Created by [Pen] Ward and produced by Cartoon Network Studio, Adventure Time leads viewers on the fantastical adventures of unlikely heroes, Finn & Jake, buddies who traverse the mystical Land of Ooo and encounter its colorful inhabitants.
It’s not often you find a cartoon show that not only holds your child’s attention, but yours as well. Usually, I can only stomach so many open ended questions in squeaky voices before I’m ready to chuck the television out the window for good. And, because I’m a kid at heart, I still enjoying watching cartoons whether or not my kid is around.
It was a few years ago, I was flipping through the channels when I landed on Cartoon Network. A newer show called Adventure Time was airing and I just thought it was the silliest show I had ever seen. Fast forward three years and I’m not only still watching it, but I even watch it with my three and a half year old! (Who may or may not already be asking to be Finn for Halloween.) The show is set in The Land of Ooo, which looks like a post-apocalyptic world a la Mad Max, but this isn’t the main point of the show. In fact, the only people focused on what once was Ooo are the adults, as most children just accept the fact that Ooo is filled with magic and on occasion, a beat-up car in the background. Our heroes are Finn, a human boy, seemingly the last of his kind, with flowing locks of golden hair. He keeps his hair under wraps by wearing a white hat with ears, which I say are a bear and my husband argues is a rabbit. Finn starts the show out at twelve years old and ages naturally throughout the seasons. Jake is a magical dog and also Finn’s adoptive brother. He can shrink and grow at will, as well as change the shape of his body.
The land of Ooo is filled with quite a few notable characters, all of which interact and play off of Finn and Jake. In Season One, which originally aired in March 2010, Jake develops a crush on Princess Bubblegum, a humanoid bubblegum girl. Bubblegum is intelligent and prolific in science. In the first episode, she is seen creating a potion that will bring back all the deceased subjects in her Candy Kingdom. My favorite character is Marceline the Vampire Queen. In season one, she is almost a foil to our two heroes and by season two, she’s great friends with them instead. Unlike a traditional vampire, Marceline doesn’t eat blood, but instead just sucks the red color from food and other objects. This is a lot less gruesome for children!
.png "Adventure Time")
And what is a story without a villain. Finn and Jake are often found thwarting the Ice King’s plots to steal one of the many princesses from around Ooo. The Ice King lives in the Ice Kingdom with his minions of penguins. His right hand man is a penguin named Gunter, who might just be the most evil thing in all of Ooo as revealed in the first episode of season 2. And who would have thought that just by shaving his beard off that the Ice King might be the most handsome guy around?
Asides from the Emmy Award-nominated series story telling, which keeps the show moving along, but also lets you watch one episode alone without being too confused, the best fact about Adventure Time is that it’s hand drawn. In a world full of cartoons now being pushed out quickly with computer animated characters and overused plots, it’s nice to find one that can throw you back to your own childhood. It takes roughly nine months to make one eleven minute episode. Season one and two both boast 26 episodes and the show is currently into its fifth season! Seasons 1 and 2 both have a run time of 286 minutes. As Finn would say, “That’s mathematical!”
You can watch Adventure Time at 7:30/6:30c Mondays on Cartoon Network. And now, both the full version of Season 1 and Season 2 are available on DVD/Blu-Ray on June 4th!
Connect
You can connect with Adventure Time on its Cartoon Network Page or on Facebook
Buy It
You can purchase both seasons from the Warner Bros. Shop. Season 1 on Blu-Ray for $22.32 and Season 2 on Blu-Ray for $22.32. DVD also available.
I received products, free of charge, to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own and/or families. Take it or leave it. Click here to view the whole disclosure policy.
