2 - Adventure Time Appeals To Both Child And Adult Viewers

     Even if Adventure Time was originally aimed at children, it has somehow attracted the adult audience as well. Quite an unbelievable feat that they have made since it is not something that can easily be done. Pendleton Ward would simply say that they just "luck out" but I guess that it is what you would expect from the way they wrote the stories. So weird and random yet still entertaining to watch. How do you suppose were they able to do it?

     As a viewer, I can say that I appreciate and enjoy how the story goes. There will be some episodes that will either inform us about a certain character's past or personality, then suddenly they will show more of Finn and Jake's random adventures, then, at some point, they will return to showing us more information about the same character. I know it sounds confusing but I actually find it to be a clever technique. It keeps us viewers waiting to see what happens next. And another interesting thing is that some of their random episodes would actually be part of some bigger story, like in one episode when Finn and Jake meet a bear who only wants to be a hero like Finn. So Finn decides to give him the "Enchiridion", the hero's manual, not knowing that the bear was actually tasked to get that book from him in order to give it to the Lich. It's simple stories like these that make me enjoy watching this series.

     Through my research, I was able to come across this article written by S.E. Sinkhorn. It was about Adventure Time and Cross-Audience Appeal. Here, she explained how the makers of the show were able to make it so that even adults could enjoy it. She stated that the writers never forget their target audience. Which, I guess, is true since most of the time everything is just quite humorous. But even so, the show can be mysterious. Especially in terms of the show's past. The show takes place in a post-apocalyptic world. Not really something that all children could understand. But maybe that's why adults love this show. Sometimes they do come up with things that they can understand which, in the end, are also quite humorous. Another thing that I would like to mention is how the writers don't restrict themselves from the idea that maybe the children won't be able to understand some of the jokes or puns. They just go for whatever idea they can come up with. Here's a quote from the article, 

Many times, people assume entertainment for children needs to be simple and superficial because kids can't understand or relate to anything else. Not true. Kids can think a character saying "ALGEBRAIC!" in place of "AWESOME!" is just as hilarious as adults.

This is another reason that makes the show so great and so appealing to viewers of all ages. Because it doesn't have a lot of restrictions, everyone can enjoy the simple humor that is put in it. However, I guess that is why the show needs parental guidance. Not all of its content is found acceptable for children. Most of the time, Cartoon Network does a lot of editing before they can air some episodes, nevertheless, I guess that's one more reason why adults are interested in it. The idea that the show is not 100% purely for children is definitely something that attracts them.

1 - What Makes Adventure Time So Great?

     Who knew that the cartoon "Adventure Time" would create such a huge impact on Cartoon Network. To think that the creator, Pendleton Ward, only wanted to make a cartoon that he would have enjoyed as a child. It's amazing how its unique and simple design made it as popular as it is today. But what exactly does make this show so great? And how does it continue to captivate its audience?

     Well, simplicity is best. Initially, the show is about a boy and his dog who goes on all sorts of weird and magical adventures. And it is due to this that they are able to come up with different stories for the show. In fact, it's like it has no boundaries. They could even defy logic and it would still be entertaining to watch. It is why the show has become such a big hit with its viewers. Everyday is a new adventure waiting to happen and no one knows what would happen next. I came across an article, during my research, in the website Den of Geek which explains this. The author, Robert Mclaughlin, wrote about how the show is so unique and imaginative that it was able to catch the attention of both child and adult viewers. And how rare it is to be able to find a cartoon that does that.

     The show is interesting to watch. Its diverse characters make it more fun to create stories. You could never run out of random adventures for Finn and Jake since everything in their world is almost possible. I mean, they even came up with Martians living on Mars whose king is Abraham Lincoln, half unicorn and half rainbow creatures called Rainicorns that apparently used to eat humans, candy people from the Candy Kingdom who explode when they get scared, small partying bears that like to party in a monster's belly, and A LOT more. The possibilities are just endless with this show. Here's a quote from the said article,

This is the first cartoon in a long time that is pure imagination, and its non-reliance on continually referencing pop culture (okay, apart from the Auto-Tune machine), and the general outlook is positive and fun.

It is definitely one of the reasons why it is so fun to watch and that's what makes it so amazing. You just never know what to expect. Another factor that makes it unique is that, unlike in most cartoons wherein the characters would be stuck in a permanent childhood, the characters of Adventure Time age while they progress. Which is something I appreciate about this show since not a lot of shows are like that. It's interesting because it's fun to watch them grow. And due to the fact that anything could happen in the show, it has also developed a shroud of mystery in some of it's episodes. Because of this, it makes the viewers want to watch more just to try to find out what could have happened in a character's past. Another reason why this show is so captivating.

     So far, the show has been making a great impression on its viewers. It's as if the people who have made it has finally devised a perfect plan to make it interest their viewers for a long time. I hope that other animators could be inspired to do the same when they decide to create a cartoon. I know that it won't be easy, but I guess that is what makes Adventure Time such a gem. To think that this is what has become of a simple children's show.

Introduction: Factors That Make Adults Watch Adventure Time

     I have been watching Adventure Time ever since I first saw it on Cartoon Network during the year 2010. It caught my attention because I enjoyed how the characters were drawn and how the story progressed. It's about a 14 year old boy named Finn who goes on different kinds of adventures with his best friend, Jake the Dog, who has magical powers that allow him to stretch into anything. They live in a Tree House with a living game console named BMO and are friends with Princess Bubblegum, who rules over the Candy Kingdom, Marceline the Vampire Queen, and Lumpy Space Princess (LSP for short), who looks like a floating purple cloud. I know, it sounds strange and magical already. But it is a children's show.

     But even if the show was aimed for children, a lot of adults watch it too. And I wonder, why is that? What do adults find in Adventure Time that's so interesting? Do they watch it for the same reasons that we do? I mean, I understand that there are some cartoons that adults like to watch, like Family Guy or The Simpsons, but Adventure Time isn't like those shows. It's purely imaginative and playful. So how come it was able to catch the attention of a lot of adults? And how come it hasn't attracted all of them? Well, through this blog I intend to find out why. I will be writing about the factors and the possible reasons why Adventure Time has become a favourite to some adults.

     As I have mentioned before, the show is mainly about Finn and Jake. Finn is actually the last human on earth probably due to the Mushroom War (which was probably a Nuclear war) and the fact that Rainicorns, half unicorn and half rainbow creatures, ate humans. But now they eat soy-people since they assumed that humans were extinct. Meanwhile, Jake is a talking dog. He didn't acquire his stretchy powers from birth. In theory, he got them as a puppy when he played in a magic mud puddle. Also, his parents adopted Finn when they found him stuck to a leaf in a forest when he was a baby. Which is how Jake and Finn became best friends. Also, Jake's father was an adventurer which is why they want to become adventurers too. To follow in his footsteps. The shows main antagonist would probably be the Ice King, whose real name is Simon Petrikov. He used to be human until he wore the crown which gave him the powers of ice and snow and slowly made him insane. Which is why he has no memory of his human life. However, recent turn of events suggest that he's actually a good person so I'm not sure if I can classify him as their main antagonist. However there is another who's probably more evil than him, the Lich. He is an ancient evil. The foe of the former adventurer, Billy, whom Finn and Jake also admired. As of now we know that he has been defeated. We are not sure if he is going to come back for revenge.

     As you can tell, the show has some dark secrets, like its past. And I know that the creator, Pendleton Ward, doesn't wish to dwell much on these dark pasts. But they will probably show some of the more relevant ones in some episodes. But when you think about it, will children be able to understand the kind of world that Finn and Jake both live in and what events made it the way it is today? Maybe that's one reason why adults must enjoy the show? I hope that with this blog I'll be able to find out.