The Freedom of Pendleton Ward
A massive battle known only as the ominous “Mushroom War” has effectively destroyed humanity. Earth’s very crust has been half-shattered as though an asteroid has sheared a quarter of half the planet. Our hero suspects he is the only human remaining in existence.
This is not, we should note, the plot of a sci-fi novel or a summer blockbuster film. Instead it is the premise behind Pendleton Ward’s popular cartoon Adventure Time, which airs on Cartoon Network. The series follows a pair of friends — Jake the (shapeshifting) dog and Finn the human — as they battle boredom, rescue and hang out with an array of eclectic princesses, and explore dungeons and seek adventure glory.
Adventure Time is part science fiction dystopia, part fantasy adventure, part bedtime children’s story, part teen drama, and part bromance comedy. Perhaps the keys to the show’s success — and therefore the most prominent genre — is in the bromance teen dramedy elements: the relationship between the brotherly main characters, Finn and Jake, and the constant tension between Finn and his trio of love interests — a bubblegum princess, a flame princess, and vampire kinda-princess.
But what the casual viewer may miss in the dynamic relationships of the show is the ingenuity of its creator, Pendleton Ward. The universe he built in Adventure Time is at the same time sarcastic and fully invested, childish and heavy, goofy and tragic. Its first episode on Cartoon Network featured a kingdom of candy people. Being attacked by candy people zombies. Its hero has no discernable super powers in a world replete with magic and super-science. The villain is a tragic and endearing loner.