In which Central Avenue watches Adventure Time
Yep, a full two months after I first decided to do this, I've finally stopped putting it off. I've been wanting to watch this show for a loooong time, in part because Naney has assured me I'll like it, so here, without further ado, is my blog of the first episode, "Slumber Party Panic".
We open on Finn and Princess Bubblegum mixing chemicals in a cemetery.
See, I can already tell I'm going to love this show. The only thing better than a weird cartoon is a weird cartoon that just drops you into its nonsense with no exposition or backstory. Chef and Waiterman would be proud.
Princess Bubblegum is apparently making a "decorpsinator serum" to bring dead Candy People back to life. But her formula is incomplete. Instead of restoring the Candy People to full health, it turns them into sugar-craving zombies...and they're headed straight for the Candy Kingdom!
Finn and the Princess rush back to the kingdom, where Bubblegum assembles the citizens in her palace. Rather than warn them about the zombies, however, she simply tells them she's hosting a huge slumber party for them all. In private, she explains to Finn that the Candy People can't ever know about the zombies, because...holy crap! The Candy People literally explode when they get scared!
Bubblegum makes Finn ~Royal Promise~ not to spill the beans about the zombies before rushing off to correct her serum. But, uh oh, Jake realizes they're up to something, and tries to get Finn to share!
There's a brilliant bit here where a talking cupcake asks Jake about eating chocolate and fudge, to which he responds by explaining that eating either would kill him because he's a dog. Something about this is just so hilariously surreal. Like, we're dealing with a world of talking candy and magic zombie serums, but the real-world rules of canine nutrition still apply.
Anyway, the zombies have finally made it to the castle, so Finn is now faced with the dual task of defending the castle from the zombies while simultaneously keeping the Candy People (and Jake) in the dark about their presence. This culminates in a brilliant sequence in which Finn blindfolds the Candy People and convincing them they're busting piñatas when they are, in fact, beating the living candy out of the zombies.
Jake sees the carnage and wants to know what's going on, so Finn casually explains. But suddenly everything freezes in blue—uh oh, Finn broke his Royal Promise!
The Guardians of the Royal Promise appear and explain penalty for breaking a Royal Promise is death, but because the Princess pleads for mercy, Finn is instead allowed to answer a math question. Things look bleak, as Finn is terrible at math, but in a stroke of luck he's given the very simple problem 2 + 2, which he correctly answers as 4.
Finn and Bubblegum are freed and the world slowly returns to normal. As luck would have it, Bubblegum realizes that 4 is the answer—the last number she needs to perfect her decorpsinator formula! And so Finn and Bubblegum return to the palace and restore the dead undead Candy People to full health. The end.
Wow, what can I say? I feel like I wrote a freakin' essay about an 11-minute cartoon, and I barely even scratched the surface. I love the way this show just revels in its own strangeness. Why is there a kingdom full of sapient sweets? Why do a human kid and a dog hang out with their Princess? Why does she want to revive the dead in the first place? It's complete nonsense, but as a wise woman once said, nonsense is good.
Tune in next time as I check out episode 2, "Trouble in Lumpy Space"!
We open on Finn and Princess Bubblegum mixing chemicals in a cemetery.
See, I can already tell I'm going to love this show. The only thing better than a weird cartoon is a weird cartoon that just drops you into its nonsense with no exposition or backstory. Chef and Waiterman would be proud.
Princess Bubblegum is apparently making a "decorpsinator serum" to bring dead Candy People back to life. But her formula is incomplete. Instead of restoring the Candy People to full health, it turns them into sugar-craving zombies...and they're headed straight for the Candy Kingdom!
Finn and the Princess rush back to the kingdom, where Bubblegum assembles the citizens in her palace. Rather than warn them about the zombies, however, she simply tells them she's hosting a huge slumber party for them all. In private, she explains to Finn that the Candy People can't ever know about the zombies, because...holy crap! The Candy People literally explode when they get scared!
Bubblegum makes Finn ~Royal Promise~ not to spill the beans about the zombies before rushing off to correct her serum. But, uh oh, Jake realizes they're up to something, and tries to get Finn to share!
There's a brilliant bit here where a talking cupcake asks Jake about eating chocolate and fudge, to which he responds by explaining that eating either would kill him because he's a dog. Something about this is just so hilariously surreal. Like, we're dealing with a world of talking candy and magic zombie serums, but the real-world rules of canine nutrition still apply.
Anyway, the zombies have finally made it to the castle, so Finn is now faced with the dual task of defending the castle from the zombies while simultaneously keeping the Candy People (and Jake) in the dark about their presence. This culminates in a brilliant sequence in which Finn blindfolds the Candy People and convincing them they're busting piñatas when they are, in fact, beating the living candy out of the zombies.
Jake sees the carnage and wants to know what's going on, so Finn casually explains. But suddenly everything freezes in blue—uh oh, Finn broke his Royal Promise!
The Guardians of the Royal Promise appear and explain penalty for breaking a Royal Promise is death, but because the Princess pleads for mercy, Finn is instead allowed to answer a math question. Things look bleak, as Finn is terrible at math, but in a stroke of luck he's given the very simple problem 2 + 2, which he correctly answers as 4.
Finn and Bubblegum are freed and the world slowly returns to normal. As luck would have it, Bubblegum realizes that 4 is the answer—the last number she needs to perfect her decorpsinator formula! And so Finn and Bubblegum return to the palace and restore the dead undead Candy People to full health. The end.
Wow, what can I say? I feel like I wrote a freakin' essay about an 11-minute cartoon, and I barely even scratched the surface. I love the way this show just revels in its own strangeness. Why is there a kingdom full of sapient sweets? Why do a human kid and a dog hang out with their Princess? Why does she want to revive the dead in the first place? It's complete nonsense, but as a wise woman once said, nonsense is good.
Tune in next time as I check out episode 2, "Trouble in Lumpy Space"!
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