Tag: Atimers

Adventure Time, Animation

“The Crocodile Who Bit A Log” Review

Adventure Time Reviewed

Original Airdate: October 30, 2025

Written & Storyboarded by: Iggy Craig, Graham Falk, Monica Ray & Jackie Files

Huntress Wizard has certainly had quite the journey in the AT world. Existing merely as a background character for the first six years of the show’s run, HW was able to thrust herself into relevancy based on her gnarly design alone. But even with her increased role in the series, Huntress Wizard’s personality and motives have never really been explored, which has been somewhat intentional. Adam Muto himself talks about this in a recent interview, stating that it was risky to flesh out a character that was primarily known and loved for being mysterious. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t also cautious about this, especially when it comes to a character that was mostly elaborated on purely as a result of fanservice. That’s not necessarily a knock at HW, as I quite liked her role in the original series. But that’s because she was such a bit character that really only showed up ever so often, and even in her brief appearances, we never truly got what she was all about. The Crocodile Who Bit A Log feels like it’s slowly setting up for parts of that mystery to be unraveled, but does so through a subdued backstory that is quite eloquently executed.


There’s basically three sections of this episode, so instead of going through it frame-by-frame like I did last week, I’m gonna talk about each individually. First is the Huntress Wizard stuff, which was easily my favorite segment of the episode. Graham Falk cooked with the cold open – man, is it gorgeous! Falk has been in the industry the longest out of anyone, so any time he’s able to really flourish through individual segments (like the silent movie dimension from Prismo the Wishmaster) it really shows how much of a seasoned veteran he is. The backgrounds, complemented by rough, inconsistent pen lines and messy paints strokes, are absolutely boasting with beautiful colors. When it comes to the visual look of the current series, it’s been tougher in the show’s recent years to actually pinpoint which artist worked on which portion of the episode. There’s a number of possible reasons for this; with directors more at the forefront this series than prior (which is as good a time as ever to mention that Cole Sanchez is back, after several years being absent from the franchise), it’s possible cleanup and revisions end up homogenizing a lot of shots from their individual essence. There’s also a new overseas studio for this season, brought to my attention by fellow commentator Digamma-F-Wau, which could be contributing the same level of wash out. There’s also the possibility that I’m just off my game and the individual touch still is in tact, but there are bits in this one that feel like they may have been squandered in the final product (i.e. when Cake reacts shocked to the cooking materials nearly falling, that’s clearly a Falk shot. But I’d be interested in seeing the actual storyboard, because it feels a bit more stilted in execution). All that is to say, I’m glad to see how much Falk’s touch absolutely erupts during the opening, continuing to spotlight AT‘s unique talents in the best possible way.

Huntress Wizard’s journey to become part of the forest is meditative and wonderfully paced, showcasing her commitment, but initial struggle, to adopt zen in the roughness of the wilderness. She’s accompanied by Spirit Dream Warrior, who evidently she never had a romantic past with, and served more as a guru to her through her journey into wizardry. Once she becomes apart of the green wizard society, HW chooses the path of isolation instead of being connected to her new groupies. I’m wondering if we’ll get more of a backstory on what led HW down this path, but I’d also be okay if this is just some kind of intrinsic desire HW has to do things as a lone wolf without any type of community on her side. When she reaches the “Heart” of the Forest, we treated to a fun bit of back-and-forth between her and Witch Wizard. The show additionally continues to not give any clear answers on HW and Finn’s relationship, with HW hesitating to find a way to address him, which I like. I originally kind of went in to this season thinking they were more on the casual side, remaining friends but having moments of intimacy every now and then. Her reaction here, and later her dream sequence with Finn, make it seem like Finn really likes her, while she’s hesitant to be true to her deeper feelings. This is easily connected to her behavior in Flute Spell, and while some of that denial toward larger connections seems to have been shed by her next major appearance in The Wild Hunt, it doesn’t appear to have opened up any type of larger shift in her consciousness.


Granted, I’m sure there’s a lot we’re not seeing behind the scenes. I would imagine HW had a large role in helping Finn after the passing of Jake, and Finn’s connectedness to the forest implies that they have spent a lot of time together. I think there is a difference between Huntress Wizard having these moments of intimacy and actually acknowledging them as they are, or even just opening herself up to the perception of others. Regardless, her drive to do things her way come to a roadblock when Witch Wizard opposes her, leading to a really great fight sequence. The build up, the animation, camera angles, transformations, and great bit of score to boot. Continuing to give her credit where credit is due, Amanda Jones has been knocking it out of the park season with stellar music cues, accenting the high stakes battle between the wizards perfectly (also I’ll note before I forget, Jones brought back Kheirosiphon’s theme when he reappears! Nice touch). Outside of the opening, the forest bits provide the most visual flair for the episode, with the revelation of the “Hart” of the Forest being yet another highlight. This is once again a pretty direct reference to Princess Mononoke, which miiiight be slightly derivative? But regardless, I love the design and the way it thrashes, breaks apart, and eventually absorbs into itself provides for a uniquely exciting excerpt that comes to a screaming halt when Huntress Wizard fucking explodes. AT has been doing a really good job at not letting their current rating impact how gratuitous some scenes could be. I’m sure you could make Huntress’s body parts separating from her even more graphic, but it really wouldn’t feel like Adventure Time if they made it especially gruesome. It feels like it would be a little silly in execution, and it is, but in a way that is true to this franchise. For any seasoned viewer, it’s still impactful and devastating in a way that really only works within the tone of Adventure Time.

Within the Hart/Heart of the Forest, we get the aforementioned heartbreaking dream with Finn, reassuring Huntress Wizard that he’ll never forget her. It’s probably my favorite moment in the episode, doing so much with so little, and speaking to both of these characters and how differently they feel and express their emotions. HW’s body breaks up into individual segments that disperse throughout the multiverse as seeds of her essence. They end up in the following locations: Farmworld, Vampire World, the Baby World and then a gaggle of other dimensions that don’t immediately register in my brain as locations we’ve seen before. I thought the one from space might be the Drift, but nah, the specific background here doesn’t match anything from BMO. I’m just gonna assume we haven’t seen these locations before and then wait until someone makes the connection and makes me feel very stupid. The mystics that this scene plays around with are great; Huntress playing around with the various portals and being overwhelmed with the sounds feel true to her process of essentially being reborn.


With her hand cut off early in the episode and used as a sacrifice for the Heart, it seems like HW’s spirit is capable of living on beyond her physical body because of her connection to this magic. Or maybe, Huntress Wizard is dead, but her spirit lives on to incarnate at pretty much any time she’s separated from it. This seems consistent with Witch Wizard, who was practically murdered by Finn last season, but still maintains a physical body (possibly connecting to HW noticing her new “fit”?) The birth process is painful, and HW struggles within the overwhelming possibilities of choice at her very fingertips (with a foreboding rain of blood drops backing her). She returns to her meditative state, questions the possibilities of the world, and trusts in the universe that her choice is ultimately where growth will lie for her. It’s really nice that they got Sean Rohani to do voiceover within the spirit realm. It was great knowing that Kumail Nanjiani was coming back this season to reprise Prismo, but I was a bit bummed for Rohani since he did a great job of picking up for Prismo last season. Glad to know that he still has a role in the series, even if it will be considerably smaller. Thankfully, HW does NOT choose to find a new host body within Baby Cinnamon Bun’s mouth, and begins her growth within Fionna-World.

Over in Fionna-World, we rejoin the gang as they attempt to reclaim Gary’s new business venture. I really wanted to go into this season being more positive about the Fionna and Cake stuff, but honestly, mostly everything in Fionna-World does very little for me this time around. I just simply don’t really care about what happens in the individual lives of these characters. Gary and Marshall served as great stand-ins last season to show how PB and Marceline’s connection exists in all corners of the universe, but I’m less invested this time around, and I honestly do think that has something to do with the performances. I went from being neutral to both replacements to really not liking them this time around, with Marshall’s delivery falling a bit flat and Gary’s inflections feeling far too cartoonishly peppy. Watching these characters deal with what feels like generic sitcom fodder just isn’t doing it for me. And don’t get me wrong, the show is aware of this – Muto has said that this version of their world is very much an idealized 90’s sitcom world. But so far I don’t think they’re playing with those tropes enough or in an especially comedic way to make me feel like it’s more than just a bit of fodder between the real meat of the episode. I feel like looping in Cheers as a way to allude to this is very quickly starting to overstay its welcome – we get it, Fionna and Cake live in a sitcom! We don’t need Pendleton Ward to do his Norm impression every single episode!

I like some of the jokes we’re treated to, like the return of PepTank and his triumph in getting a night out to himself. I like how Hanna Abadeer apparently has spies out on Marshall, as seen with one hiding out when they’re at the bar. And we get female Dirt Beer Guy, aptly named Ruby! I am only so strong when it comes to these additional character cameos. I’m additionally a little bit confused about Fionna’s continued anxiety developing, as it initially seemed to stem from her desire to help those around her in fear of acting selfishly as she once did, but now it seems to derive more from her fear of being alone? Not to say those both can’t factor into each other, but I think it’s maybe emphasized a bit too much towards the end. I think they’re clearly trying to contrast HW’s desire to be alone with Fionna’s fear of being alone, similar to how Simon and Fionna’s arcs both played into each other last season, but I’m not sure it needed to be this direct. Did they really need to include Fionna projecting her own fear of abandonment while someone is withering away on the other phone line? It just didn’t feel natural to me and I feel like her arc doesn’t need to be defined so vocally.


The stuff in Ooo takes up the smallest segment of the episode, but probably provides for the funniest scenes. I love some classic Banana Guard stupidity, and even though John DiMaggio sadly does not reprise his role as one of them, Andy Merill does a great job stepping in. There’s additionally fun shenanigans with the Wiz kids and Pep being a little shit, as always. The voice acting from both Tom Kenny and Hynden Walch is great, they really sell the more dire and serious tones of Finn’s condition. We know nothing’s going to happen to him, as indicated by Together Again and the trailers alone. But that doesn’t mean this isn’t serious for those close to him, and the episode does a good job at communicating this.

Overall, I really like this one! Or parts of it, at least. Everything with Huntress Wizard is great, and I don’t even really say that as someone nostalgia starved to just see the OG cast members do their thing – I didn’t really have any particular fondness for this character in the original show. I just think that objectively everything going on with HW is miles better than anything happening in the subplot, though maybe I’m alone with this. Everything I’ve seen so far seems to be equally beloved no matter what the focus is, so I apologize if I’m being a stick in the mud to anyone who really is invested in the Fionna-World stuff and wants me to talk more about it. There’s a good chance that, as the season keeps progressing, the stuff with Huntress Wizard will incorporate more into the Fionna-World stuff and ramp things up to make them a bit more interesting. But as is, I just don’t think these breaks in the momentum really work, and I’m hoping that this season can turn around the elements that aren’t really working for me personally. But I can only bitch so much, as the HW segments are really, really good. For as many qualms as I have, it’s great to see the show can continue to expand upon tertiary characters in such unique and interesting ways.

This week’s artist shoutout goes to Monica (Monty) Ray, the newest addition to the AT board crew! Ray has worked on several shows including Big City Greens, and has done a handful of voices on other popular cartoons, like Harvey Beaks and Glitch Techs. Monty’s portfolio includes a lot of funky streetwear, and I implore you to check it out here!

Favorite line: “For a deity, he kinda stuck-up.”

Adventure Time, Animation

“The Hare and the Sprout” Review

Adventure Time Reviewed

Original Airdate: October 23, 2025

Written & Storyboarded by: Hanna K. Nyström, Kris Mukai, Maya Petersen & Charmaine Verhagen

We are back once again, babies!! Let’s go over the ground rules for this batch: since episodes are airing weekly (something that I’m personally very excited about) I’m going to at least try to churn out a weekly review coinciding with the most recent episode. Granted, there’s no promises with this, one because there’s a very good chance that I’ll lose steam down the line and need a break so that I can have the proper energy to write up something half-decent. Second, some episodes last season definitely benefited from taking time to sit with; I think the reviews for Prismo the Wishmaster and Cheers would’ve looked a little different had I not taken the time to chew on them a little. So, we’ll see as we go. As always, a quick thank you to everyone old and new who continue to support the blog! I deeply appreciate your loyalty, and I hope I can continue to offer something insightful and fun in return.

We kick things off with Astrid retelling the tales of last season, and surprisingly it looks like we’re kicking things off pretty much right where they left off, or at least within a few weeks to a month. Love the beautiful watercolor and colored pencil artwork we’re treated to, painted and drawn by Ala Flora. So nice to see my friends Simon, PB, and Marceline again, and Simon’s living with Marcy now! I like to imagine it was offered by Marceline when Simon mentioned he was looking for another place to stay – kind of like a daughter looking after her elderly father, very sweet. Because he’s an easy target, I also like to imagine him interrupting any moments of intimacy between the girls with some nerd shit that only he cares about. I love that dweeb.


We’re welcomed back to our main protagonist shortly after, where we get a bit of tweened animation of Fionna stretching in her bed (begging the gods that this show never gets demoted to fully rigged animation). A genderswapped Betty is teased by the announcer, which I’m interested to see if those implications mean anything in the grand scheme of things. Love to see that they once again cannot stray too far from the snail cameos, as we get a real snail traveling across Fionna’s TV stand, with the addition of the umpteenth Cheers appearance in the series. Though, it doesn’t last long, as Fionna quickly flips through some other 90’s dreck before landing on a fantasy program. Cheers was Simon’s escapist fantasy of a world that was simple and made sense, whereas Fionna still leans toward sensationalist and exciting sensibilities, away from the mundane responsibilities of everyday life. I’ve complained about not being super interested in Fionna in the past, but this does feel relatable. I’m pushing 30 now, which is the same age range these characters are supposed to be in, and here I am writing a blog on a fantasy show that I’m invested in far more than the drudgery of working a 9-5 job day in and day out. Adventure Time really has succeeded at placing you in the shoes of the main character and watching them guide through life in a way that never seems any less confusing. That relatability is always balanced out with something equally fantastical, and while Fionna’s world is far more urban than Ooo, we do now have the addition of a magical cat living in her own apartment right next door. Complete with the first obligatory bacon pancakes reference in this series (hot dog waffles) which admittedly I didn’t even catch the first time around.

New intro this season! I like it, for the most part. As always, it’s great to see the SmallBu team back at it again with very bouncy, vibrant animation. The anime allusions feel slightly jarring, but its an aesthetic that F&C have played around with since their introduction into the original series. The intro additionally doesn’t really feel like Adventure Time – the music and the lack of an introductory long pan feel like a deliberate stray from what we’re accustomed to seeing. I’m kind of all for Fionna & Cake branching out and adopting its own style this way. After 10+ years of alternative intros that have used the original title sequence as a reference point, it’s refreshing to get something quite different in taste. Although, I will say, I liked the music that accompanied last season’s intro far better. I don’t think it’s a very compelling beat and I don’t think it really aids the visuals that successfully either. I almost wish they repurposed the initial score and made new visuals to go around it – but I guess in true anime style, they wanted to start this one from the ground up. Apparently, a good bit of the intro is referencing Revolutionary Girl Utena, an anime I’ve never seen but I am interested in checking it out. I’ll reserve comments about the little bits of foreshadowing for character arcs and relationships sprinkled in until they actually come into fruition within the season.


Glad to see most of the returning players from last season back again in the title card sequence. Michael DeForge’s title cards are better than ever, complete with little iterations of Fionna and Huntress Wizard in both corners. Also, Kris Mukai is back once again! Mukai worked on a few episodes during the course of season 7, including Varmints, Mama Said, and Five Short Tables. Her style is immediately recognizable in the first chunk after the intro through the bakery store sequence (at least, I’m pretty positive it’s Mukai – I’ve only gotten worse at this with time!) with the eyes a lot closer together, accented by several lines and curvy expressions. Also cool that Turtle Prince’s human counterpart is featured in this scene, as she helped bring him to life in Five Short Tables. Also returning after a bit of absence is Chermaine Verhagen, who previously co-boarded Wheels, and had contributed a lot of bit parts and visual development to the show throughout the years. I’ll definitely need more time pinpointing her individual contributions to this episode – gonna take some time to analyze outside of this review so I can better recognize her drawings moving forward.

Funny to see some of the new iterations of characters, like a female version of Buck Pudding, everyone’s favorite side character. I guess who else would they have as the store manager of Home Depot? I’m also pretty sure that the child in the bus is just a male version of Astrid, so it’s additionally very comical that we now have alternative versions of NEW characters introduced in the series. It’s also driving me crazy – I have no idea who the yellowish person on the bus is supposed to be, if anyone. I’ve been looking at characters on the wiki for almost an hour and cannot identify who this character is alluding to – I’m just gonna open it up for someone in the comments to make me look like a total idiot.

Returning players like Queenie and M-Cron are a pleasure to see too. It’s been a while since we’ve had any Lady rep in the series, so I’m glad to see M-Cron getting a bit more focus, with Cake being absolutely infatuated with him. I’m curious as to where this is heading, which is something I’ll probably be saying a lot in these first few episodes. I do like all of the allusions to fairytales that have been coming into play within the episode thus far: the introduction with Astrid’s “happily-ever-after” story, the naming convention of The Hare and the Sprout, Cake’s cross-species romance, Fionna’s increasing interest in fantasy, the anime-like opening, the focus on mystics in Huntress Wizard’s segments, etc. I wouldn’t be surprised if the entire season largely worked as a deconstruction of fairytale tropes, or at the very least, used them as a thematic stepping point to explore ideas about how these characters view their goals and expectations. In the best case scenario, it’ll work similar to the multiverse concept in season one where they allow themselves to have a decent bit of fun with the genre without getting too lost in clichés. Also, the onslaught of new genderbent character introductions is certainly a bit gratuitous at this point, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t slightly enamored with seeing how far they’re willing to take it. Madam Slicer was not on my bingo card for this season.


Simon opening his call to Fionna with “hey, girl!” was irresistibly sweet. It really is a testament to the previous season’s strength that he has become such a beloved presence in the series, after mainly being a gimmick for storytelling purposes in the original series. His awkwardness around PB is additionally hilarious, because I totally think he’s overthinking the kidnapping element and I think PB struggling with her own demeanor is just kind of how she is. Though, I also wouldn’t be shocked if she’s still petty over being called an assistant way back in Broke His Crown. Simon in general seems a lot more well-adjusted after the events of last season than Fionna does, which I’d imagine is a direct result of having several stand-in daughter figures and an outlet for his interest in magic. I was totally prepared for the scene with Simon at the solo tombstone to be heartbreaking, but having it be Choose Goose probably provided the biggest laugh of the episode for me. Not only does this sudden obsession with him since Distant Lands continue onward, but I’ll additionally never understand the absolute vitriol for him that the staff feels. He somewhat unknowingly became possessed after the events of Wizard City, was used and tortured by Simon in the first season, and now is dead with a tasteless rhyme on his graveyard, seemingly rotting in Hell as seen in Together Again. It’s kind of hilarious.

We get our first bits of Huntress Wizard soon after, and I guess this is as good a time as any to talk about the voice actor changes. There’s quite a few recasts this season, which AT is usually no stranger to when it comes to casting celebrities generally outside of the animation industry. This season sees the recast of Huntress Wizard, Gary, and Marshall Lee. It’s always disappointing to see, but none that I feel too strongly about; Jenny Slate is definitely the biggest loss, given that she’s played the character most consistently out of the bunch, but Ashly Burch has been a great presence up to this point in the series and I’m pretty confident she can do this character justice through her work. Donald Glover has been with the series the longest of the three, so losing him is a shame, though understandable because he’s reportedly been struggling with his health behind-the-scenes. As for Gary, it’s just kind of hilarious to me that this character cannot find a voice that sticks. I do wonder what the nature of needing to recast so many of these actors is – the animation industry isn’t exactly thriving right now, so I wonder if it ultimately ended up being that there wasn’t enough incentive to return to the series. In this article, Adam Muto mostly alludes to this being a result of scheduling conflicts, but c’mon, Andrew Rannells can’t show up a few times to voice the gay gum lad?? I guess scheduling conflicts could involve a whole plethora of issues, including travel time, personal matters, and full-time commitments, so I can’t really judge without knowing the whole scope of why they chose not to return.


Anywho, back to the meat. The Vampire King lion was additionally not on my bingo card, and it’s interesting to see him play a bit of a supportive role to Finn, who is in considerable peril. I think Amanda Jones as a composer has gotten progressively stronger from when she first started with the series, as I quite liked the score throughout this episode, especially during the scenes where HW is following the lion to her home. As I mentioned, I think the general sounds complimenting scenes aren’t as odd or experimental as they used to be, but I think think the adventurous, tense stings that accent certain scenes do assist the general tone and scope of the series becoming much more grand. It’s great to see Finn again, even though he largely plays second banana to just about every other character in the episode. It seems his role will mostly be a catalyst for the mission of other characters, namely HW, but I do hope we get some Finn love this season. After seeing him largely repressed and injured a good portion of the recent projects, I’d love to see a brief moment of reprieve for him by the season’s end. At least he’s still having freaky dreams, as indicated by the illusory Huntress Wizard feeding him (Princess Mononoke reference?) Let me just say that the forest backgrounds in general looking quite gorgeous. It’s so cool to see the evolution of certain shots from the original series, like Huntress’s “cliff under a tree,” the originally was composed of flat colors and now transformed into a multi-layered beauty. Shoutout to the many background designers and painters who helped make up this episode, some of which I’m planning to give a shoutout to at the end of each blog entry.

Back in Fionna-World, we’re treated to a few more character returns. Glad to see Marc Maron Squirrel is thriving in his new environment (in his impressionist era, no less!) and we see Marshall really adopting his vampiric roots. There’s a brief moment where he gets a call from “Birthgiver,” with the obvious implication being Hanna Abadeer, though with Ice Queen being taunted in the opening theme, I do wonder how exactly her connection to Marshall will play out in a way that differentiates itself from Marceline and Simon’s history. We’re also treated to Hunter and a quick parallel with Fionna’s injury slightly mimicking Finn’s current state, or at the very least, drawing back to the thorn that Finn had lodged in his hand way back in Is That You? With all of the allusions being made between characters, their physical state, relationships, and emotional wellbeing, I’d love to see this season play around with the ideas of just how much these characters have autonomy over their surroundings, or if they’re destined to falling into the same patterns and soul connections that their otherworldly counterparts are.

I feel as though the nearly half-hour episodes are much better paced this time around, which is a slight contrast from last season’s premiere. I felt Fionna Campbell was somewhat distracting in how it padded extra time, while we have moments in this episode that use time more methodically. We’re set up to a variety of different ideas and stories for the course of the season, but it doesn’t feel like information overload either. We’re still treated to more laidback sequences, like Fionna and the gang setting up for Gary’s grand opening. It’s good to see a blend of both, not rushing us right into the action, but having enough variety that it doesn’t feel claustrophobic in its surroundings. The dream sequence, on the other hand, does throw a lot out in a short amount of time, which is a welcomed addition. The more introspective elements seem to revolve around Fionna’s newfound dedication to helping others and the internal pressures that come with putting aside her own needs for others, along with the guilt and trauma that she surely carries along from her adventures through the multiverse. We get a brief glimpse of Martin’s discarded head, someone who previously counted on her that was hurt as a result of her actions. Also appearing is Winter King’s demented chicken servant from The Winter King, which is a possible sign that all of the terror and insecurity that Fionna’s arc implied she left behind is still lingering and at the forefront. We also get a wolf lurking, with a white wolf in dreams potentially symbolizing hope and a wolf in general connecting to some sort of threat or internal conflict. And hey, the thorn wasn’t the only arm symbolism we get up to this point, as Fionna has her own gnarly bionic arm in her fantasy dream! Cool to see Cake and Fionna sharing dreams is still a trademark of their relationship.


Things start wrapping up, as we’re treated to additional conflict setups, like Fionna feeling indebted to Gary after Queenie shuts his business down, Simon teaching Wiz Biz stuff (treating us to an aged up Blaine, Pep, and Cadebra! I love how Pep’s voice is slowly starting to sound pitch shifted, I wondered when he was going to eventually transform into Steve Little), and Huntress Wizard tracking down the bear that hurt Finn. Already saw a lot of people complaining about the abrupt ending, but like, here I am thinking, “we are so back.” It’s Adventure Time, baby! As is, it was a pretty decent premiere. Like I said prior, it’s kind of difficult to talk about it outside of speculation for future entries, but generally a better start pacing wise and more engaging compared to Fionna Campbell. I’m still a bit skeptical about how much I’m going to find myself intrigued by the Fionna-World stuff this season, as I’m definitely much more drawn to what’s happening in Ooo, but nothing established so far was particularly bad. Fionna-World is, at best, mildly charming. I think there’s still plenty they can play around with to evolve this concept and I appreciate the dedication that is being put into the world building. It just so happens that a lot of my attitude seems to be leaning toward “we’ll see what happens” as opposed to feeling glued to the screen, waiting to see what Fionna and her friends’ journeys bring us next. But I’m not totally cynical, I’m absolutely giddy to have this show back in any fashion. This team especially have proven themselves time and time again, so I’m looking forward to just what this season has in store in all corners of the multiverse.

This week’s staff shoutout goes out to Ala Flora who, as mentioned, worked on the opening storybook sequence. Flora’s work is visually stunning, tapping into childlike wonder and boasting beautiful colors in the process. You can check out her portfolio here.

Favorite line: “Mommies say hi!”

Adventure Time

“Prismo the Wishmaster” Review

Adventure Time Reviewed


Original Airdate: September 7, 2023

Written & Storyboarded by: Iggy Craig, Graham Falk, Jim Campbell & Lucyola Langi

I’m glad I took some time to let these episodes sit a bit before jumping in to review them, because there’s A LOT that Prismo the Wishmaster dishes out. The entirety of this episode essentially acts as an answer to one of Adventure Time‘s most unusual questions after the events of the episode Fionna and Cake and Fionna. I previously lambasted that episode as the worst in the series, because it seemed like it was just throwing shit at the fan to try to mystify Fionna and Cake at a point in the series where it felt like they really had no place anymore. Turns out, Fionna and Cake and Fionna was actually setting up an idea that the crew played around with for a while but never really had the time or place to explain it in full detail. According to Adam Muto in an interview with Inverse, Prismo’s introduction in season five naturally came with the idea that he would be the true creator of Fionna & Cake. I do admire the current place AT is at where they can just come back later on and address unopened doors in the past, while continuing to plant seeds for the future. And Prismo the Wishmaster is just that – AT at perhaps its most convoluted, chock full of answers to questions and questions raised from those answers. Not that that’s a bad thing, of course.

The episode begins with a neat little cold opening taking place in The Drift from BMO, which also doubles down on this season’s personal goal of having as many Cheers references as they can possibly squeeze in. This one’s mostly just for gag purposes, though it may show that even a cosmic being like Kheirosiphon craves the mundane and simplistic life that Simon and Fionna so vehemently reject. Or maybe it was just to feature an alien version of Norm, which I’m also okay with. This is also the moment we’re introduced to Scarab – the main antagonist for the season. He’s a character that I have pretty lukewarm views on overall; I think Scarab at the very least boasts a cool design and presence in the general worldbuilding of the series. I like his crystal scythe and his little Tamagotchi-esque captor eggs, and I think it’s cool to have some kind of understanding of how cosmic crimes (or what seems to be cosmic misdemeanors in this case) are addressed from an authoritative level. As a character, Scarab’s not really anything to write home about. AT in general has been kind of struggling with villains since the last season of the OG series and I think it just boils down to them never being funny or intimidating enough. Aside from The Lich and rare instances of genuinely threatening baddies (Ricardio’s presence in Lady & Peebles comes to mind or Hierophant in May I Come In?), Adventure Time villains are kind of supposed to be lame. The idea is always taking a concept that should make for a terrifying villain in any other fantasy series but making them super humanized and pretty mundane. Like, Kee-Oth is a demon that belongs to this super distorted underworld-type dimension but he also takes Pilates classes. Or Hunson Abadeer, the literal ruler of the Nightosphere, who uses karate moves when he’s pissed off at his daughter and vocalizes those exact karate moves when he uses them. There are other villains, such as Lemongrab or Dr. Gross, that have interesting pieces of psychological baggage that make them more engaging, on top of being funny as well. But Scarab just doesn’t really get any committed character depth and isn’t given anything particularly funny to say or do, so he just kind of ends up being a foil. I don’t really totally fault the crew for not taking the time to flesh out this character when there is already so much else going on, but I also wonder why they chose to include him in the first place. I like how his role further explores the presence of cosmic beings in the universe, but any other time he shows up is just kind of a reminder of the stakes of the situation at hand.


But I’m getting a bit ahead of myself – after the detour in The Drift, we once again see a depressed Prismo shirking his duties in the Time Room. Similar to Choose Goose, it is really funny how committed the staff is to including Wyatt across multiple different iterations. Though, unlike CG, I think Wyatt’s inclusion is much less overdone and it is funny to also see those parallels painted as to how he ended up (and stayed) within the First Dead World (who knows what type of cosmic crimes he committed on his own to get there??) It’s also pretty clear that Prismo gave up caring about the consequences that came with making wishes a long time ago, and honestly, why should he? Wyatt probably would’ve wished for Tree Trunks to rub his shoulders for all of eternity or something, it’s not really the type of wishes that require him to be extra careful and caution. And also, you get the clear idea that not really any other person who has entered that Time Room in years has had any kind of concern or interest in Prismo’s life. Honestly, Jake might’ve been the only non-cosmic being to ever show interest or compassion for Prismo, so it really adds to how much he’s sunk into desolation. Also worth noting is that Prismo has a new voice actor as of this episode, making for another point where I’m just going to divulge into production notes that all of y’all have probably heard already! Prismo’s original voice actor, Kumail Nanjiani, did not return to the role because of a representative of his passing on Nanjiani’s behalf without his knowledge. It is sad because Nanjiani’s reaction on social media shows how legitimately bummed he was by this and how even with how big he’s become, he has a special place for Prismo in his heart. Nanjiani brought so much natural charisma to the character, it’s a performance that will be truly missed. Though it’s not all in vain, because Sean Rohani, who voices Prismo in Fionna and Cake, does a pretty great job taking over! It definitely took some getting used to – I think even if you sound very much like the actor that you’re replacing, there’s still an adjustment period to the new performance and inflections that impacted my immersion slightly on a first watch. However, watching it again and having seen the whole season by this point, it’s much less noticeable and easier to appreciate what Rohani brings to the table. Also, as many people have mentioned, Prismo being depressed definitely supports Rohani being a bit raspier than Nanjiani was in the role.

I love the little black-and-white sequence that results from Wyatt’s wish. I like that the design of it didn’t immediately jump to rubberhose as a main inspiration point and instead just uses weird, more stylistic interpretations of 20’s designs. Graham Falk boarded the entire sequence, which really gives him a chance to shine with his more expressive style. The animation for the scene was done by Nick Cross, who seems to have been the main source for in-house animation during the entirety of Fionna and Cake. Cross animated the intro for F&C as well and it’s delightful to see energy that he instills to knock an already well-boarded segment out of the park. This is the man who animated the entirety of the Highway Man scene in Over the Garden Wall, after all! It’s also cool because Cross’s work with Falk dates all the way back to when Cross was a storyboard artist on The Untalkative Bunny, so things have really come full circle here.


I mentioned that Cake the Cat felt like it was plodding a bit and held on certain bits that felt like they could’ve been used for other space. Prismo the Wishmaster is definitely an episode the earns its 24 minute runtime and not even because every second is jam-packed with knowledge overload. It does have some little moments of Prismo interacting with Fionna, Cake, and Simon, while still managing to sprinkle in some dialogue that establishes Prismo as the true creator of F&C (more on that in a bit!) We get a few good glimpses as well into what Ooo’s inhabitants are currently up to, though it’s not especially juicy. Kind of odd that Finn has had extensive changes since we last saw him while Huntress Wizard looks exactly the same as she did 10+ years ago in-universe (they even use her pre-Flute Spell model sheet). In fact, everyone in these clips looks like they could use a little time gap update. You mean to tell me Susan is still wearing her same pre-memory jog outfit? I can’t imagine that smells even remotely decently, but good to see her and Frieda are still traveling together. One clear change is that Pep appears to be advancing through wizard school with his pal Blaine. The most jarring change of all, however, is when we see a brief clip of Lemongrab later on, with a… very noticeable voice actor replacement. Justin Roiland has been outed as a big ol’ creep since F&C went into production, but my guess is this news didn’t break until the scene was fully animated or at the very least in the process of final animation taking place. Jinx Monsoon, who provides the voice for genderbent Lemongrab 1, does her best imitation of LG but it REALLY falls flat. Can’t really blame her or the staff for this as it was clearly a last minute decision that had to be made, but man, if Prismo’s voice change altered my immersion slightly, this nuked it on a first watch.

As the episode moves along and we get into Prismo’s introduction to Fionna and Cake, the puzzle pieces start to come together about his connection with the two, along with Simon. Prismo being the true creator of Fionna and Cake is something I’m still kind of grappling with. I think I was much more negative to the idea off the bat, grew a bit more positive to it, and now I’m kind of in neutral territory. I think the main reason it put me off to begin with is that it doesn’t really fully mesh with the timeline that Adventure Time has set up. Fionna and Cake, the episode, takes place two full seasons before Prismo is introduced in Finn the Human, and I wasn’t really satisfied with the theories to combat this, such as how Prismo is omnipresent and seems to exist outside of time. We know that the Time Room itself exists outside of time, but the way that Prismo interacts with Ooo, along with Finn and Jake, seems to at least exist in a linear way with how Ooo perceives time. Even Prismo himself seems to be mourning Jake’s death in a process that meshes with Ooo’s general timeline, so it wasn’t a theory I was willing to roll with. I think the easiest justification for this is that Adventure Time episodes, outside of clear continuity points, don’t really need to be seen as entirely linear storytelling. They’ve even broken this on occasions, with BMO Noire and Princess Potluck occurring on the same day but being a full season apart, or the flashback in Joshua and Margaret Investigations happening without a clear framing device. So, I’m pretty much fine with accepting that this as part of Adventure Time‘s lore and don’t believe it truly accounts to discontinuity. However, I feel generally mixed about Prismo’s role as the true author. This kind of feels similar to a development like Orgalorg, where the execution of the concept is fun, but the concept itself sort of overly mystifies a relatively simple idea. I liked that Fionna and Cake stories were something that came from Ice King’s obsession for Finn and Jake and that it was actually something he was good at! Ice King couldn’t really constructively do anything worthwhile in his condition, but it was cool to see that Fionna and Cake was the one thing that he actually seemed to pour his heart into and that he gradually accrued a fanbase over time. It’s somewhat of a bummer to me that this small accomplishment was taken away from him, though it depends on how you view creative ideas a whole anyway. I do love the construct that creativity comes from a magic source and is channeled further by peons in an almost spiritual experience, so I don’t reject the mysticism of it entirely. There’s also the implication with how the stories are told that Ice King DOES have some control over the direction on how they are told and that he’s adding his own unique spin to them. It is additionally confusing that Fionna is the central protagonist in all of these stories – wouldn’t it make more sense for Prismo to center them around Jake? Maybe he’s taking their relationship, and Ooo as a whole, and looking at it at a glance, but it’s just strange because Prismo and Finn have never had a very developed relationship. There’s even that dumb line that they included in Hoots where Prismo doesn’t even immediately remember who Finn is – this is the kid you based an entire fanfiction off of?? Though I guess it’s more the fault of that episode than this, so generally speaking, I’m still a bit polarized with my sentiments for this development, though not totally opposed to how it presents itself in the series mythos.


Additionally, some of the lore about wishes being made is cool, namely that wishes only occasionally add to the multiverse and create entirely new dimensions, which supports that Shelby wishing for his GF to have a pony did not in fact create an entire alternate wish universe (a damn shame). Also, this is where we get the hilarious Flapjack cameo, which at this point, I’m all for. I’ve mentioned in the past that I’m pretty opposed to any Adventure Time crossover opportunities and I wouldn’t be into the idea of this explored further (as Adam Muto mentioned was an original episode idea), but fuck it, if the multiverse is being explored in detail, I’m fine with a cute little cameo homage to Adventure Time‘s granddaddy. Also super sweet that they chose an episode and clip that was boarded by Pen Ward himself. We also get the neat little tidbit that Beyond the Grotto‘s dimension hopping was created by a wish (possibly the Sea Lard’s?) It really only opens up for the possibilities that other instances of guest animation and unique reality jumps, like Pillow World, also factored in multiverse theorem.

It does seem like Ice King’s individual achievements are slowly whittling away from him, though again, I’m kind of fine with this in how it plays into this specific series. Ice King and the crown have been used for a number of different allegories throughout the franchise’s run, and while I’m bummed that the events of Skyhooks II never really further elaborated on Ice King’s existence as an independent being, Fionna and Cake is clearly going for a different take on it. Addiction is a theme that Simon & Marcy briefly toyed around with when dealing with the crown, and it’s the main thematic push that Fionna and Cake often deals with. Simon being left to look at old memories of himself while everyone in the room praises how funny and cool he used to be when he wore the crown feels like an alcoholic being knocked at for becoming sober. Simon knows that the crown was something that completely disconnected him from his humanity, but you really can’t blame him for becoming increasingly pro-magic as the episode continues when everyone around him is making him feel like he doesn’t have worth in his current state. They’re harsh sentiments from Fionna and Cake, though you can’t really blame them entirely either. Simon spends most of the episode at his absolute worst, defaulting to self-blame and general apathy to everything and everyone around him. Almost to the point where you think, yeah, maybe he would be better off as Ice King! He was out of it and often tortured by the powers of the crown, but at least he was often aided by a clueless joy that took away from any of the pain he is currently experiencing. Of course, this is only looking at one side of it, and only further aids the addiction comparison.


The general interactions between the four central characters of this episode are lots of fun. I like Prismo’s growing understanding of Fionna and Cake’s ability to comprehend things outside of the traits he has already given them, such as Fionna’s difficulty wearing shorts and her opinionated responses to the information being divulged to her. I also love Cake’s experimenting with different shapeshifting abilities that often feel like a child’s wobbly sketches as opposed to fully articulated formations. As mentioned, Simon’s general “fuck this” attitude and him chugging beers with Prismo was quite funny, and I loved how unsentimental the foundation of Fionna and Simon’s relationship is. The implication that she’s going to level with him and then smacks him is great, though it does lead to a genuinely somber speech from Fionna. Again, Madeleine Martin (incorrectly referred to her as board artist “Madeleine Flores” in my Fionna Campbell review – my bad!) does a great job at breathing life into the character and makes her entire situation feel dire, as it is.

It’s always fun going on a little detour of the Time Room and its surroundings, as Is That You? established. I like all the added bits of worldbuilding, like the clock titans that help to communicate the construct of time across the multiverse. This seems like an addition that would be important later on, but it ends up just being a cool little tidbit that helps expand the world – even maybe something that could be elaborated on later on! Speaking of which, Prismo’s boss is name-dropped once more after being mentioned in Crossover (didn’t even mention that “crossover” is the official term for overarching pieces of the multiverse, neat!) I won’t go into this now because there’s more little bits we get later on and I don’t want to spoil anything in case someone is reading these episode-by-episode, but I’ll share with y’all my own headcanon about the boss once we get to the end of the season. The whole exploration of the Time Room is a visual treat, expanding on the spiraling cyberspace-esque backgrounds that first appeared in Is That You? The original series didn’t really have the budget for especially rich backgrounds, so Prismo’s Time Room was limited to mainly flat colors and gradients, but we get some cool textural additions to these landscapes that really help it pop. The entire episode is just a treat from the color front – I love the black light colors that emerge when Prismo begins presenting F&C‘s world to them. The whole episode in general is illuminated by great color choices, I implore you to check out the great color script from background paint supervisor Carolyn Ramirez here. Speaking of staff contributions, I’m starting to recognize new board artist styles a bit more with this episode! I believe Jim Campbell’s contributions chime in when Prismo begins to attempt to hide Fionna, Cake, and Simon from Scarab; his take on Prismo is especially notable, giving him a much rounder head that looks similar to Jesse Moynihan’s take on Prismo in Crossover. Lucyola Langi appears to take over once Fionna and Cake try to escape the Time Room entirely until the end of the episode – her style is notable in just how large the pupils are on each character, perhaps most apparent when Fionna pleads her case to Simon and when F&C ponder how the time remote must work. Kudos to Digamma-F-Wau in the comments for help bringing light to some of these production notes!


Other miscellaneous highlights from this episode include the introduction of Prismo’s Pickle Room; I like how Prismo’s special pickles started from just a one-time gag to now escalate where he has an entire section of his cosmic home dedicated to his pickle storage. I like all the small cameos of cosmic criminals on Scarab’s crystal, including Martin (who is pushing that TV-14 rating with the middle finger inclusion). Any mentions of primordial lore were rad, like the implication that Prismo was chosen to be Wishmaster instead of it just being conceived with his creation. And I think it was easily the funniest portion of the episode when a butt-naked Simon was beamed in, only slightly annoyed at the inconvenience of Prismo summoning him.

Like I mentioned, it’s still one that I’m grappling with from a revelation perspective, but the episode itself is tons of fun. It really gets the ball rolling and kicks the season into full gear, with this being the last bit of set up that moves things forward. Again, it’s always fun that Adventure Time can manage to provide clarity on certain arcs and plot points that feel like they’ve been lost to the wayside, while also committing to making things more convoluted and rich for interpretation in the process. For the most part, that’s kind of how the season operates – digging deeper into certain elements of expansion while also committing to leaving doors open by the end of it. It’s one of the hallmarks of the series that I truly love and I think Prismo the Wishmaster plays around with that in a great way that never bogs down the experience. It’s an episode that easily could’ve been weighed down with its heavy dosage of exposition, but in typical AT fashion, it has the most fun with it that it can.

I’ve kind of exhausted all the production notes I had for this one throughout the blog, so we’ll skip over the footer tidbit this time.


Favorite line: “This is the multiverse, a huge web of all the different realities elegantly connected like an anthill or a camp counselor relationship chart.”

Adventure Time

“Cake the Cat” Review

Adventure Time Reviewed


Original Airdate: September 7, 2023

Written & Storyboarded by: Hanna K. Nyström, Anna Syvertsson, Jacob Winkler, Haewon Lee & Nicole Rodriguez

Cake the Cat follows in the previous two episodes’ method of developing characters that, up to this point, we really didn’t know too too much about. I’d argue that, of the three main characters, the necessity to flesh out Cake beyond what we already know about her from the original F&C episodes feels a bit frivolous. Cake is probably my favorite of the Fionna & Cake bunch up to this point because she was really the only character who immediately set herself apart from her male counterpart; she was sassy, more no-nonsense, and Roz Ryan’s terrific voice presence gave her an immediate sense of charisma. Of course, she also shared some elements of Jake’s personality, mainly that she doesn’t take anything too seriously and is often there to lighten up the mood when things get too heavy. In that sense, she already kind of established herself early on where the rest of the F&C cast of characters were kind of left with fragments of personality and depth that were most left unchecked. So, with that being said, I don’t think spending extra time on giving Cake her own arc in this story is entirely necessary. Of course, she has some nice moments of development throughout the season, but I think what really made her work in these ten episodes is just whenever she just offered moments of comedic relief.


Before gettin’ into Cake stuff, there’s a brief little precursor to the episode I’ll tackle. We see Prismo once more, only this time he’s very clearly depressed. I really like all the small moments of Prismo mourning Jake’s loss – it’s all very understated moments of grief that really paint how much of an impact Jake had on Prismo’s life. And it’s even sadder to wonder just how long this has been going on, though it’s still unclear of when exactly Jake kicked the bucket. The clip of Finn and Jake at the Bird Temple has questionable implications, namely that Finn got the tattoo of his brother before he died. I think that idea is pretty dumb, so my current headcanon is that this must be an alternate universe where Jake survives, but Finn ends up getting the tattoo anyway. I’ve seen the idea thrown around that the tattoo could’ve been the result of Finn losing a bet to Jake, which I think is relatively unsentimental, but I could get behind it if only Finn was super happy about losing said bet. Like, he doesn’t even care, because he’s like, “hey, I get to have my favorite person on my chest forever!” I think that would be pretty sweet. The little sequence itself of their adventure feels similar to the pretty surface-level quest we see at the beginning of Together Again, though it has some neat little additions. I like how the temple itself seems to be partially based on Ghostshrimp’s design for a Bird Temple from the scrapped season one episode The Helmet of Thorogon and the cockatykes on copter-trikes does feel like a very AT-specific concept. Seeing Jakesuit again is also fun, though I feel like it’s reaching the point of oversaturation after appearing pretty recently in Together Again. You can’t just throw the Jakesuit around willy-nilly, it’s for special occasions!

As mentioned, the rest of the episode mainly focuses on Cake exploring Ooo and discovering her own self. It’s a lot of moments that, in my opinion, mostly feel unnecessary to explore. Like, was the exposition of Cake trying different size-altering fruits and acknowledging that she enjoys shapeshifting something that we needed to see happen? Or even her feeling at home with the magic surrounding her, only to be ganged up against by the very beings that made her feel inspired? I feel like most of what is established here can be cooked into Cake obtaining her magical abilities in the following episode without much having been lost. AT often got flack for jamming too much into the span of 11 minute episodes during its original run. While there are definitely instances where that is the case, and there are ways that the added runtime in Fionna and Cake helps stories to flourish, there are instances where these 25 minute episodes tend to overexplain and spend a little too much time trying to set things up. This is of course most noticeable at the beginning of the season, and I really feel like moments from this episode could’ve been baked into the first one, which also was paced a bit awkwardly. Again though, this is coming from someone who was less enthralled by the Fionna and Cake world in general and was more interested in Simon’s plight and the exploration of different Ooo-like worlds. There arguments for keeping this episode the way it is, with how it establishes Cake and Fionna’s relationship and Cake’s feelings of wanting independence from Fionna. Though, I’d argue that this only really leads to incidental drama down the line, so again, I don’t really feel like I personally got much from trying to expand Cake’s character in this great of detail.


The rest of the episode is also pretty middling. I never expected the Marc Maron squirrel to appear again (I kinda just figured he’d be riding that frisbee through the air for all of eternity) but it was nice to see him once more. I think F&C, like Distant Lands, is still kind of struggling to capture the weirdness of the original series, and it’s probably most apparent here. The additional return of the Jim Cummings woodland critters feels like it’d be a prime opportunity for classic AT silliness to shine, but they mostly just show up, get fucked up by Cake (in one of the only instances from the season where I felt the use of blood was a bit gratuitous), and don’t really do anything funny. I’m always down for recapturing the light oddness of Adventure Time, though I feel like this is something the new team is struggling with the most. It’s not without moments that do feel spirituality-aligned; the Squirrel going on about how he involuntarily became an apple salesman one day was great and his boss being irrationally angry with everything she expresses was also fun.

And because I’ve already harped on this in a previous Distant Lands review, I’ll get my whining out of the way now so I don’t harp on it in the future: it still impacts my immersion slightly not having Tim Kiefer composing. Amanda Jones joined the series starting with Obsidian and I just feel like a lot of what she offers up doesn’t always mesh with the series/what Kiefer brought to it. There are so many bits of score in Fionna and Cake that feel kind of generic; the scene where Cake is trying fruits at the market is supplemented by a flute tune that just kind of sounds like typical medieval fare, while Kiefer would always experiment with different sounding instruments, like the dulcimer score heard at the market in Blade of Grass, to support Adventure Time‘s unique and quirky tone. I don’t know if this is really a jab at Jones per se, I think Kiefer was just always so essential to the series in ways that I don’t really see discussed much. Again, I think Jones does an alright job from time to time at capturing the same energy that Kiefer did (I think the theme song for Fionna and Cake itself is particularly great) and I will commend her in the future for times that I think she did knock it out of the park, but I had to get it off my chest at least once so I don’t bitch every time I think the score is ill-fitting.


While on the subject of music, I actually do like Cake’s song in this one! I think it plays out a bit awkwardly in the episode itself, but it is a pretty catchy tune and is actually one of the tracks I find myself humming the most from this season. I quite like Roz Ryan’s singing voice and people may also forget that she was actually on Broadway before getting into film and television. It’s nice that she gets her own song outside of her part in Bad Little Boy, though she deserves just as much praise for that. Oh yeah, and Rainy’s back! She was one of the few recognizable characters from the batch of Ooo residents and apparently she hasn’t aged a day in 15 years or so. I did like how the civilians were all pretty much new designs based around commonplace species from Ooo. I really dig the one tree guy painting portraits that apparently got bored at one point and started painting a house instead. Or maybe that’s just what he sees, I guess.

On the other side of the episode, we see Fionna desperately searching for Cake while Simon continues to lose his mind and attempts once more to summon Betty. Again, it’s more so just moving things along before the ball gets dropped and everything starts moving, but there’s nothing going on that’s particularly of interest. Fionna drinking wine out of a paper bag with Marshall and Ellis P. was fun, but otherwise I didn’t find any of Fionna or Simon’s scenes particularly noteworthy up to her entering Ooo. And with how fast Fionna gets launched into a whole other world and quickly accepts it, I’m shocked that they decided to just kind of tack on this development on at the last minute! I don’t really mind it and I don’t think you have to spend an extended amount of time doing a fish out of water story with her, but with how much the episode takes its sweet time with other things, it’s kind of funny how much Fionna’s introduction is quickly glanced over. She gets some fun moments towards the end – I’ve never related to anything more than when she brushes off her clothes to provide a handful of Cake’s hair, and her just straight up murdering weird creatures around her sets up her longstanding arc of murdering other weird creatures around her throughout the season. It’s cut short when Fionna and Cake are beamed up to Prismo’s and Astrid is left without her hat. I was kind of convinced that Astrid would tag along in this journey and hold a role similar to the Distant Lands sidekick characters, but I’m kind of glad that didn’t end up happening. Astrid is cute, but I think it would probably just overcrowd an already jammed series.


Otherwise, this one is probably the most lukewarm I am for a Fionna and Cake episode. I’m usually fine with letting things breathe a bit, but with such a small amount of episodes for the season, I just feel like a lot of it is kind of padding out setup. Again, nothing against Cake as a character, but I think spending a decent amount of time developing her character in ways that could kind of just be implied feels like there could’ve been some tweaking in terms of how this episode slot is used. The stuff with the squirrel and gang is fine, but isn’t really fun enough either to justify its role in the episode. But generally speaking, it still isn’t bad, it’s just time I felt could’ve been used for something funnier, more insightful, or experiment a bit more with the themes they’re going for. As is, I still think Cake plays a great role in the season, just not from a stance of personal growth.

Also, Minerva gets a small cameo in the human city! There’s actually a full deleted scene from the episode where Minerva interacts a bit more with Cake, which you can see here. I think the additional scene is cute, but I think I’m more happy with the little glimpse/cameo that it was cut down to. The boards for this scene I believe were drawn by Hanna K. Nyström, though feel free to correct me if I am wrong.

Favorite line: “Literally, some apple guy came up to me and said, ‘this will be your life now and it will be a life of loneliness.”

Uncategorized

“Wizard City” Review

Adventure Time Reviewed


Original Airdate: September 2, 2021

Written & Storyboarded by: Hanna K. Nyström, Anna Syvertsson, Maya Petersen, Aleks Sennwald & Haewon Lee

Wizard City was the one special that fans seemed somewhat indifferent to when it was announced. I can see why, as Peppermint Butler is perhaps the most obscure choice for the main focus out of the four. I was, however, cautiously optimistic, firstly because Pepbut is my favorite secondary character in the series and I’m a sucker for anything relating to AT‘s wiz-biz. So I gave it the benefit of the doubt, but unfortunately, Wizard City ended up being the weakest of the Distant Lands specials.


A lot of the issues within Wizard City stem from the fact that a good portion of it is just tackling hackneyed tropes and plot points we’ve seen hundreds of times in other media with little to no distinction of that AT goodness. If you’ve seen any magical school or secret society story prior, there’s really nothing here that makes an effort to standout beyond that. Even Adventure Time‘s sister show OK K.O.! Let’s Be Heroes did this exact story only a few years earlier that played on the exact twists and turns that Wizard City tackles. Part of the fun of Adventure Time is watching it take on relatively common plot devices at times with an added sense of uniqueness. Is That You? is essentially an Adventure Time clip show, but incorporates this element into the actual story of the episode which makes for both a trip and fun endeavor. All the Little People takes the average “king for a day” story and connects it to Finn’s budding sexuality and his hidden desires to manipulate others. And even Fern’s entire arc, which can be boiled down to the traditional evil clone and “there can only be one” story takes a psychological horror turn and showcases Finn if everything went wrong for him. Many of the Distant Lands episodes have featured characters or situations that have had obvious beats from the very beginning: I think we all knew what the purpose of Y-5 and Glassboy’s characters were from the first five seconds they were on-screen. Wizard City is exactly the same with its story and characters, feeling like it’s simply going through the motions of its plot without offering anything remotely challenging.

I don’t mean to act pretentious in this either, though I’m probably coming off that way. Wizard City isn’t devoid of surprises – there is the twist at the end with all of the Wizard School teachers turning out the be evil, but again, in my personal experience absorbing these stories, I feel as if this type of twist could be seen from a mile away. I think especially in the era where twist villains are so commonplace in animation, especially in Disney films, I could see through the Caledonius façade pretty quickly. And even if it was surprising, I think that’s fine, but I really just don’t see how this episode works outside of a surface level beyond that. Aside from the cool allusions to the Second Age of Terror that was first referenced in The Mountain and Coconteppi taking the appearance of one of the ancient monsters from Gold Stars, there’s really nothing compelling or analytical lore-wise.


As for general entertainment, I find the special equally meandering. There are some humorous moments sprinkled throughout, such as the various gags done with Larry’s rock form and a lot of decent visual gags with Cadebra in particular. But I find them to be few and far in between, with many gags lacking the usual Adventure Time spunk that the other Distant Lands specials similarly struggled with. A lot of the special is mainly just focused on Pep navigating through the struggles of Wizard School and regaining his magical prowess, along with dealing with bullies and his frustrations towards Cadebra, which again, feel incredibly formulaic. I’ve been seeing a lot of people obsess over the bully trio from Wizard City, but outside of Blaine’s undying obsession with Spader, I also found them pretty run-of-the-mill. It was also cool to see Blaine being referred to as “they” so casually – probably the first time I’ve seen LGBTQA+ representation in a series where I really didn’t actively think about it on a first watch.

So I’ve dunked on this one a lot, but there are quite a few things I do like about it. Even though Pep’s journey leaves me quite uninterested, I do think there are parts of it that I admire. I think the idea of Peppermint Butler coming back to haunt Pep is certainly an aspect that puts him in a negative light, but I don’t think its main purpose is to demonize Peppermint Butler himself. The curse was merely a representation of everything that Pepbut wanted to accomplish as a dark lord, and operated more as internal pressure rather than an actual venue for Peppermint Butler to act antagonistic. The pressure Pep puts on himself is something that I can personally identify with – I think it’s easy to look at a past version of yourself and resent where you are in the present. Hell, there was a point where I was writing reviews for this blog four days a week, and now I torment myself on why I can’t even churn out a written post once a month. So Pep coming the conclusion that he still wants to succeed, but doesn’t want to let his past dictate his entire journey, is a resolution I find quite satisfying. Even if the story beats that he goes through are quite predictable, as I had mentioned. I don’t really love Pep as a character that much, but I think he has his moments outside of story purposes, mostly in the area of humor. I think his whininess over wanting to be a dark lord can certainly be funny at times, along with his goofy shrug when Cadebra discovers his true nature. Cadebra is another character I enjoy. Again, her journey is mostly uninteresting to me because of how cookie cutter it is, as well as the fact that you know what the special is trying to communicate with her character very, very early on, but she has her share of cute/funny moments, mostly because of the way she is illustrated along with her exaggerated expressions.


Other highlights were seeing some of the classic wizards from the original series (Bill Hader as Bufo was a nice touch), some of the background characters were cool, and the incredibly dark joke that Spader was killed in such a merciless way was kind of wild. I’ve seen a lot of people who were pissed off by this, but I dunno, I actually kind of respect the commitment. Yes, Spader was a character that didn’t really deserve this morbid fate, but in a series where characters so rarely die permanently, it’s kind of hilarious that the writing staff decided to just straight up murder a relatively smug character and not bring him back at the end. Kudos for that.

But still, Wizard City leaves me pretty underwhelmed. This honestly might be one of the AT entries that has the least rewatch value for me personally. Yes, there are far worse Adventure Time episodes out there, but most are only 11 minutes and barely make a dent in my day. Wizard City is a whopping 44 minutes that mostly leaves me just bored – and the humor certainly isn’t strong enough to have me coming back frequently. A lot of people wish that Together Again was the special that concluded Distant Lands, and while I had my own issues with that special, it definitely would’ve ended the series with a bang, whereas Wizard City ends with a whimper. But, as the post credits scene with a dark Choose Goose proves, there’s probably going to be a dozen more AT projects in the next 10 years regardless. For better or for worse.

Favorite Line: “No! Original flavor Spader!”

Adventure Time, Animation, Uncategorized

“Together Again” Review

Adventure Time Reviewed


Original Airdate: May 20, 2021

Written & Storyboard by: Hanna K. Nyström, Anna Syvertsson, Iggy Craig, Maya Petersen & Serena Wu

Together Again was easily the most anticipated Distant Lands special for me personally. Come Alone With Me still stands as a decent cap for the original series, but it left me a bit unsatisfied with how Finn and Jake, the core of Adventure Time, were mainly sidelined for story purposes. That being said, I may have went into this one a little too hyped. The story that I thought I was going to get in Together Again was very different from what actually happened, and I couldn’t help leaving this episode a bit disappointed. I was mainly expecting it to be about Finn’s life during the timeline of Obsidian, his grief over the loss of his brother, and his eventual acceptance of his passing after a shared epiphany. That being said, I’ve watched this special several times since my first viewing with a different perspective – it’s unfair to view it through the eyes of my own personal bias, so I wanted to give myself a chance to appreciate it for what it is. And, lo-and-behold, I got that chance. Together Again really is the solid conclusion to Finn and Jake’s brotherhood that I was still truly craving even after all was said and done. That being said, I think some of the initial criticisms I left with after a first viewing haven’t completely dissipated, but I’m still feeling mostly optimistic.

I know it’s only been like, two years, but seeing that classic Adventure Time opening, along with the traditional title cards, was a bit too nostalgic to resist. I think it’s all the more fitting that the remainder of the opening is set up like a classic Finn and Jake entry. I will say that the entire beginning of the episode is a little underwhelming for me in terms of capturing that classic AT spirit. I know that it’s all just a hallucination, but I felt as if there wasn’t enough dedication to truly making it feel like Season One Adventure Time. It’s a little bit too low energy and the characterization of Finn and Ice King just doesn’t really seem on par with what you would expect from the time period it’s supposed to take place in. Ice King’s a little overly sinister and Finn doesn’t really capture his youthful energy. I feel as though it would’ve been a stronger tribute if some of these beginning elements have been fine-tuned. That being said, it’s a fine opening that makes it pretty clear early on that it isn’t actually from that time period; there are snowmen that look very similar to Gumbald and Peacemaster, and Finn’s voice is very clearly… pubescent. What it boils down to is Finn’s continuous attempts to keep the light adventuring going so that Jake doesn’t have to leave. Probably the biggest emotional takeaway from Together Again comes when Finn has to once again deal with the idea of Jake “dying” in a very disturbing way. The panic that Finn begins to experience is genuinely heartbreaking, and as much as I emphasized that I originally wanted this episode to be about Finn accepting Jake’s passing, the episode makes it very clear early on that Finn really never did. Or if he accepted it, it still tore him up a lot. And honestly, I do feel like that’s much more appropriate than what I wanted. As sad as it is, the idea that Finn was really never the same after Jake passed away just feels… right. It would make me personally more comfortable to see Finn acknowledge and accept his brother’s passing because I want to believe the lil guy would be okay even after such a tragic event. But this special emphasizes again and again and again – it fucking hurts, and even if he lived a life where he had things that brought him fulfillment, he still never was able to feel full after Jake passed. Damn, man.


The longer I think about it, the sadder I get, so let’s keep this sucker goin’. Seeing Finn as a withered old man is a decision that I really didn’t expect the team to take, but because his scenes are left so vague, it really doesn’t give much info into Finn’s life. It’s both a blessing and a curse, because while this episode continues AT‘s trend of keeping things mysterious, it also slightly hurts the realism of the episode in the process. Or confuses it, at the very least. For the entirety of the episode, Finn is actually an elderly man, but takes the appearance of his 17-year-old self. It’s weird in that sense because, in his 70+ years of living, we don’t really see anything indicative of major changes in Finn’s behavior or what he’s been up to, so his developmental state comfortably sticks with what is recognizable for viewers. Finn even alludes to this when choosing his appearance. You could argue that Finn being reconnected to Jake brought back his youthful sense of self, but I dunno, it’s super difficult to keep this mystery up when literal decades have passed by and outside of a few throwaway lines, Finn doesn’t exhibit any signs of growth outside of what we are already familiar with. I don’t necessarily see this as a major flaw – I don’t really think it would be particularly fun to see Finn acting like an old, whimsical coot for the entirety of the episode. I still can’t help but feel like it’s slightly gimmicky in its presentation regardless.

As much as Together Again presents itself as a climax of Finn and Jake’s journeys together, it also weirdly offers closure for some very random Ooo inhabitants. Mr. Fox and Tiffany are both given conclusions to their individual “arcs,” per se, and it’s kind of awesome, actually. I peruse through old reviews sometimes to see how my perception has changed overtime, and I kind of have no idea why I was so passive to Tiffany in the past. At this point, I think it’s hilarious that this intended one-off character became a fully realized, Shakespearean anti-hero who only ever wanted the love of a momma and poppa. I was a bit miffed that all of these other characters were coming in to mooch off of Finn and Jake’s time, but I really think these additions, such as Tiffany’s arc as mentioned above, help add a layer of fun to the special in general. He finally gets to be blood-brothers with Finn and Jake! As I also mentioned, Mr. Fox gets his big day in the limelight. I especially like how far Mr. Fox has come, because he’s pretty much the least notable side character in the series for any casual viewer. But here he is in Together Again, in all his glory, as he’s now the official ruler of the Land of the Dead, even after all he wanted was a cushion-y pillow. As always, M.F. would be nothing without Tom Herpich’s terrific performance. Something that never quite gets old to me is how it feels like Herpich isn’t really even voice acting, but just stumbled into the booth and started reading a script. That sounds incredibly harsh, but I promise you all that I mean it in the most flattering way necessary. Because there are too many to mention in their entirety, here’s my personal favorite callbacks and cameos throughout the special:

  • Jake’s clap from James Baxter the Horse! Kinda wish they didn’t call extra attention to it, because I feel like it was instantly recognizable otherwise.
  • I like that Mr. Fox, after all these years, is seemingly still carrying a torch for Boobafina. It’s time to move on, man.
  • I believe this is the first time in the series/any form of AT media where Jake is confirmed to be a reincarnation of Shoko’s tiger. Always was assumed, but cool to have that additional confirmation.
  • It was super sweet to see Finn interact with Joshua and Margaret as his adult self, but I think the icing on the cake is that he could care less about seeing Jermaine. Nobody cares about poor Jerm.
  • Peppermint Butler being the new princess is both very interesting and cryptic. I doubt this implies Princess Bubblegum’s death, assuming that the disguised figure in Come Along With Me‘s opening was her. It is interesting to see all of the additions to the castle in general, adopting many elements of wizardry and dark magic. Wondering if this will be touched on at all in Wizard City, though I’d think likely not.
  • Choose Goose appearing AGAIN! Considering that the trailer for the next special also includes his voice, it’s amazing to me that nearly half his appearances in the entire series will derive from Distant Lands. Is this spin-off bait just waiting to happen?
  • Clarence and Ghost Princess living it up big time in 50th Dead World.
  • Tree Trunks living it up big time with all of her man slaves in 30th Dead World. Also featuring Polly Lou Livingston’s last performance before her death. Rest in peace, you lovely gem.
  • Wyatt NOT living it up in 1st Dead World. He really is the worst.

In general, the exploration of the Dead Worlds is super gnarly to me. This worldbuilding in general feels like something that Adventure Time has wanted to do for years but for whatever reason it never got past the conceptual stage. A portion of this story was actually adapted from an outline Jesse Moynihan worked on back in season three that was initially going to be Ghost Princess, but it was revised to have a smaller story. I really thought the gorgeous backgrounds in Together Again were works of ghostshrimp, but it was actually two other designers that did a fantastic job: Udo Jung and Julian De Perio, who both worked on BMO. I really love how each Dead World, even the unnamed realms, have a unique and abstract feel to them that you really can’t decipher if it’s peaceful or threatening. It also kind of makes you wonder how each works on an ethical standpoint – clearly the 1st Dead World is equivalent to Hell and the 50th is comparative to Heaven, but is there any true “ranking” that goes into the other Dead Worlds? If I had to guess, I’d say placement in a prospective Dead World connects to the values of the deceased. 30th Dead World feels like Tree Trunks’ meadow residence with added luxuries, while 45th Dead World appears to just be a very Homeworld-esque suburbia for loving families. Or, at least in this case, the Dog family. That being said, it kind of makes you wonder how some folks ended up where they did. You can’t tell me that my boy Choose Goose deserves to be rotting with Maja. (UPDATE: Well…)


We’re introduced to the offspring of Life and Death in this episode, simply named New Death. New Death is a bit of a pain in the ass throughout the run of this one. His rebellious teenager personality is amusing at first, but quickly tires out after a period of time. He really doesn’t take up a ton of time in the special itself, but any time he shows up, his presence really doesn’t add much, outside of a killer design by Iggy Craig. The one bit I did find genuinely intriguing from him was the moment at his demise when he solemnly mentions his mother’s name. Feel like it was surprisingly a bit ballsy to give him one moment of humanity before he is legitimately destroyed. Of course, the late Miguel Ferrer sadly could not reprise his role as Death, but it is cool seeing more into Life’s perspective. Life is another aspect of the special that feels like she was always meant to have a larger role in the series, but it just never was able to come into fruition. Her realm is similarly gorgeous, with lush ocean colors permeating throughout. I find Life’s personality as a sweet but relentless ruler that you do not want to mess with a lot of fun – it gives you a pretty good idea of why she had married Death in the first place.

I’ve been batting around with a lot of the less major stuff up to this point, so let’s get into the meat of this episode: Finn and Jake’s connection. I do feel like everything that is portrayed with Finn and Jake’s relationship in this episode gets the emotions right, but not always the characterization. Let me elaborate: nothing in this episode feels out of character or unlikable for the boys, but it also feels like there’s something slightly off or different about their individual roles. I think I could honestly just say this about Distant Lands in general, however. Considering that the writing staff is completely different, with the exception of Hanna K. Nyström, it’s really no wonder that this feeling arises, though I can’t entirely put my finger on it. There’s something a bit less goofy about it and slightly more straightforward when it comes to the humor and dialogue of Distant Lands that just feels lacking of a certain spunk and identity the original series had. Even certain lines, such as Finn’s “because it’s no jerks allowed!” felt especially corny for him to exclaim. It still captures the heart of Adventure Time, but I think any media franchise that runs for a period of time and changes teams majorly is going to run into this problem. Hell, comparing season 8 of Adventure Time with season 1 is literally comparing two radically different shows with radically different teams. Even the lack of Tim Kiefer is very apparent. Amanda Jones does an okay job at composing the score for the special, but there’s really nothing about it that connects to the essence of what Kiefer was doing. I really hate to complain, because nothing Distant Lands has done so far has been anywhere close to bad or disrespectful to the original series, but I think it’s one step at showing how much one team over the course of a few years really defined the series (Jesse, Tom, Pen, Steve, Ako, Rebecca, Somvilay, Seo, Adam, Graham, etc.) and how, as more spin-offs and reboots come into fruition down the line, it’s likely that the magic of the original will never truly be replicated.


But my bullshitting aside, I do think that the team behind Together Again did their damnedest to really paint a beautiful story among AT‘s baby boys. This is probably the most emotional we ever see Finn in the series, and I think it pays off super well. Finn and Jake’s brotherhood has always been the heart of the show, but Together Again really stresses how much Finn was never able to fully live the same again after Jake’s passing, and I think it makes total sense. Finn probably wasn’t that old when Joshua and Margaret passed, so Jake essentially doubled as both a brother and parent to Finn for so many years. That grief of losing someone is something that really never fades, and Together Again is genuinely relentless in showing that. It was especially devastating to see that Jake doesn’t initially recognize Finn, as he continues to fall into breakdown category. That poor boy just needs a squoze from his brother. Despite it being quite difficult to stomach, I do think that it ultimately makes sense that Jake would let go of all earthly possessions, as alluded to throughout the years in his desires to fulfill his croak dream. I’m sure it wasn’t something that he was consciously okay with from the start, but he let go as a means to find his inner peace and allow for his destiny to truly unfold. Finn, however, has never really been the destiny or holistic type; his true meaning in life comes from his dedication to others. It does make me wonder what Finn’s connection to the 37th Dead World is, considering that it was left mainly ambiguous in Sons of Mars. Since Jake initially ended up there, I wonder if it has something to do with selflessness. Jake chose to stay alive rather than fulfill his destiny on Mars because Finn needed him, and Finn likewise died on some sort of rescue mission it seems. That, or it’s where original Death would send people that he was tight with.

Although only about half the special focuses on their brotherly bond, there are tons of highlights throughout: Jake letting loose a toot while they try to be incognito, Jake offering caring advice when Finn feels at fault for New Death’s scheming, Finn’s admiration for Jake’s mermaid bod, the reunion of the Jakesuit, and many more. Even their overly aggressive fight is super endearing in their continued desire to protect and aide each other. And of course, one of their most cherished, shared activities is a good old-fashioned Lich fight! I gotta be honest y’all, I went from really not liking this shoe-horned inclusion to kind of digging it. I was pretty done with the Lich after his appearance in Whispers, where he was no longer intimidating and felt like he was about effective as any other villain in the series. Here… he’s still not very intimidating, but Ron Perlman’s voice acting is almost impossible to not be impressed by at all times. The Lich gets a few solid lines, namely “the spawn of life and death is a creature without purpose, fit only to be a pawn in my eternal quest to end all life.” Even though he is quickly disposed of, it seems apparent at this point that, like Life and Death, the Lich will always be around as an entity of destruction and death. And truthfully, I feel like the only appropriate way to cap off Finn and Jake’s role in the series is to have the Lich as the final big bad. The Lich was the first true trial in their journey as adventurers, and it feels appropriate that he would be their last as well. The ending is probably the highlight of the entire special. Once again emphasizing Finn’s need for Jake in his life, it’s super touching that Jake would give up a lifetime of enlightenment just to live with his bro again. Even before he joins, the tight hug Finn gives Jake shows that he’s probably not fully committed to letting go of his reincarnation dreams with Jake, and Jake has his own epiphany that the strength of his brotherhood outranks any type of Glob destiny that awaited him.


Together Again isn’t a perfect AT episode for me personally. Some of the character dialogue feels a little clunky, there’s maybe a bit too much fanservice, and it lacks that certain spunk of the original series that I had mentioned. But it’s so committed to being a love letter to everyone that cared so dearly about Finn and Jake that I really can’t have too much of an issue with it. Come Along With Me felt like a big jumbled mess that wanted to tie up any loose ends that it could in the span of an hour, while Together Again is very much committed to the heart of AT itself that it feels much more akin to a finale than the prior entry. So far, I think it’s probably the strongest of the DL specials, and a wonderful way to cap off the spin-off series as a whole.

… Oh yeah, we still have Wizard City. Huh.

Favorite line: “All I ask is for permission to use your bones…for a spell.“

Adventure Time, Animation, Lifestyles

“BMO” Review

Adventure Time Reviewed

BMO

Original Airdate: July 25, 2020

Written & Storyboarded by: Hanna K. Nyström, Iggy Craig, Laura Knetzger, Anna Syvertsson & Adam Muto

Before we start, I wanted to plug a project from my friend, Paul Thomas. Paul has written a really neat account of Adventure Time‘s production history, storytelling mechanics, and its fandom. I also contributed a small portion to the book as an interview piece in the fandom section, under my full name, Eric Stone. Though I haven’t been able to read through it fully yet, it’s a really detailed and packed novel that I think any Adventure Time fan should surely check out. You can read this novel here!

Welp, here we are kiddos! Most fandoms have to wait like, 10 years for new content after an original IP ends, the AT crowd has been blessed with new stuff only two years down the road! The sweet part about this is it probably wasn’t too hard to wrangle up most of the original crew (as of this episode, we have Adam Muto, Hanna K. Nyström, Jack Pendarvis, Andy Ristaino, Benjamin Anders, Anna Syvertsson, Laura Knetzger Michael DeForge, Jesse Balmer, Amber Blade Jones, the Frederator crew, and Tim Kiefer as returning members; correct me if I missed anyone) and the style is able to remain pretty true to the original, with some added upgrades. And for the most part, BMO does manage to capture that AT feel more than I was originally expecting from it.

bmo 1

As a precursor, I’ll mention that it’s good to be back in this role. I truly have missed talking about AT in any capacity, and honestly, it really took new content to get my motivation back again. It is definitely strange to be talking about it in this position – I had reviewed each episode long after their initial airdate. There’s a large community of cartoon reviewers that can probably get to this faster than I can and likely say everything that I would have already said otherwise. That being said, I hope that I continue to add a layer of freshness to these reviews and that there is still a desire for open discussion around this blog and its themes. That aside, let’s get down to the good stuff.

Distant Lands immediately sets itself apart by having a distinct opening that feels slightly alien in comparison to any AT content that we’ve seen prior. Despite its namesake, Distant Lands doesn’t borrow from Adventure Time‘s opening credits much at all. It appears each special will have its own unique opening, with the additional interstitial beginning that features a quick bombardment of past AT characters and moments. Lack of lyrical accompaniment aside, BMO‘s intro does follow the standard that most AT opening titles follow – it’s a sweeping journey, filled with familiar sounds, and an eventual climax to the central focus. This beautifully crafted CGI intro was animated by Encyclopedia Pictura, a film and animation studio that has worked on some really gnarly stuff, including music videos and bizarre, but beautiful, short films. Their attention to bright, vivid colors and smooth designs make me truly crave a fully guest animated 11 minutes from them, but I suppose we’re past that point… for now. The ending credits also feature a cameo of AstroBMO, which is a real life BMO that was sent into space!

bmo 2

I was initially a bit cautious about BMO having his own 44 minute special. With some clear exceptions, BMO is very much a comic relief character. She certainly has her depth and isn’t only good for jokes, but BMO isn’t necessarily an “epic” character by any means. Not to mention that Adventure Time has really only dabbled with the 44 minute formula once before with Come Along With Me and… yeah, that was a bit messy. I will say that the two aspects of the special I was most concerned about were actually some of the strongest elements. BMO, per usual, is his usual lovable self. Even if his dialogue isn’t laugh-worthy, it is undeniably charming. BMO’s bizarre dialogue and tendency to not understand structural sentences really never tires itself out, which could be chalked up to solid writing, but it’s also just Niki Yang being the absolute best at what she does. I don’t think I praise her enough on this blog, but Yang’s dedication to really embodying the character and knowing just how to hit all of the right notes for a successful delivery always pay off so well. I think voice actors very much embody their character and cannot be replaced, but there are surely occasional issues with delivery that can sink certain impactful moments for individual characters. I feel like Yang almost never skips a beat – almost because BMO’s inflections are, by nature, slightly monotonous, but I mean that in the most loving way. Even when just speaking in her natural voice, Yang recognizes how to add an extra bit of gusto every single time she gets in that recording booth.

BMO’s silly opening monologue is lots of fun, and it’s a great way to showcase all of the visual elements that this special has to offer. BMO alone gets a pass for being absolutely gorgeous – Adventure Time has never looked so good! The lush colors and richer backgrounds (though somewhat of a departure from the original series) felt like breath of fresh air. I mean, don’t get me wrong, Adventure Time has never looked bad (okay yes Seventeen exists. I know, guys) but the increased budget that Max has allowed for is certainly noteworthy and quite frankly exciting. Imagine what a Finn and Jake adventure is gonna look like on a high budget! Impressive colors and animation aren’t the only new element in the visuals department that BMO brings to the table – or in this case, an old element – the return of the eye whites! Eye whites were retired from the series around season two because Pen felt that it took viewers out of the universe and made characters feel less “human.” BMO is drawn with them as he transcends into The Drift, and while I’m not the hugest fan of them myself, it is kind of nice to see them back in this fashion. It’s a visual element that does add to Distant Lands‘ clear interest in expanding on the design of the original series. ALSO, it’s around this point that we meet Olive, one of the cooler characters that BMO dishes out. In typical AT fashion, Olive’s simple design is her biggest strength, being both very charming and intriguing from a minimalist perspective. Olive also provides for some gnarly shapeshifting moments, easily filling in Jake’s shoes while he’s absent.

bmo 3

After we get this establishing piece with BMO and Olive, we’re treated to another establishing piece within the Drift, where we meet the other featured characters and settings of this special, which are some of the weaker bits, in my eyes. Elaborating on what I said about the visuals above, the backgrounds within the Drift are gorgeous. They certainly are a bit of departure from what we’re used to seeing from the original series – Ghostshrimp’s backgrounds were filled to the brim with every possible apocalyptic Easter egg and neat hunk of junk that he could imagine, while the background artists clearly focused on more interesting textures and attention to color for BMO, and that works just as well. I was surprised to see just how thick some of the outlines were within several backdrops – really makes the whole thing feel like a comic in motion. Which… I suppose is exactly what animation is. Hmph.

It’s here that we’re introduced to Y-4 (later known as Y-5) who is… okay! I actually think her design is very cute and she’s competently portrayed by Glory Curda, but her character isn’t really super compelling in any way. That’s not to say that she’s bad! I didn’t actively dislike any aspect of her personality or arc, but it never really managed to grab me in one way or another. Her relationships with other characters end up putting her in pretty predictable spots, namely that her obedience to her parents would end up causing a tiff in her newly found friendship with BMO, and that her relationship with her parents would ultimately come to a resolve when they recognized the error of their ways. It’s all stories that we’ve seen in other movies and shows before, and while none of it is done badly, it’s not the type of story that I feel is captivating for me personally. I do have to give Adventure Time credit where its due because, while the parents that don’t trust their child is a trope that’s been tackled before, it’s a bit new to Adventure Time. Parental figures within the original series are usually just straightforward really shitty or astute moral guardians. Here, these parents act shitty, but it’s both resolved and tackled in somewhat interesting way regarding their unbridled faith towards governmental power.

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The aliens we see throughout this special, namely the Shells and the Elves, are decently fun. They have the same goofy disagreements that would be commonplace in Ooo, yet are unique in their foreign designs. I do think AT‘s character team is really smart with understanding what works for different settings; I don’t know what it is about the Elves and Shells, but they just feel like beings that wouldn’t really be fitting for Ooo, even if it is an open world for all kinds of weird inhabitants. These aliens feel akin to On the Lam, in the way that they aren’t a complete departure from AT‘s style, but feel off enough that they wouldn’t necessarily be roaming the Earth either. It’s also fun to see how, despite the fact that they’re portrayed as the antagonists, BMO’s kind of the asshole that gets in THEIR way, and the episode has a lot of fun with that. BMO is most fun when he’s only interested in satisfying his own needs and gives zero fucks about anything else. That’s not to say she isn’t still sweet and lovable, but anything that doesn’t directly inconvenience her isn’t really an issue. This also leads to one of the funniest moments in the episode, in which BMO is lauded for single-handedly saving everyone in The Drift… with the exception of the Elves’ leader. Let us also not forget the BMO is the one who caused this breach in the first place!

Y-5 and BMO’s relationship is pretty similar to the E.T. type kinship that has become commonplace in cinema and television, but it is, at the very least, delightful. They have some pretty humorous back-and-forths, with a highlight being BMO’s sass anytime Y-5 tries to question or contradict him. As they begin to explore The Drift further, we’re treated to a decent amount of world-building. I don’t think The Drift is especially mindblowing or distinctive from any other fictional space station, so it’s the AT charm that really helps set it apart from any other generic location. I love the parrot merchant shouting, “buy my eggs! Buy my eggs! Or I swear to Glob, I’ll eat them myself,” and the squidlike alien that wants to eat his space lards. Again, it’s cute how everyone treats BMO as this really noble and heroic icon when he clearly is just speaking from a child’s perspective. He likes the cute space lard, so he’s going to protect the cute space lard. That’s really all there is to do it. Long live BMO and her love for the name Ricky.

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Two characters I actually had completely forgotten about before rewatching are Sweetie and Darling, the heist bugs! I feel guilty even saying that because, while their designs are pretty unremarkable, they are plenty of fun. BMO’s second big task in the Drift is a rescue mission after a communications hub floods. This is one of my favorite bits of the special, namely because of how fluid the animation is throughout the entire sequence. There’s a ridiculous amount of motion during the scenes that feature Y-5 swimming, with so many little fun details that are easy to miss, such as BMO riding her head like a cowboy as she tries to communicate with her parents. It’s a scene that, again, would likely be an afterthought in terms of visual flair when Adventure Time was on a television budget, but now we’re on HBO, bitches! It really helps add to the general frantic nature of the sequence, and really pays off as a visual delight.

The main conflict really sets in when BMO is sent on a governmental mission by Hugo and Mr. M. Hugo is somewhat in the same realm of Y-5’s characters, though I’d say that Y-5 probably has more going for her. He’s mainly just there as plot device for villainy to take place – I’m not even entirely positive that I fully understand his story or his plan. So, he was a human who sought to survive the apocalypse of mankind by traveling out into space and he made a compromise with aliens to remove the humanity of himself and his crew. That succeeded… but also caused some sort of societal collapse? And then as they were drifting through space, Olive picked them up and warped them into the Drift, and then Hugo decided to proclaim himself as the leader? It’s an arc that, unless I’m missing something, feels like a haphazard attempt at world-building and doesn’t seem concise in its characterization or the timeline it wants to set up. Were Hugo and crew members just floating through space for hundreds of years? I dunno, I guess it doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things. It’s cool we get to learn more about the other options of humanity following the Great Mushroom War, and the best part of all? The entire backstory sequence is animated by David freakin’ Ferguson himself! It was really nice seeing his style back once again, especially with the manner in which it was utilized. I’m glad that, despite the overwhelmingly negative reception Water Park Prank got, Ferguson still got the chance to come back and share his unique artwork with a mainstream audience. You da man, Ferguson!

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Mr. M, on the other hand, is a really interesting side villain, mainly because of the fact that he quite obviously is none other than Martin Mertens! Well, maybe not entirely obvious, but enough information is presented to draw up a conclusion. I really like the fact that, despite the fact that Mr. M is very clearly supposed to be Martin, the episode never outright has him reveal himself. There’s the certain bit of anticipation throughout the special that he will be exposed, but you never truly get that full satisfaction, which in turn makes the payoff even more satisfying. It personally reminded me of the visual gag of Dr. Princess dressing up as Science Whyzard, only with much more purpose and attention this time around. There’s several different indicators that Mr. M is Martin Mertens, including quotes that he’s used before previously, the fact that his feet are very clearly human, and the namesake alone. There are some additions that I don’t really care for, like the fact that Mr. M jokes with Y-5’s parents about being called out for their deadbeat nature. It’s throwaway line that’s only used to further identify Martin, but since he didn’t have a tumultuous relationship with his son at this point in the timeline, it just doesn’t really make sense. Of course, I’ll discuss more about the fact that this special is a prequel later on, but might I just add that I’m glad it is, because if Martin’s cosmic destiny just meant he was a grifter in space elsewhere, that would be really fucking lame.

The eventual tiff between Y-5 and BMO is played out in a way that mirrors this type of trope in most buddy-buddy stories, so it doesn’t feel particularly enticing when you can kind of seeing it coming from their first interaction together. Thankfully, the drama isn’t played up too much, and BMO has lots of funny lines to make up for it, including “I have no feelings,” followed almost immediately by “you make my feelings happy!” It does help provide for a solo BMO journey into the Jungle Pod, which ends up making for the best parts of the episode. I standby the idea that all of BMO’s strongest moments are just when he’s alone and chatting to himself. Or, in this case Football, who increasingly becomes a coping mechanism to help BMO deal with the thoughts and fears inside of her head. This mechanism of placing her own fear onto her imaginary friend only gets BMO so far, as she finds herself in certain danger pretty quickly. The winged crabs were also a nice touch for this special, which I’m pretty sure was a reference to Abstract, was it not? When Jake’s alien form sprouts wings, BMO accuses Jake of being a “crab.” Maybe I’m digging too deep, but I thought of this almost immediately. It’s a shame Crusty died as quickly as he lived. R.I.P. my man.

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Things take a very dramatic turn when BMO is ripped apart after taking the Jungle Pod’s crystal, where we are treated to what feels like a classic AT bad trip. In a similar fashion to BMO Noire, Niki Yang delivers each line as she normally would for BMO, yet the framework of the scene helps it to come across in a much more unnerving fashion. Because of BMO’s role as a child, any mention of death or substantially dark topics come across in this really uncomfortable fashion, and I mean that in the best way. Like previous BMO entries such as BMO Noire, BMO Lost, and The More You Moe, The Moe You Know, BMO understands how to balance the humor of the character, as well as the very dark reality that he’s only a mere child in a very threatening world. BMO’s colorful subconscious returns during his “death” and reminds him of the inevitable: that he is just a lil kid in a big world that’s often times difficult to navigate. Again, I think it’s kind of a familiar path for this type of story to take – the hero discovers he/she is in over their head and temporarily admits defeat. But since it’s portrayed in such a dark, visually interesting matter that only AT could pull off so well, I really don’t mind it at all.

The climax of the episode, which involves Y-5 rebelling against her parents in order to save BMO. It’s where we meet CGO, who had appeared earlier in the episode for a brief moment, and heard singing the Frasier theme song. I do like how the major connections to the old world are mainly drawn through theme songs of classic sitcoms. CGO is a fun little bot herself, kind of reminding me of a toned down Carroll. Her introduction also provides for a genuinely emotional moment in the episode in which Y-5 breaks down into tears after learning the truth about Hugo. It’s a small, quiet moment, but it’s quite impactful. Y-5 is essentially learning that everything she has worked hard for to achieve, whether for herself or for her parents, has virtually been for nothing, and that the only one who could have saved her might be dead. AT‘s sadness is usually confined to these quiet, ambiguous moments, but Y-5’s sadness takes the Steven U route of being heavily tearful, which hits pretty hard. Of course, BMO ain’t dead though, you dumb babies!! He is revived in the midst of Y-5’s breakdown, and the two travel to save The Drift together.

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Hugo is outed, and though I don’t think his plan is entirely fleshed out, his argument against the citizens is pretty interesting. It’s not really a good argument; Hugo’s essentially just saying that the citizens of The Drift are just as selfish as him because they didn’t really care about what happened to it as long as they were able to leave. It does tie into the fact that civilization and humanity in of itself is predominantly selfish, and Hugo believes he’s truly just one of those citizens that happened to have made it out on top. The climax comes together in a pretty satisfying way, as the many minor characters that we’ve met throughout this special team up to stop Hugo from destroying The Drift. Y-5 also makes amends with her parents, which does feel earned in the sense that her parents feel like decently rational people by the end of it, despite their shitty ways. And best of all, Olive gets what she always wanted – and presumably Hugo as well – a friend!

The ending of BMO closes out with the biggest surprise and possibly the biggest delight of all: it was a prequel! For the first time ever in AT‘s history, we get to see a toddler version of Finn and a teenage version of Jake! It’s a really sweet twist that makes any qualms that I would have with the story, such as Martin being a space grifter, essentially moot. Though I’m not necessarily free of qualms with this twist. A lot of people have brought up that BMO’s characterization is way different in BMO than it was earlier in the series. I would somewhat agree with this, though not necessarily entirely. I don’t think BMO was ever really that uniquely different early on in the series, besides being a bit more robotic and snarky. He still had a sense of childlike wonder, it just wasn’t fully realized yet. Even then, he’s frequently referred to as a “sassy robot” in BMO, so the snarky aspects of his character really aren’t all missing entirely. I will say that one issue I do have with the continuity is that I think it kinda stinks that BMO was going on these massive adventures before he even met Finn and Jake. The early days of BMO’s journeys involved him mainly playing with himself (hardy har har) and making his own fun/drama. Hell, the events of The More You Moe, The Moe You Know are acknowledged as his “greatest adventure ever,” yet he was traveling through time and space since the beginning? A little hard to believe.

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Overall though, I quite enjoyed BMO, even more so on my second watch! It isn’t perfect – the story and characters feel a bit cookie cutter at times and there’s never really a point, aside from the ending, where you feel like you don’t know where the general structure is going, which isn’t usually that commonplace with Adventure Time. But it’s a thoroughly fun and endearing special that succeeded way beyond my expectations. I really didn’t think a silly BMO entry would be able to hold a 45 minute period, but it does so tremendously well, and BMO is actually the best part of it! Shouldn’t have doubted the lil guy. This definitely was a great start to reignite my interest and love for the series, and though it probably could have been stronger on certain levels, it was a fun, beautiful, and sweet journey that has me pumped for the future of Distant Lands.

Favorite line: “He died as he lived: sucking big time.”

Adventure Time, Animation, Lifestyles

The Worst of Adventure Time Episodes!

Adventure Time Reviewed

Well gang, here they are! The episodes that I would consider to be some of AT‘s biggest failures. I’ll remind y’all of my contingencies for this list that I included in my Top 10 Best Episodes:

  • It should go without saying that everything compiled onto this list is entirely my own opinion. This is, by no means, a compilation of episodes that are considered the worst of all time. It merely exists as an entirely opinionated listing of episodes that I find to be pretty stink-o after years of watching the series. I welcome with open arms constructive debating if one of your personal picks didn’t make the list, but this ain’t an outlet to complain about my list aligning with your own. You’re all good boys and girls, though. I trust y’all.
  • Some of you may realize that the choices on my list may not have gotten the number one spot on my season reviews, which is simply because my opinion has shifted over time. In fact, most of the “Top 5” lists for each season are irreversible, or at least the top 3. After much time spent thinking and going over which episodes truly left me with a bad taste, I think this list will be the most accurate compilation to date. But again, check back with me in three years and see what I have to say.

Top 10 Worst Episodes

10. Son of Rap Bear

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If there was any Adventure Time episode that even gave me hints of secondhand embarrassment, it would probably be Son of Rap Bear. Adventure Time has always incorporated rap in hints and little tidbits throughout the show’s history, and while there’s definitely an atmosphere of these instances feeling self-aware, there’s also the reality that they just aren’t self-aware enough. Son of Rap Bear is kind of the pinnacle of that lack of awareness, trying to do its best to be hip and goofy at the same time, but trying waaay too hard in the process and feeling laughable at that. It doesn’t really help that this is Flame Princess’s last big role in the series and it’s wasted on a minuscule story that doesn’t really leave us with anything telling about her character. Adventure Time‘s final season had a plethora of somewhat pitiful “shitty dad” stories, and Son of Rap Bear was the first instance that showed this recurring theme didn’t really have anything more to say. Something that would have been cool is if Marceline taught Flame Princess how to channel her feelings towards her father into her music. It at least would have been something different, but instead, we get a really cliched, repetitive story that feels more like a Hanna-Barbera special than Adventure Time.

9. Slow Love

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Adventure Time has always, in my eyes, stood out for its unique and interesting one-off characters that always manage to leave a lasting impression. Snorlock is one of those characters that, like many, shows up only to never appear again. Though, I’d say there are some pretty good reasons for that. The entirety of Slow Love encompasses Finn and Jake’s sympathy for this really obnoxiously unsympathetic character that never really warrants any kind of compassion to begin with. It’s one that easily evades my memory – it isn’t particularly funny, nor is it visually interesting, aside from some cool misty shots of the Grasslands. It’s a story that sounds okay from a conceptual stage, but really, there’s not a ton to expand on. It’s just a drawn out 11 minutes of one idea that doesn’t particularly work to the strength of its characters.

8. Gut Grinder

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Gut Grinder is surprisingly significant in how generally insignificant it is for Adventure Time standards. And I don’t mean because it doesn’t directly affect the mythos of the series, it just doesn’t really possess any of the charm or delight of a typically fun Adventure Time entry. From a first watch, it already feels like a predictable story without much setting it apart or breaking tropes, and any further rewatches don’t necessarily offer much in terms of humor or visual splendor. This episode did offer up Finn’s memorable line of “justice never sleeps,” but as for the rest of it, it just kind of feels like a slog. It’s a story that’s been done a million times prior, and unlike usual, Adventure Time doesn’t really take a unique twist on it to make it stand out more. It’s definitely the first episode I think of when I think of a forgettable Adventure Time entry. Does… does that make it less forgettable? Hm.

7. Marcy & Hunson

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I originally had Son of Rap Bear in this spot, but honestly, after rewatching Marcy & Hunson for the purpose of this list, I forgot how frustrating this entire episode is. The last episode with Hunson Abadeer as character was five years prior to this episode, and it’s pretty noticeable right from the get-go how much time has passed. The staff doesn’t really seem to understand Hunson from a character perspective anymore, and he’s boiled down to just a straight up dumbass. Most of the intricate dad conflict stories in the final season were squandered by making each of these unique personalities inseparable. Hunson’s no longer the devious, sophisticated, conniver that he was in his first three appearances and deviates into a big goofy dork that breaks Marceline’s shitter and doesn’t understand how to not embarrass her at a concert. Marceline has also changed a lot since her days resenting her dad and is more of a blank slate throughout the entirety of these 11 minutes. It’s alright though, because instead of presenting her as the fun and enjoyable character that she was while Hunson was around, she becomes a vessel to spoon feed all the hungry babies in the audience their yummy, yummy Bubbline references! Marcy & Hunson also has the displeasure of feeling like a rehash of the past two entries featuring Hunson and Marceline while lacking what made them unique and interesting. Not to mention this is another episode in the season that shoehorns in the Gumbald family conflict without really having much to say or add to it. Aside from some nice exchanges between Finn and Jake, this one is a definite misfire.

6. Water Park Prank

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There was a time when I thought that Water Park Prank was the worst episode Adventure Time has ever put out, but I think I’ve actually warmed up to it a bit over time. I mean, don’t get me wrong. I still think it’s pretty damn bad. BUT, I respect it for what it is. The mastermind behind this episode is David Ferguson, a Scottish animator with a very neat and cute style. Unfortunately, I don’t think his style, writing or design wise, truly fit Adventure Time‘s mold. The main takeaway that I think sticks with everyone is Finn’s design – the eye whites, stretched mouth, and pointed nose are features that make him look super unappealing and unrecognizable. I think the other designs are mostly endearing, but Finn’s is definitely the one that sticks out the most and the one that everybody seems to remember. The script for the episode is also super juvenile, feeling like it doesn’t just quite get Adventure Time‘s humor. I had the same issue with A Glitch is a Glitch, but where I’ve grown to appreciate that episode’s visual flare over time, Water Park Prank is one that doesn’t have me consistently coming back. As I mentioned on my review of the episode, I do encourage everyone to check out Ferguson’s work on his Vimeo. Ferguson is very multi-talented when it comes to tackling different animation styles, and his work is much more fluid on his own terms and not weighed down by network budget restrictions.

5. Princess Day

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I always think this one is a shame, because an episode featuring all of the princesses of Ooo in one space is, on its own, a really promising concept. Yet, we’re treated to a needlessly mean-spirited romp that feels like its trying to be poetic in its attitudes of rebellion, but entirely misses the mark. I’ve said it before on the review itself, but this is one of those few episodes that I feel has a really shitty moral for the kiddos watching at home. I’m all for the mindset that there’s no real sense of wholly good or bad when it comes to individuals, but the attitude that it’s okay to do bad shit if they’re only “mistakes,” is really quite jarring. This is the same episode where LSP and Marceline physically assault BP’s guards, hit BP with her own car that they stole, and then end up destroying that same car by the end of the episode. In what sense is that a mistake? Princess Day is an attempt to bring two of Adventure Time‘s most insubordinate characters together to help them relate and connect to each other’s experience, but it does so in such a tone-deaf and unpleasant way that it probably wasn’t even worth it to begin with.

4. The Prince Who Wanted Everything

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The Prince Who Wanted Everything is the moment that I realized that I was perfectly fine with never seeing Fionna and Cake again. While the first two entries proved to be satirical, yet sweet riffs of modern day fanfiction, The Prince Who Wanted Everything pretty much discounts that entirely by desperately trying to get us to stay invested in these characters that don’t even really set themselves apart anymore. I’ve mentioned how LSP’s incessant vanity can severely impact the quality of an episode, and The Prince Who Wanted Everything celebrates it in the most unappealing of ways. The jokes and story are just slight variations of everything we’ve already seen from this character prior, with nothing new to add. The Prince Who Wanted Everything also has one of the worst songs in the entire series, which is the first apparent notion that Fionna and Cake probably wasn’t worth salvaging after Sugar’s departure. Aside from Peter Serafinowicz’s strong performance as Lumpy Space Prince, this is one that just feels tiresome.

3. Cherry Cream Soda

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Cherry Cream Soda starts out strong in its first minute or two in showing the grieving process of CCS after her husband was killed one season prior, but then it divulges into a confusing, uncomfortable mess that retcons a previous plot point for the sake of fanservice. It’s funny, because I don’t think people were mad because they would never see Root Beer Guy again. I think they were mad only because his death was handled in an unnecessarily tasteless way. I certainly didn’t think the gag death was particularly funny, but I also wasn’t vying for more RBG episodes anyway. He did his part in Root Beer Guy quite well and that’s all I needed to see. So the fact that this episode wants me to care about his comically soap opera-ish relationship is just too much to ask for. I think if this episode took a similar route to Root Beer Guy and showed the realistic struggles of adulthood and having a grip on one’s own identity through CCS’s point of view, it could’ve worked out a lot better. Instead, we get this really pointless resurrection of a character that ultimately amounts to nothing, simply because the series didn’t have the balls to keep him dead.

2. The Red Throne

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While many disagree, I honestly think season five’s “Finn is a horny douchebag” arc wasn’t particularly bothersome for myself. I think it’s okay to take characters in a controversial or unlikable direction if it’s done right, intentionally, and is building to a larger developmental path for the character. People seem to think the same for Steven’s role in Steven Universe Future, but like, do you really want these nice characters to be absolutely perfect at all times? The humanity of both Finn and Steven is that they aren’t perfect people, and the best way to show us that is to show them at their lowest points. The Red Throne, however, takes this one step beyond by making Finn practically sociopathic for comedic purposes. Like, there’s being desperate, and then there’s just being legitimately predatory. Yeah, he’s 15 and this is typically when kiddos struggle with their horny demons, but the choice to make it the butt of several continuous gags and jokes just does not work. Nor does it make for something I actually want to watch, especially with a character I love so dearly. Every episode where Finn acts in a manipulative way has some sort of reason or purpose for putting Finn in such a light – his longing for the old days in Too Old, his battle with loyalty in Rattleballs. The Red Throne just seeks to make him as pathetic as possible to show that even a dumbass like Cinnamon Bun looks better in comparison, but there’s a way of doing this that doesn’t completely decimate the foundation of Finn’s character in an attempt for cheap gags. Though, that’s not the episode’s only sin. It’s weighed down by really shitty pacing and an awful, overly long bit of referential humor that I can guarantee 90% of the audience didn’t catch onto. This is also an FP-centric episode where she really doesn’t get to do much unfortunately, because I guess Seo and Somvy were more interested in what other aspects the episode had to offer. Which, unfortunately, were not much, and still leave me with a bad taste in my mouth to this day.

1. Fionna and Cake and Fionna

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From one of Adventure Time‘s best seasons, we have one of, if not the worst episode the series has ever churned out. The word “pretentious” has been thrown around a lot about the past couple seasons of AT, but no episode strikes me as more pretentious than Fionna and Cake and Fionna – an episode that so desperately wants to keep these characters as a part of this world that they would throw such an unbelievable doozy into the lore to do so. I guess every citizen of Ooo is just coincidentally a carbon copy of those from the Fionna and Cake TV show? There’s hints by the end of it that this may not be the case, but since nothing else was done with it, there’s very little to the imagination. This also just isn’t a fun episode in the slightest. No good Ice King quotes or moments, a super unremarkable one-off character, standard visuals, and pretty lame Fionna and Cake moments that don’t add much to help stretch out the episode. It’s essentially just an episode that exists to incorporate forced lore that nobody even asked for. Remember in Mystery Dungeon when the show made fun of the idea that Fionna and Cake would cross over with reality? Well, here we are four years later, where the series is doing it for real with complete sincerity! I’m bashing Fionna and Cake a lot on this list, and I really think that while they make for one of the show’s greatest successes, they also embody one of the show’s biggest failures. They emphasize the staff’s collective hubris and unshaken faith in this concept. That, even though Fionna and Cake are so well-received, maybe they don’t HAVE to appear every season. Maybe we COULD just leave it to those two episodes. Considering that I almost never see Fionna and Cake diehards talking about this episode, or even the last three F&C entries, I think it’s pretty clear that even that section of the fanbase had enough. It’s just a shame that it took an entirely bizarre and scattershot idea to finish off Fionna and Cake for good, leaving nothing but bitterness and confusion behind in the process.

Adventure Time, Animation, Lifestyles

The Best of Adventure Time Episodes!

Adventure Time Reviewed

This is one that I’ve been a pretty excited for. Let me start out with a bit of a precursor:

  • It should go without saying that everything compiled onto this list is entirely my own opinion. This is, by no means, a compilation of episodes that are considered the most popular of all time. It merely exists as an entirely opinionated listing of episodes that I find to be terrific after years of watching the series. I welcome with open arms constructive debating if one of your personal picks didn’t make the list, but this ain’t an outlet to complain about my list aligning with your own. You’re all good boys and girls, though. I trust y’all.
  • Some of you may realize that the choices on my list may not have gotten the number one spot on my season reviews, which is simply because my opinion has shifted over time. In fact, most of the “Top 5” lists for each season are irreversible, or at least the top 3. After much time spent thinking and going over which episodes truly impacted me, I think this list will be the most accurate compilation to date. But again, check back with me in three years and see what I have to say.

Without further ado, I give you my top 10 best episodes of Adventure Time!

Top 10 Best Episodes

10. Evergreen

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Adventure Time‘s lore is rich and expansive, but Evergreen is a testament to how strong it really is. Outside of the fact that it is providing information into one of the show’s longest running mysteries, it just makes for a terrific tale. Evergreen feels like an old children’s fable at heart, with a cautionary message tacked on about respecting and treating the people in your life properly. Evergreen is also the series at its most beautiful, with beautifully crafted background, designs, locations, and lighting that really make the whole thing pop. This one was boarded by Tom and Steve, though Steve admits that it’s really Tom’s baby. I love these two as a team, but I really connect with Tom’s stuff the most. The man is a master storyteller, and I think Evergreen is a passion project that certainly proves how much creativity explodes into his work.

9. Cloudy

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Cloudy isn’t a standalone episode, by any means. It’s apart of the Elements miniseries, and one of the few filler entries of said miniseries at that. That didn’t stop Cloudy from being the strongest episode of Elements, let alone every miniseries to date. Cloudy was spawned from an idea by Pat McHale that came around during the first season. The idea was that Finn and Jake would get stuck up in the sky and just talk for the entire episode about relationships, Finn’s past, Jake’s dog side, where their lives will lead, and so on. Cloudy sticks to most of that, while taking its own creative liberties in how far our characters have come since the beginning. The jokes, story, and interactions are mostly simple in the most delightful way possible, though Cloudy does have a strong emotional core. Jake finally outwardly acknowledges the stress within him that he doesn’t like to talk about because he’s supposed to keep it together. As close as Finn and Jake are, you really get the idea that they’re so much more closer because they’re able to be so transparent with each other. Cloudy is an episode that celebrates these two lovely boys that we’ve come to know for so long, in what is probably the sweetest AT episode of all time.

8. The Eyes

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An early example of an episode that really opened my eyes (no pun intended) to the show’s true merit. The Eyes is a hilarious situational episode that pits the boys against a poo-brained horse that won’t stop watching them no matter how many times they try to divert its attention. Confusion and frustration are two moods that I often find the funniest to deal with, and watching Jake and Finn become absolutely delirious as they fail time and time again really never wears on me no matter how many times I watch it. It’s also just a really strong episode that showcases their brotherly bond. Even as they begin to bicker, they recognize that the situation at hand is driving them apart, not each other. Couple that with an Ice King appearance that makes for both a really fun, fast-paced battle sequence, but also a bittersweet revelation from the old coot: that he just wanted to watch Finn and Jake so he could learn how to be happy. I’ve pointed to What is Life? as a key moment in Ice King’s transition into a more sympathetic character, but I really feel like The Eyes kicked it into full gear. It’s both really funny and super sad to hear him admit that he’s still unhappy as the episode draws to a close, and I feel like it’s the perfect, quiet closing to an episode that is otherwise restless. In the best way possible, of course.

7. Time Sandwich

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It’s funny because Jake’s self-entitled episode from earlier in Season Five feels almost less representative of Jake than Time Sandwich does. Jake the Dog seems to only really recognize the less than optimistic side of Jake’s personality: his selfishness and his ability to be easily distracted. Time Sandwich focuses instead on the simple kindness of Jake’s character in the most effective way possible. While it’s fun to have the entire gang together in general, Time Sandwich is a hilarious, memorable, and sweet treat. As the band member with the least baggage, it’s really nice to see everyone stand behind Jake, putting their own resilience to the table for something as simple as a sandwich. Even after forming the “ultimate sandwich,” Jake’s first instinct is to share his creation with his friends, rather than to hog it for himself. It’s a tiny moment that really goes a long way in showing why this mission is so important, and even more triumphant when Jake does get his big, glorious win in the end.

6. All the Little People

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Certainly the most Twilight Zone-esque episode of the series, All the Little People is a really intriguing exploration of a power struggle during Finn’s formative years. A good chunk of it could have easily been dismissed as mean-spirited, promiscuous nonsense, but the episode is very smart with making Finn’s role as a god more out of curiosity than out of malice. After all, he’s not doing anything to purposely hurt the little people, and there is the consistent excuse that they’re “only toys.” Of course, it still goes to pretty dark places, as Finn soon discovers that his experimenting does have consequences and he is determined to make things right in the end. All the Little People exists not only as a fascinating concept, but as a really neat exploration of the Finn’s entrance into adolescence.

5. Incendium

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Adventure Time has gotten a lot of flack over the years for being stagnant in its growth and development. While the show’s more ballsy decisions definitely arise later, I still think its early seasons were dedicated to the expansion of its characters. Aside from Holly Jolly Secrets, Incendium is one of the first big 360s for the series, acting as a culmination of Finn’s failed romantic advances towards Bubblegum, and an explosion of raw, powerful bits of teen angst. The two songs within this episode “All Gummed Up Inside” and “All Warmed Up Inside,” are some of my favorite in the entire series, allowing Rebecca Sugar to really nail it in releasing that sweet, sweet emotion that she loves so dearly with the former. Incendium is also quite beautiful, containing some of my favorite imagery and music in the series, namely when Flame Princess ignites the Tree House. It’s also quite funny, featuring two of my favorite side characters in the series: Flame King and Flambo. Along with a pretty strong introduction for Flame Princess, who, even at her most basic and one-note, makes a very powerful impression right off the bat.

4. I Remember You

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I know, I know. I’m basic. But I Remember You is too damn good, y’all! It really brings together some of the strongest writing in the series, being essentially a bottle episode that exists to explore the unfiltered relationship between two characters. It reminds me a lot of All in the Family‘s episode Two’s a Crowd, which is primarily a very similar concept – two polar opposites are forced to spend time together and discover an emotional center about the other through their bonding. Except in this case, the bond is already there, Ice King just isn’t able to discover such an element. The songs, per expected, are terrific; some of the best in the series. I know a lot of people who have loved ones with Alzheimer’s really identify with this episode because of its themes, and while I can’t necessarily say I’ve lived through similar experiences, I still think the episode is powerful whether you relate to the situation or not. It’s simply an impactful story that finally tackles the true reality of Ooo’s past and present, helping the show to grow and expand because of it.

3. The More You Moe, The Moe You Know

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Adventure Time has always hit it out of the park when it comes to tackling the subject of growing up, and how utterly terrifying the thought of it can be. Normally we see these themes through Finn’s perspective, but The More You Moe, The Moe You Know gives BMO a chance to deal with his own feelings of being forced into growth. The episode really never strays away from some of harsher elements that life often presents – this certainly isn’t your “yeah, everything is gonna be okay in the end!” type of story. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. BMO’s creator is dead, he killed his brother, and he’s left with the uncertainty of his own being. The More You Moe, The Moe You Know is quite explicit in showing that life really doesn’t always end up alright and that there are tragedies that can occur quite literally out of nowhere. It certainly isn’t bleak in its execution, however. BMO is left with the consolation that, as long as he always trusts his own intuition, he’ll be alright. Similar to Herpich and Wolfhard’s other half hour special, Lemonhope, this episode is packed with a lot of cinematic moments – namely any time BMO reflects on what it means to be grown. Its lovely imagery and commitment to the darker aspects of its themes is what makes The More You Moe, The Moe You Know stick out as one of the strongest.

2. You Forgot Your Floaties

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You Forgot Your Floaties is unlike anything I’ve ever seen in an animated series aimed at children, and it doesn’t ever act like it’s trying to be anything else. Sadness and loss are themes that the series has been no stranger to either, with Season Six in particular exploring depression as much as possible. While Finn’s own personal turmoil is resolved a few episodes later, You Forgot Your Floaties deals primarily with two people who are unable to cope with the losses that life has dealt them. Magic Man and Betty are two characters that I never thought would make a good pairing, yet they are so ingeniously tied together because of their dedication to their late spouses. At first, I was really sure how to feel about Magic Man being painted as a more sympathetic, human character, but I think the episode’s dedication to showing how madness and sadness are interconnected really goes a long way in showing the intricacies of his past. The scenes from his past with M.A.R.G.L.E.S. always leave me awestruck – I suck Tom Kenny’s dick nearly everyday on this blog, but I think this is surely one of his most standout roles in the series. And speaking of standout roles, this is also one for Jesse Moynihan. This is definitely an example of Moynihan at his most unhinged, as he’s allowed complete creative freedom to go absolutely bonkers. In doing so, he whipped up the show’s most ambitious effort to date.

1. The Hall of Egress

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Easily the most interesting 11 minute cartoon I’ve pretty much ever seen. Egress is a simple story that works surprisingly well for its repetitive nature, going to dark places that do a better job of expanding Finn’s growth into adulthood than words ever could. This is an episode that forces Finn into a role of independence after years of relying on those around him to make everything better. It’s his first real step into the unknown as he depends on his own intuition and instincts to help him through. Similar to other Herpich entries, Egress feels almost like a cinematic experience. It’s as creative as ever, with beautiful imagery, an intricate setting, and enough complexities that could allow for hour long analyses on the topic. Possibly Egress‘s best quality is that it’s primarily standalone, and you can pretty much show this to people who have never seen the series and not lose much. This is always my go-to for friends who haven’t watched the show before, and the reaction is usually pretty positive (though slightly confused at the same time). For so long, Adventure Time fans have been craving its ongoing story and nothing else. Egress is an example of “filler” that goes above and beyond just merely connecting to existing threads and provides an example of the series at in its most passionate and creative form.

Stay tuned next time for the WORST of Adventure Time Episodes!

Adventure Time, Animation, Lifestyles

Season Nine Review

Adventure Time Reviewed

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Has anyone realized yet that I always start the season reviews with a picture of Finn and Jake and sometimes other people hugging? Seriously, look at every other season review. Even the miniseries reviews had ’em. I’ve worked really hard on finding these hugging pics guys. I honestly think that shit ties this entire blog together. It’s my true magnum opus.

Anywho, season nine! Season nine is probably the weakest Adventure Time season to date. There has been a couple of seasons that I didn’t really connect with on a greater scale. Season 5.1 kind of strikes me as slightly hit-or-miss with not many episodes that truly stood out. If we’re taking Cartoon Network’s rebrand into consideration (of which I’m really starting to regret not following, I feel like I’ve ultimately dated this blog for future readings) Season 7 wasn’t too hot either. I think Season 9 stands out more than others on a quality front because:

  1. It is the last season of the series, after all.
  2. It’s shorter than every other season to date.

The second aspect is interesting, because I don’t necessarily think a smaller quantity equals a lesser quality – in fact, it’s usually the opposite. But in this case, it’s noticeable because Season 9 mainly spends its time focusing on a more serialized story arc, rather than following the show’s previous attempts at being episodic. Considering that I think the Gumbald arc sort of falls apart by the finale (though it was never especially interesting to begin with) it makes the season feel more wasted, even if I do appreciate that it was giving fans what they wanted after so long: a continuing story, not weighed down by filler.

I have a weird relationship with Adventure Time‘s attempts at serialization. I’m not necessarily opposed to the idea, but this is a series that was kind of built on the foundation of having little-to-no continuing story. That’s not to say it can’t change – Steven Universe was also kind of in the same boat in its first season (and in some respects, the seasons that followed it) until committing to a more ongoing storyline. Part of what makes Adventure Time so unique, however, is that it can kind of do whatever it wants whenever it wants with very little limitations at hand. A serialized story, while more rewarding in a sense, actually makes Adventure Time‘s individual entries standout less. I remember Always BMO Closing less as a fun BMO and Ice King adventure and more as a dull continuation of Gumbald’s story. Marcy & Hunson isn’t allowed to just focus on the already tumultuous relationship between Marceline and her father, but it also has to shoehorn in a secondary forced conflict with Princess Bubblegum’s cousin Chicle. Then again, Adventure Time ‘s eight season was almost exclusively bigger, serialized stories with very few standalone entries, and it proved to be one of the show’s best. So does it just boil down to poor quality in general?

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I think it’s easy to kind of jump on the idea that Season Nine COULD HAVE been better had the series not ceased production so early or if there were more episodes in general. But I think there’s also the possibility that AT may have just run its course. Not saying that it’s the obvious answer (we’ll see how Distant Lands fairs) but I think there’s a definite chance that the series, seven years old by this point and 260 episodes in, just wasn’t able to delight and surprise as it once did. Don’t get me wrong, Season Nine had some goodies. Blenanas was just the kind of standalone madness that I had been craving from AT by the time it aired. The Wild Hunt boasted some of the show’s slickest animation and storyboarding yet. Ring of Fire, despite the criticism facing it, was a delightfully horny Tree Trunks entry. But, even then, the entries that are great or good don’t really even rank among a top 10 or anything. Likewise, the episodes that are bad aren’t horrendously bad, but they’re also a special kind of mediocre that I’m not really used to seeing from the series.

Jake the Starchild was this really big culmination of a lot of elements that were built up throughout the series and it kind of just ended with these elements going absolutely no where. I know one could argue that Adventure Time is no stranger to holding the status quo oh-so-dear, but at this point in the series, I’d like to see some actual punches thrown. It doesn’t even really have to be a gamechanger by any means necessarily, but just do SOMETHING new with this story element that quite honestly wrapped up perfectly fine in Abstract, even without lasting consequences. While The Wild Hunt boasted some of the best animation in the series, Seventeen exhibited some of the worst, feeling like a mish-mash of storyboards that just felt super unpolished. Hunson & Marcy, aside from bits of forced conflict, brought back a long-running antagonist only to basically execute an exact repeat of all of his spotlight episodes thus far. Comparing it to the previous season once more, I feel like Season Eight seemed to address the show’s longstanding complaints by closing doors and offering more immediate satisfaction and overarching stories. Season Nine, while keeping in the spirit of what Season Eight wanted to accomplish, feels like one step back in its execution of these events.

The actual story arcs weren’t particularly strong either. I’ve gone on and on about how Gumbald’s arc fell flat in previous reviews, so I wouldn’t be adding much by elaborating on it here. At the very least, I will say that the Gumbald stuff isn’t awful, nor does it ruin any aspect of the series for me. It just isn’t very good and kind of squanders the potential of the last handful of episodes, but it’s executed in a quick and painless way and at least provides for some (relatively) interesting bits of PB’s past. I said “story arcs” above, but truthfully, that’s pretty much it. Fern gets some flack throughout, and while I don’t think his ending was particularly strong, I think his recurring role in the series probably makes for some of Season Nine’s strongest points, namely his battle with Finn in Gumbaldia. Otherwise, that’s kind of it for ongoing arcs. There’s a few episodes with Jake and his dad that go nowhere, as well as setup for GOLB, but most of that is dealt with in the finale.

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It’s difficult to talk about the success of boarding teams this season since there’s so few episodes. Per usual, Sam Alden hopped around from partner to partner, and almost always did great wherever he landed. Current and old AT staff members hopped on board to assist every now and then, which was a treat. Adam Muto chimed in for Marcy & Hunson, and I’m kinda sad in realizing that a lot of the Muto-boarded episodes after season three… aren’t very good. I mean, he’s had some gems, such as Everything Stays, Little Brother, and Varmints. But he’s also had The Prince Who Wanted Everything, Dark Purple, and Marcy & Hunson. Yeeesh. Still love the direction that he took the series in, but I can’t really say he’s been the strongest when it comes to the boarding front these past few years. Erik Fountain joined Sam Alden for The Wild Hunt and proved that he’s one of the most skilled storyboarders on the staff. Pat McHale returned after years apart from the series for Blenanas, making for the best episode of the season. And Kent Osborne lent a hand for some BMO-Ice King goofiness in Always BMO Closing. For all of the praise I focused towards Seo and Somvilay last season, I really didn’t like a single episode they churned out during Season Nine. Their chunk of the finale was probably the weakest, and I think Son of Rap Bear ranks upon one of AT‘s worst efforts. Tom and Steve’s work was enjoyable, though not necessarily up to par with what I typically expect from them. I completely acknowledge that I sound like a self-righteous douche saying that, but I mean that in the most complimentary way. They’ve been one of the strongest teams throughout this show’s run, but nothing in Season Nine struck a chord with me in a particularly strong way. I kept thinking that Temple of Mars should have been the greatest episode ever, but it just wasn’t. Hanna K. and Aleks Sennwald dished out a good amount of hit-or-miss material, with the mixed bag of Bonnibel Bubblegum, the mostly delightful The First Investigation, and the painfully bland Jake the Starchild. Per usual, Graham Falk hopped around as well, in mostly decent-to-meh boarding efforts. It’s funny to me that Falk ended up boarding the last chunk of AT material to date. I have mixed feelings on his episodes overall, though I do recognize his talent. Still, he’s one of the last storyboard artists I would have expected to finish out the series entirely. I guess his role in the final calls is also up for debate, however.

Top 5 Best Episodes

5. Temple of Mars – A pretty neat continuation of Betty’s story, along with some cool psychological trials along the way.

4. The First Investigation – A fun time-skip episode interlaced with really sweet moments between Finn, Jake, and their late parents.

3. Ring of Fire – The journey of life told from a horny elephant’s perspective. I’m sold!

2. The Wild Hunt – An action-packed, high stakes episode with stellar animation to boot. A really nice exploration of Finn’s psyche as well.

1. Blenanas – All-in-all, a super fun, endearing, lighthearted, and funny entry that is as simple as the series can possibly get. And, as proved time and time again, that can sometimes be enough.

Worst Episodes

5.  Always BMO Closing – A mish mash of silly ideas and forced serialization that never truly complement each other.

4. Seventeen – The animation and poses in this episode are super awkward and stilted, and the plot itself isn’t entirely compelling.

3. Jake the Starchild – Just a really lame, pointless story that kind of goes no where and has nothing new to say.

2. Marcy & Hunson – A rehash of every Hunson entry in the series so far, interlaced with pandering moments for Bubbline fans.

1. Son of Rap Bear – A truly insignificant way to wrap up Flame Princess’s character, mixed with poor story elements, weak character moments, and even somewhat of a desire to be “hip with the kids,” which I never thought I’d say about Adventure Time.

Final Consensus

Season Nine is likely the weakest season to date. Outside of time limits, the episodes we got just weren’t very good in my eyes. There certainly is much more of a higher expectation for this season than previously seasons, however. Considering that this is the final batch of episodes for such a longrunning series, there’s more immediate satisfaction desired. Episodes in the past with some of the biggest sins, such as Breezy, are now more overlooked since episodes like Reboot came along to repent. Episodes such as Jake the Starchild and Son of Rap Bear aren’t as easily overlooked, considering that there’s no longer a cushion to make up for their squandered story elements. But as I’ve said above, this season wasn’t necessarily awful. It never had me shaking my fist in anger or denouncing the series. It was just kind of a let down for a series that has been going on for so long and has consistently sought to improve itself. But, considering that we now have more Adventure Time material on the way, maybe this will be the staff’s opportunity to truly get their final say in. Or maybe it will tease seven seasons worth of Adventure Time material down the line. It’ll probably be the latter.

That about wraps it up for the routine material – now we get to the fun stuff! Tune in next week for the Best and Worst of Adventure Time episodes!