Topic > Series Analysis by Pendleton Ward, Adventure Time

Adventure Time with Finn and Jake is a comedy/adventure cartoon created by Pendleton Ward about a boy named Finn and his magically mutated dog Jake. Being brothers, Jake often serves as Finn's mentor and companion in adventures in this post-apocalyptic world. There is probably some remedy/advertising for the 1975 film titled A Boy and His Dog, which was originally intended for a younger audience, but has gained a much larger, adult audience since its release. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Adventure Time appealed to anime fans and attracted many who generally watch adult animation, such as Futurama and Rick and Morty. In fact, Adventure Time shares much of the same voice actors with these shows. The charm of the show lies in the rich fantasy setting and the light-hearted adventurous plot that asks many artistic questions and reflects many issues that all kinds of people face, while maintaining a certain innocence that allows for a wide audience. Thematic elements of raw emotional struggle often take the reins of this show's roller coaster, as characters often struggle with their past and present, experiencing daily survival in a post-apocalyptic nuclear world. The fact that the setting is a mutated, post-apocalyptic nuclear wasteland is not always so obvious and is in fact extremely well hidden, but reinforced by the fact that the animation, cartoons and adventure subvert the focus on the childlike air and the awe of exploration. the realms of living candy creatures and other inanimate living things. A recurring problem faced by Finn is that he often feels very lonely and romantically deprived living in a world without humans. Loneliness is a universal feeling recognizable to both children and adults, as is the desire to belong. He makes up for this by hanging out with the inhabitants of Ooo, especially the Flame Princess; as well as observing his recurring crush, Princess Bubblegum, but these relationships are not perfect and he, more often than not, ends up facing rejection and pain. Flame Princess and Finn have a relationship that ends up spanning many episodes without straying into romance genre territory, which is the key distinction that preserves the integrity of the adventure and cartoon genres. By not delving too much into the romance, but giving enough of it to pique interest and draw from an unexplored source, so to speak, the show can appeal to a younger audience and remains intact as it expands into teen and even young adult realms. he also seems to grow emotionally while simultaneously growing through the seasons. The content seems to age along with Finn, who was 12 when the show debuted, and has had several birthdays, putting him at the age of 16. The text often takes on a comedic tone in a lighthearted and entertaining way. while the characters live adventures that often deal with personal and cultural issues with an almost satirical flavour. For example, after being arrested Jake explains the formation of law and government and goes on to state that laws are built to benefit the greedy and "not made to help earthly cats like us", which seems to touch on anarcho-liberal political values in the country. United States and provides a sense of Jake's opposition to capitalism and centralized government. How these cultural and personal issues are addressed helps significantly in character development. Finn is, of course, a "good" character, as he often says throughout the show alto the point of frequently asking an opponent what his moral alignment is, and very rarely breaking the law. At one point he even releases a prisoner after proving that there is no evidence that he committed a crime, and so Finn takes his place. Defeats evil wherever it is; however, he faces many internal and demonic struggles make him question his moral compass. Problems with romance, friends, "growing up", deaths of loved ones, injuries, and past family problems (he was orphaned as a child and adopted by talking dogs) often leave him in strange mental places where he needs to find himself . One episode that specifically showcased these qualities was Season 5's Billy's Bucket List. After the death of Billy, a close friend of Finn's, Finn completes his unfinished wish list and Billy appears in the form of a constellation revealing to Finn that his father is alive (an apparent tribute to the Lion King.) Subsequent episodes involve Finn who finds his father; realizing he was a terrible, irresponsible person, and then losing his arm in a subsequent fight. After losing his arm, Finn struggles with his identity and ethics, to the point of telling his friends that he must find his father and take his arm to get revenge. Likewise there is a profound sense of three-dimensionality to Jake, who despite currently being a hero, was once a thief and criminal. After revealing his past to Finn, he states that he "didn't know it was wrong", which is well accentuated by the animation because the bright colors and disconnect from the live action prevent the show from being too real and becoming serious, which would. detract from the show and what is already expected by the intended audience. This helps maintain comedic integrity, while also allowing for much greater leeway before the need for comic relief. The amazing world of Adventure Time could not be created without the use of animation. Live action would prove expensive and perhaps too real, which is why many performances of live animation often turn out subpar. Animation evokes a greater willingness to suspend disbelief based on the fact that theatrical conventions for animation and cartoons are obviously very different from those applied to live action. The convenience of using cartoons and animation over live action leads to a much more effective design overall. in many respects. Budgets are more easily met, the creation of props, costumes, sets and lighting are limited only by what an individual is capable of drawing and animating. For example, Jake has the ability to stretch his body into enormous shapes and sizes which allows him to be the protector of the duo, and often provides comic relief when he mocks Finn by stretching his butt in Finn's face to mock him. This would not be possible, at least not easily and to the extent that it is possible to do it in animation, using live action. Previously, I mentioned the theatrical conventions and willingness to suspend disbelief that are central to the success of the genre across the mediums used. Using animation and cartoons, the adventure and comedy genres are able to do new things mainly because of the differences in conventions that people expect when they see a cartoon or animation. When the audience sees Finn floating building a tower in space using a magical ghost arm in cartoon form, one says "okay, that's normal." But if this were done in live action with CGI effects, we would probably be distracted by the CGI and how unrealistic it is. In a way, live action.