When Adventure Time ended its unique collection run in 2018, followers have been heartbroken. It was a fantastically surreal present with genuinely likable characters and sufficient lore behind the scenes to fulfill each adults and kids alike. Though the collection finally bought a correct sendoff in the kind of the restricted collection Adventure Time: Distant Lands, 4 hour-long specials that debuted on Max in 2020 and 2021.
But for the longest time, it appeared that may be the finish of the story of Finn the Human (Jeremy Shada) and Jake the Dog (John DiMaggio) and the relaxation of the people in the Land of Ooo. Luckily, the adventures proceed with Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake, a series-sized journey that brings gender-swapped variations of the present’s forged collectively to inform a distinctive multiverse-tinged story.
And whereas it may endure from the pitfalls of sequelitis, faltering by not giving followers sufficient of what made the unique story so heartfelt and thrilling, it does the reverse and hits all the excessive notes followers have been ready for. This is the way you deliver again a present individuals like.
Opening Shot: A rat-shaped bus jumps alongside buildings and skyscrapers in opposition to a backdrop of pastel Tokyo. Fionna Campbell (Madeleine Martin), clad in a Sailor Moon-like outfit, chases after the runaway bus with cat companion Cake (Roz Ryan) in tow.
The Gist: Fionna is your common younger girl who’s nearly had it with the curveballs life’s thrown at her. She has a dead-end job as a tour bus information that she hates. She can’t maintain down a job to save her life past that. And she’s having goals of a unusual Ice Prince each single evening. As luck would have it, her cat Cake appears to be sick out of nowhere, too, seemingly attracted to tons of ice in her residence and exterior of it.
Fionna tries to take Cake to the vet, but has to work that day, so it’s on the tour bus she and Cake goes. After a mishap together with her sick kitty that will get her fired, a determined Fionna searches for a means to remedy her feline good friend. Her good friend Marshall Lee the Vampire King (Donald Glover) suggests she take her pet to Ellis P. (Pendleton Ward) to see if he can repair her up. Unfortunately, whereas Ellis is in the center of attempting to “assist” Cake, the cat runs off to leap into a shining blue portal. To the place? We’ll have to wait and see.
What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Writer and artist Natasha Allegri created Fionna and Cake as they appeared in the unique Adventure Time collection. Her affect could be felt all by way of this standalone present, and as such it has echoes of Allegri’s work Bee and PuppyCat, proper down to the means Fionna behaves and the places she visits in the actual world. There are additionally parallels between Fionna and Bee in addition to Cake and PuppyCat. If you loved that collection or the unique shorts, you’ll really feel proper at residence right here.
Our Take: Adventure Time at all times felt prefer it was created for adults to get pleasure from, but with loads of humorous moments and likable characters for teenagers to get into by happenstance. In Fionna and Cake, it will possibly lastly morph into the adult-centric collection it’s at all times felt prefer it must be, with some much-needed adjustments to replicate its new viewers. There’s a little bit of malaise, a tiny bit of grownup language, and extra difficult ideas that older viewers will undoubtedly respect: like feeling misplaced in a life that’s not as fascinating as you hoped it will be as an grownup.
Most importantly for followers, there’s a deep connection to the unique collection that runs by way of each single fiber of the present’s being. There are Easter eggs abound, from recognizable facet characters to thrilling new personalities for some of the acquainted flipped characters. Though Adventure Time usually relied on largely standalone episodes, there’s the distinct feeling that every episode will construct on the earlier on this story. And it’s going to be an thrilling journey, seeing what’s grow to be of everybody we used to know in the present’s unique run.
Sex and Skin: None to be discovered right here.
Parting Shot: While Marshall’s good friend Ellis P. (Pendleton Ward) makes an attempt to “diagnose” Cake’s mysterious ailment, Cake runs off after seeing a imaginative and prescient of a portal elsewhere in an ice cream cart. She dives into the cart and vanishes into a blue portal.
Sleeper Star: Donald Glover is superb as he returns from the unique Adventure Time as Marshall Lee, the Vampire King. He’s effortlessly sly and cool, even when he isn’t particularly serving to Fionna by way of her tough spots. He even has a likelihood to exhibit his pipes in the episode with a fast lower to him busking on the avenue. Glover’s musical chops, which we usually hear from his venture Childish Gambino, really feel proper at residence on this song-filled episode.
Most Pilot-y Line: Fionna wakes up from her fanciful dream and ponders on what it may imply for her, not figuring out that it’s about to set the stage for the relaxation of the collection. “It’s the third evening in a row that I’ve dreamed about a mysterious ice prince,” Fionna tells Cake. “And you have been there too. And you possibly can discuss! And stretch! I do know, it sounds nuts. But additionally…superior.”
Our Call: STREAM IT. This is the triumphant return to the world of Adventure Time followers have been ready for, and it units the stage for one of the most fascinating ideas the present has seen in a while. Whether you’re holding out to see the place your favourite heroes are on this timeline or how issues will shake out for our new heroines, it’s properly price settling into each week because it hits Max.
Brittany Vincent has been overlaying video video games and tech for over a decade for publications like G4, Popular Science, Playboy, Variety, IGN, GamesRadar, Polygon, Kotaku, Maxim, GameSpot, and extra. When she’s not writing or gaming, she’s gathering retro consoles and tech. Follow her on Twitter: @MolotovCupcake.
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