Adventure Time: Distant Lands

Adventure Time: Distant Lands is the collective name for four hour-long web television specials based on the American animated television series Adventure Time, which was created by Pendleton Ward and originally aired on Cartoon Network from 2010 to 2018. The specials are produced by Cartoon Network Studios and Frederator Studios; the first special was released on HBO Max on June 25, 2020.[1] The series at large follows the adventures of Finn (a human boy) and his best friend and adoptive brother Jake, a dog with magical powers to change shape and size at will. Finn and Jake live in the post-apocalyptic Land of Ooo, where they interact with the series' other main characters, including Princess Bubblegum, Marceline the Vampire Queen, and BMO.

Adventure Time: Distant Lands
Promotional poster
Country of originUnited States
No. of episodes1
Release
Original networkHBO Max
Original releaseJune 25, 2020 –
present
Season chronology

Cast

Main cast

Supporting cast
  • Y5 – voiced by Glory Curda[3]: Y5, appearing in "BMO", is an anthropomorphic rabbit and 13 year old scientist [4] who lives on a space station called the Drift.[5] Originally named "Y4", Y5 chooses her new name[6] with BMO's encouragement and eventually becomes the robot's "deputy."[7][8][9] Y5 struggles with managing the expectations of her parents (voiced by Tom Kenny and Michelle Wong, respectively), and finds herself forced to disobey them in order to save the Drift—all the while discovering her own identity.[8][10] In "BMO," Y5—with the titular robot's assistance—helps the citizens of the Drift defeat Hugo, and after their overlord is dethroned, she proposes a new form of social organization based on cooperation that will ideally allow the Drift to flourish.[11] One member of the show's crew, digital production assistant Aria Clemens, stated on Twitter that the production crew hoped that "Y5's story resonates with [viewers] and inspires [them] to be [their] authentic self."[12] Aria also connected Y5 choosing her own name with the "evolution" that trans and non-binary individuals often experience when creating new identities,[12] an interpretation echoed by voice actress Glory Curda.[13]
  • Mr. M – voiced by Stephen Root[10]: Mr. M, appearing in "BMO", is a mysterious and suspicious individual who does not care about BMO.[5] This character ends up helping BMO, Y5, and others counter the rule of Hugo.[10] Mr. M is heavily suggested to be Martin Mertens, sharing a voice actor, selfish demeanor, views on parenthood, and even saying some of the same lines including, "Here comes the rascal".[14] Showrunner Adam Muto called this an "unsubstantiated rumor."[15]
  • Hugo – voiced by Randall Park: Hugo, appearing in "BMO", is an inventor and self-appointed leader of The Drift[10][16] who tasks BMO with acquiring a crystal needed to complete a device known as "Utopia Pod." It is later revealed that this is a device to allow him to leave the Drift, and that Hugo created this machine by exploiting the resources on the space station.[7] It is revealed that Hugo was once a human who "biohacked" his DNA with the genetic material of aliens before arriving on the Drift.[10][8] When Hugo tries to power up his Unity Pod, the residents of The Drift band together to foil his plan, launching him into space by himself. While lamenting his loneliness, Hugo is later joined by the small worker robot Olive; in regard to this plot point, Adam Muto stated that they tried to leave Hugo on a "somewhat hopeful note", implying that, with the help of Olive, he may be able to "someday find a peaceful, less manipulative life" apart from others.[17]
  • CGO – voiced by Simone Giertz[18]: CGO, appearing in "BMO", is knockoff MO Co. clone, created by Hugo. CGO reveals to the main characters that Hugo came from Earth to escape from a war; the robot also contends that after he arrived at the Drift, he stole the natives' technology for himself.[10] According to Adam Muto, Giertz—the self-styled "queen of shitty robots"—was chosen as the character's voice actress because he was a fan of her videos; likewise, she was a fan of the show, and had long expressed a desire to do a voice on the show.[19]

Production

Concept

The series follows the adventures of Finn the Human (a boy), and his best friend and brother Jake, a dog with magical powers to change shape and size at will. Finn and Jake live in the post-apocalyptic Land of Ooo, where they interact with the other major characters, such as Princess Bubblegum, Marceline the Vampire Queen, and BMO. Common storylines revolve around Finn and Jake going on the titular adventures, discovering strange creatures, and battling monsters to help others.[20]

Background

On September 29, 2016, Cartoon Network officially announced that Adventure Time would end.[21] Storyline writing for the initial series ended in mid-November 2016,[22] and the show's final script was pitched to storyboarders on November 28.[23][24][25] Voice recording for the initial series ended on January 31, 2017.[26][27][28] Several of the show's crew members were then hired for Cartoon Network's Summer Camp Island, created by Adventure Time storyline writer Julia Pott.[29] The Adventure Time finale, "Come Along with Me", aired on September 3, 2018 to a largely positive reception.[30][31][32][33]

Development

The Adventure Time: Distant Lands specials were produced by Cartoon Network Studios and Frederator, but unlike the previous seasons, debuted on HBO Max, the video on demand service from WarnerMedia Entertainment.[34] The Distant Lands specials have their origin during the production of the show's tenth season. Because the show had had success with specials and miniseries in the past (such as Stakes), the writers started to pitch a number of stories that could be told in longer formats. Two big ideas that emerged during this time were storylines focusing on BMO in space, and another focusing on Marceline and Bubblegum's relationship. Production for these longer stories, however, was halted when the series was cancelled. Later, when HBO and Cartoon Network began to revive the series for the HBO Max streaming service, the Adventure Time writers went back to these old ideas, and in time they generated the four Distant Lands specials.[35]

Longtime Adventure Time executive producer Adam Muto oversaw the production of the specials, with Jack Pendarvis, Anthony Burch, Christina Catucci, Charley Feldman, and Kate Tsang serving as part of the writing staff.[36][37][38] Storyboard artists who worked on these specials include (but are not limited to): Ashlyn Anstee,[39] Iggy Craig,[40] Megan Fisher,[41] Hanna K. Nyström,[42] Maya Petersen,[43] and Serena Wu.[44] From June to September 2019, Jenny Goldberg served as art director for the specials.[45]

Episodes
See also: List of Adventure Time episodes
Adventure Time: Distant Lands episodes
No.
overall		TitleSupervising
direction by		Written and storyboarded byOriginal air date
1"BMO"Miki BrewsterHanna K Nyström, Iggy Craig, Laura Knetzger,
Anna Syvertsson, & Adam Muto		June 25, 2020 (2020-06-25)
BMO is traveling through space on a mission to terraform Mars when he meets a small eyeball like robot, whom BMO dubs Olive. The mysterious robot suddenly transports BMO's ship into a distant part of space, which contains an ailing space station called The Drift. BMO encounters a young rabbit girl named Y5 (voiced by Glory Curda), who is a scavenger. Y5 plans to take BMO and have him sold for parts so as to impress her disapproving parents (voiced by Tom Kenny and Michelle Wong). Hugo (voiced by Randall Park), the leader of The Drift, cannot find anything useful from BMO, but needs a crystal from one of the jungle pods on The Drift so as to power a ship that will allow the Drift's residents to escape the station. BMO is hurt when he learns what Y5's plan was and ventures into the jungle pod by himself. However, BMO is betrayed by Hugo's assistant Mr. M (voiced by Stephen Root) and is left to die in the pod. Y5 overcomes her parents' disapproval and rescues BMO, with the help of a robot named CGO (voiced by Simone Giertz). CGO reveals that Hugo came from Earth to escape from a war and, after arriving at the Drift, stole the natives' technology for himself; he has no plans to bring his followers with him. Y5 and BMO rush to stop Hugo. Hugo is outed, but escapes onto his ship. At BMO's suggestion, everyone works together to remove all the power to save the Drift, but Hugo still escapes. Y5's parents apologize for not listening to her as the Drift natives decide to rebuild together. As Hugo laments his loneliness, Olive is revealed to have joined him. BMO takes a space lard and flies back out into space where he lands on earth. BMO crash lands near the tree house where he spots a much younger Finn and Jake playing out front; revealing that the episode is a prequel to the initial series.

The next three specials are titled "Obsidian", "Wizard City" and "Together Again" respectively.[1]

Reception

"BMO"

Reception to "BMO" has been mostly positive. Rollin Bishop of Comic Book wrote that the special's biggest strength is that BMO is "the most innocent and also the most prone to misadventure" compared to the other Adventure Time characters, which made the special itself a "solid watch from start to finish."[46] Others called "BMO" a "blend of dream logic, comedy, and surreal heroism".[47] Other reviewers praised the show for recapturing the magic of the original show,[16] with Petrana Radulovic of Polygon arguing that it shared the same "melancholy feeling" as its parent series.[8] Other reviews were not as positive. Grace Z. Li of Vulture called the special "disappointing" even while praising the performance of BMO.[7] Dave Trumbore of Collider singled out the pacing for critique, writing that the special seemed rushed "when it comes to story beats and character development."[10]

A number of reviewers commented on the episode's social commentary. Alexander Sowa of CBR argued that Hugo is a futurist akin to Elon Musk or Steve Jobs, whose characterization is "a clear satire of modern-day corporations and capitalists."[48] Sowa also argued that contra Hugo—a capitalist and colonist who "destroys the world around him"—Y5 can be seen as a fighter for equity who pushes for a new form of social organization that is fairer to the inhabitants of the Drift. Joe Matar of Den of Geek noted similar themes, saying that the story is about those living in Drift realizing that "their Elon Musk-esque tech capitalist overlord [Hugo] is destroying their world," which forces them to come together and rely on one another.[49] Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times likewise noted that the special hints at social commentary toward the end, referring to the destruction of Earth, the nature of resource management, the importance of cooperation, and "the way that certain human billionaires look at space as an escape pod."[9]

gollark: I wonder if I can somehow preemptively Streisand effect this.
gollark: This is part of why I dislike their ownership.
gollark: Palaiologos is basically just amoral, yes.
gollark: I WILL harvest the relevant data.
gollark: This is not illegal. You are wrong. Consume many beeses.

References
  1. Hayes, Britt (October 23, 2019). "Adventure Time is returning with four new hour-long specials on HBO Max". The A.V. Club. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  2. Shada, Jeremy [@jeremyshada] (October 23, 2019). "Soooooooo we're back" (Tweet). Retrieved January 18, 2020 – via Twitter.
  3. Curda, Glory [@GloryCurda] (June 26, 2020). "thank you thank you!! i'm so very grateful and happy to have gotten to be a character that seems to resonate with others (and personally as well)- and also one that is so fluffy and lovable haha! i hope this one stays with you and that you enjoy what all is next in store... !" (Tweet). Archived from the original on June 27, 2020. Retrieved June 26, 2020 – via Twitter.
  4. Curda, Glory (June 26, 2020). "Sup! Somewhere between 11-13. -G". Reddit. Archived from the original on June 27, 2020. Retrieved June 26, 2020. This was part of a Reddit discussion titled "Adam, Glory and Niki here – ask us anything!" G stands for Glory Curda.
  5. "Watch Adventure Time: Distant Lands". HBO Max. WarnerMedia. May 26, 2020. Archived from the original on May 29, 2020. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  6. In a Reddit Q&A, Curda considered this one of her favorite moments in the episode.
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  8. Radulovic, Petrana (June 25, 2020). "HBO Max's BMO special is a powerful reminder of Adventure Time's big emotions". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on June 26, 2020. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
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  12. Clemens, Aria [@aralcle] (June 25, 2020). "several people on the AT distant lands crew chose their own names--myself included! whether you're trans, non-binary, or just feel your identity has evolved beyond the label you were given at birth, i hope Y5's story resonates with you and inspires you to be your authentic self" (Tweet). Archived from the original on June 26, 2020. Retrieved June 26, 2020 – via Twitter.
  13. Curda, Glory [@GloryCurda] (June 26, 2020). "yes!! this!! this is something that really stuck out to me in playing Y5. i think Y5's story has a lot of subtext and is very representative of that bigger act of coming out into your own + defining yourself in your own terms WHATEVER they may be. i really hope viewers feel that" (Tweet). Archived from the original on June 27, 2020. Retrieved June 26, 2020 – via Twitter.
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  17. Muto, Adam (June 26, 2020). "we tried to leave Hugo on a somewhat hopeful note. Or at least the potential of hope. That with Olive's help he can someday find a peaceful, less manipulative life. Away from other people. I realize that wasn't really the thrust of the question. -AM". Reddit. Archived from the original on June 27, 2020. Retrieved June 26, 2020. This was part of a Reddit discussion titled "Adam, Glory and Niki here – ask us anything!" with AM standing for Adam Muto.
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  19. Muto, Adam (June 26, 2020). ""I was a fan of Simone's videos and had seen that she had mentioned that she was a fan and really wanting to do a voice. I think I read that after the final record but when this series got greenlit we reached out. Originally, I pitched that she would play a chicken-alien mechanic. But that character got cut"". Reddit. Archived from the original on June 27, 2020. Retrieved June 26, 2020. This was part of a Reddit discussion titled "Adam, Glory and Niki here – ask us anything!" AM stands for Adam Muto.
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  27. Bamford, Maria [@mariabamfoo] (January 31, 2017). "@kentisawesome pumped for last record!" (Tweet). Retrieved February 1, 2017 – via Twitter.
  28. Milonakis, Andy (January 31, 2017). "Adventure Time Cake". Instagram. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
  29. "Summer Camp Island". Frederator. July 4, 2018. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
  30. Franich, Darren (September 4, 2018). "Adventure Time Finale Review: One of the Greatest TV Shows Ever Had a Soulful, Mind-Expanding Conclusion". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  31. Schindel, Daniel (September 4, 2018). "Adventure Time Finale Review: 'Come Along with Me'". IGN. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  32. Hysen, Dylan (August 27, 2018). "'Come Along With Me' is a Fantastic Conclusion and Perfect Encapsulation of Adventure Time". Overly Animated. Retrieved August 27, 2018.
  33. Sava, Oliver (September 3, 2018). "Adventure Time Concludes with a Celebration of What Makes It So Special". The A.V. Club. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  34. Porter, Rick (October 23, 2019). "'Adventure Time' Revived for Series of HBO Max Specials". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  35. San Diego Comic-Con (July 24, 2020). "HBO Max and Cartoon Network Studios: Adventure Time: Distant Lands | Comic-Con@Home 2020". YouTube. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  36. Pendarvis, Jack [@JackPendarvis] (October 23, 2019). "Looks like I can finally tell you about the secret project I've secretly been working on in secret. Here's a hint, just another day at the office, photo by coconspirator @katetsang" (Tweet). Retrieved November 21, 2019 – via Twitter.
  37. Catucci, Christina [@Catuchee] (December 2, 2019). "hello! i am looking for an in-studio staff writing gig. i've written for: -Craig of the Creek -Adventure Time: Distant Lands -Story on Trolls World Tour -Toca Life Stories -Sundance Feature Finalist 2018 here I am as a child equally talented" (Tweet). Retrieved February 23, 2020 – via Twitter.
  38. Feldman, Charley [@charley_feldman] (October 25, 2019). "Come on, grab your friends! A secret thing I've been writing on just got a lot less secret. And believe me, I can barely believe I get to be doing this either! Adventure Time: Distant Lands!" (Tweet). Retrieved February 23, 2020 – via Twitter.
  39. Anstee, Ashlyn [@ashlynanstee] (October 23, 2019). "I was so lucky to get to storyboard on this!! Can't wait for you all to see it!" (Tweet). Retrieved October 25, 2019 – via Twitter.
  40. Craig, Iggy. "About". iggy.zone. Retrieved October 25, 2019. Note: "Rumble Jaw" was the secretive name used during the production of these specials.
  41. Fisher, Megan [@mfisherdraws] (October 23, 2019). "The show I've been helping out on at CN!!!! This crew is incredible and I'm so grateful I was able to be a part of it" (Tweet). Retrieved October 25, 2019 – via Twitter.
  42. Nyström, Hanna K. "Hanna K. (@HannaKtweet)". Twitter. Retrieved October 25, 2019. storyboard artist/writer. Adventure Time // Summer Camp Island // Rumble Jaw Note: "Rumble Jaw" was the secretive name used during the production of these specials.
  43. Petersen, Maya [@rnn_tweet] (October 23, 2019). "It's finally out in the world! Been storyboarding on this lovely production with this growing, lovely crew since June" (Tweet). Retrieved October 25, 2019 – via Twitter.
  44. Wu, Serena [@artofserenawu] (October 23, 2019). "I'M SO HAPPY I get to finally talk about what I've been boarding on since August! I'm crazy fortunate to be a part of this crew, these specials are wonderful and I think everyone's gonna really, really like what's in store" (Tweet). Retrieved October 25, 2019 – via Twitter.
  45. Goldberg, Jennifer. "Jennifer Goldberg". LinkedIn. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
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