"Beyond This Earthly Realm" is the eleventh episode of the fourth season of the American animated television series ''

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 written and storyboarded 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 ...

and

Jesse Moynihan Jesse Moynihan (born January 4, 1978) is an American artist, animator, composer and director. He is best known for being a writer and storyboard artist on the animated television series ''Adventure Time'' and as the creator of the graphic novel ' ...

, from a story by

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 ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

. It originally aired on Cartoon Network on June 11, 2012. 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 kno ...

), 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'', H ...

), a dog with magical powers to change shape and grow and shrink at will. In this episode, Finn is transported to the spirit world after he finds and touches a porcelain lamb. Only the Ice King can help get him out. The episode was written to expand upon the idea of the Ice King's wizard eyes, which were introduced in the second season episode "

Mortal Recoil "Mortal Folly" and "Mortal Recoil" are the twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth episodes of the Adventure Time (season 2), second season of the American animated television series ''Adventure Time''. "Mortal Folly" was written and storyboarded by Adam M ...

". "Beyond This Earthly Realm" received moderately positive critical reviews, with 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 ...

'' calling it an average episode for the series.

Plot

While exploring an abandoned

mine shaft Shaft mining or shaft sinking is the action of excavating a mine shaft from the top down, where there is initially no access to the bottom. Shallow shafts, typically sunk for civil engineering projects, differ greatly in execution method from ...

in a mysterious cave, Finn and Jake discover a

porcelain Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises main ...

lamb. After touching the object, Finn is transported to the

spiritual plane In esoteric cosmology, a plane is conceived as a subtle state, level, or region of reality, each plane corresponding to some type, kind, or category of being. The concept may be found in religious and esoteric teachings—''e.g.'' Vedanta (Adva ...

, filled with grotesque and strange spirits. In this new dimension, Finn is unable to make contact, either physically or vocally, with Jake. After unsuccessfully trying to communicate with Jake, Finn makes a snide comment to the Ice King, who, much to Finn's surprise, can see and hear him; the Ice King explains that, because of his "wizard eyes", he is able to see spirits. The Ice King and Finn soon make a deal: Finn will help rid the Ice King of the strange spirits that plague his palace, and the Ice King will give Finn the secret to return to the physical plane. Finn rids Ice King's palace of the spiritual creatures, but soon learns that the Ice King never planned on helping Finn in the first place. After threatening to unleash the spirits, Finn manages to secure the Ice King's help; the two head to the tree fort to destroy the porcelain lamb. However, Jake misinterprets the Ice King's motives, thinking that he wants to imprison Finn forever. In the ensuing struggles, the Ice King touches the object and is transported to the spiritual plane. Eventually, Ice King and Finn manage to manifest themselves on the physical plane by focusing their spiritual energies. The two manage to knock over the lamb, destroying it. Finn and the Ice King are thus returned to the physical plane.

Production

"Beyond This Earthly Realm" was written and storyboarded by

and

, from a story developed by series creator

, and

. The episode was directed by

Larry Leichliter Lawrence "Larry" Leichliter is an American animator and director who began his work in animation in 1975 with the made-for-TV ''Peanuts'' special ''You're a Good Sport, Charlie Brown''. Throughout his career, he has worked on ''Peanuts'' animate ...

. The episode was written to expand upon the idea of the Ice King's wizard eyes, which were introduced in the second season episode "

"; in said episode, wizard eyes were developed as a mechanism to justify how the Ice King saw the Lich possess Bubblegum. The beginning of the episode highlighted Castuera's storyboarding idiosyncrasies, with

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 ...

specifically highlighting Castuera's use of three arms for Jake. Ward was responsible for the abrupt ending, featuring Finn, Jake, and Ice King all laughing; he later noted that he was "not proud" of it. The scene featuring Ice King delivering a soliloquy about the nature of televisions and

static Static may refer to: Places *Static Nunatak, a nunatak in Antarctica United States * Static, Kentucky and Tennessee *Static Peak, a mountain in Wyoming **Static Peak Divide, a mountain pass near the peak Science and technology Physics *Static el ...

was Moynihan's attempt at being introspective. Fans of the series later took the scene to be an example of the characters breaking the fourth wall, which Moynihan disputes. The spirits in the episode were designed by

Andy Ristaino Andy Ristaino is an American artist who is best known for being a former lead character designer, writer, storyboard and background artist on the animated television series ''Adventure Time''. Life and work Ristaino grew up in New England and went ...

and

Michael DeForge Michael DeForge (born 1987) is a Canadian comics artist and illustrator. Biography DeForge grew up in Ottawa and attended the University of Toronto, dropping out after two years. He lives and works in Toronto. According to DeForge, he has "alway ...

. Fellow storyboard artist

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 ...

provided the voice for the heads of one of the demons.

Reception

"Beyond this Earthly Realm" aired on Cartoon Network on June 11, 2012. The episode first saw physical release as part of the 2014 DVD, ''The Suitor'', which included 16 episodes from the series' first five seasons. It was later re-released as part of the complete fourth season DVD in October 2014. Oliver Sava of ''

'' awarded the episode a "B", noting that it was a "bit of a step down" when compared with the preceding episode, "Goliad". Due to the fact that the episode's main storylines are similar to plots that the series had done before, Sava felt that "this week’s episode doesn’t feel as fresh as the rest of this season’s output uteven an average episode of ''Adventure Time'' is going to be on the stronger side". Nevertheless, he applauded both the series' "grotesque" character design, as well as the Ice King's material, writing that "Tom Kenny does some amazing voicework this episode, whether he’s voicing his hatred for the shit-vomiting spirits that infest Ice King’s castle or shrieking when he thinks his body is being touched." Sava concluded that "even if the story isn’t the most imaginative or wacky," the episode was still enjoyable.

Explanatory notes

References

External links

* {{Adventure Time episodes, 4 2012 American television episodes Adventure Time season 4 episodes Underworld in popular culture