster. It is also a slang term for a woman.
Hen or Hens may also refer to:
Places Norway
*Hen, Buskerud, a village in Ringer ...
the episodes started to arrive in more of a scattershot fashion scheduled around multi-part specials t became easier to missthe random airings of certain episodes".
The series' initial run concluded in 2018, after the airing of its tenth season. Reruns have aired on Boomerang
A boomerang () is a thrown tool, typically constructed with aerofoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight. A returning boomerang is designed to return to the thrower, while a non-returning ...
and Adult Swim
Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swim'' and often abbreviated as s'') is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programmed by its in-house ...
.
Ratings
Upon its debut, ''Adventure Time'' was a ratings success for Cartoon Network. In March 2013, it was reported that the show averaged roughly 2 to 3 million viewers an episode. According to a 2012 report by Nielsen, the show consistently ranked first in its time slot among boys aged 214.[ The show premiered on April 5, 2010, and was watched by 2.5 million viewers.] The episode was a ratings success. According to a press release by Cartoon Network, the episode's time slot saw triple-digit percentage increases from the previous year. The program was viewed by 1.661 million children aged 211, which marked a 110 percent increase from the previous year's figures. It was watched by 837,000 children aged 914, a 239 percent increase on the previous year's figures.
Between the second and sixth seasons, the show's ratings continued to grow; the second-season premiere was watched by 2.001 million viewers, the third-season premiere by 2.686 million, the fourth-season premiere by 2.655 million, the fifth-season premiere by 3.435 million, and the sixth-season premiere by 3.321 million. The show's seventh-season opener took a substantial ratings tumble, being watched by only 1.07 million viewers. Likewise, the eighth-, ninth-, and tenth-season premieres were watched by only 1.13, 0.71, and 0.77 million viewers, respectively. The series finale, "Come Along with Me", was viewed by 0.92 million viewers and scored a 0.25 Nielsen rating
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rati ...
in the 18- to 49-year-old demographic, which means the episode was seen by 0.25 percent of all individuals aged 18 to 49 years old who were watching television at the time of the episode's airing.
Home media and streaming service
On September 27, 2011, Cartoon Network released the region 1 DVD ''My Two Favorite People'', which features a selection of twelve episodes from the series' first two seasons. Following this, several other region-1 compilation DVDs have been released, including: ''It Came from the Nightosphere'' (2012), ''Jake vs. Me-Mow'' (2012), ''Fionna and Cake'' (2013), ''Jake the Dad'' (2013), ''The Suitor'' (2014), ''Princess Day'' (2014), ''Adventure Time and Friends'' (2014), ''Finn the Human'' (2014), ''Frost & Fire'' (2015), ''The Enchiridion'' (2015), ''Stakes'' (2016), ''Card Wars'' (2016), and ''Islands'' (2017). All of the seasons have been released on DVD, and the first six have been released domestically on Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...
. A box set containing the entire series was released on DVD on April 30, 2019.
On March 30, 2013, the first season of ''Adventure Time'' was made available on the Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...
Instant Watch service for online streaming; the second season was made available on March 30, 2014. Both seasons were removed from Netflix on March 30, 2015. The series was made available for streaming via Hulu on May 1, 2015.
While in the United States, HBO Max
HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Netw ...
becomes the primary platform to watch '' Adventure Time: Distant Lands'', there are debuts of "BMO," the first special of the spin-off series, in different countries and regions in respective Cartoon Network channels worldwide, on different dates mainly in 2020; such as October 24 (Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
), October 25 (France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
), November 21 (the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
), December 12 (Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, Australia, and Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
), and December 27 (Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
). In South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
, the debut was on January 1, 2021.
Reception
Critical reception
The show has received universal acclaim from critics. ''The A.V. Club'' reviewer Zack Handlen called it "a terrific show hat
A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...
fits beautifully in that gray area between kid and adult entertainment in a way that manages to satisfy both a desire for sophisticated (i.e., weird) writing and plain old silliness".
''Adventure Time'' has been complimented for its resemblance to cartoons of the past. In an article for the ''Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
'', television critic Robert Lloyd compared the series to "the sort of cartoons they made when cartoons themselves were young and delighted in bringing all things to rubbery life". Robert Mclaughlin of Den of Geek
''Den of Geek'' is a US and UK-based website covering entertainment with a focus on pop culture. The website also issues a bi-annual magazine.
History
''Den of Geek'' was founded in 2007 by Simon Brew in London. In 2012, DoG Tech LLC licensed ...
expressed a similar sentiment when he wrote that ''Adventure Time'' "is the first cartoon in a long time that is pure imagination".[ He complimented the show for "its non-reliance on continually referencing pop culture".] Eric Kohn of ''IndieWire
IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Holl ...
'' said the show "represents the progress of artoon
Artoon Co., Ltd. (株式会社アートゥーン Kabushiki-Gaisha Ātūn) was a Japanese video game developer established in 1999. It became a subsidiary of AQ Interactive in May 2004 and became a wholly owned subsidiary in June 2005. The team w ...
medium" in the current decade.
A number of reviews have positively compared the series and its creators to other culturally significant works and individuals, respectively. In 2013, ''Entertainment Weekly'' reviewer Darren Franich called the series "a hybrid sci-fi/fantasy/horror/musical/fairy tale, with echoes of ''Calvin and Hobbes
''Calvin and Hobbes'' is a daily American comic strip created by cartoonist Bill Watterson that was syndicated from November 18, 1985, to December 31, 1995. Commonly cited as "the last great newspaper comic", ''Calvin and Hobbes'' has enjoyed b ...
'', Hayao Miyazaki, ''Final Fantasy
is a Japanese video game, Japanese science fantasy anthology media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi and developed and owned by Square Enix (formerly Square (video game company), Square). The franchise centers on a series of fantasy and ...
'', Richard Linklater, ''Where the Wild Things Are
''Where the Wild Things Are'' is a 1963 children's picture book written and illustrated by American writer and illustrator Maurice Sendak, originally published in hardcover by Harper & Row. The book has been adapted into other media several tim ...
'', and the music video you made with your high school garage band". Emily Nussbaum of ''The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' praised ''Adventure Time''s unique approach to emotion, humor, and philosophy by likening it to "''World of Warcraft
''World of Warcraft'' (''WoW'') is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) released in 2004 by Blizzard Entertainment. Set in the ''Warcraft'' fantasy universe, ''World of Warcraft'' takes place within the world of Azeroth ...
'' as recapped by Carl Jung
Carl Gustav Jung ( ; ; 26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who founded analytical psychology. Jung's work has been influential in the fields of psychiatry, anthropology, archaeology, literature, phi ...
". Zack Handlen of ''The A.V. Club'' concluded that the show was "basically what would happen if you asked a bunch of 12-year-olds to make a cartoon, only it's the best possible version of that, like if all the 12-year-olds were super geniuses and some of them were Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He gre ...
and the Marx Brothers
The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act that was successful in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in motion pictures from 1905 to 1949. Five of the Marx Brothers' thirteen feature films were selected by the American Film Institute (AFI) ...
".[
''Adventure Time''s willingness to explore dark, sad, and complex issues has received praise. Kohn applauded the fact that the show "toys with an incredibly sad subtext".][ Novelist ]Lev Grossman
Lev Grossman (born June 26, 1969) is an American novelist and journalist who wrote ''The Magicians Trilogy'': '' The Magicians'' (2009), ''The Magician King'' (2011), and ''The Magician's Land'' (2014). He was the book critic and lead technology ...
, in an interview with NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
, praised the backstory of the Ice King and the exploration of his condition in the third-season episode " Holly Jolly Secrets", the fourth-season episode " I Remember You", and the fifth-season episode " Simon & Marcy", noting that his origin is "psychologically plausible".[ Grossman praised the way the series was able to tackle the issues of mental illness, saying: "It's very affecting. My dad has been going through having Alzheimer's, and he's forgotten so much about who he used to be. And I look at him and think this cartoon is about my father dying".] Critics have suggested that the show has grown and matured as it has aged. In a review of season four, for instance, Mike LeChevallier of ''Slant
Slant can refer to:
Bias
*Bias or other non-objectivity in journalism, politics, academia or other fields
Technical
* Slant range, in telecommunications, the line-of-sight distance between two points which are not at the same level
* Slant d ...
'' magazine complimented the show for "growing up" with its characters.[ He concluded that the series has "strikingly few faults" and awarded the fourth season three-and-a-half stars out of four.]
The series has been included on a number of best-of lists. ''Entertainment Weekly'' ranked it number 20 (out of 25) in a list of the "Greatest Animated TV Series". Similarly, ''The A.V. Club'', in a non-ranked run-down of the "best animated series ever", called the series "one of the most distinctive cartoons currently on the air".
The show has also received limited criticism from reviewers. LeChevallier, in an otherwise largely positive review of the third season for ''Slant'' magazine, wrote that "the short-form format leaves some emotional substance to be desired", and that this was inevitable for a series with such short episodes. The independent cartoon scholar and critic David Perlmutter, who otherwise applauded the show's voice acting and its ability to surpass its source material, argued that the show's vacillation between high and low comedy epitomizes the fact that Cartoon Network is "unsure of what direction to pursue". He noted that "while some of 'Adventure Time''sepisodes work well, others resimply confusing". The newspaper ''Metro
Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to:
Geography
* Metro (city), a city in Indonesia
* A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center
Public transport
* Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urb ...
'' cited the show's frightening situations, occasional adult themes, and use of innuendo
An innuendo is a hint, insinuation or intimation about a person or thing, especially of a denigrating or derogatory nature. It can also be a remark or question, typically disparaging (also called insinuation), that works obliquely by allusion ...
as reasons why parents might not want their young children watching it.
Industry impact
Several former storyboard artists and production crew members who worked on ''Adventure Time'' have gone on to create their own series, including Patrick McHale (a former storyline writer, storyboard artist, and creative director who went on to create ''Over the Garden Wall
''Over the Garden Wall'' is an American animated television miniseries created by Patrick McHale for Cartoon Network. The series centers on two half-brothers who travel across a mysterious forest to find their way home, encountering a variet ...
''), J.G. Quintel (a former storyboard artist who went on to create '' Regular Show'' and ''Close Enough
''Close Enough'' is an American animated sitcom created by J. G. Quintel. Originally intended to air on TBS in 2017, the project faced various delays and setbacks before eventually premiering on HBO Max on July 9, 2020. The series has received ...
''), Pete Browngardt
Peter Browngardt is an American animator, storyboard artist, voice actor, writer and producer currently working as executive producer and creative director behind '' Looney Tunes Cartoons''. He is perhaps best known for being the creator of Car ...
(a former storyboard artist who went on to create ''Secret Mountain Fort Awesome
''Secret Mountain Fort Awesome'' is an American animated television series created by Peter Browngardt for Cartoon Network that debuted in 2011. The show revolves around a fraternity of five monsters who unleash wild stunts upon the public from t ...
'', ''Uncle Grandpa
''Uncle Grandpa'' is an American animated television series created by Peter Browngardt for Cartoon Network. It ran from September 2, 2013 to June 30, 2017. It is based on Browngardt's animated short of the same name from the unaired '' Cartoons ...
'', and ''Looney Tunes Cartoons
''Looney Tunes Cartoons'' is an American animated television series developed by Peter Browngardt and produced by Warner Bros. Animation, based on the characters from ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies''. The series made its worldwide debu ...
''), Rebecca Sugar (a former storyboard artist who went on to create ''Steven Universe
''Steven Universe'' is an American animated television series created by Rebecca Sugar for Cartoon Network. It tells the coming-of-age story of a young boy, Steven Universe ( Zach Callison), who lives with the Crystal Gems—magical, mineral ...
''), Ian Jones-Quartey (a former storyboard revisionist and supervisor who went on to create '' OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes''), Skyler Page (a former storyboard artist who went on to create ''Clarence Clarence may refer to:
Places
Australia
* Clarence County, New South Wales, a Cadastral division
* Clarence, New South Wales, a place near Lithgow
* Clarence River (New South Wales)
* Clarence Strait (Northern Territory)
* City of Clarence, a l ...
''), Julia Pott (a former storyline writer who went on to create ''Summer Camp Island
''Summer Camp Island'' is an American animated television series created by Julia Pott for Cartoon Network. Produced by Cartoon Network Studios, it premiered on July 7, 2018.
The series depicts the episodic adventures of Oscar and Hedgehog, bot ...
''), Kent Osborne (the show's former head story writer who went on to create ''Cat Agent
Kent Matthew Osborne (born August 30, 1969) is an American screenwriter, actor, animator, producer, and director. He has worked for such animated television shows as ''SpongeBob SquarePants'', '' Camp Lazlo'', ''Phineas and Ferb'', ''The Marvelo ...
''), and Elizabeth Ito (a former storyboard artist and supervising director who created '' City of Ghosts'' for Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...
).
Heidi MacDonald of ''Slate'' has argued that the scouting of indie comic creators employed by ''Adventure Time'' (as well as several other Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon series) has led to an "animation gold rush" in which major studios are actively seeking under-the-radar talent for their shows, with her article surmising that "your favorite brilliant indie cartoonist is probably storyboarding for ''Adventure Time''".[ MacDonald also pointed out that ''Adventure Time'' has influenced the tone of modern comics, noting:
]If anything, walking around omicshows like SPX, I've noticed something of an ''Adventure Time'' track among many of the small press comics now coming out: Where once young cartoonists overwhelmingly produced gloomy masculine self-absorption and misanthropy in the tradition of Daniel Clowes
Daniel Gillespie Clowes (; born April 14, 1961) is an American cartoonist, graphic novelist, illustrator, and screenwriter. Most of Clowes's work first appeared in '' Eightball'', a solo anthology comic book series. An ''Eightball'' issue typi ...
or Chris Ware
Franklin Christenson "Chris" Ware (born December 28, 1967) is an American cartoonist known for his '' Acme Novelty Library'' series (begun 1994) and the graphic novels ''Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth'' (2000), ''Building Stories'' (201 ...
, these days many booths feature fantasy epics with colorful characters and invented worlds heavy on the talking animals. It shouldn't be surprising that up-and-coming cartoonists are absorbing the ''Adventure Time'' aesthetic. A 20-year-old making comics now could have been watching the show since she was 15, after all.
In an interview with '' Paste'' magazine, Rebecca Sugar explained that working on ''Adventure Time'' and connecting with indie and underground comic artists who worked on the show (like Ward, McHale and Muto) was a creative game-changer, as they told her to do what she would do when drawing comics and to not hold anything back. She argued that many of the recent development in animation were inspired by what the show was able to do by being "very artist-driven" and allowing independent comic artists to have a major say in the direction of episodes.
Academic interest
''Adventure Time'' has attracted academic interest for its presentation of gender and gender role
A gender role, also known as a sex role, is a social role encompassing a range of behaviors and attitudes that are generally considered acceptable, appropriate, or desirable for a person based on that person's sex. Gender roles are usually cent ...
s. Emma A. Jane, a senior research fellow at the University of New South Wales
The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensiv ...
in Sydney, Australia, said that the two main characters are male, and many episodes involve them engaging in violent acts to save princesses, but "Finn and Jake are part of an expansive ensemble cast of characters who are anything but stereotypical and who populate a program which subverts many traditional gender-related paradigms".[ She said the show features "roughly equal numbers of female and male characters in a protagonist, antagonist, and minor roles"; includes characters with no fixed gender; uses "gendered 'design elements'" such as eyelashes and hair to illustrate character traits rather than gender; equally distributes traits regardless of gender; privileges found, adoptive families or ]extended families
An extended family is a family that extends beyond the nuclear family of parents and their children to include aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins or other relatives, all living nearby or in the same household. Particular forms include the stem a ...
; frames gender in ways that suggest it is fluid, and features elements of queer and transgender
A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through ...
sub-text. Carolyn Leslie, writing in ''Screen
Screen or Screens may refer to:
Arts
* Screen printing (also called ''silkscreening''), a method of printing
* Big screen, a nickname associated with the motion picture industry
* Split screen (filmmaking), a film composition paradigm in which mul ...
'', agrees, saying, "despite having two male leads, ''Adventure Time'' is particularly strong when it comes to questioning and challenging gender stereotypes".[ She uses Princess Bubblegum, BMO, and Fionna and Cake as examples of characters who refuse to be readily categorized and genderized.]
The first non-fiction book to scholarly study the series was ''Adventure Time and Philosophy'' (2015). Published by Open Court Publishing Company
The Open Court Publishing Company is a publisher with offices in Chicago and LaSalle, Illinois. It is part of the Carus Publishing Company of Peru, Illinois.
History
Open Court was founded in 1887 by Edward C. Hegeler of the Matthiessen-Hegeler ...
, this work considers ''Adventure Time'' from a variety of angles, using the show as a way to explore different philosophical ideas. In July 2020, independent scholar Paul Thomas released a book entitled ''Exploring the Land of Ooo.'' In addition to explicating the show’s production history, the book also considers the show’s levels of storytelling, its embracing of creative retcon
Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in which established diegetic facts in the plot of a fictional work (those established through the narrative itself) are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subs ...
s, and its predication on the monomyth
In narratology and comparative mythology, the hero's journey, or the monomyth, is the common template of stories that involve a hero who goes on an adventure, is victorious in a decisive crisis, and comes home changed or transformed.
Earlie ...
.
Fandom
Since its debut, ''Adventure Time'' has developed a strong following among children, teenagers, and adults; according to ''A.V. Club'' critic Noel Murray, fans are drawn to ''Adventure Time'' because of "the show's silly humor, imaginative stories, and richly populated world".[ While the show is often described as having a cult following,][ Eric Kohn of ''IndieWire'' said that the series has "started to look like one of the biggest television phenomenons of the decade".][ According to Alex Heigl of '']People
A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of prope ...
'' magazine, "The show's fandom
A fandom is a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of empathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the objects of their fandom and spend a significant ...
is especially Internet-savvy as well, with huge communities on Reddit
Reddit (; stylized in all lowercase as reddit) is an American social news aggregation, content rating, and discussion website. Registered users (commonly referred to as "Redditors") submit content to the site such as links, text posts, imag ...
, Imgur
Imgur ( , stylized as imgur) is an American online image sharing and image hosting service with a focus on social gossip that was founded by Alan Schaaf in 2009. The service has hosted viral images and meme, particularly those posted on Reddit ...
and Tumblr
Tumblr (stylized as tumblr; pronounced "tumbler") is an American microblogging and social networking website founded by David Karp in 2007 and currently owned by Automattic. The service allows users to post multimedia and other content to a sho ...
, who swap GIFs, fan art and theories with fervent regularity". In 2016, a study by ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' of the 50 TV shows with the most Facebook Like
The like button on the social networking website Facebook was first enabled on February 9, 2009. The like button enables users to easily interact with status updates, comments, photos and videos, links shared by friends, and advertisements. Onc ...
s found that ''Adventure Time'' "is the most popular show among the young in our datajust over two-thirds of 'likes' come from viewers ged
The General Educational Development (GED) tests are a group of four subject tests which, when passed, provide certification that the test taker has United States or Canadian high school-level academic skills. It is an alternative to the US high ...
1824".
The show is popular at fan conventions, such as the San Diego Comic-Con
San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is ...
. Reporter Emma-Lee Moss said, "This year's 014 014 may refer to:
* Argus As 014
* BIND-014
* 014 Construction Unit
* Divi Divi Air Flight 014
* Pirna 014
* Tyrrell 014
The Tyrrell 014 was a Formula One car, designed for Tyrrell Racing by Maurice Philippe for use in the season. The cars wer ...
Comic-Con schedule reflected ''Adventure Time''s growing success, with several screenings s well as
S, or s, is the nineteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ess'' (pronounced ), plural ''esses''.
History ...
a dramatic reading with the show's voice talent".[ The show is also popular with cosplayers, or ]performance art
Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...
ists who wear costumes and fashion accessories to represent characters from the ''Adventure Time'' universe. Moss wrote, "Looking into the crowd, it was clear that inn'sdistinctive blue shirt and white hat were being mirrored by hundreds of Cosplayers, male and female". In an interview, Olivia Olson (who voices the character Marceline) said, "Literally, anywhere you look, anywhere in your range, you're going to see at least two people dressed up like Finn. It's crazy".
Accolades
Related media
Comic books
On November 19, 2011, KaBoom! Studios announced plans for an ''Adventure Time'' comic book series written by independent webcomic creator Ryan North
Ryan North (born October 20, 1980) is a Canadian writer and computer programmer.
He is the creator and author of '' Dinosaur Comics'', and has written for the comic series of ''Adventure Time'' and Marvel Comics' ''The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl''. ...
, who wrote the series ''Dinosaur Comics
''Dinosaur Comics'' is a constrained comics, constrained webcomic by Canadian writer Ryan North. It is also known as "Qwantz", after the site's domain name, "qwantz.com". The first comic was posted on February 1, 2003, although there were earlier ...
''. The series launched on February 8, 2012, with art by Shelli Paroline and Braden Lamb. In October 2014, it was revealed that North had left the comic series after three years. His duties were assumed by Christopher Hastings
Christopher Hastings (age ) is an American comic writer and artist. He is known for his webcomic '' The Adventures of Dr. McNinja'' as well as writing for ''Unbelievable Gwenpool'' and the ''Adventure Time'' comics.
Biography
Hastings attended ...
, the creator of '' The Adventures of Dr. McNinja''. This comic book line ended in April 2018 with its seventy-fifth issue, which North returned to co-write.
After the success of the original comic book line, several spin-off mini-series were launched. Some of the comic series are as follows:
A separate line of comics officially denoted as graphic novel
A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...
s, have also been released. Books in this line are:
Other literature
Other ''Adventure Time''-themed books have also been released. ''The Adventure Time Encyclopaedia'', published on July 22, 2013, was written by comedian Martin Olson
Martin Olson (born April 2, 1956) is an American comedy writer, television producer, author and composer. He is known for his unusual subject matter, and is an original member of the Boston Comedy Scene. He is the father of actress Olivia Olson ...
, father of Olivia Olson and the voice of recurring character Hunson Abadeer. This was followed by ''Adventure Time: The Enchiridion & Marcy's Super Secret Scrapbook!!!'', which was released on October 6, 2015. Written by Martin and Olivia Olson, it is presented as a combination of the ''Enchiridion'' and Marceline's secret diary. An official ''Art of ...'' book, titled ''The Art of Ooo'' was published on October 14, 2014. It contains interviews with cast and crew members and opens with an introduction by filmmaker Guillermo del Toro. Two volumes with collections of the show's title card
In films, an intertitle, also known as a title card, is a piece of filmed, printed text edited into the midst of (i.e., ''inter-'') the photographed action at various points. Intertitles used to convey character dialogue are referred to as "dialo ...
s have also been released, as has a cookbook with recipes inspired by the show, and a series of prose novels published under the header "Epic Tales from ''Adventure Time''" (which includes ''The Untamed Scoundrel'', ''Queen of Rogues'', ''The Lonesome Outlaw'', and ''The Virtue of Ardor'', all of which were published under the pseudonym
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...
"T. T. MacDangereuse").
Video games
The series has spawned several major video game releases. The first game based on the series, '' Adventure Time: Hey Ice King! Why'd You Steal Our Garbage?!!'', was announced by Pendleton Ward on his Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
account in March 2012. The game was developed by WayForward Technologies
WayForward Technologies, Inc. is an American independent video game developer and publisher based in Valencia, California. Founded in March 1990 by technology entrepreneur Voldi Way, WayForward started by developing games for consoles such as ...
for Nintendo DS and Nintendo 3DS, and was released by D3 Publisher
is a Japanese video game developer and publisher founded on February 5, 1992. The company is known for the ''Simple'' series of budget-priced video games. Their games have been released for the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, Ni ...
on November 20, 2012. A year later, the game '' Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I Don't Know!'', which follows Finn and Jake as they strive "to save the Candy Kingdom by exploring the mysterious Secret Royal Dungeon deep below the Land of Ooo",[ was released in November 2013.] On November 18, 2014, '' Adventure Time: The Secret of the Nameless Kingdom'' was released for Nintendo 3DS, Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generati ...
, PlayStation 3
The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on November 11, 2006, in Japan, November ...
, PlayStation Vita, and Microsoft Windows. In October 2015, the fourth major ''Adventure Time'' video game, titled '' Finn & Jake Investigations'', was released for 3DS, Windows and other consoles. It is the first in the series to feature full 3D graphics. Another game, '' Adventure Time: Pirates of the Enchiridion'', was released for the PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Windows, and Xbox One
The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
in July 2018. The game was published by Outright Games, developed by Climax Studios
Climax Studios is a British video game developer based in Portsmouth that is best known for their work on the 2004 action role-playing game ''Sudeki'' and the 2007 and 2009 survival horror video games '' Silent Hill: Origins'' and '' Silent Hi ...
, and features the show's original cast. That game won the award for "Performance in a Comedy, Lead" with John DiMaggio at the National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers Awards, in which Jeremy Shada was also nominated for the same category.
Various other minor video games have also been released. Several, including ''Legends of Ooo'', ''Fionna Fights'', ''Beemo Adventure Time'', and ''Ski Safari: Adventure Time'', have been released on the iOS App Store. A game titled ''Finn & Jake's Quest'' was released on April 11, 2014, on Steam. Cartoon Network also released a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game titled ''Adventure Time: Battle Party'' on Cartoon Network's official site, on June 23, 2014. In April 2015, two downloadable content packs for ''LittleBigPlanet 3
''LittleBigPlanet 3'' is a puzzle-platform game developed by Sumo Digital for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4. It was released worldwide through November and December 2014, and it is the third entry in the main ''LittleBigPlanet'' series, ...
'' on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 were released; one contained ''Adventure Time'' costumes, while the other contained a level kit with decorations, stickers, music, objects, a background, and a bonus Fionna costume. A virtual reality
Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), e ...
(VR) game entitled ''Adventure Time: Magic Man's Head Games'' was also released to Oculus Rift
Oculus Rift is a discontinued line of virtual reality headsets developed and manufactured by Oculus VR, a division of Meta Platforms, released on March 28, 2016.
In 2012 Oculus initiated a Kickstarter campaign to fund the Rift's development, af ...
, HTC Vive
VIVE, sometimes referred to as HTC Vive, is a virtual reality brand of HTC Corporation. It consists of hardware like its titular virtual reality headsets and accessories, virtual reality software and services, and initiatives that promote appl ...
, and PlayStation VR
The PlayStation VR (PS VR, known by its code name Project Morpheus during development) is a virtual reality headset developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, which was released in October 2016.
It is fully functional with the PlayStation 4 an ...
. A second VR game, entitled ''Adventure Time: I See Ooo'', was released on September 29, 2016. In that same month, ''Adventure Time'' characters were added to the '' Lego Dimensions'' game. Finn and Jake became playable characters in the video game '' Cartoon Network: Battle Crashers'' which was released for the Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation 4, Xbox One on November 8, 2016 and the Nintendo Switch on October 31, 2017.
Proposed film
In February 2015, it was reported that a theatrical ''Adventure Time'' film was being developed by Cartoon Network Studios, Frederator Films, Vertigo Entertainment
Vertigo Entertainment is an American film and television production company based in Los Angeles, founded in 2001 by Roy Lee and Doug Davison.
History
In 2001, after leaving BenderSpink, Roy Lee started Vertigo Entertainment with partner Do ...
, and Warner Animation Group
The Warner Animation Group (WAG) is an American animation studio serving as the computer-animated feature film label of Warner Bros.' theatrical film production and distribution division, Warner Bros. Pictures. Established on January 7, 2013, ...
. According to reports, the film would be executive-produced and written by Pendleton Ward, and produced by Roy Lee
Roy Lee (born March 23, 1969) is an American film producer. Lee's production company, Vertigo Entertainment, has a first-look deal with Warner Bros.
Early life
Lee was born in 1969 at Wyckoff Heights Hospital, in Brooklyn, New York, to Korean ...
and Chris McKay
Christopher McKay, also known as Chris Taylor (born November 11, 1973), is an American filmmaker. He is best known for directing and editing three seasons of '' Robot Chicken'' and two seasons of '' Moral Orel''. He made his feature directoria ...
. In October 2015, series producer Adam Muto confirmed that series creator Pendleton Ward was "working on the premise" for the film, but that there was "nothing official to announce yet". On July 22, 2018, Muto noted that "an 'Adventure Time''movie was never officially announced". On August 31, 2018, Muto said the finale of the show would not affect a potential movie, nor would the finale lead directly into a film. He also noted that "all the lore and stuff would not work for a first time viewer", suggesting that the film would have to hold well on its own to be successful.
Other appearances
A variety of officially licensed merchandiseincluding action figures, role-playing toys, bedding, dishware, and various other productshave been released. Since the dramatic increase in popularity of the series, many graphic T-shirts have been officially licensed through popular clothing retailers. Pendleton Ward hosted T-shirt designing contests on the websites of both We Love Fine and Threadless
Threadless (stylized as threadless) is an online community of artists and an e-commerce website based in Chicago, Illinois, founded in 2000 by Jake Nickell and Jacob DeHart.
Threadless designs are created by and chosen by an online community. E ...
.[ Other shirts can be purchased directly from Cartoon Network's store. A collectible card game called ''Card Wars'', inspired by the fourth-season episode of the same name, has been released. On March 11, 2016, it was announced by Lego via Lego Ideas that an official ''Adventure Time'' Lego set from an idea by site user, aBetterMonkey, had met voting qualifications and was approved to be produced in cooperation with Cartoon Network. The set was released in January 2017.
On July 21, 2013, ]Taiwan High Speed Rail
Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) is the high-speed railway of Taiwan consisting of one line that runs approximately along the west coast, from the capital Taipei to the southern city of Kaohsiung. With construction and operations managed by a pri ...
and the Taiwan branch of Cartoon Network worked together on a project called "Cartoon Express" (Chinese: 歡樂卡通列車). The entire train was covered with characters from various Cartoon Network shows (including ''The Amazing World of Gumball
''The Amazing World of Gumball'' is an animated sitcom created by Ben Bocquelet for Cartoon Network. The series concerns the lives of 12-year-old Gumball Watterson, an anthropomorphic blue cat, and adoptive goldfish brother Darwin, who attend ...
'', ''The Powerpuff Girls
''The Powerpuff Girls'' is an American superhero animated television series created by animator Craig McCracken and produced by Hanna-Barbera (later Cartoon Network Studios) for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Telev ...
'', ''Ben 10
''Ben 10'' is an American media franchise created by Man of Action Studios, produced by Cartoon Network Studios and owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The series centers on a boy named Ben Tennyson who acquires the Omnitrix, an alien device resem ...
'', and '' Regular Show''), and the two sides of the train is painted with Finn and Jake respectively. Throughout the project, there were over 1,400 runs of the train and over 1.3 million passengers were transported. Near the end, the Taiwan High Speed Rail also sold postcards as souvenirs for sale since August 23, 2014, and the project eventually ended on September 9, 2014. In addition, Cartoon Network established a waterpark
A water park (or waterpark, water world) is an amusement park that features water play areas such as swimming pools, water slides, splash pads, water playgrounds, and lazy rivers, as well as areas for floating, bathing, swimming, and other b ...
named Cartoon Network Amazone
Cartoon Network Amazone Waterpark ( th, สวนน้ำการ์ตูนเน็ทเวิร์ค อเมโซน) was a Cartoon Network themed waterpark located at 888 Moo 8, Na Jomtien, Sattahip, Chonburi, Thailand, 15 kilome ...
in Chonburi
Chonburi ( th, ชลบุรี, , IAST: , ) is the capital of Chonburi Province and Mueang Chonburi District in Thailand. It is about 100 km southeast of Bangkok, on the coast of the Gulf of Thailand. Its name means 'city of water'. Chonb ...
, Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
; it opened on October 3, 2014. Promoting the waterpark, Thai Smile
THAI Smile Airways is a Thai regional airline and a wholly owned subsidiary of Thai Airways International headquartered in Bangkok.
History
On 20 May 2011, the Thai Airways board announced plans to create a new lower-cost airline, at the time ...
painted Finn, Jake, Princess Bubblegum and Marceline on the planes.
台灣高鐵-卡通造型列車停靠於桃園站南下月台.JPG, The Finn train as seen in Taoyuan HSR station
Taoyuan HSR () is a high-speed rail and metro station in Zhongli District, Taoyuan, Taiwan, served by Taiwan High Speed Rail and Taoyuan Airport MRT, and is also known as Qingpu Station ().
History
* 10 November 2006: This station opened for ...
, Taiwan (2014)
高鐵700T 酷狗老皮彩繪列車.jpg, The Jake train as seen from Xinpu, Hsinchu
Xinpu Township (; also known as Hsinpu) is an Township (Taiwan), urban township in Hsinchu County, Taiwan.
History
Xinpu was formerly known as ''Baliguo'' (), a commercial center during the Jiaqing Emperor rule of Taiwan under Qing rule, Qin ...
near the railway (2013)
HS-TXQ (30328494464).jpg, An Airbus A320 (SL) in Khon Kaen
Khon Kaen ( th, ขอนแก่น, ) is one of the four major cities of Isan, Thailand, also known as the "big four of Isan", the others being Udon Thani, Nakhon Ratchasima, and Ubon Ratchathani. It is the capital of Khon Kaen province and ...
, Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
(2016)
" Leela and the Genestalk", an episode from the seventh season of the animated Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programmin ...
program '' Futurama'', features a cameo of Finn and Jake, with DiMaggio (who voices Bender in ''Futurama'') reprising his role as Jake for the appearance. Similarly, the twenty-eighth season premiere of the Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
series ''The Simpsons'', entitled " Monty Burns' Fleeing Circus", includes a couch gag that parodies the title sequence to ''Adventure Time'', complete with Pendleton Ward himself singing a spoof of the ''Adventure Time'' theme song. According to Al Jean
Alfred Ernest Jean III (born January 9, 1961) is an American screenwriter and producer. Jean is well known for his work on ''The Simpsons''. He was raised near Detroit, Michigan, and graduated from Harvard University in 1981. Jean began his wri ...
, the executive producer of ''The Simpsons'', " he couch gagwas the brain child of Mike Anderson, our supervising director ... It's a really beautiful, elaborate crossover".
On the Portuguese talk show '' 5 Para A Meia-Noite'', the humorist Eduardo Madeira, who portrayed a hater called Osório, used Princess Bubblegum and Marceline to mock the Eurovision Song Contest 2018
The Eurovision Song Contest 2018 was the 63rd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Lisbon, Portugal, following the country's victory at the with the song " Amar pelos dois" by Salvador Sobral. Organised by the European ...
's Portuguese contestants, Cláudia Pascoal
Cláudia Rafaela Teixeira Pascoal (; born 12 October 1994) is a Portuguese singer who represented her country at the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 on home soil in Lisbon.
Career 2010–2015: ''Ídolos'' and ''Factor X''
In 2010, Pascoal part ...
and Isaura
Isauria ( or ; grc, Ἰσαυρία), in ancient geography, is a rugged, isolated, district in the interior of Asia Minor, of very different extent at different periods, but generally covering what is now the district of Bozkır and its surro ...
.
In the film series ''Deadpool
Deadpool is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Fabian Nicieza and artist/writer Rob Liefeld, the character first appeared in ''New Mutants'' #98 (cover-dated Feb. 1991). Initially, Deadp ...
'', titular protagonist has got a watch with Finn, Jake and Princess Bubblegum.
In the 2016 horror film ''Better Watch Out
''Better Watch Out'' (formerly titled ''Safe Neighborhood'') is a 2016 Christmas psychological horror film directed by Chris Peckover, from a script he co-wrote with Zack Kahn. It stars Olivia DeJonge, Levi Miller and Ed Oxenbould. The film had ...
'', the two boys in the film, Luke the antagonist and his friend Garrett, are fans of the series, and after subduing Luke's babysitter and using drugs and alcohol, the two boys play Fuck, marry, kill using the "''Adventure Time'' chicks" as options. Luke says that he would " ck Princess Bubblegum," to which Garrett replies "Not Marceline?" Luke then gives reasons for his choice.
Notes
Explanatory notes
References
External links
Archive of Frederator's blog
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Adventure Time
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