The first season of ''
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 ...
'', an American
animated
Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...
television series created by
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 ...
, premiered 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 April 5, 2010 and concluded on September 27, 2010, and was produced by
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 Augus ...
and
Cartoon Network Studios
Cartoon Network Studios is an American animation studio owned by the Warner Bros. Television Studios division of Warner Bros., a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. The studio is the production arm of Cartoon Network, and started operating on ...
. The series is based on a short produced for Frederator's
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 ...
animation
incubator
An incubator is anything that performs or facilitates various forms of incubation, and may refer to:
Biology and medicine
* Incubator (culture), a device used to grow and maintain microbiological cultures or cell cultures
* Incubator (egg), a de ...
series ''
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 Decemb ...
''. The season follows the adventures of
Finn, 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 ...
, a dog with magical powers to change shape and size at will. Finn and Jake live in the post-apocalyptic Land of Ooo, where they interact with the other main characters of the show:
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
, Lumpy Space Princess, and BMO.
After the original short became a
viral hit on the
internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
, Cartoon Network picked it up for a full-length series that previewed on March 11, 2010, and officially premiered on April 5, 2010. The season was storyboarded and written by
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 ...
, Elizabeth Ito, Pendleton Ward, Sean Jimenez,
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 ...
, Luther McLaurin,
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
, Armen Mirzaian,
J. G. Quintel
James Garland Quintel is an American animator, voice actor, director, writer, producer, and storyboard artist. He is best known as the creator of the Cartoon Network series ''Regular Show'' (2010–2017), in which he voiced Mordecai and High Fi ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
, Bert Youn, and
Ako Castuera
Ako Castuera is an American artist who is best known for being a writer and storyboard artist on the animated television series ''Adventure Time''.
Early life
Castuera's father is from Mexico, and his ancestors originated from the Spanish city ...
.
The first episodes of the season, "Slumber Party Panic" and "Trouble in Lumpy Space" were watched by 2.5 million viewers; this marked a dramatic increase in viewers watching Cartoon Network when compared to the previous year. The season ended with the finale "Gut Grinder" on September 27, 2010. Soon after airing, the show began to receive critical acclaim as well as a large fan following. In 2010, the ''Adventure Time'' episode "
My Two Favorite People
"My Two Favorite People" is the ninth episode of the first season of the American animated television series ''Adventure Time''. The episode was written and storyboarded by Kent Osborne and series creator Pendleton Ward, from a story by Merriwet ...
" was nominated for a
Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...
for Outstanding Short-format Animated Program, although the series did not win. Several compilation DVDs that contained episodes from the season were released after the season finished airing. On July 10, 2012, the full season was released on
Region 1 DVD; a
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 sto ...
edition was released on June 4, 2013.
Development
Concept and creation
The season follows the adventures of
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 T ...
, a human boy, and his best friend
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 ...
, a dog with magical powers to change shape and grow and shrink at will. Finn and Jake live in the post-apocalyptic Land of Ooo, wherein they interact with the other 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 ...
, 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 ...
,
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 ...
, Lumpy Space Princess, and BMO.
Common storylines revolve around: Finn and Jake discovering strange creatures, rescuing princesses from the Ice King, and battling monsters in order to help others. Various other episodes deal with Finn attempting to understand his attraction towards Bubblegum.
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 ...
''. 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 cov ...
, Ward said he strives to combine the series' 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 of a ...
'' as inspiration.
Ward has also named ''
Home Movies
A home movie is a short amateur film or video typically made just to preserve a visual record of family activities, a vacation, or a special event, and intended for viewing at home by family and friends. Originally, home movies were made on ph ...
'' 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
ndnot over the top
orcartoony and shrill".
Ward described the show as a "dark comedy"; he said "dark comedies are my favorite, because I love that feeling – being happy and scared at the same time. It's my favorite way to feel – when I'm on the edge of my seat but I'm happy, that sense of conflicting emotions. And there's a lot of that in the show, I think."
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 charac ...
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 that its world is also equally inspired by ''
Dungeons and 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. (TSR). ...
'' and video games.
Ward intended for the show's world to have a certain physical logic instead of "cartoony
slapstick
Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such a ...
"; even though magic exists in the story, the show's writers tried to create an internal consistency in how the characters interact with the world.
Although the show is set in a
post-apocalyptic
Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astro ...
setting, according to Ward, the original intention was for the Land of Ooo to simply be "magical". After making the episode "Business Time", in which an iceberg containing the bodies of reanimated business men floats to the surface of a lake, the show suddenly became post-apocalyptic, and Ward noted that the production crew "just ran with it."
Ward later described the setting as "candyland on the surface and dark underneath".
Production
The show began as a single stand-alone animated
short
Short may refer to:
Places
* Short (crater), a lunar impact crater on the near side of the Moon
* Short, Mississippi, an unincorporated community
* Short, Oklahoma, a census-designated place
People
* Short (surname)
* List of people known as ...
titled "
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 ...
", which ran for seven minutes. It aired in January 2007 and again 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 Augus ...
' ''
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 Decemb ...
'' on December 7, 2008. After its release, the short video became a
viral hit on the
internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
. Frederator Studios then pitched an ''Adventure Time'' series to
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 ...
, but the network passed on it twice.
The studio approached
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 ...
, which said it would be willing to produce a series if Ward could prove the short could be expanded into a full series while maintaining elements of the original's pilot.
[ 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 ndreally new".] Ward quickly rethought the concept of the pilot; he wanted a potential series to be "fully realized", rather than be characterized by the "pre-school vibe" that permeated the original film.[ Ward's 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 ...
helped him produce a rough storyboard that featured Finn and Princess Bubblegum going on a spaghetti-supper date. Cartoon Network was not happy with this story and asked for another. Ward then 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 on ...
", which was his attempt to emulate the style of the original Nicktoons short. Cartoon Network approved the first season in September 2008, and "The Enchiridion!" was the first episode to enter into production.
While many cartoons are based on script pitches to network executives, Cartoon Network allowed ''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 ...
'' to "build their own teams organically" and communication through the use of storyboards
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 the ...
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, i ...
.[ Rob Sorcher, Cartoon Network's chief content officer at the time, explained that the network allowed this because the company was "dealing with artists who are primarily visual people" and by using storyboards, the writers and artists could learn and grow "by actually doing the work."][ As such, Ward soon assembled a storyboarding team for the series, which was largely composed of "younger, inexperienced people" who had been found using the Internet. However, Cartoon Network, worrying about the status of the show and the inexperience of its production members, 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 a ...
'' to help guide Ward and his team: Derek Drymon (who served as executive producer for the first season of ''Adventure Time''), Merriwether Williams (who served as head story editors for the show's first and second seasons), and Nick Jennings (who became the series' long-serving art director). 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 on as a supervising producer, providing guidance for the series' first two seasons.
In addition to the 26 episodes created during the first season, several others were commissioned and storyboarded, but not produced. These include the episodes "Brothers in Insomnia" (written and storyboarded by Armen Mirzaian and Luther McLaurin, with revisions by Ako Castuera
Ako Castuera is an American artist who is best known for being a writer and storyboard artist on the animated television series ''Adventure Time''.
Early life
Castuera's father is from Mexico, and his ancestors originated from the Spanish city ...
), "The Glorriors" (written and storyboarded by Joe Horne and Doug TenNapel
Douglas Richard TenNapel ( ; born July 10, 1966) is an American animator, writer, cartoonist, video game designer, and comic book artist whose work has encompassed animated television, video games, and comic books. He is best known for creating ...
), and "The Helmet of Thorogon" (outlined by Ward, Muto, McKeon, McHale, and Craig Lewis).[ "Brothers in Insomnia" had been pitched to the network, although it was later scrapped.][ "The Glorriors", according to Frederator Vice President Eric Homan, "was a casualty of jumping into production without having had any serious development time."] "The Helmet of Thorogon", despite initially being assigned the production number 692-008 (which would eventually be taken by the episode "Freak City"), never made it to the storyboard stage, although several pieces of background art for the episode were designed by 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 ...
.[ The storyboards for "Brothers in Insomnia" and "The Glorriors" and the outline for "The Helmet of Thorogon" were later released on Fred Seibert's official ]Scribd
Scribd Inc. is an American e-book and audiobook subscription service that includes one million titles. Scribd hosts 60 million documents on its open publishing platform.
The company was founded in 2007 by Trip Adler, Jared Friedman, and Tikhon ...
page.[ Furthermore, the episode "What Have You Done" was given the production number 27, despite only 26 episodes being ordered. This is because the original sixth episode was scrapped during production, and "What Have You Done" took its place, but was given a different code.][ Due to this, some sources like ]The Futon Critic
''The Futon Critic'' is a website that provides articles and information regarding prime time programming on broadcast and cable networks in the United States. The site publishes reviews of prime time programming and interviews of people in the ...
, give it the production number 692-006, whereas Frederator gave it the number 692-027.
All of the season's episodes began as simple two-to-three-page outlines that contained the necessary plot information. These outlines were then handed off to storyboard artists, who would then expand the rough outline into a full storyboard. The episodes' design and coloring were done at Cartoon Network Studios
Cartoon Network Studios is an American animation studio owned by the Warner Bros. Television Studios division of Warner Bros., a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. The studio is the production arm of Cartoon Network, and started operating on ...
in Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, w ...
. Animation was handled overseas in South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
, by Rough Draft Korea
Rough Draft Studios, Inc. is an American animation production studio based in Glendale, California, with a second studio in Glendale and its sister studio Rough Draft Korea located in Seoul, South Korea. The studio was founded in Van Nuys, Los ...
and 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 ...
. The season was storyboarded and written by Muto, Elizabeth Ito, Ward, Sean Jimenez, McHale, Luther McLaurin, Armen Mirzaian, 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 ...
, 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 ...
, 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 ...
, 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 ...
, 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 ...
, Bert Youn, Ako Castuera, and J. G. Quintel
James Garland Quintel is an American animator, voice actor, director, writer, producer, and storyboard artist. He is best known as the creator of the Cartoon Network series ''Regular Show'' (2010–2017), in which he voiced Mordecai and High Fi ...
. Quintel, who would later go on to create the popular Cartoon Network series ''Regular Show
''Regular Show'' (known as ''Regular Show in Space'' during its eighth season) is an American animated sitcom created by J. G. Quintel for Cartoon Network. It ran from September 6, 2010, to January 16, 2017, over the course of eight seasons a ...
'', co-wrote and boarded the episode "Ocean of Fear" after asking Ward if he wanted any freelance help for ''Adventure Time''. Quintel and Ward had previously worked together on ''The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack''.
Cast
The voice actors for the season include: 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 ...
(Finn the Human), 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'', ...
(Jake the Dog), 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 ''R ...
(The Ice King), 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 ve ...
(Princess Bubblegum), and Olivia Olson
Olivia Rose Olson (born May 21, 1992) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, and writer, largely known for her voice roles as Vanessa Doofenshmirtz in ''Phineas and Ferb'' and Marceline the Vampire Queen in ''Adventure Time''. She also playe ...
(Marceline the Vampire Queen). Ward himself provides the voice for several minor characters, as well as Lumpy Space Princess. Former storyboard artist 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 ...
voices the sentient video game console BMO, as well as Jake's girlfriend Lady Rainicorn in Korean. Polly Lou Livingston
Polly Lou Livingston (May 6, 1929 – January 24, 2021) was an American voice actress known for her role as Tree Trunks in the animated series, ''Adventure Time''.
Early life and education
Polly Lou was born to M.O. and Pauline Simon in Victori ...
, a friend of Pendleton Ward's mother, Bettie Ward, plays the voice of the small elephant Tree Trunks.[Livingston, Polly Lou (Actress). 2012. "Tree Trunks" ommentary track ''Adventure Time'' Season One VD Los Angeles, CA: ]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 ...
.[Ward, Bettie (Artist). 2012. "Tree Trunks" ommentary track ''Adventure Time'' Season One VD Los Angeles, CA: ]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 ...
. The ''Adventure Time'' cast records their lines together as opposed to doing it individually. This is to capture more natural sounding dialogue among the characters. Hynden Walch has described these group session as akin to "doing a play reading—a really, really out there play."
The series also regularly employs guest voices for various characters. For instance, in the episode "Enchiridion!", John Moschitta, Jr.
John Moschitta Jr. (born August 6, 1954), also known as "Motormouth" John Moschitta and The Fast-Talking Guy, is an American actor, singer and spokesman. He is best known for his rapid speech delivery. He appeared in over 100 commercials as "The ...
, Mark Hamill
Mark Richard Hamill (; born September 25, 1951) is an American actor and writer. He is known for his role as Luke Skywalker in the ''Star Wars'' film series, beginning with the original 1977 film and subsequently winning three Saturn Awards f ...
, and Fred Tatasciore
Fred Tatasciore (; ) is an American voice actor who has provided voices in animated and live-action films, television shows, and video games. He is known for voicing the Hulk and Beast (comics), Beast in various Marvel media and Solomon Grundy ( ...
all lend their voices to various beings. In " Ricardio the Heart Guy", actor George Takei
George Takei (; ja, ジョージ・タケイ; born Hosato Takei (武井 穂郷), April 20, 1937) is an American actor, author and activist known for his role as Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the fictional starship USS ''Enterprise'' in the televi ...
voices the titular villain. "Business Time" features Brian Posehn
Brian Edmund Posehn (; born July 6, 1966) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, voice actor, musician, and writer. After numerous appearances as a television guest star, Posehn acquired his first major recurring role in HBO's ''Mr. Show with ...
as one of the business men. Erik Estrada
Henry Enrique Estrada (born March 16, 1949) is an American actor and police officer. He is known for his co-starring lead role as California Highway Patrol officer Francis (Frank) Llewelyn "Ponch" Poncherello in the police drama television series ...
portrays King Worm in the episode "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 ...
" In "Memories of Boom Boom Mountain", Matt L. Jones
Matt may refer to:
*Matt (name), people with the given name ''Matt'' or Matthew, meaning "gift from God", or the surname Matt
*In British English, of a surface: having a non-glossy finish, see gloss (material appearance)
*Matt, Switzerland, a mu ...
voices the talking mountain. 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 ...
appears as the pie-throwing robot N.E.P.T.R. in the episode "What is Life?" Hamill reappears in the episode "Ocean of Fear", which also features opening and closing narration courtesy of Clancy Brown
Clarence John "Clancy" Brown III (born January 5, 1959) is an American actor. Prolific in film and television since the 1980s, Brown is often cast in villainous and authoritative roles.
Brown's film roles include Viking Lofgren in ''Bad Boys'' ...
. Kerri Kenney-Silver
Kerri Kenney-Silver (born January 20, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, writer, singer, and musician. She is best known for starring as Trudy Wiegel on the mockumentary series ''Reno 911!'' and previously for her sketch comedy work on MTV ...
portrays the Ice King's bride in the episode "When Wedding Bells Thaw". Michael Dorn
Michael Dorn (born December 9, 1952) is an American actor best known for his role as the Klingon Worf in the '' Star Trek'' franchise. He has appeared more times as a regular cast member than any other ''Star Trek'' actor in the franchise's histo ...
portrays Gork in the episode "Freak City". Brown reappears in the episode "Dungeon" as a demon cat. Kevin Michael Richardson
Kevin Michael Richardson (born October 25, 1964) is an American actor. Known for his distinctively deep voice, he has mostly voiced villainous characters in animation and video games. In film, Richardson voiced Goro in ''Mortal Kombat'' (1995) ...
portrays the titular character in the episode "Donny". Finally, Lou Ferrigno
Louis Jude Ferrigno Sr. (; born November 9, 1951) is an American actor and retired professional bodybuilder. As a bodybuilder, Ferrigno won an IFBB Mr. America title and two consecutive IFBB Mr. Universe titles; and appeared in the documentar ...
plays the part of the being Billy in "His Hero".
Various other characters are voiced by Tom Kenny, 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'', ...
, 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, depression ...
, and Steve Little.[ Note: To reveal who voiced what character, one must click on the various characters under "Guest Stars" to reveal their voice actor or actress.]
Broadcast and reception
Ratings
The episodes "Business Time" and "Evicted!" each were "previewed" on Cartoon Network before the official series launch date, on March 11 and 18, respectively. The series officially premiered on April 5, 2010. It debuted with the episodes "Slumber Party Panic" and "Trouble in Lumpy Space". The episode was watched by 2.5 million viewers.[ The episode was a ratings smash; according to a press release sent out by Cartoon Network, the episode's timeslot saw triple digit percentage increases from the time period of the previous year. For instance, the entry was viewed by 1.661 million kids aged 2–11, which marked a 110 percent increase from the previous year. Furthermore, it was watched by 837,000 kids aged 9–14, which saw a 239 percent increase. This also made it the most-watched episode of the first season.][ The season finale, "Gut Grinder", was watched by 1.77 million viewers.][ Originally, the first ten episodes were bundled into 30-minute airings. This means two of the eleven-minute segments were combined into one. Starting with the eleventh episode, "Wizard", the episodes dropped to only one, eleven-minute segment. The first season aired on Mondays at 8:00 pm.
]
Reviews and accolades
The season has received largely positive reviews from critics. Television critic Robert Lloyd, in an article for the ''LA 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 Un ...
'', said it "strikes imas a kind of companion piece to the network's 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 ...
currently airing ''Chowder
Chowder is a thick soup prepared with milk or cream, a roux, and seafood or vegetables. Oyster crackers or saltines may accompany chowders as a side item, and cracker pieces may be dropped atop the dish. New England clam chowder is typically ...
'' and ''The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack''. Each takes place in a fantastical land peopled with strange, somewhat disturbing characters and has at its center a young male person or person-like thing making his way in that world with the help of unusual, not always reliable, mentors." He went on to say that the show is "not unlike CN's earlier ''Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends
''Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends'' (also known as ''Foster's Home'', or simply ''Foster's'' for short) is an American animated television series created by Craig McCracken for Cartoon Network. It was produced by Cartoon Network Studios as ...
'', about a boy and his imaginary friend, though darker and stranger and even less connected to the world as we know it." Lloyd also compared it to "the sort of cartoons they made when cartoons themselves were young and delighted in bringing all things to rubbery life."
After its release on DVD in 2012, the season received positive critical attention, although many reviewers initially expressed their unhappiness that the set was not initially released as a 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 sto ...
edition.[ ]Wired
''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San Fra ...
wrote positively of the set, and applauded the release's bonus features. R.L. Shaffer of IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
awarded the set a 7 out of 10, denoting a "good" release. He called the show a "rare treat", but was critical of the release's packaging, noting that "a few too many episodes are crammed onto the discs, leaving little room for these transfers to breathe" and that the video compression left something to be desired. Tyler Foster of 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 ...
"highly recommended" the set, and wrote that the series is "bursting with imagination, sweetness, and a ridiculous sense of humor". Foster was particularly pleased with the characters, citing Ricardio and Marceline as highlights of the season. Furthermore, he wrote that "even the worst episode in this eason Eason is a surname.
The name comes from Aythe where the first recorded spelling of the family name is that of Aythe Filius Thome which was dated circa 1630, in the "Baillie of Stratherne". Aythe ''filius'' Thome received a charter of the lands of F ...
and I'm hard-pressed to pick one—is beautifully designed and packs at least one or two killer gags."
The episode "My Two Favorite People
"My Two Favorite People" is the ninth episode of the first season of the American animated television series ''Adventure Time''. The episode was written and storyboarded by Kent Osborne and series creator Pendleton Ward, from a story by Merriwet ...
" was nominated for a 2010 Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...
for Outstanding Short-format Animated Program, although the episode did not win.
Episodes
*
*
Home media
Warner Home Video
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc. (formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the home video distribution division of Warner Bros.
It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Video ...
released multiple DVDs, consisting of region 1 and region 2 formats. ''My Two Favorite People'', ''It Came from the Nightosphere'', ''Jake vs. Me-Mow'', ''The Suitor'', ''Frost & Fire'', and ''The Enchiridion'' were created for Region 1 markets containing some episodes of the first season. All DVD releases can be purchased on the Cartoon Network Shop, and the individual episodes can be downloaded from both the iTunes Store
The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...
and Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economi ...
.
Full season release
The full season set was released on DVD on July 10, 2012. By July 29, 2012, the DVD set had sold 151,535 copies. A Blu-ray edition was released on June 4, 2013.
Notes
References
Citations
Bibliography
*
{{Good article
2010 American television seasons
Adventure Time seasons