Happy Sunday everybody!689Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡahNcsGCVtU
Ah yes, Sunday mornings; A great time for the adults to contemplate life, through a hangover induced haze, in the looming threat of the work week that is to follow.689Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqfQgzfxm5M
But not for us kids! Sunday morning is the time to voluntarily wake up at the crack of dawn and watch those glorious Sunday Morning Cartoons while scoffing down sugar-glazed cereals. Who cares if they taste like sweetened cardboard!
It's quite strange, really. Stemming from the introduction of television into a modernised, western culture, television has become a solace for thousands upon thousands of children in a nuclear family unit, with parents who don't have time for themselves during the week, and so pour the milk into your bowl with begrudging lethargy. 689Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhBNxxQ82rd
Is it any surprise that the kids turn to cartoons to find a hero figure in their life? They get to see the main adults in their life in the few short hours from 6 to 9, and the only other adults that they come into contact with, their teachers, are uninterested in a single child's private life when they have at least 20 others that they are required to educated, motivated almost solely by a paycheck every thirty days.
Enough pessimism. Cartoons are supposed to be fun! And happy! And Colourful! Right?
You see, these are the paradigms that used to characterise cartoons in their hay days. Modern cartoons have come under much criticism from nostalgic adults, with cartoons being either too deep and "not for kids" or the ones that are colourful and silly as "unintelligible random garbage". On modern TV networks (at least the ones here in South Africa like Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon) there's a bit of both circulating. But of all of those, there are only two which I hold dear. Those two are the modern Adventure Time and the classic Samurai Jack.
Adventure time, you see, underwent some flak over how random and trippy it was, with its optimistic palette of colours, smooth animation and rambunctious characters and voice talent, however adults were surprisingly drawn to it. It has amassed a pretty dedicated fanbase of over-eighteens, and has kept its momentum for seven whole seasons. The writers, director and voice actors (namely the voice of Finn, Jeremy Shada, who is now 19) have matured much over the course of the show's run-time, its ability to constantly evolve being one of the key factors to its success. I sincerely wish that I had the patience to do a break-down of every episode and outline the shows entire evolution, because after re-watching the whole show from numero uno in a span of two weeks, it is a truly fascinating process to behold. What I am here to talk about today is exactly how the show's maturity is reflected in the most recent theme of Season 7, emotional growth, maturity and understanding of the world.
The show has three very interesting aspects to it: A surface set of cinematics and storytelling that entices and captures audiences without much need for them to over-analyse the show (as I have), and a second, deeper level of maturity, containing lessons, themes and motifs. There is another level, however, that works very closely with the second, and reminds us that it's there every now and again, and that is pure exploration of amazing characters in a world that presents opportunities that ours does not. It is the interaction of these three levels that, according to me, makes a truly brilliant show.
In the world of "Ooo!" There are 5 characters that have the most screen time, and therefore the most development: Princess Bubblegum the Queen of the Candy Kingdom, Marceline the Vampire Queen and half demon, Finn the Human, Jake the Dog and Ice King the Ruler of the Domain of Ice. These are not the only characters that are excellently developed, and not necessarily the characters that undergo the most profound changes, but they are some of the most relatable and easy to understand characters due to the special little window that the writers give us into their thoughts and everyday lives.
The show starts off extremely energetically, only really covering the first layer while including some obvious themes, but these themes don’t impact the characters very much. It plays around a lot, with fun and fast-paced storytelling episodes mixed in with episodes that surprise audiences with surprisingly dark concepts that contrasted with its happy-go-lucky style and characters. It wanted to see what audiences liked. In the end, the hints of darkness was what excited audiences the most, and these audiences were, of course, the older audiences that could appreciate it.
The second season focused much more on their superb storytelling (as hinted by the writers in the episode “storytelling”) usually centering the stories around main themes such as love, fear, embarrassment and friendship. This time the hidden lore of Ooo! was incorporated more frequently, which audiences absolutely adored. It afforded the people who analysed the show deeply some reward, and encouraged others to take closer looks at the seemingly harmless show. The dark themes of Ooo!’s tumultuous past were given indirectly, with smacks in the face from episodes such as “Susan Strong” to remind us that Finn is, in fact, the only living human in Ooo!. He is alone in this crazy world, with possibly no other humans to relate to or guide him, as he did Susan. The two-part episode with the Lich near the end of the series blew audiences pants off, as this is really the first time that any of the main characters are visibly threatened, and the concept of their mortality comes into play in a big way. This theme would become one that presents itself intermittently throughout the rest of the show. The fact that Finn also has a birthday displays the show’s intention for character development. They clearly showed that interesting times were coming, and that they refused to have their characters as the same static, never-aging characters of the past (which isn’t exactly new either).
With the characters and their multiple facets firmly established by the end of season two, season three comes along with a well-defined style and obvious intentions. Firstly, it showcased the show’s ability to appeal to female audiences, with development on the main female characters as well as a hit gender-bent episode. Here the writers showed that they knew exactly how to write their characters; male and female alike (perhaps even immortal?). There are honestly so many episodes in this season with individual character that it’s particularly hard to put a blanket description over it. The two-part arc of “Holly Jolly Secrets”, however, can be said to be the most impactful of the episodes, with exploration into the true nature of the Ice King’s madness and the incitement of sympathy for him in the audience. From that episode onwards, I think it’s safe to say that everyone saw the characters differently. The pure depth of the Ice King’s origins surprised many viewers, and was the final showstopper to any arguments saying that the show was juvenile.689Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTUEoTz4WE8
Season four can be loosely characterised by two themes: Relationships in every shape and form, and Finn’s struggles with puberty and adolescence. Personally, this is the season that I could relate to the least (seeing that I haven’t had much in the way of either romantic relationships or adolescence struggles) but one has to revel in the pure brilliance of the show’s writing when it comes to the creative directions that they are able to take the show when they have a clear goal in mind. This season covers everything from the age gap in love to straight up rape in ways that are extremely enjoyable to watch (disclaimer: I don't think of rape as enjoyable in any way shape or form). The writers really showcase a sense of emotional maturity here through their characters, with the female leads taking the spotlight and the introduction of Flame Princess. The crowning achievements of this season are “Princess Cookie” and “I Remember You”, arguably the two most emotional episodes of the whole show. (I bawled my eyes out in Princess Cookie).689Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡabvmCoTq9P
Season five is, according to me, the best season of storytelling in the show. Being the longest season so far with 51 episodes, it provides extremely profound concepts within the time frame of eleven minutes. While it was very easy to gloss over many of the episodes as just stories, each episode packs its own little punch in surprisingly unique ways. I can’t stress enough the distinctive character of each episode. Every eleven minutes has something completely new to offer, and it’s extremely difficult to keep track of. What I love most about this season is the freedom that the writers give for the audience to figure out the complexity in the episodes on their own, with only a few well-placed lines here and there to assure you that you’re on the right path (sometimes this assurance doesn’t even occur in the same episode).689Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzuIHiq8FF3
Season six is the most emotionally complex season. With Finn’s devastating experience with his no-good father, he goes through a period in which he feels completely lost, experiencing the entire spectrum of emotions from productive anger and hatred to depression. Just like the previous season, the writers leave you to basically decipher the show’s depth on your own in lieu of creating a larger amount of high-quality content. Even the most static and lovable character, Jake, goes through some deep development and becomes a more real character for the audience, especially with the shock from his origins episode. There is so much character to these episodes that makes you more in love with the show and its characters than ever. The season finale, however, is what changes the show’s meaning forever.689Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeymWRjPWM5
After Finn’s cosmic decision, the show takes on a whole new life. It is no longer the happy-go-lucky show that it was in the first seasons. It stated its intentions very well. This is where the characters, as a part of a crazy world that we can only imagine, become overwhelmingly real. Finn and Bubblegum especially are faced with momentous internal conflict, and the eight part arc of “Stakes” solidifies Marceline’s development. In this season, It’s as though the characters become whole. The audience is consistently pushed to put themselves in the characters’ places, and a whole new understanding comes with that.689Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7hY9vEOsLl
PB, as a many-hundred year old being, is faced with the fact that all of her candy subjects are but her own creations. That she has surrounded herself with personalities and bodies that she crafted by hand and come to love them in order to fill some sort of void within her. The writers’ true brilliance comes in the fact that they are able to make this extremely outlandish experience relatable, as though we can actually understand the feelings of being in a situation that would never happen in reality.
This is reflected in Finn as well. He has now surpassed his previous mortal limits, and forced into the frame of view of immortality within a mortal form. This is constantly evidenced by his silly follies occasionally juxtaposed with displays of intelligent thinking. The writers are also able to find the hardships in this, which I find truly amazing. At first, Finn wants everything to go back to normal, to experience everything to the fullest while he is alive, with a new appreciation for all of his friends, enemies, and his world. However, this leads him to idealise all of it, and experience disappointment at the flaws of his fellows who could never understand what he has been through and his mindset.
Through his new-found maturity, however, he is able to form a healthy respect for the women in his life, a new-found legitimate appreciation of all of his friends, and he no longer has a deep seated insecurity that he is inferior to the immortals around him.
The new Jake that we see, through Finn’s eyes, also becomes a hugely respectable individual compared to his previous goofy self. It’s not that he’s no longer goofy, but that he now accepts his responsibilities, is able to put his energy into a focused task, and still retains his love of living life. Instead of the all-wise mentor that Finn once saw him as, he becomes a practical emotional guide and teaches Finn his own enjoyment of life.
This show has become a sort of role model to me. With the new season, its focus on giving the viewer a unique perspective, unique feelings and an experience that is difficult to find in the modern world of control is something that I absolutely adore. My only lamentation is that this means the show will have an end, because it must. This shows sparks within me the notion that I too may be able to live experiences for myself that will set me apart from the rest of the world, and it has given me a very special gift: a conceptual hero figure in the form of a cartoon boy named Finn.
I wish that I could write more on the subject, but having the depth that it does, that would require thesis levels of writing. If anyone out there has gotten to this point, please feel free to leave your insights in the comments. I would also love it if you left me a comment on what character profile I should make from the show on this blog, displaying exactly what I love about the characters, or even an episode that I can write about. This type of reviewing style on a show that I am passionate about really gets me fired up! And as you can see, there’s no end to what I can say about this lovely cartoon. (hopefully though, the next one will be shorter than 2000 words).
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