Adventure Time: A Cartoon for Young and Old
Some months ago a friend of mine recommended I watch the TV show Adventure Time. Initially I resisted, dismissing it as a silly children’s show. Finally, after much pressure, I folded, and now am hooked on the show. Adventure Time has a relatively simple setting which would appeal to children. A young boy, Finn the Human, and his best friend, Jake the dog, journey around a fantasy world saving its people and helpless princesses from the many evils that inhabit it. What intrigues me is the setting and the sub-textual references, which seem to be designed for an adult audience.
The setting and the characters have a far deeper underlying story then merely adventuring in a fantasy world. This underlying story would be beyond children’s comprehension, indicating that the show is designed with a secondary, adult, audience in mind. This has lead to Adventure Time’s popularity with children, and young adults. The show initially gained awareness on the internet with its pilot episode, which was shown on Nickelodeon, and uploaded to the internet. Cartoon Network saw possibility in the show, acquiring it for a full season in 2008, and is still showing it. This initial adult following on the internet differentiates Adventure Time from other children’s shows, which is possibly why it is made with subtexts that only adults will understand.
Adventure Time is set in the Land of Ooo, and while it is never stated in the show, it can be inferred that Ooo is a location on Earth in a post apocalyptic future. It is implied that humanity was wiped out by a nuclear war, sometimes referred to as the Mushroom War in the show. In one instance a globe of the Earth is seen, with a massive crater where North America should be. Finn, the main character, is known as ‘the human boy’ as he is the last human. The Land of Ooo is populated with a myriad of magical creatures; it can be assumed that all these creatures are merely nuclear mutants, and other after-effects from the nuclear war. This setting of a post apocalyptic world, while intriguing to adults, would not appear interesting to children, hinting to the intended adult audience.
The characters of Adventure Time also indicate that it is designed for a secondary audience of adults. In normal children’s shows the characters are generally polarised between good and bad. This polarity is slightly blurred in Adventure Time, with characters sometimes seeming evil, but having differing underlying motivations. This is most evident in the main villain of the show, The Ice King, a powerful wizard who kidnaps princes, but is always thwarted by Finn and Jake.
The Ice King is the main aggressor in Adventure Time. His primary goal is to force princesses to marry him, but also to make Finn and Jake become his friends. These act lead to him often fighting Finn and Jake, but he doesn’t mean to be evil; he’s just lonely. One episode features the Ice King’s past, showing how he was once a human before the apocalypse, who became influenced by an evil crown. This crown gave him superhuman abilities, but also drove him insane. This insanity leads to the Ice King driving away his fiancés, whom he referred to as his ‘princess’. The anguish that this caused drove him completely insane. With the power of the crown he became immortal, surviving the apocalypse, and eternally searching for a new ‘princess’. I found this story particularly dark and harrowing, but is something that children would glaze over to.
Generation X and Y grew up heavily influenced by cartoons, with most mornings and afternoons filled with cartoon watching. The majority of Gen X and Y are now adults, many with families. However this enjoyment of cartoons hasn’t faded for some, with cartoon watching becoming an almost guilty pleasure. It is only natural that this love of cartoons is passed on to their children, which presents a plausible alibi for Gen X and Ys to be watching cartoons. This is why cartoons with adult undertones are so popular. This is evident in many theatrical animations, which contain some humour designed for adults. Adventure Time may not have been intentionally designed to entertain adults and children, but has managed to do so, and has become highly successful because of this.
The setting and characters of Adventure Time imply that it was designed for an audience larger than just children. The characters are essential simple and appealing to children, but they also contain complex undertones, which entertain adults. The fantastical setting is also simple and appealing to children, and is also steeped in science fictional intrigue designed for adults. Adventure Time is a prime example of the current trend in cartoons, where they are made with both an adult and child audience in mind. This trend has increased in recent years as Gen X and Y are becoming adults. It is now socially acceptable for these young adults to watch children’s cartoons, especially with these young adults having children themselves, sharing the joy of cartoon watching.
Photo Courtesy of Nerdlocker.
