"The Red Throne" is the forty-seventh episode of the
fifth season of the American
animated television series
An animated series is a set of Animation, animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can ...
''
Adventure Time
''Adventure Time'' is an American fantasy 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) and ...
''. The episode was storyboarded by Seo Kim and Somvilay Xayaphone, from a story by
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 ...
,
Pendleton Ward
Ward Taylor Pendleton Johnston (born September 23, 1982), known professionally as Pendleton Ward or simply Pen Ward, is an American animator, screenwriter, producer, director, and voice actor who has worked for Cartoon Network Studios, Freder ...
,
Jack Pendarvis, 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 ...
. It originally aired on
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...
on February 10, 2014.
The series follows the adventures of
Finn (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 know ...
), a human boy, 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 ...
(voiced by
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'', ...
), a dog with magical powers to change shape and grow and shrink at will. In this episode, Flame Princess (voiced by
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 ...
), with the help of Cinnamon Bun (
Dee Bradley Baker
Dee Bradley Baker (born August 31, 1962) is an American voice actor. Much of Baker's work features vocalizations of animals and monsters. Baker's roles include animated series such as ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'', ''Codename: Kids Next Door'', ...
) and Finn, tries to escape from an arranged marriage between her and Don John the Flame Lord (
Roddy Piper
Roderick George Toombs (April 17, 1954 – July 31, 2015), better known as "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, was a Canadian professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and actor.
In professional wrestling, Piper was best known to international audiences for hi ...
), as set up by her father the Flame King (
Keith David
Keith David Williams (born June 4, 1956) is an American actor. He is known for his signature deep voice and commanding screen presence in over 300 roles across film, stage, television, and interactive media.
He has starred in such films as '' T ...
). Seo Kim and Somvilay Xayaphone wrote the episode from a synopsis devised by several other writers, including show creator
Pendleton Ward
Ward Taylor Pendleton Johnston (born September 23, 1982), known professionally as Pendleton Ward or simply Pen Ward, is an American animator, screenwriter, producer, director, and voice actor who has worked for Cartoon Network Studios, Freder ...
.
Piper and David, stars of ''
They Live
''They Live'' is a 1988 American science fiction action horror film written and directed by John Carpenter, based on the 1963 short story "Eight O'Clock in the Morning" by Ray Nelson. Starring Roddy Piper, Keith David, and Meg Foster, the film ...
'' (1987), a
John Carpenter
John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American filmmaker, actor, and composer. Although he worked in various film genres, he is most commonly associated with horror, action, and science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s. He ...
film, lent their voices to two of the aforementioned characters. As an homage, the episode contains a parody from a popular combat sequence in the film, in which the actors box for close to six minutes. Meanwhile,
background art was created by Derek Ballard, whose experience growing up in
Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
inspired one of his pieces for the episode. Upon its airing "The Red Throne" was seen by 2.11 million viewers. Writers of entertainment- and education-related websites praised the episode for its writing and themes, as well as the performances by Piper and David. Despite this praise, the ''Adventure Time'' crew perceived its online response from fans to be largely negative.
Plot
In the Fire Kingdom, Don John the Flame Lord shows up to tell Flame Princess she is not brutish enough to rule over the Flame subjects. Her father, the Flame King, appears as his daughter is deprived of her body temperature and crown. He tells Flame Princess he has arranged her marriage with Don John. When she tries to escape their palace, its inhabitants – put under a mind-control spell by Don John – try to seize her. Cinnamon Bun, riding his wolf, punctures the palace walls. He rescues Flame Princess, and the two escape. They enlist the aid of
Finn, the ex of Flame Princess.
Still uneasy over their split, Finn tries to show off to Flame Princess, though she informs him that they should only remain friends. They return to the kingdom, its entrance now guarded by the inhabitants. Finn goes directly for the guards, but he and Flame Princess are quickly captured after she reveals to him that the people are being controlled through Don John's spell. Don John visits the imprisoned duo, where Flame Princess vows never to marry him. Don John complains to the Flame King that he is failing to deliver on his promise. The lord and king box, with the latter authority knocking out Don John, which frees the Flame people from his spell. Cinnamon Bun delivers a speech to the palace convincing the people to detain the Flame King and Don John while earning the affections of Flame Princess.
Production
![HOT_ROD!](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/HOT_ROD%21.jpg)
"The Red Throne" was written by Seo Kim and Somvilay Xayaphone. A separate group of writers –
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 ...
,
Pendleton Ward
Ward Taylor Pendleton Johnston (born September 23, 1982), known professionally as Pendleton Ward or simply Pen Ward, is an American animator, screenwriter, producer, director, and voice actor who has worked for Cartoon Network Studios, Freder ...
,
Jack Pendarvis, 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 ...
– came up with the idea for the episode, which Kim and Xayaphone then adapted into a
storyboard
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, i ...
.
Employing other crew members,
background artist
A background artist or sometimes called a background stylist or background painter is one who is involved in the process of animation who establishes the color, style, and mood of a scene drawn by an animation layout artist. The methods used can e ...
Derek Ballard depicted a derelict van, a wrecked truck, and ruined musical instruments in one piece for the episode. This was inspired by his growing up in the desert of
Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
. Since he himself was in a band, he would often let other bands temporarily stay at his house during their tours, often taking them to
auto shops due to their vans and campers breaking down.
The voice of Don John the Flame Lord was supplied by
"Rowdy" Roddy Piper, in unison with
Keith David
Keith David Williams (born June 4, 1956) is an American actor. He is known for his signature deep voice and commanding screen presence in over 300 roles across film, stage, television, and interactive media.
He has starred in such films as '' T ...
, who provided the voice of the Flame King. A distinguished wrestler and actor, Piper had appeared in numerous films. One of his most famous roles is that of the unnamed man (dubbed Nada) in ''
They Live
''They Live'' is a 1988 American science fiction action horror film written and directed by John Carpenter, based on the 1963 short story "Eight O'Clock in the Morning" by Ray Nelson. Starring Roddy Piper, Keith David, and Meg Foster, the film ...
'', directed by
John Carpenter
John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American filmmaker, actor, and composer. Although he worked in various film genres, he is most commonly associated with horror, action, and science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s. He ...
and released in 1988. A well-known scene in the film – lasting for nearly six minutes – features the man fighting with his friend (played by David), whom Nada wants to share his glasses with. This episode of ''Adventure Time'' includes a parody of this iconic scene, featuring Don John and the Flame King engaging in combat.
The scene in ''They Live'' was previously the subject of spoofs in ''
South Park
''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boys Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand th ...
'' and ''
Saints Row IV
''Saints Row IV'' is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Volition and published by Deep Silver. It is the sequel to 2011's '' Saints Row: The Third'', the fourth installment of the ''Saints Row'' series, and the final main installment i ...
'',
though the parody featured in ''Adventure Time'' was called exemplar for reuniting both Piper and David.
WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
applauded one of Don John's lines (i.e. "My gym is magic, and my protein shake is rage!"), musing that it had likely been written with Piper's wrestling persona in mind.
Release and reception
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...
originally aired "The Red Throne" on February 10, 2014.
2.11 million people saw the episode live on broadcast; according to ''
TV by the Numbers
TV by the Numbers was a website devoted to collecting and analyzing television ratings data in the United States that operated from 2007 to 2020. It was a part of Nexstar Media Group's Zap2it television news/listings site.
History
An Internet ...
'', 0.4 percent of all 18- to 49-year-old residents of households with television sets watched the episode, as indicated by its
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 ...
.
The network released the episode on DVD, first in the year of that broadcast, as part of the ''Finn the Human'' box set,
and later in 2015, as part of a box set for the complete fifth season.
The ''Adventure Time'' crew was satisfied with the episode on its completion. In spite of that, Muto described the reaction from fans on the Internet as largely negative, much to their surprise.
It earned an A− grade from Oliver Sava of ''
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 ...
'', who compared Cinnamon Bun's evolution from a simple-minded character to one of complexity with the progression of the show itself. Sava opined that the theme of life following a broken romance benefits from this complexity. Sava saw the physical cooling of Flame Princess as a crafty metaphor for the personal changes an individual from a former relationship might experience, as well as the
nostalgia
Nostalgia is a sentimentality for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations. The word ''nostalgia'' is a learned formation of a Greek language, Greek compound, consisting of (''nóstos''), meaning "homecoming", ...
felt over such a relationship. Separate from romance, Sava interpreted the battle between the Flame Lord and the Flame King as to demonstrate Flame Princess is a more sensible ruler.
The ''
Huffington Post
''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
'' writer Cat Blake cited Cinnamon Bun gaining the affection of Flame Princess as a reason for
secondary school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...
ers not to underestimate people.
Staff writers of ''
TV.com
TV.com was a website owned by Red Ventures that covered television series and episodes with a focus on English-language shows made or broadcast in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Origin ...
'' called this character progression for "seemingly one-note characters" a strength of the show, as similarly applied to 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 ...
.
Writing in ''
DVD Talk
DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman.
History
Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...
'', Adam Tyner described the episode as showing Finn at his most embarrassing.
In memoriam of Piper, who died in July 2015, Brandon Stroud of ''
Uproxx
''Uproxx'' (stylized in all caps) is an entertainment and popular culture news website. It was founded in 2008 by Jarret Myer and Brian Brater, and acquired by Woven Digital (later renamed Uproxx Media Group) in 2014. The site's target audience ...
'' called Don Jon one of his best roles in pop culture.
In the ''Official Tribute Commemorative Magazine'' for Piper, editor Jeff Ashworth and staff supposed that fans of the series were likely foreign to the "grizzly tones" of Piper's voice. The commemoration saw his guest role as showing his mastery of pop culture while calling Don Jon's bizarre fate normal in the show's universe.
Explanatory notes
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Red Throne, The
2014 American television episodes
Adventure Time (season 5) episodes