Jake the Dog

Jake the Dogis a character and one of the twoprotagonistsin the Americananimated television seriesAdventure Timeand resultingfranchisecreated byPendleton Ward. He also appeared in the spin-off seriesAdventure Time: Distant Lands. He is voiced byJohn DiMaggio. The character made his debut inthe original pilot. During the events of the show, Jake says that he is 28 "magical dog years" old.
Jake canstretch, shrink, or mold any part of his body to any shape and almost any size, ranging from becoming gigantic to becoming incredibly small.He acts as a confident mentor to his energetic adopted brotherFinn the Human, though he tends to give somewhat questionable advice. His powers help Finn considerably in combat and transportation but are sometimes used as nothing more than pleasant forms of expression. He has a girlfriend named "Lady Rainicorn" (voiced byNiki Yang); they have five children together, as seen in "Jake the Dad". He is quite skilled at playing theviola, which houses a worm named "Shelby Butterson the Worm Who Lives in Jake's Viola".
Jake has received generally positive reviews from critics. Agender-swappedversion of Jake calledCake the Catappeared in the third-season episode "Fionna and Cake", and is a main character of the spinoff seriesAdventure Time: Fionna and Cake.
Series creatorPendleton Wardhas stated that he wrote Finn and Jake, includingAdventure Timeas a whole, as though he were playing a session ofDungeons & Dragons,atabletop role-playing game. Ward commented that Finn and Jake's motivations are noble, with a desire to "slay monsters, explore dungeons, find loot." He further said that "Jake was more into the loot".Ward spent much of his childhood at home, describing his "[indoor] adventure experience" as inspiringFinnand Jake the Dog's adventures.Early on in the development of the show, Ward had intended for Finn and Jake to be nomads who lived in tents. However, this was changed to having them live in a permanent home atCartoon Network's request.Jake has three, four, or five fingers on each hand, as well as both hands and paws, which means, according to Ward, that he has the ability to grow and be flexible.He first appeared in the short film "Adventure Time", which centers around rescuingPrincess Bubblegum(Hynden Walch) from the evilIce King(John Kassir).This short aired as part ofNickelodeon'sRandom! Cartoonsshowcase in 2008.John DiMaggiovoiced the character, then called Jake, in short.
In 2018, asAdventure Timewas ending, DiMaggio said "Until something's signed on the line there is no speculation ... this is it. It's over. It's done. And that's OK." He further said "A lot of me is in Jake, and I'll miss that part, that connection."Adventure Timecomposer Tim Kiefer said that the show had gradually become an exploration of the "Hero's journey" through the characters.
According to the series, Jake was conceived when his father, Joshua, was bitten by the shapeshiftingextra-dimensional creatureWarren Ampersand during a detective investigation with his wife Margaret, and was later born from a pustule on his father's head originating from the creature's bite.It is inferred that Jake's magical powers are a result of his biological relationship with Ampersand,though he is apparently unaware of the circumstances of his birth and instead believes his powers to be the result of having rolled around in a "magical mud puddle" as a pup.After his birth, Jake was raised normally by Joshua and Margaret as their son, alongside their own biological son Jermaine and their adoptivehumansonFinn.
Little has been shown in the series about Jake's subsequent childhood life with his family, though in his youth, he was known to be a successful criminal and the leader of his own gang, a position he later retired from to take part in a more respectable life as an adventurer with Finn.Around this time, he also began a romantic relationship withLady Rainicorn, with whom he has five children—daughters Charlie, Viola, and Jake Jr., and sons T.V. and Kim Kil Whan.Although Jake eventually passes away at some point after the end of the series, "Come Along With Me", "Graybles 1000+", andFionna and Cakeshow glimpses of a future Ooo in which Jake's descendants have established a spacefaring civilization.
Jake the Dog is one of the main characters ofAdventure Timeand often appears alongside his best friend and adopted brother Finn the Human.
In the series finale "Come Along With Me," Finn and Jake help Princess Bubblegum fight her dictatorial uncle Gumbald.Realizing that violence is not the answer to the conflict, they ally with Gumbald to defeat the evil deity GOLB, who is intent on destroying Ooo.GOLB is defeated, although Fern dies in the aftermath. Jake and Finn promises to plant Fern's seedling in the ruins of the treehouse, which has been destroyed.The seedling grows into a new treehouse, with a grass sword inside.Finn and Jake are shown relaxing on a beach witnessing the humans return to Ooo for the first time in centuries.
TheAdventure Time: Distant Landsspecial "Together Again" takes place sometime after the end of the series, after Jake has died.Finn, who has recently died, journeys through the Dead Worlds to be reunited with Jake, who died many years before him. After they reunite in the afterlife, the two choose to reincarnate back into the living world.
SinceAdventure Time's inception, Jake has appeared in various comic book series, video games, and other merchandise.Jake's firstconsole gameappearance was as a playable character inAdventure Time: Hey Ice King! Why'd You Steal Our Garbage?!!, which was released onNintendo DSand3DSin 2012.He was subsequently a playable character inAdventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I Don't Know!(2013),Adventure Time: The Secret of the Nameless Kingdom(2014),andAdventure Time: Pirates of the Enchiridion(2018).
Jake has also madecrossoverappearances in other franchises and media. He appeared in theseventh seasonFuturamaepisode "Leela and the Genestalk". In theFuturamaepisode, Jake had a minor dialogue, and was still voiced by DiMaggio, who also voiced one of the main characters inFuturama,Bender.The opening sequencecouch gagin the28th seasonThe Simpsonsepisode "Monty Burns' Fleeing Circus",Homer Simpsonappears as Jake in an extendedcouch gagparodying the opening sequence ofAdventure Time.He also appeared in theUncle Grandpaepisodes "Pizza Eve" and "Cartoon Factory". He also appeared in theOK K.O.! Let's Be Heroesepisode, "Crossover Nexus".Jake is a playable character intoys-to-lifegameLego Dimensions(2015),beat 'em upgameCartoon Network: Battle Crashers(2016),crossover gameBloons Tower Defense: Adventure Time(2018),andfighting gameBrawlhalla(2019),andaction-adventure gameImmortals Fenyx Rising(2020).In November 2021, Jake was confirmed to appear as a playable character in the fighting gameMultiVersus(2022).He appeared in theTeen Titans Go!episode, "Warner Bros. 100th Anniversary".
Agender-swappedversion of Jake calledCake the Catappeared in the season 3 episode "Fionna and Cake", and was brought back in subsequent episodes. Cake is a main character in the spin-off seriesAdventure Time: Fionna and Cake.The concept for Fionna and Cake came from drawings made byAdventure Timestoryboard artistNatasha Allegri.Both Fionna and Cake the Cat became popular withAdventure Timefans.Cake later appeared in the fifth-season episode "Bad Little Boy", the sixth-season episode "The Prince Who Wanted Everything", the eighth-season episode "Five Short Tables", and theninth seasonepisode "Fionna and Cake and Fionna". Cake went on to star in thespin-offseriesAdventure Time: Fionna and Cake.
Jake has received generally positive reviews from critics. Brandon Zachary ofComic Book Resourcesclaimed that Jake is the best character on TV, stating that "while Finn has experienced a strong character arc, Jake has proved to be far more fascinating."Dan Neilan ofThe A.V. Clubclaimed that "Jake is the ultimate sidekick," stating further that "Not only can he grow, shrink, and transform into any shape that might help his buddy Finn during battle, but he can also dance, sing, and make a mean plate of bacon pancakes."Richard Whittaker ofThe Austin Chroniclenoted that he felt that the "strong but emotionally vulnerable" Cake was written in a way that successfully provided a female analog for Jake as a gender-swapped version.Cassidy Ward ofSyfymentioned of how "bizarre" the biology of Jake.Writing forVox, Emily VanDerWerff called the series "this era's finest coming-of-age story", mentioning how Jake "has moved from happy wanderer to something like adulthood."
Jake became popular amongAdventure Time's fanbase. In 2019, Rich Goldstein ofThe Daily Beastcommented on Jake's popularity amongcosplayers, saying "Halloween nights and comic conventions of the last few years have seen an increase in the number of children (and adults) all over the U.S. who wore Finn and Jake costumes."John DiMaggio recalled "walking around at conventions and seeing everybody wearing their Finn costumes and their Jake costumes and how the characters endeared themselves to people".Afloatin Jake's likeness was included in the 2013Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.