If you’ve been watching Adventure Time since the beginning, you have an idea of what you’re getting into with the recent Adventure Time: Distant Lands collection from HBO Max. Adventure Time is possibly one of the weirdest shows out there and its 9 season run was nothing short of a hallucinogenic miasma of oddity. But beneath all the crazy is a remarkably wholesome show that is a kaleidoscope reflection of our society and a commentary on the enduring power of friendship and caring about others. It’s a fantastic show that characterizes humanity in a way that sinks in subconsciously even as it boggles the mind with psychedelic imagery.
Adventure Time: Distant Lands has all that and more. Rather than short cartoons like the main series, Distant Lands consists of four cartoons, each about 45 minutes long. Each cartoon focuses on different supporting cast from the main series and each tells a cohesive tale that adds to their depth of character in a way that’s utterly engaging.
The first episode, BMO, features BMO(shocking), everyone’s favorite living Game Boy, who becomes lost in space and ends up at a dying space station. The childlike innocence of BMO makes this first episode remarkably entertaining and through sheer tenacity, BMO makes friends with everyone and tries to save the day even as the denizens of the space station face imminent death. With an entirely new cast of characters, you never know what to expect in this episode and by the end, young and old alike will adore BMOs naiveté, Y5s tenacity and competence, and Olive the other robot (couldn’t resist). This is the kind of episode that simply leaves a grin on your face and something that just could not have been done in the main Adventure Time series.
Episode 2, Obsidian, changes gears heavily, focusing on the relationship between Marceline the Vampire Queen and Princess Bubblegum, who now live together in domestic bliss. Marceline is struggling to find her creativity in the face of comfort and a distinct lack of angst and her frustration is nearly palpable. Luckily, there’s a rather large problem over in the Glass Kingdom and Marceline gets sucked in, forcing her to face her emotional and relationship issues, as well as her past. The episode is something of a deep dive into the 30something to 40something mindset where people get comfortable after establishing themselves and finding their place then have to come to terms with becoming someone they might not have thought they were. The tacit acceptance of Marceline and Bubblegum is outstanding (and expected) and Marceline is surprisingly deep. The universality of this experience is so overwhelming that by the end of the episode it’s hard not to identify with Marceline and Bubblegum. This is exactly the kind of depth regular viewers have come to expect from the Adventure Time franchise and the elegance with which the episode comes together is fantastic. Oh yeah, and the soundtrack absolutely kicks too!
In Together Again, we finally get to see our old friends Finn and Jake. Immediately, veteran viewers will be treated to a very familiar feeling episode that almost comes off as disjointed and slapdash. There’s an excellent reason for this, but it’s a key plot point so it’s a shame to give it away. Once the style settles down, we’re treated to a sort of meta-overview of the entire relationship between Finn and Jake and the episode gets down to business. What’s wonderful about this approach is that even though we’ve seen a ridiculous amount of content between Finn and Jake, the dynamic still feels fresh and new (even if Finn’s voice sounds oddly old on occasion). On top of that, the episode somehow (and with the amount of content in Adventure Time, the how is impressive) takes us to a new level in terms of understanding the dynamic between these two iconic characters. By the time things wrap up, viewers will have been through ups, downs, incredulity, and giddy happiness, and all the while learned a bit more about friendship along the way. This was the episode that you might have had the lowest hope for and have no fear, it easily rises above even lofty expectations.
Finally, there’s Wizard City, where Pep, the childlike avatar of Peppermint Butler goes to Wizard City to become a wizard. After the previous episodes, this one feels a bit odd. Pep is an interesting character and he is unsurprinsgly an outcast, but it’s almost like the order is wrong here and this should have been tucked in either before or after the excellent Obsidian. Pep is inhabited by the spirit of the evil Peppermint Butler, but at the same time, he’s a child outcast, relegated to a dim and ramshackle campus building in wizard school and forced to befriend Cadebra, the young wizard girl who is obsessed with stage magic. While Pep wants to become a wizard, his dark past (or future?) haunts him and looking into the mysterious death of Choose Goose feels like an old Hardy Boys novel. While the idea of acceptance and finding yourself is all well and good here and there’s nothing functionally wrong with the episode, something still falls flat here. There are the requisite character introductions from episodes of Adventure Time and everyone loves (or loves to hate) Peppermint Butler but at the same time, there’s a lack of depth. Wizard City feels like an episode of Adventure Time that’s been expanded to a 45 minute time slot rather than a 45 minute cartoon that does a deep dive into the motivations and backstory of a key character of the series. It just doesn’t match the depth of other episodes in the collection and that’s an unfortunate way to end what is otherwise an utterly fantastic collection of episodes.
As to the blu-ray itself, HBO Max has put out an simple but excellent package for Adventure Time: Distant Lands. The disc comes in a paper slip case with cover art that matches the blue ray case. This is a single disc with no fancy stamp work, and upon loading, you are immediately greeted with a simple menu, allowing you to play all episodes, choose an episode, or select audio and subtitle options. The entire disc is available in English, French, and Spanish, but subtitles are only available in English and French for some reason. Visually, the entire series is an absolute masterpiece in HD and the unique style of the Adventure Time franchise looks crisp and vibrant in every single frame when viewed in 1080p. Honestly, Adventure Time has never looked better or sounded better and the high quality audio adds even more to the experience, especially in Obsidian.
At a $20 price point (and sometimes on sale for less), Adventure Time: Distant Lands is an absolute must-buy for any Adventure Time fans and a fantastic cartoon series for both fans and non-fans alike. It looks like there’ s likely a second season coming as well and chances are that if it’s even half as good as this release, it’ll be worth your time and money. This is one collection you will definitely want on your shelf!
This review was based on a blu-ray copy of Adventure Time: Distant Lands provided by the publisher. It was viewed on a Sony 1080p TV using 2.1 stereo speakers.