Adventure Time: Distant Lands

**Adventure Time: Distant Lands** is an American animated web television collective miniseries of four, one-hour specials entirely based on the Cartoon Network series, Adventure Time, created by Pendelton Ward. Executive producer of the original series, Adam Muto helmed three of the specials.

The first episode premiered on June 25, 2020.

## Premise

*Adventure Time: Distant Lands* returns to the Land of Ooo for four breakout specials explore the unseen corners of the world with characters both familiar and brand new.

## Characters

### Main

* Finn Mertens Campbell –
* Jake the Dog –
* BMO –
* Marceline Abadeer –
* Princess "Bonnibel" Bubblegum –
* Peppermint Butler –  The literal peppermint candy butler of the Candy Kingdom

### Supporting

* Y5 – An anthropomorphic rabbit and teenage scientist between age 11 - 13 who lives on a space station called the Drift.. Originally named "Y4", Y5 chooses her new name with BMO's encouragement and eventually becomes the robot's "deputy."
* Mr. M – A mysterious and suspicious individual who does not care about BMO. This character ends up helping BMO, Y5, and others counter the rule of Hugo.
* Hugo – An inventor and self-appointed leader of The Drift who tasks BMO with acquiring a crystal needed to complete a device known as "Utopia Pod."
* CGO –  A 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.

## Cast

### Main

* Jeremy Shada as Finn Merten Campbell
* John DiMaggio as Jake the Dog
* Niki Yang as BMO
* Olivia Olson as Marceline Abadeer
* Hynden Walch as Princess "Bonnibel" Bubblegum
* Steve Little as Peppermint Butler

### (introduced in "BMO")

* Glory Curda as Y5
* Stephen Root as Mr. M
* Randall Park as Hugo
* Simone Giertz as CGO

## Production

### Development

On September 29, 2016, Cartoon Network officially announced that Adventure Time would end. Storyline writing for the initial series ended in mid-November 2016, and the show's final script was pitched to storyboarders on November 28. Voice recording for the initial series ended on January 31, 2017. 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. The Adventure Time finale, "Come Along with Me", aired on September 3, 2018 to a largely positive reception.

The Adventure Time: Distant Lands specials were produced by Cartoon Network Studios and Frederator, but unlike the previous seasons, will debut on HBO Max, the video on demand service from WarnerMedia Entertainment.

Longtime Adventure Time executive producer Adam Muto helped with the specials, whilst Jack Pendarvis, Christina Catucci, Charley Feldman, and Kate Tsang were brought on as part of the writing staff. Storyboard artists who worked on these specials include (but are not limited to): Ashlyn Anstee, Iggy Craig, Megan Fisher, Hanna K. Nyström, Maya Petersen, and Serena Wu. From June to September 2019, Jenny Goldberg served as art director for the special.

## Reception

### Critical

#### **"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." Others called "BMO" a "blend of dream logic, comedy, and surreal heroism". Other reviewers praised the show for recapturing the magic of the original show, with Petrana Radulovic of Polygon arguing that it shared the same "melancholy feeling" as its parent series.Other reviews were not as positive. Grace Z. Li of *Vulture* called the special "disappointing" even while praising the performance of BMO. 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."

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." 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 Mater 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. Robert Lloyd of the *Los Angeles Times* likewise noted that 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.

## Trivia

* This is the first Cartoon Network Studios production to be exclusive on HBO Max.
* According to Adam Muto, Simone Giertz—the self-styled "queen of shitty robots"—was chosen as the character [CGO]'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.

## See More

* Watch Adventure Time: Distant Lands on HBO Max

## Navigation

- Films: Ben 10: Race Against Time | Foster's Movie: Destination Imagination | Regular Show: The Movie | Steven Universe: The Movie