"Come along with me, And the butterflies and bees
We can wander through the forest, And do so as we please.
Come along with me, To a cliff under a tree
Where we can gaze upon the water, As an everlasting dream"
Way back in the first season of “Adventure Time”, in a comedic episode called “The Duke”, the main character Finn the Human is discussing a mistake he had made with The Duke of Nuts, who was being blamed for it. Part of the way through their discussion, the Duke calming looks at Finn and says “Hey, it's ok. People make mistakes. It’s all part of growing up, and you never really stop growing.”
“Adventure Time” premiered on April 5, 2010 and helped to pave the way for many more animated shows to follow. Its new form of wild creativity hadn’t been seen in the past decade of animation as most shows had drifted towards the formulaic, sitcom approach to storytelling. But “Adventure Time” changed all of that. It gave birth, both inadvertently and on purpose, to shows like “Steven Universe”, “OK KO”, “Gravity Falls”, “Rick and Morty”, “Over the Garden Wall” and many more.
Even with the acclaim it's been given, as well as the awards and the talent its spawned, “Adventure Time” always seemed to face an uphill battle from the general public not familiar with it. Most have described it as weirdness just for the sake of it, as a bizarre show with no point. However, that’s just what makes the show great. It isn’t afraid to be weird to make a point. In the season five episode “Puhoy”, Jake the Dog, best friend to main character Finn the Human, expresses his way of dealing with problems by saying “You see this cup? This is literally my favorite cup. (He throws it through the window.) Now it's gone forever. So it's not real, and I don't care about it anymore.”
Even to fans who may be upset at others immediate dismissal of the show as weird or kiddy stuff, “Adventure Time”, has a response for that as well. In the season seven episode “Bonnie and Neddy”, Princess Bubblegum simply states “People get built different. We don't need to figure it out, we just need to respect it”. Some people will like “Adventure Time” and some won’t. And even “Adventure Time” itself sees no problem with that.
And now its over. On September 3, 2018, the finale “Come Along With Me” aired on Cartoon Network and put the story of the Land of Ooo to rest. It featured an epic final battle that wasn’t a battle. Most of the episode is based around Finn attempting to defuse a potential war peacefully, even with weapons and skills at his disposal. It speaks volumes not only about the show, but the kind of character that Finn has been built to be.
In the latter half of the episode, things come to an almost certain end. Many characters confirm their love for each other, and the world seems on the brink. One scene in particular showcases a particularly bleak scenario with calmness. As three characters are about to certainly die, one turns to another and said “hey, no one gets to choose how it happens. The most important thing is that we’re together.”
There’s a sad irony in that statement, as profound as it is, especially in a cartoon mainly aimed at children. Because as much as “Adventure Time” has grown, now at its end, most of its crew have left to pursue shows of their own.
Former Writer Julia Potts is now creating her own show “Summer Camp Island”, which premiered in July of 2018. Natasha Allegri, a former storyboard artist and creator of the gender swapped “Fiona and Cake” episodes of “Adventure Time”, left to pursue her own show, the online series “Bee and Puppycat”.
Ian-Jones Quarterly is doing double duty working on his own show “OK KO” and “Steven Universe”, the latter of which was created by former-Adventure Time songwriter, storyboard artist, voice actress and writer Rebecca Sugar.
Even series creator Pendleton Ward left after five seasons of the show. But he still contributes to stories and approves episodes if any of the writers want his feedback. The show’s family has also managed to grow though out the years as well, with Adam Muto taking the reins after Ward and internet personality and voice actress Ashely Burch joined the writing staff.
“Adventure Time” had won awards; eight Primetime Emmys, three Annies, and a Peabody award, amassed hundreds of thousands of fans, created comic books, video games, books, a card game, and inspired animators, musicians, and creators the world over. Few shows in the last decade have had the same impact, on young children and adults, as “Adventure Time” has. Entertainment Weekly Senior Writer Darren Franich described the show as follows: “Adventure Time makes me wish I were a kid again, just so I could grow up to be as awesome as the kids who are currently watching Adventure Time will be.”
The curtain may have fallen for “Adventure Time” on television, but it hasn’t left the industry quite yet. There’s a movie that has been in development with Warner Bros. Animation since 2015. A video game inspired by “The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker”, “Adventure Time: Pirates of the Enchiridion” was released in July of 2018 joins the ranks of countless other “Adventure Time” games. There’s even a comic series set to being soon that will serve as the show’s 11 season, much in the same way “Invader Zim” had its canon continuation comic run in 2015.
“Adventure Time” as a show deals with the past, present, and future all virtually simultaneously. It’s a show that has characters who’ve lived through thousands of years and shows them dealing with their pasts and traumas as they grow old with their new, younger friends. It’s a show that isn’t afraid to show the different ways traumas can affect people: one need only to look at Marceline and Ice King as two very different examples of ways of coping. It also knows that regardless of where, when, or how it ends, its characters will die eventually. It’s irrefutable, and how it happens doesn’t really matter. It’s heavy stuff for a silly cartoon aimed at kids.
But for the foreseeable future, Finn and Jake’s adventures are over. They will no longer be there with new adventures and new lessons every week for the kids and adults that grew up with them. It's hard not to get emotional with the series ending. Not just because its been building to an actual ending, as opposed to being cutoff by cancellation. But because, just like before, the show is aware of its own conclusion.
And it, with the help of Rebecca Sugar, delivers one final song to help fans accept that idea, and that ending.
“You and I will always be best friends.”
Mathmatical.
