“What time is it?” If your first inclination upon hearing that question is NOT to look at your watch, you may be an Adventure Time geek. As such, you will be delighted to know that Season Four is now available on Blu-ray and DVD.
Ostensibly a children’s show, Adventure Time has a huge adult fan base, including its own subculture of cosplayers. I myself have gone out in public dressed as both Marceline and Lumpy Space Princess (not at the same time), and should note that there has never actually been a child present at any time I have viewed AT. So I assume children like this show (it’s supposedly #1 among boys 6–11 and #2 among kids 6–14), but I personally have only ever experienced it an adult context. If you are reading this and have heard of AT but pooh-poohed it as a kids’ thing unworthy of your time, I encourage you to rethink your priorities, because there is obviously not enough awesomeness in your life.
Season Four covers many memorable moments from the Land of Ooo. Romance is in the air! Our hero Finn crushes out on the may-or-may-not-be-evil Flame Princess; will his clumsy attempts at romancing a fire elemental inadvertently destroy the world? Apple pie baker extraordinaire Tree Trunks is romanced by Mr. Pig to the chagrin of everyone, both for excessive PDA and a pronounced lack of apple pie production. The Ice King makes his own love — literally, creating a monster wife from pieces of princesses. LSP makes a play for Finn after determining that his personality makes him “hot on the inside.”
“When I work these lumps, no man is immune to their influence.”
And of course, adventure is always on the horizon. Finn and Jake visit the Nightosphere, and attempt to save Marceline the Vampire Queen from her father’s influence. They visit the Fire Kindgom and become embroiled in a plot against the Flame King. Gunter and his clones try to take over the Candy Kingdom. And the ever-troublesome Lich is up to no good with an imitative bear and sinister plots involving Billy, Finn’s adventurer role model.
In between love and peril, we also get some Graybles, the introduction of epic game Card Wars, film noir a la BMO, and double trouble with the Earl of Lemongrab. Nefarious rascals Ricardio and Magic Man return, and we also start to learn of the weird, shared history between Marceline and the Ice King. Adventure Time always boasts a stable of awesome guest voices, and Season Four is no exception, with Lou Ferrigno, George Takei, Bobcat Goldthwait, Donald Faison, Miguel Ferrer, Ron Perlman, and Erik Estrada all making appearances.
THE PACKAGE
The disc is attractively packaged, with Marceline gracing the cover. With a total run time of 286 minutes, it includes every episode of Season Four, both with and without commentary by various people involved with the show. Commentary runs the gamut from discussing specific animation and genre choices of episodes like “BMO Noire,” to the seemingly random discussions of weird caricature drawing wars and personal gamer war stories overlaying the “Card Wars” episode.
The only special feature besides the commentary is a 19-minute piece called “Distant Bands: The Music of Adventure Time.” Though I was bummed more bonus featurettes weren’t included, “Distant Bands” is a good one, with creator Pen Ward and others discussing the music of Adventure Time. Music is an important element of AT, both the background music and the songs composed for the show and sung by its characters. “Distant Bands” covers the origins of fan favorites like Bacon Pancakes and Daddy Fries, in addition to revealing the musical background of various show staffers. (Hearing Pen Ward sing his homemade boy band song is pretty much worth the cost of the disc.)
Adventure Time Season Four is available on Blu-ray and DVD October 7, 2014.
