Review by Christine Miguel at Fan Expo Canada 2015 for Mr. Will Wong
What Time Is it!? Indeed, it’s Adventure Time with our hero Finn voiced by Jeremy Shada and our loveable villain Ice King voiced by Tom Kenny. Starting with a screening of the season six finale, the auditorium filled with Fiona, Marceline and Princess Bubblegum Cosplayers sang along to the opening song. Kenny peering into the audience strained to find an Ice King or Simon cosplayed to no avail, “I guess no one was willing to paint their face blue.”
Adventure Time, the multi-layered cartoon that many question whether it is or isn’t for kids, follows Finn the human with his brother Jake the Dog on quests and adventures in the post-Apocalyptic Land of Ooo. It is the multitude of characters and their complex often messy relationships with one another that many fans find very relatable with the occasional nugget of life wisdom thrown in. “This show goes deeper than most cartoons or even sitcoms,” muses Kenny. “Parents who are failing are a huge reoccurring theme,” further explaining how life in the Land of Ooo is not all idyllic. Despite the offbeat, at times, dark and twisted tone of the stories, the panel was quite lively and energetic with Kenny often breaking into the many characters he voices including Gunther and Spongebob.
“I don’t think I can be surprised about anything from Adventure Time,” remarked Shada when asked about the bizarre season finale.
The two joked and reminisced how the show has evolved over six seasons and impressed how the writers have been able to flesh out the characters with rich backstories. When asked what was their favourite episode to voice, Shada says, “Trouble in Lumpy Space” whereas Kenny fondly mentions anytime he has to voice the Banana Guards with Joe DiMaggio (voice talent for Jake the Dog) “because they are so stupid.”
They also shared tidbits on the next season including an entire episode using stop animation and an eight part miniseries called “Stakes” involving the show’s resident vampire musician Marceline. Also forthcoming were the rumours of an Adventure Time movie that was indeed in the works with the team from The Lego Movie who have signed on board. Something to look forward to in the next couple of years.
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