Why I Watch Adventure Time

“Why do you watch Adventure Time?”

It’s a question I get asked often because I’m a huge fan of the show.  And probably something to do with also being a 28 year old graduate student with no kids.

If you haven’t heard of Adventure Time, it is a popular cartoon on Cartoon Network.  It was created by Pendleton Ward and features voice actor John DiMaggio (Bender from Futurama) as Jake the Dog.

Why do I watch it?

First of all, who the hell says we have to outgrow cartoons?

Second of all, I believe Adventure Time has a lot to teach us about life.  Sure, on the surface it looks very bizarre.  I’ve heard several people refer to it as a “stoner show.”  Magic, candy people, bright colors, sentient talking animals, incredibly strange creatures, etc.  Yes, it is weird.  But the weirdness is part of the appeal.

And if you dare to watch a few episodes, and get past the surface, there is so much more to it.  This is a kid’s show, but it addresses some very heavy themes.   Finn is a kid who is growing up as the last human in a post-apocalyptic world known as the Land of Ooo.  His best friend and adopted brother is Jake, a magic dog.  They probably have the healthiest and most genuine friendship I’ve seen depicted on television.

Finn’s love life is a bittersweet reminder of agonizing teenage heartbreaks.  The awkwardness, elation, disappointment, and confusion.  Much of it still translates to adult experiences and the overall complexity of the human heart.  He has an unrequited love for the older Princess Bubblegum.  And then a brief but intense relationship with Flame Princess whom he can’t even touch because she’s made of fire.  In the episode “Hot to Touch” Flame Princess said “Finn, even if we like each other, we’re going to hurt each other.”  That is perhaps one of the single most powerful statements about love and heartache that I’ve ever heard.  Have you ever felt like a moth drawn to a beautiful but deadly flame?

We can’t discuss the heavy themes of Adventure Time without bringing up the tragic back story of the Ice King.  He’s introduced as an annoying and narcissistic dirty old man.  He is obsessed with kidnapping princesses and trying to force them to marry him.  He is a bad guy that Finn and Jake constantly have to defeat.

But then you learn that the Ice King used to be Simon Petrikov.  A scientist who discovered an ancient crown prior to the Mushroom War which wiped out the world as we know it.  The crown started to change him through magic.  It slowly began to turn him into the Ice King, giving him power over ice and snow.  Without this magic, he would not have survived the events of the Mushroom War.  But there was a high price to pay.  The crown began to affect his mind and drive him insane.  It began to erase memories of his true identity and previous life.  In a heart-breaking twist it is also revealed that he was once in love with a woman whom he referred to as his “princess,” but the madness drove her away and she likely perished in the Mushroom War.

We find out about the bittersweet connection between the Ice King and Marceline the Vampire Queen.  Simon found Marceline when she was a small child.  Just after the Mushroom War.  Together they helped each other survive.  The episode “I Remember You” will make you cry.  Marceline has spent hundreds of years watching this man who is more of a father figure to her than her own father, slowly lose his mind and all memories of their past life.  They sing a song together even though the Ice King remembers nothing of the meaning behind it.  The lyrics were written by him when he was still Simon.  It hits hard with lines like “I’m losing myself and I’m afraid you’re going to lose me too.  This magic keeps me alive, but it’s making me crazy.  And I need to save you, but who’s going to save me?” and “Please forgive me for whatever I do when I don’t remember you.”  It is strongly metaphorical of knowing someone with Alzheimer’s Disease, a brain injury, a severe addiction, or similar degenerating mental condition.

There’s a strong message to be conveyed here.  That someone is not always who they appear on the surface.  That you can’t understand them unless you’ve walked in their shoes.  Everyone has a story.

Which brings me to Marceline.  Upon the first introduction, she seems evil.  Finn and Jake are both afraid of her.  But then you slowly learn that she enjoys pranks and mischief, but often performs good deeds.  She eats the color red instead of blood so that she doesn’t hurt people.  She puts on a tough “evil” exterior, but in reality she’s, as Finn puts it in the episode “Henchman”, “She’s a radical dame who likes to play games.”  She enjoys writing songs and playing her axe bass guitar.

One of the most interesting things about Marceline is her relationship with her father, Hudson Abadeer, who is the demonic ruler of the Nightosphere.  Hudson is evil and his relationship with his daughter is strained.  One of Marceline’s songs is about how he once ate her fries.  In the song, she questions whether or not he loves her.  Their relationship has something that seems universal about it.  Everyone has at least one difficult relative.  There are arguments, disappointments, fights, but there is also an underlying theme of love and genuine work toward reconciliation.

These are just some of the main themes of the show.  There are many more. The BMO character challenges gender roles, but the guys over at PBS Idea Channel explain this much better than I ever could:

 

 

They have another wonderful video explaining the nostalgic appeal of the show:

 

 

There is a lot to learn from Adventure Time.  Even though it seems on the surface to be an off the wall bizarre fantasy, it has strong metaphorical value for complex real life issues.  The characters have much to teach us about ourselves.  Despite the heavy themes I’ve touched on, the show also presents with a lot of humor.  Everything from fart jokes to at least one neuroscience joke (when Jake shouts “Ow my hippocampus!” as he was being knocked unconscious in the episode “Daddy’s Little Monster.” While watching a video of the incident, he says “Well, that explains how we got amnesia’d.”  The hippocampus is a part of the brain responsible for memory coding.  The psychology graduate student in me was thrilled at this scene).

I could probably write a book on this.  Especially if I get into discussing specific episodes.  But I think I’ve covered the basics.  Why do I watch Adventure Time?  Because it’s full of meaning.  It lets you look at life with a whole new perspective.  It’s so much more than bizarre creatures and crude humor.  Even the catchphrase reminds you that life is open to endless possibilities.

“What time is it?”

“Adventure Time!”