Tag: AT

Animation

“Slumber Party Panic” Review

Adventure Time Reviewed

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Original Airdate: April 5, 2010

Written & Storyboarded by: Adam Muto & Elizabeth Ito

And here we are! The very first episode of “Adventure Time” to ever air. As a 12-year-old boy, I was looking forward to the premiere of the brand new series, and enjoyed the first episode relatively well. However, does it still hold up 7 years later? Let’s check it out.

The episode begins with Finn and Princess Bubblegum working on a chemical formula to bring dead Candy People back to life, some of which include Old Mr. Cream (he and Bubblegum used to date, just so all of you know). However, the decorpsinator serum fails and turns the dead Candy People into zombies. After fighting off a couple zombies, Bubblegum calls all the Candy People, including Tree Trunks and her hot buns, to the foyer and announces they’ll be having a slumber party. Naturally, Finn’s all, “what the fuck?”

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Bubblegum then tells Finn that he must “royal promise” not to tell any of the Candy People (if you’re wondering why I keep capitalizing Candy People, I assume it’s considered a race so it only seems appropriate) because when Candy People get scared they apparently explode. Finn royal promises not to tell anyone, but naturally his best bro Jake feels as though something’s up and wants to find out. Finn tries to divert everyone’s attention with a game of Truth or Dare, but it just leads to a scandalous dare with Mr. Cupcake and Jake more anxious than ever to find out what Finn is up to. Finn distracts Jake with a game of Seven Minutes in Heaven with Lady Rainicorn, which I can only assume led to Tier 15. The zombies only become more persistent, as Finn suggests they they play a game called “Blackado”, where all the Candy People must blockade all the doors, which is a game I played at my first birthday. After blockading the doors fail, Finn blindfolds all of the Candy People and tells them that they’re instead going to smash pinatas, but not Manfried, because that would be a hate crime.

When the Candy People succeed at defeating the zombies, Jake exits the closet with a jelly donut, for some reason. Must’ve been one kinky game. Finn accidentally slips and reveals his secret to Jake, effectively freezing time and pissing off Bubblegum. The Guardians of the Royal Promise then burst in and decide to punish Finn for breaking a royal promise with a trial by fire. Bubblegum’s not about it, so they decide to give Finn a math problem instead, which I thought I’d understand when I got older, but even as a college sophomore, I have no clue what I was looking at. 2+2 is more Finn’s speed, and honestly mine too, as the Gumball Guardians reset to normal. Bubblegum lectures Finn on why breaking a royal promise is wrong and if he learned his lesson, and Finn’s all, “hell no! I love fighting zombies and shit.” Jake also mentions that Finn could’ve just mentioned it was a royal promise and he would’ve backed off, and then Starchie reunites with Finn. Finn holds Starchie in his hands, and Starchie warns Finn to not squeeze him, because he will fart. Finn then squeezes Starchy, and he farts. What a beautiful ending.

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As a season premiere, this episode may not have been the best choice. I enjoyed it fine when I was younger, but it didn’t draw me in as much as it should’ve. I opine that a future season one episode would’ve been a better start to the series, but we’ll get to that one later on. As an episode itself, it’s cute. Nothing spectacular or hilarious, but there’s a lot of charm to it. I really like the establishing bonds between Jake and Finn, as well as Finn and Bubblegum. Season one is well-known for it’s focus on the lighter and more random side of the show, and this episode’s no exception. Some of it’s a bit too random I think; even in a show with very few limits, I have a hard time believing that breaking a promise could freeze the world of AT. And while the exploding Candy People plot works, it’s a gimmick that only comes back one other time in the series, so it’s a bit of a pointless dilemma. The episode excels with its humor on the other hand, the Truth or Dare and Guardians of the Royal Promise scenes especially. Overall, I think it’s a fine episode to introduce the wackier and more energetic side of the series.

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Introduction

Adventure Time Reviewed

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Hey all you AT fans out there! Welcome to Adventure Time: Reviewed, a blog where I will be reviewing every episode of AT over the next year or two. As this blog begins, I plan on reviewing two episodes on Mondays and two episodes on Fridays, but as time goes on, I’ll transition into reviewing two episodes that will be posted each Friday.

First, however, I wanted to give a brief background on my history with AT. “Adventure Time” is a show very near and dear to my heart and I personally don’t think there is any show on television, animated or not, that is quite like it. I still remember when I first saw the premiere way back on April 5, 2010. I hadn’t ever seen the pilot of the show, and so watching it for the first time was certainly a treat. I wasn’t necessarily blown away by it, but thought in short, it was cute. I continued to watch up until season two, but began to lose touch a bit. I was much more interested in “Regular Show” at the time, and thought it overall delivered more laughs and more entertainment. My faith in AT was restored with “Mortal Folly”/”Mortal Recoil” and I was once again found myself hooked. I continued watching episodically through season three up until “Incendium,” and that was a significant point in my AT experience where I realized, there was no turning back. I loved everything about “Incendium”; the genuine emotion and honesty of the characters, the compelling story, the sharp humor and the beautiful colors. It was that point that I generally became obsessed with the show, and that obsession continues to this very day. My interest in AT has only grown over time, and I find that, while it may be a controversial opinion, the series has only gotten better and better with time.

As I had mentioned, there sincerely is no show quite like “Adventure Time.” I can’t think of a single other series that contains an episode that questions whether or not life is merely a giant disappointment or involves a backstory as tragic as the Ice King’s, that also contains an episode where one of the characters narrates the life of a rabbit while shape-shifted into the form of a brick. It’s a complete balls-crazy yet poignant mess that might not follow the traditional structure of a regular series, but that’s just what it is. It isn’t your typical series, it’s friggin’ “Adventure Time,” and it doesn’t need to be anything else. It can tackle big subjects like depression and the inevitability of the future in one episode, and be a completely irrelevant fun romp the next.

Ultimately the part of “Adventure Time” I find most admirable is that I’ve grown up with it from its beginning to its upcoming end. I was 12-years-old when the show first started, and through its entirety, I’ve felt as though it was easy to put myself in Finn’s shoes 90 percent of the time. Sure, I never lost my arm or owned a sword materialized from my paradoxical self, but Finn has been an easily identifiable character in the show’s entirety and I almost feel as though the show it self has held my hand through the tough times of adolescence and entering adulthood.

So, in honor of my love for this show, I’ve taken it upon myself to review all the episodes from beginning to end, covering its highest and lowest points. I’ll also cover some of the shorts, bonus content, specials and more. So come grab your friends, and let’s go to distant lands!