Speaking of sharing “Adventure Time” time with my girls, our household is in some internal dispute about the relative merits of the two halves of the latest double episode: “Earth & Water/ Too Old”. Belle and the girls loved “Earth & Water” because Flame P., that’s why: “Cinnamon Bun and I staged a coup and I overthrew my dad.” Also, everyone is wondering whether Flame P. and Finn will get back together or what. However, I feel that, with “Too Old”, the show has finally achieved Ubu Roi levels of ecstatic distress and all around weirdness. (It has, of course, been building since we were first introduce to the Earl of Lemongrab in “Too Young”. “Yo, Earl! Hey, you’re fired, ya’ butt!”) “Lemonhope’s Song” is the very soul of soft plangency. So I say “Too Old” is genius. Belle says she feels Finn is out of character. What’s the deal with a couple dozen lemon people being able to take him down like that? I say it just shows how much his break-up with Flame P. has junked up his fighting. He’s not all “crush this mess all accordingly,” as in previous encounters with Lemongrab. Because his mess has been crushed. Stands to reason.
Discuss!
{ 19 comments }
Adam Roberts 09.09.13 at 4:52 pm
So, the theme song. Is it ‘Adventure Time, c’mon bring your friends/We’re going to very distant lends’? Or ‘Adventure Time, c’mon bring your frands/We’re going to very distant lands’? Which?
ben wolfson 09.09.13 at 5:36 pm
It’s
Adventure time—c’mon—
Bring—your friends
We’re going to—very—
Distant lands
Adam Roberts 09.09.13 at 6:15 pm
That fails to answer my question.
Jacob H. 09.09.13 at 7:00 pm
Adventure Time is very very weird, and is pretty terrifying, at least to the five-year-old . The seven-year-old is impervious to fear, of any movie or television show at any rate (dark, quiet, and spiders on the other hand…)
Can someone explain the aesthetic to me, though? Is it– look at all this gross stuff? Is it, your friends are never really your friends because they’re always being mind-controlled by other creatures?
ben wolfson 09.09.13 at 7:52 pm
I do not at all see how it fails to answer your question.
anonymouscow 09.09.13 at 8:38 pm
“Can someone explain the aesthetic to me, though? Is it– look at all this gross stuff? Is it, your friends are never really your friends because they’re always being mind-controlled by other creatures?”
I think the write question is “Are some people like Jacob H. too stupid to understand Adventure Time?” (I suspect Jacob H. runs screaming from anything that has a hint of weirdness or geekiness)
Matt Regan 09.09.13 at 8:56 pm
I call it “wiggly-arm-boy show” just to annoy my 11 and 9 year-olds, who are ardent fans.
engels 09.09.13 at 9:47 pm
I also have a question. Is it ‘And therefore I have sailed the seas and come /
To the holy city of Byzanti-umm’? or ‘And therefore I have sailed the seas and coom /
To the holy city of Byzantium’? Which is it?
Sharon 09.09.13 at 11:24 pm
We watch Adventure Time every night before bed. It took me a season to get past the overall “wrongness” of the show, I.e., “man, that is all kinds of wrong.”
We don’t have kids, but if we did, I’d share AT with them.
Murc 09.10.13 at 7:42 am
I’d note that Finn, despite casually brutalizing dungeon dwellers when he gets bored of an afternoon, seems to have some kind of lemon-related weakness; whenever Lemongrab(s) show up he always seems to have a hell of a time coping, either emotionally or physically. He got thrown in the dungeon, Lemonjohn almost destroyed the candy kingdom… things don’t go so well, is what I’m saying.
Also, how awesome was it that 1) Flame Princess didn’t become Flame Queen, but rather, will continue to be Flame King even though she’s a girl, and 2) she totally dressed up as Azula once she usurped her Dad.
NomadUK 09.10.13 at 10:32 am
I say it just shows how much his break-up with Flame P. has junked up his fighting. He’s not all “crush this mess all accordingly,†as in previous encounters with Lemongrab. Because his mess has been crushed. Stands to reason.
I’m sorry … huh? Is this really how people talk anymore? Time to go buy that cottage in the Orkneys …
Earwig 09.10.13 at 12:37 pm
At our house, it was the kid who shared it with us.
We’re grateful.
And it’s “grab your friends”, OK?
Adam Roberts 09.10.13 at 12:39 pm
In that case, what are ‘lends’?
Belle Waring 09.10.13 at 12:52 pm
Adam: you’re tripping, dude. What? No frands, no lends. You grab your friends, you go to very distant lands, end of story. Well, more properly beginning of story. Is now the part where I tell you guys that today I was actually doing character design for my creepy manga Peppermint Butler, so I can make that fan art in a different genre I’m planning? I think the ruffly edges of his collar and the shirt edges coming out of the red-and-white striped cuffs of his jacket should be like the crinkly plastic wrapper on a hard candy, but I’m not sure how best to represent this. I’m stuck in bed sick and it’s better for me than looking at the internet, OK? Don’t judge me. We all must waste time variously.
Barry Freed 09.10.13 at 1:22 pm
Adventure Time is totally math. The word building is nothing short of amazing and the visual richness is well-matched by richness of the backstories of the various characters. Ice King has gone from a horrible annoying creepy old fart to one of the most noble and tragic figures in sacrificing his own sanity to protect the little vampire girl Marceline (and in one alternate reality episode he sacrifices himself to protect the world from a nuclear bomb exploding). I’m looking forward to getting some more back story on the origins of Princess Bubblegum which have been hinted at. And Peppermint Butler has been promising to turn out to have an evil aspect of almost Lovecraftian dimensions. With every episode the world is filled out more and the characters deepen. And all in 11 minutes. There’s nothing like it on TV.
Also my 8 year old nephew does a dead on impression of Lumpy Space Princess.
kjs 09.10.13 at 3:41 pm
I swear the show is refreshing: To teach kids about sadness, isolation, and frustration, yet it retains the explosion of hope that is childhood.
BMO is emerging as a fascinating character: The film noir parody was great; the surreal air-bubble/giant blue human baby episode was the most imaginative journey I’ve seen in a while. Does anyone know if voice actress Yang is imitating an old Chinese or Korean woman for BMO’s character?
Also, Me-Mow needs an encore.
Keith Edwards 09.10.13 at 6:06 pm
I’m much behind on Adventure Time, having seen only Season 1 while feeding the boy, who is now 6 months. It’s definitely something I plan to
scareshare with him when he’s old enough (though he already can recognize the Doctor Who theme, so it won’t be long).BananaGuard 09.11.13 at 1:53 pm
Oh, my Glob! All this time I’ve been watching the screens, making sure Lemongrab doesn’t stare at the young ones in their sleep, and now I find out Crooked Timber has been watching the screens, so the young ones can stare at US!
Peebles 09.11.13 at 3:42 pm
BannanGuard! Get back to guarding.
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