Adventure Time is a cartoon about a 13 year old boy named Finn and his best friend and Brother Jake the dog living in a magical world called Ooo, where they fight evil, sort out girl problems, have epic adventures and just hang out. Its creator Pendleton Ward just wanted to make a delightful cartoon for kids but ended up creating a wonderful show with something for all ages. Underneath the colourful and cute landscape lays the remains of a long previous nuclear war, referenced only as the ‘Mushroom War’, an incredibly deep plot about identity between the Ice King and Marceline, and many subtle sexual jokes as well as jokes or references made for an older audience.

This scene between the Ice King and Marceline takes a real look at the relationship between the two just after the Mushroom War and shows how Marceline feels about her dear pal who has succumbed to madness from his crown. Accessed on March 27 2013.

Each episode is a different look at an aspect of this world and sometimes it takes a very serious look at the world around it. The back story of the world is one that is looked at through the use of Marceline and the Ice King. It is known that Ice King was a normal person before the Mushroom War, who found the crown which gave him the power of Ice allowing him to find and save Marceline but also turning him crazy at the same time. In the video above we see the last words of Simon as he turns into the crazy Ice King who is now singing these words believing them to just be lyrics and nothing more serious. As the episode progresses, Marceline is forced to deal with the reality that the man that saved her as a little girl is now consumed by madness. Although the younger audience might not understand exactly what is happening, the older audience completely understand that Marceline is feeling extreme pain at her loss.

This “racy” scene looks at the relationship between Jake and his girlfriend Lady Rainicorn who find out they are pregnant and have babies throughout the series. Accessed on March 27 2013.

In the first episode of Adventure Time you get to see Lady Rainicorn and Jake enjoy “Seven Minutes of Heaven” in a closet while at a party. Their relationship is quite PG after this moment until it becomes apparent that Lady Rainicorn is pregnant. Although details aren’t discussed due to the intended audience, the older following completely understand what has transpired in the last few months and what is to come. To couple this, in another episode, Jake explains the different “tiers” of a relationship to Finn who is getting into the dating game. This talk closely resembles the birds and the bees talk and is cut short when Finn asks about the highest tier which Jake quickly responds to, saying “Do not do tier 15!” Other small references aimed at adults include the writing of the number ‘5318008’ in a book a character is looking through, and other more darker themes thrown in as well including a character called Lemongrab.

Jake explains the tier’s to Finn and also finds out about Lady Rainicorn being pregnant. Accessed on March 27 2013.

Pendleton Ward stated in an interview “… I really think there is humor for adults and kids. And I think the stuff for adults just goes over the kids’ heads just like [Pee-Wee’s Playhouse] or The Simpsons did. And that was another goal I had in mind was to make something that everyone could watch.” He has been able to pull this off perfectly without the intended audience realising the subtle messages left in to please the older crowd. Ward has taken into consideration his real audience compared to who he originally wrote for and catered to their needs by invoking some subtle humour and a deeper plot which intrigues the audience and makes them wish for more.

References:

Asay,P. (n.d) Adventure Time with Finn & Jake. Retrieved March 27 2013 from http://www.pluggedin.com/tv/abc/adventuretimewithfinnandjake.aspx