Random! Cartoons (TV Series) Adventure Time (2008) User Reviews

Adventure Time with Jake the dog and Pen the human

[Rectangular_businessman · 9/10 · 27 June 2012]

This was the original animated short that inspired "Adventure Time". Despite some differences between this and the animated series that appeared later(The most notorious ones would be the animation style and the fact that here Finn is named "Pen") those elements that made this cartoon so great were present from the very beginning: An interesting cast of very likable characters, a crazy, but at the same very enjoyable sense of humor, and an stylish animation style with pleasant and colorful designs.

Most of the main characters from the television show made here their first apparition, and despite some little changes, their personalities remained being basically the same, and that's a good thing.

A very nice pilot for one of the best cartoons from the recent years.

Adventure Time could possibly save children's television

[damnfinecat · 10/10 · 19 January 2007]

I, as many other people have, have seen this 7 and a half minute short film about Jake the dog and Pen the boy and their time spent saving princesses from Ice Kings and retrieving that old guy's diamonds from some dastardly ninjas, or, in general, adventuring. I have never been more impressed by seven minutes of animation in my life. The style is something right out of today's pop art scene, managing to retain the appeal of the originality behind the movement while remaining completely child-appropriate throughout. Maybe, just maybe, the age of the children's show full of adult in-jokes is over. We can all hope.

Another aspect that really impressed me was the music in this film. I would buy this show's soundtrack. If I were raising a child, this is the sort of programming I would want him or her to watch. It's creative, it's not restricted by gender roles, the humor is subtle and weary of crass situational obscenity.

I've certainly witnessed a fair share of people submit that this short must have been inspired by LSD or marijuana or some kind of drug. I am saddened that our contemporary society can only comprehend imagination in dosages.

Devoid of the unoriginal aping of Japanese animation or soulless exploitation of passing merchandising fads, Adventure Time may serve as the advent of a new age of animated television. At least, I hope it will be.

All I can say is, "Wow".

[jhiggins86 · 16 February 2007]

As the comment before mine said, I truly think this is one of the finest pieces of children's animation that I've seen on TV in years. I would love nothing more than to see this turned into a full series for Nickelodeon or maybe even Adult Swim on Cartoon Network. The animation, from an artistic standpoint, is fantastic and completely unique from anything else being done in television right now -- very fluid and well done without being overly flashy. The voice acting and writing is superb as well. Jake the Dog being a personal favorite. Congratulations on your success with the animation and here's hoping for more... No, seriously. PEN! Don't leave us hanging! Make more episodes of this awesome duo! MATHEMATICAL!

Having Trouble Thinking of Words

[ecwjedi · 10/10 · 8 July 2007]

Adventure Time is one of the most enjoyable animated shorts I've ever seen. No, scratch that. It IS the most enjoyable animated short I've ever seen. It's so off the wall and random, I just can't get enough (just can't get enough). Good for kids. Good for adults. I really hope to see more because I can always use a good laugh.

It may seem like it's designed for drunken people to watch when they come home from the bar and....wait a second, did I wrote "may"? OK, it might just be designed to give drunks and those with a twisted sense of humor cheap laughs. And if that's the case, the show is a true hero.

Talking dogs, boys with awesome hats, people surfing penguins, and ninjas stealing diamonds from old men. Adventure Time has it all.

Why did the evil wizard have a set of drums in his cave?

-no quote

a simple pilot

[artrj-53462 · 6/10 · 15 May 2021]

There is no way to wait about this episode The episode is good but the characters are so funny and the voice acting is really bad, even though there is nothing to expect from a pilot,Adventure time is very good but the pilot is more or less.

Worth seeing to see the seed in light of the tree that is now fully grown

[bob the moo · 29 January 2015]

I had just finished the fifth season of this show when for some reason I decided to jump back and watch the pilot episode. Made 2 or 3 years before the show returned with its first season of episodes, the pilot is very rough around the edges but is interesting to see for the roots of the design and fundamental ideas that would later become the show. It is very difficult for me to watch it in hindsight, or rather difficult to draw a conclusion based solely on the pilot due to how much of the later show I have watched. I am quite jealous of those here who wrote IMDb comments in 2007/08 about how great the pilot was, considering that time (and studios and audiences) haven proved them to have called a good one from this series of random cartoons.

To me it is overly rough, the animation is very basic compared to the very polished show, and indeed the tone is probably too much "yeh! adventures!" but it works and there are nice asides and moments of slight randomness where you can see the tone of the humor. Likewise some of the delivery has a nice down-to-earth feel to it, which sits nicely with the other material pushing the show "up" as it were – specifically I liked the "normal guy" personae of a large elemental fireball asking for directions. The character creation also indicates a lot of good ideas; Ice King has the comic trimmings of his drum kit, while the rainicorn shows color and invention.

So to watch this some 7 years after it was made, and in the shadow of a show that is on its 6th season and is of a consistently high standard, it is hard not to see it as a curio of a sort, rather than a part of the show itself. As such I was glad I watched it, but after a fifth season full of invention, wit, fun, horror, character development, and fantastical moments, it is a big ask of the pilot to expect it to be more than this; although as such it is well worth watching.