By James Herd
Reporter
It’s that time once again.
What time is that, you ask?
IT’S ADVENTURE TIME.
The Emmy-nominated series featured on Cartoon Network is returning for a fifth season after its shocking cliffhanger season finale, which aired Oct. 22.
But why would college students enjoy this supposed kids show?
The answer lies within the show’s context.
“Adventure Time with Finn and Jake” centers on the dynamic duo of the shows title, and follows Finn the Human and Jake the Dog as they make their way around the fictional land of Ooo, fighting evil and saving princesses from the not-so-evil Ice King by day, and sleeping in their massive tree house by night.
The show is set in the land of Ooo, which is assumed to be a futuristic Earth, and due to recent events which back up this theory, could have come about by a mysterious “Mushroom War” that is frequently mentioned in the series.
“If you don’t watch them in order it doesn’t matter so much, but if you do, then all of a sudden the plot is so much more, extensive than a children’s show. It’s not a children’s show,” Corpus Christi sophomore Amanda Yarger said. “I mean base level, it’s a children’s show, but there’s a lot of higher thinking into it.”
Season five, which is slated to begin with a half-hour premiere on Nov. 12, is set to feature many guest voices such as Neil Patrick Harris (“How I Met Your Mother”) and Donald Glover (“Community”).
Harris will be reprising his role as Prince Gumball, the male version of Princess Bubblegum and Glover will be debuting as Marshall Lee, the male version of Marceline the Vampire Queen, in a return of the season four gender-switched saga, Adventure Time with Fionna and Cake.
“One of the first previews I saw of [the show,] I kind of was just like ‘what the heck is this?’ but then a friend showed me, and it has like, regular humor, not just kid humor,” Plano sophomore Blake Olvera said.
Olvera said one thing about the show that really appeals to him is that it teaches kids about social equality and life issues.
“I kind of wish I had something like this when I was growing up,” Olvera said. “It’s definitely matured as a show in general, and bringing about new characters and new sub-plots have definitely made the show more mature. But as a post-apocalyptic world, I can definitely see that, though. The bringing of fire and more violence, and the nightosphere, and bringing that more involved on the show… it could potentially be a post-apocalyptic world.”
The show itself has only just grazed the surface of its backstory.
While it may not have spent too much time on the backstory of the land of Ooo, recent episodes seem to have expressed an interest in journeying to both its foundation and how central characters could potentially be involved in that foundation.
Despite its 10 to 12 minute run-time, San Antonio sophomore Adam Ortiz said that the show is able to destroy his mind entirely.
“It blew my mind. It was intense,” Ortiz said in regards to the shocking season four finale. “Like, I don’t even know what to think. If I was a kid watching this, I’d be even more blown away.”
For more information on the show, visit the Cartoon Network website at www.cartoonnetwork.com.
Adventure Time airs new episodes at 6:30 p.m. Central Time on Cartoon Network starting Nov. 12 with a half-hour premiere.
