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Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake Spoiler-Filled Review

Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake is a mature animated series developed by Adam Muto. It is a spinoff of the well-known Adventure Time series. Unlike the original, it is aimed at a young adult audience. Muto, Fred Seibert, and Sam Register are executive producers. Debora Arroyo is another producer. Frederator Studios and Cartoon Network Studios produced the series. This piece was written during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Without labor of the actors currently on strike, Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake, being reviewed here, wouldn't exist.

Reprinted from Pop Culture Maniacs and Wayback Machine. This was the fifty-second article I wrote for Pop Culture Maniacs. This post was originally published on October 9, 2023.

Unlike the original series or the Adventure Time: Distant Lands specials, this series focuses on alternate versions of Finn the Human and Jake the Dog: Fionna Campbell (voiced by Madeleine Martin) and Cake (voiced by Roz Ryan). Character designer Natasha Allegri created them years ago. These characters debuted in the season 3 Adventure Time episode "Fionna and Cake." They made additional appearances in Seasons 5, 6, 8, and 9 of that series. In that series, they are part of Ice King's Finn and Jake fan fiction. Also, the characters appeared in comic books which Allegri co-created with other comic book artists.

This series brings Fionna and Cake beyond their depictions in Adventure Time. In this series, Fionna works as bus tour guide, but struggles to find her place. The fact that her apartment is a mess, with uncleanliness and dirty dishes, is symbolic. It shows that her life is disorderly. In many ways, her character is relatable. She stands up for herself and is on the edge between having work (and not). The latter is not unique. Protagonists of Magical Girl Friendship Squad, The Great Jahy, and The Devil is a Part-Timer! are impoverished and live in similar circumstances. The difference is that Fionna actively does not want to go to work. Instead, she likes to hang out with street musicians like Marshall Lee (voiced by Donald Glover).

Everything goes off the rails when Cake runs away, through a portal, and ends up in the land of Ooo. This terrifies Fionna, who desperately looks for Cake. In her search, she meets Hunter (voiced by Vico Ortiz), a woman who is planting weeds rather than picking them up, Ellis P (voiced by Pendleton Ward), who is her world's version of Lumpy Space Princess, and owner of a bakery where her friend Gary (voiced by Andrew Rannells) works: BB. The latter is her world's version of Princess Bubblegum. Gary is called Prince Gumball in Adventure Time.

As you can tell, there is a barrier to entry when watching this series. This series is made for Adventure Time fans. Those who aren't fans of that series can watch this series. However, they may miss something. Savvy fans may see comparisons to series such as The Legend of Korra, Bee and Puppycat, and Steven Universe Future. Others may recognize the anime references, either to Sailor Moon or My Neighbor Totoro, in the first episode.

This series may excite those who enjoy multiverses and alternate realities. In the first episode, Fionna believes she is chasing a rat bus which somewhat resembles the cat bus from My Neighbor Totoro, while wearing a Sailor Scout costume. At the last second, the mysterious Ice Prince saves her. Her alarm clock wakes her before she can learn more. This dream's importance is clear later in the series. Also, the fact that everything on TV is Cheers is significant not only because it was Simon Petrikov's favorite shows, but the show's tagline: "filmed in front of a live studio audience." It implies that Fionna's world is manufactured.

In Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake, Donald Glover, Tom Kenny, Sean Rohani, Roz Ryan, Madeleine Martin, James Kyson, Andy Daly, and Pendleton Ward reprise their roles as Marshall Lee, Simon Petrikov, Prismo, Cake, Fionna, Big Destiny, Wyatt, and Lumpy Space Princess (in the form of Ellis P.). Jeremy Shada, Hynden Walch, Olivia Olson, Ron Perlman, and Felicia Day voice the supporting characters Finn the Human, Princess Bubblegum, Marceline the Vampire Queen, The Litch, and Betty Grof, as they do in the original series. Kayleigh McKee, Cree Summer, Jinkx Monsoon, Andrey Bennett, and Brian David Gilbert join these voice actors.

These voice actors lend their voices as the Scarab, the Lemoncarbs, Astrid, and the Winter King. Summer and Monsoon are known for their voice and live-action roles. This series is McKee's first lead role. This is significant because McKee is a trans woman and due to the fact that her only voice roles before there were anime dubs for series such as Kageki Shojo!!, Sasaki and Miyano, and Lycoris Recoil. As for Bennett, this is one of her first voice roles, apart from work on Not Quite Narwhal, Ada Twist, Scientist, and City of Ghosts. This series is also the first major voice role for Gilbert as well.

Like Bennett and Gilbert, Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake is one of the first voice roles for Vico Ortiz. He voices Fern in this series. Previously, Ortiz voiced Tefé Holland in Harley Quinn. Ortiz is non-binary and genderfluid, and a Puerto Rican actor, activist, and drag king. Andrew Rannells, another voice actor for this series, is a White gay man. He voiced gay characters like King Barton in Princess Power, Matthew MacDell in Big Mouth, and William Clockwell in Invincible.

The wonderful thing about this series is how easily it meshes with the existing Adventure Time universe. There is little retroactive continuity. Extraordinarily little of previously established narratives are changed. Unpopular elements don't return nor are dead characters revived or reality disregarded. The series plotlines easily fit with plots in the original show. It is set after Adventure Time and Adventure Time: Distant Lands.

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The second episode of Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake makes this clearer. There is an interesting contrast between Simon's messy problems, which he hides away, and his attempt to keep his 20th-century antiquarian house clean, as an exhibit. It is revealed that Cake and Fionna were his creations. He dismisses them as "old stuff." This comes to a head when he talks to Finn in a bar, saying he can't relate to this alternate world, the Land of Ooo anymore, and admits he missed Ice King.

He goes on a quest led by Finn to an ancient part of Ooo. Simon reminisces about his "good memories" with Betty. However, so much is going through his head that he's unsure what to do. A song by non-binary screenwriter Rebecca Sugar, best known as the creator of Steven Universe, clearly and eloquently explains to the viewer what he is going through. Sugar has an upcoming personal album Spiral Bound released in November.

This comes with a fun moment between two queer characters known by Adventure Time and Adventure Time: Distant Lands fans: Princess Bubblegum (PB) and Marceline. Simon tries to talk about his struggles, after he admits that he made a little girl cry. Unfortunately, Marceline can't hear him since she, and her girlfriend, PB, are trying to get matching tattoos, but the artist is having trouble. On the one hand, this scene shows how Simon is holding back his true feelings by claiming "everything's fine" and there are no issues. On the other, it is a representation of queer representation in the series. Those who like the Bubbline pairing of Marceline and PB may be overjoyed by this short funny scene.

That scene is one example of representation in Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake. The series intercuts the growing relationship between Marshall Lee and Gary to that of Marceline and PB. This includes a world where PB and Star (a version of Marceline) are locked in combat. This could be an indication that PB and Marceline, in whatever form they take, have intertwined romantic destinies. Such storylines gave this queer couple "multiversal staying power."

The queerness of Gary and Marshall is shown unabashedly and openly, without anyone bating an eye. This contrasts the heterosexual themes in Adventure Time and previous fights by the crew of that series to have queer inclusion. Series creator Adam Muto said that LGBTQ+ representation in this series came from show writers and artists, who wanted their identities portrayed and expressed. Hopefully, other shows follow suit, even as animation industry is in crisis. As Raye Rodriguez, showrunner of High Guardian Spice, recently put it, "there are some companies that...have decided that they are like protectors of the gays...but that’s only as long as those companies decide to be that kind of brand." This was the case for The Owl House. Disney cancelled the series, and gave it a shortened third season, after executives declared that the show didn't fit the company's brand.

The second episode hints at what is to come: inter-dimensional travel of Cake and Fionna to the Land of Ooo. Simon uses an evil Choose Goose (voiced by Jeff Bennett), that taunts him, to open such a passage. Cake comes through, surprising Simon. To make matters worse, Prismo ignores a blinking light on his universal remote-control, indicating a new portal. In the third episode, Fionna follows a sparkly blue light and appears in Ooo. Simon determines that she isn't "real" and blames the goose. Thanks to help from a big Fionna and Cake fan, Astrid (voiced by Andrey Bennett), she saves Cake after she is kidnapped following an encounter with a talking squirrel. Soon enough, Prismo realizes this is a major issue which could get him in trouble. It would reveal his unauthorized world, where Fionna and Cake live. So, he teleports Cake, Fionna, and Simon to his headquarters-of-sorts.

The stakes of Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake are raised when Scarab (voiced by Kayleigh McKee) enters the scene. They are an auditor tasked with tracking down violators. They set their sights on Prismo for letting an item on his remote-control blink for too long. It is possible that Scarab may have had a previous bone to pick with Prismo and is using this as an excuse to get back at him. The entire universe of Fionna and Cake's universe (called "Fionna World" for short) is at stake. Prismo made it in an unauthorized fashion and stored it within Simon's head. The world changed after Simon was no longer Ice King. Prismo warns that the fact that the universe exists at all could result in unintended consequences for other realities.

Before Scarab catches them, Simon, Fionna, and Cake escape the Time Room and appear in another world. Thus begins their trip through the multiverse to find a crown. The plan is for Simon to become Ice King again and bring back magic to Fionna World. They first arrive in Farmworld. Simon hopes they can get clues about the crown's location in the library, but this is soon dashed. Library books are stolen so they can be burned and used for a funeral. In the process, they meet Jay Mertens (voiced by Tiffany Wu). He has a crush on Little Destiny (voiced by Mickey Zacchilli) of the Destiny Gang. Fionna is scammed by the world's version of the Choose Goose, who gives them a fake crown. In response, Cake beats them up.

This world involves Finn leading a family with several children and a traitorous Choose Goose. Scarab follows them, thinking he can chase them down. Unfortunately, they can't find a magic crown, as it was annihilated. Furthermore, a version of PB tattles about where Jay, Simon, Fionna, and Cake went. Scarab, after capturing Prismo, catches up with them, following them to the next world: the Winter Kingdom. In that world, Fionna develops a crush on the Winter King.

The Winter King acts suave, which pulls in Fionna. He claims that he created his own winter wonderland by sheer "force of will." He also declares that he is making Simon a duplicate crown. In some ways, he resembles the Diamonds in Steven Universe. He has servants called ice scouts, which somewhat resembles pearls, and he sings a song to explain his story. Fionna even slays citizens of the Candy Kingdom to rescue Simon and Winter King from Candy Queen. She is a version of PB, a cross between Spinel and Harley Quinn. As it turns out, the world falls apart when Fionna kisses the Winter King. PB reforms into her usual form. She kisses Fionna on the cheek as a thank you. Fionna lifted the "curse": negative energy from the crown changed the Candy Kingdom's citizens into monsters.

In Fionna World, the romance between Gary and Marshall, as mentioned earlier, develops. Gary is worried about Fionna's whereabouts. He plans to start his own business. He even goes to a local fair with Marshall. Later, in an attempt to help Gary's recipes gain traction, Marshall brings in the Lemon Carbs. In their typical fashion, the Lemon Carbs, which have a sour personality by their very nature, hate the snacks. Even so, Marshall and Gary get closer. They go to a gothic-style church where Marshall's parents live, where Gary pitches his pastry idea. He ends up calling out Marshall's mom. Although hesitant at first, Marshall ends up leaving with him. Both kiss in an elevator as they leave the building, infuriating everyone, especially Marshall's mom.

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Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake has a serialized storyline. This is clear from the fact that Fionna reflects on her actions, like hurting innocent candy people in the sixth episode to make her "dream" true. Although Simon claims that the next world will have a Simon cursed in the "right way," she isn't sure. Her suspicion is correct. In the next world, a non-magical Simon was killed. Then, the Vampire King adopted Marceline (called Star in this world). As a result, she became a vampire princess.

This world is one of the more interesting. Bonnie heads up a tank, with Martin Mertens and Huntress, to settle a score with Star. However, Star messes with/flirts with Bonnie, saying she will "have her heart." Although Simon says that in his world Marcy and Bonnie fell in love, the Bonnie of this world pushes this idea away. The attack on the "hive" of vampires seems to be successful. Star ensures that the battle is far from over. She and Bonnie fight, with queer tension between them, as much is present in the fights between Catra and Adora throughout all five seasons of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power.

Fionna cares about Cake, and Cake cares for Fionna. This dynamic is fraught with tension. For one, Cake is angry that she was pulled to a terrible wasteland world since their dimensional remote control is malfunctioning. She was prevented from grabbing the Vampire King's magic crown. Fionna and Cake seem at odds with one another. After watching disturbing videotapes from Ice King, thanks to BMO, both realize that the crown caused Simon to lose his mind, and this tension ends.

All of this happens while Simon is struggling to realize what his identity is in the world, and what Betty means to him. He often reminisces about his "fond memories" of Betty, including how they met and went on adventures together. Fionna and Cake return to their world. He is forced to confront this when he meets Golb. The Lich, which destroyed everything in an entire world, is a being which now feels empty and worthless. Golb easily turns the Lich into a block without much effort.

This results in a journey in the last two episodes. Simon attempts to look, in the form of Shermy, for a book about a magic crown. He wants to return magic to Fionna World. He follows the story of Nova and Casper, which parallels his relationship with Betty. As a result, he comes to realization that he caused Betty to subordinate her desires to his. At the same time, Fionna and Cake come back to their world and fight off the Scarabs with help from Gary and Marshall. This is unsuccessful. Scarab reforms, due to Ellis P.'s cluelessness.

The final episode of Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake ends with a bang. Simon realizes that he doesn't need to be Ice King. He only wanted that so his life would matter. As a result, he gives Fionna control of her world. She brings it back into existence while Scarab is trying to destroy everything. Scarab remains determined to destroy it piece by piece, even after it becomes a canonized universe. Prismo deems Scarab "not cool" for their destructive actions. Fionna ends up winning the battle against Scarab, who is now weaker. In a huge form, she crushes him, thanks to Cake becoming a hammer. This allows him to be captured.

The series finale implies that it will be self-contained and not have a season 2. The world continues to be rebuilt. Gary's business is booming. Marshall protests his mom. Gary and Marshall remain a couple. In addition, Simon enjoys himself, even talking to Finn's mom about the experience of Fionna and Cake on his life. Prismo collaborates with Scarab, who can't harm anyone anymore. They create a medieval mystery drama world together.

Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake could be an effective way to wrap up the Adventure Time franchise, which began in 2007 with a pilot for Nicktoons. Later, that pilot was adapted into an animated series. It premiered in April 2010 on Cartoon Network. As noted before, this series includes more queerness than before. Fionna might be queer. She is attracted to Winter King, and likes being around Hunter, as shown in a final scene.

Additionally, this series has racial diversity. It is the first time that Marshall Lee is a visibly Black character. Muto said that “it would have felt harder to rationalize not showing [Marshall Lee] that way.” Some fans have questioned whether Marshall's more well-known female version, Marceline, was Black, even though she was an established character of color with a Black or Brown mother. It ignores the fact that Olson, who voices Marceline, is of Afro-Jamaican descent. Muto added that they tried to make sure that the show's cast had "representation that better reflects the world we live in." Show writer Kate Tsang helped them in this task.

Whether Marshall or Marceline, there are Black vampires across media. This includes characters in a mature action and dark fantasy series, Castlevania: Nocturne, like Drolta Tzuentes. This representation comes at a time that the number of Black animated series are increasing. This year, alone, there have been series such as My Dad the Bounty Hunter, Supa Team 4, Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, and The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder. A recent addition, Young Love, joined this list, based on Matthew Cherry's 2019 short animated film, Hair Love. It is also airing on Max. However, it aired four episodes a week rather than two episodes a week for some reason.

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There are other praiseworthy elements in Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake. Melissa Villaseñor, Cristina Valenzuela (also known as Cristina Vee), Phil LaMarr, Chelsea Peretti, Robbie Daymond, and Ellie Newlands guest voice characters. These people are known for their voice work on Amphibia, Primos (upcoming), RWBY, Helluva Boss, Futurama, Samurai Jack, Static Shock, My Dad the Bounty Hunter, The Legend of Vox Machina, and Unicorn: Warriors Eternal.

There are six people who wrote on, or storyboarded five or more episodes of this series: Hanna K. Nyström, Anna Syvertsson, Jacob Winkler, Iggy Craig, Graham Falk, and Jim Campbell. Most of them had previously worked on Adventure Time: Distant Lands, and four of them worked on Adventure Time. Also, Winkler storyboarded for Infinity Train. Craig wrote and did prop design on the same series. Falk, Nyström, and Campbell storyboarded on Summer Camp Island. Adding to this, Craig was a character designer for Craig of the Creek. Campbell storyboarded and wrote episodes of Over the Garden Wall.

Other storyboarders and writers worked on two or more episodes. They include Lucyola Langi, Sonja von Marensdorff, Nicole Rodriguez, Haewon Lee, and Jackie Files. Two worked on the aforementioned Distant Lands. Others worked on Summer Camp Island, Infinity Train, or OK K.O.: Let's Be Heroes!. Langi and Rodriguez worked on series within the Steven Universe franchise. Langi designed characters for Steven Universe. Rodriguez storyboarded on Steven Universe Future and Steven Universe: The Movie.

Langi storyboarded for We Bare Bears. Rodriguez storyboarded on The Owl House, Central Park, The Great North, Hazbin Hotel, and Helluva Boss. She also animated Obituary: A Grave Beginning, later turned into a webcomic. von Marensdorff previously storyboarded episodes of The Jellies. She also animated the animated short, entitled Crow. The supervising directors for this series, Ryann Shannon and Steve Wolfhard, are well-known for their work in the animation industry. This includes OK K.O.!, for Shannon, and Bravest Warriors, Amphibia, and Big City Greens, among others, for Wolfhard.

Overall, this series avoids inconsistencies and focus on all-ages in Adventure Time. It is more of a united story than Adventure Time: Distant Lands, a limited series with four loosely connected vignettes. Furthermore, there is no wasted space in this series. No part feels like "filler." Instead, everything fits well together. The characters, animation, and voice acting mix with a strong story. With the animation industry in turmoil at the moment, and Warner Bros. Discovery purging Max of animated series deemed as "low rated," a second season seems unlikely. If so, this season easily wraps up the plot, like My Dad the Bounty Hunter does in its second season. An additional season could be weaker than the first one.

Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake can be streamed on Max. In Australia, it can be watched on Binge and Fox8.

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