My Review of Adventure Time · 4:51pm March 3rd
My TV Show Rating Score:
5/5: It is an awesome show!
4.5/5: it is a great show albeit not perfect
4/5: It’s a good show with minor flaws
3/5: It’s overall okay/guilty pleasure
2/5: It’s bad but not awful
1/5: Look, up in the sky! It’s super bad!
0/5: MY EYEEEESSS!!!
Greetings, folks! This is Mr. J back with another TV show review for today. This morning, I’m gonna review one of the most popular and well-received shows on the Cartoon Network platform called “Adventure Time” which aired from 2010-2018. Folks, some of you may find this surprising, but to be honest—I never saw this show before. I grew up with a lot of cartoons when I was a kid, but this show was not one of them.
Now, I’ve seen a lot of promotional material that featured characters from this show, but I had no idea who they are; the only character I did have very minor knowledge of was the Ice King. I only knew he was voiced by Tom Kenny. That’s it.
So as the years went by, I genuinely wanted to check out this series and see why so many people love it so much. So I binged watched this series on Max in a matter of weeks. To my amazement, I was really impressed by it. I enjoyed this show!
This is about a human boy named Finn and his magical dog companion named Jake who both go to various adventures in the land of Ooo. They confront many enemies, make allies, encounter hilariously weird creatures, and many more.
This show covered so many themes and stories, yet it never felt so overcrowded every time they went hardcore with its storytelling. Considering the fact it never shies away from tackling dark themes and showcasing certain scenes that may appear to be disturbing to the audience, I’d say it’s a show that both adults and kids can enjoy.
Let’s talk about the main characters, shall we? Finn the Human—oh boy, do I have stuff for you. In my opinion, he isn’t like any human protagonist I’ve seen in other cartoons. He’s probably the most complex character in this show once you take a look into his backstory, his arc, his struggles, and his motivations.
One example is how he would often get into romantic relationships with certain girls like Flame Princess; he yearns for love, yet he clumsily falters in being honest with her and acting on more emotion rather than logic. And let me tell ya, his faulty relationships speak volumes of his flawed character.
No matter how many times Finn tries to rectify one of his issues, there’s always another he has to sort out…such as his daddy issues.
Overall, Finn is a heavily flawed, emotional, yet relatable protagonist. He’s very interesting, and whenever he utters his lines of dialogue, he doesn’t speak in a way that feels preachy or condescending to the viewers. I thinks it’s his slang and informal vocabulary that make me feel comfortable whenever I watch him on screen. He’s more down-to-earth, so to speak, which makes him more likable.
Jeremy Shada knocked it out of the park in his voiceover role as Finn.
As for Jake, he’s one of the most fun characters I’ve seen in animation. He’s funny, supportive, entertaining, and charismatic in every way. Plus, his quips are so on point that it makes me chuckle every time. John DiMaggio was the perfect choice for the role. Without him, you cannot have Jake the Dog. I will not hear otherwise.
Now, there are so many supporting characters in this series, so I can’t comment on every single one except for those who stood out more to me…positively or negatively. These characters are Princess Bubblegum, Marceline, Lumpy Space Princess (LSP), Ice King, Flame Princess, and the Lich.
Believe it or not, Bubblegum used to be one of my least favorite characters in this show. Her tyrannical ways, patronizing attitude, and unethical methods—which negatively impacted so many creatures in and outside of her kingdom—were just infuriating to behold even though she’s a “good” guy.
So imagine my bewilderment when she actually got some character development halfway through the show and…somewhat changed as a character. She’s not the same princess like before, and she’s more…empathetic, I guess?
Now, keep in mind, I still am not a huge fan of Bubblegum but I don’t hate her anymore…which is more than can be said of a certain incompetent white alicorn princess from a jellybean horse show.
But if there’s one character I genuinely despise, it would be LSP. She is undoubtedly the worst character in the entire series; she has no respect for anything except herself, she’s a lazy ass moron, an idiot, loud, obnoxious, narcissistic, and…absolutely disgusting as a person.
I’ll never forget that one scene where she forced herself on Finn when they weren’t seeing eye-to-eye (she’s had a thing for Finn for a long time btw). I don’t want to say the word, but she basically ***** Finn off-screen—or at least it’s highly implied she did. What were the writers even thinking when they wrote that scene…or her entire character?
She doesn’t deserve the happy ending she got because she’s an objectively horrible creature.
Moving on, both Marceline and Ice King are some of the most tragic characters in this show, and the only duo who have the most chemistry, in my opinion. Marcy may be a blood-sucking vampire, but she has a strong taste for music. Despite her sad childhood, she always looked up to Simon as a father figure.
But Simon is the one I have more sympathy for, given his tragic situation with Betty. The more he kept wearing that magical crown, the more he become insane, mischievous, and dangerous—hence, the Ice King.
Tom Kenny did a brilliant job distinguishing his voice for two personalities of the same character. As Simon, he’s more conscientious, thoughtful, and kind, but as the Ice King, his voice is slightly high-pitched, crazier, and wacky. This is top-tier voice acting, ladies and gentlemen.
Flame Princess is a decent character at best. She did have some romantic moments with Finn, but I’m kinda glad it went nowhere after that whole deceptive ordeal from Finn’s part. Plus, it was nice she became her own character as a sole ruler of the Fire Kingdom.
Lastly, the only villain who made a horrifying impact on this show was none other than The Lich. Unlike the other antagonists in this series, The Lich is a terrifying force of nature that threatens the existence of life and of the whole multiverse. Ron Perlman killed it in his voiceover role as the villain despite the fact he doesn’t remember voicing him.
Regardless of the little screen time he has, in all the ten episodes he made his major appearance, he reminded everybody who he is, what he can do, and how terrifyingly powerful he is. He’s always in the background either as a snail or in a flashback—reminding the audience of the heavy presence he has in the show.
The animation is pretty amazing to be honest. It’s goofy, it looks silly, and that’s the point. It gives the impression that these characters will do some utterly insane stuff, but it’ll at least be interesting and fun.
The action, the drama, the morals, the story—they all were written with maturity and carefulness. This is about a boy and a talking dog who go through all these dangerous adventures while in the process of learning more about themselves, their childhood, and their destiny.
Overall, this show is amazing in every way, and despite some hiccups (*cough, cough* LSP *cough*, *cough*) it managed to create a story that appeals to all ages, make almost every character fun to watch, and inspire everyone to be just as adventurous and brave as Finn and Jake. While there aren’t any fictional monsters to battle, there are still real life Simons we must reach out, and modern day Liches to confront.
With that said, I’ll give this a solid 5/5: adventurer to the end!
P.S. How can I forget about BMO? He’s the most adorable character ever! He’s the true MVP, and he must be protected at all costs!
I definitely remember watching an episode or two of that! My favorite is when Bubblegum was possessed by The Lich and they needed to get his spirit out
One of the epitomes of a show for all audience members!
Although I haven’t watched as much of the later seasons, it’s safe to say that I enjoy how the show starts from a goofy plotless show full of adventures and develops into something with plot and lore and continuous storytelling. I haven’t seen Fionna and Cake, btw (I’ve seen a ton of clips and I know the entire story), but I know fans of Adventure Time would recommend it. Same goes for Distant Lands (mainly Together Again)
(Also my favorite character (Fern) is one that’s not even there the whole time and appears super late. The design, story, concept, and everything about him is just interesting to me.)
5770721
Yes, Distant Lands (except for the fourth special) and Fionna and Cake are equally enjoyable.
I remember seeing episodes of “Adventure Time” here and there, and that a friend of mine was a big fan of it. There were even occasions where, in my adult years, I tried watching some of the episodes.
Sadly, though, I didn’t find “Adventure Time” to be as enrapturing as I hoped it’d be.
5773506
Really? How come?
5773514
I’m not entirely sure.
From what I remember regarding my experiences, though, I felt that the show was placing too much emphasis on being weird; and I didn’t exactly find its humor to be all that funny. That, and I had difficulty getting engaged by the characters.
5773519
Have you ever considered giving it a rewatch to confirm your first impressions?
By that, I mean…watching ALL ten seasons of content.
5773520
I have. I’m just not certain when to really delve into the show due to other interests in life.
5773522
Very well.
But at least watch a compilation video of The Lich. That guy is TRULY a menace. I think you’ll be fascinated by him, given that he’s voiced by Ron Perlman.
5773525
Ironically, I’ve seen clips of the character here and there. Both from the main series, and its spin-offs. As a matter of fact, I’ve even remembered seeing his first two episodes in full.
Maybe it’s just me, but compared to other animated characters Ron Perlman played, the Lich seemed to be…surprisingly bland, and one-dimensional.
5773526
Oh.
Well, I thought he was pretty intimidating and imposing as a villain although he doesn’t have a lot of screen time.
But I can see why you don’t see him as such.
From the episodes you personally watched, were there some minuscule moments you did like?
5773529
Hard to say. I did remember the Ice King being pretty amusing, although that’s probably because of Tom Kenny’s line deliveries and performance.
5773534
Yeah, he’s a pretty fun character overall.
5773537
If it makes you feel any better, I’ll gladly give the series another look in full someday. Mainly on the grounds that, when I hear so much about something that’s incredibly popular, I can’t help but want to see what it is that people like about it.