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Adventure Time: Distant Lands- Wizard City Review

When HBO announced that the Adventure Time: Distant Lands mini-series would be ending with Wizard City, and not Together Again, fans were confused. Why the change of release schedule? Wouldn’t it make sense to save Finn and Jake’s biggest adventure ever for last?

As it turns out, there may be some ulterior motives to this. Last month, it was announced that the Adventure Time universe would continue with a “Fionna and Cake” series. In other words, while Together Again marks the distant finale to the series, it’s not the finale. Considering this, and the post-credits scene in Wizard City potentially setting us up for the future, it makes more sense why they swapped the two up.

But it still doesn’t change the fact that Wizard City was a weak ending to the “Distant Lands” miniseries.

Peppermint Butler’s New Beginning In Wizard City

Right before the series finale to Adventure Time, Peppermint Butler, PB’s loyal servant, got turned into a baby by Gumbald’s dum-dum juice. As a result, he’s had to re-learn everything about magic. And when he can’t do that in the Candy Kingdom, he heads to Wizard City to continue his training.

Only thirdly problems: firstly, he’s banned from Wizard City. Secondly, he’s got to start at the bottom with the quirky niece of Abracadaniel, Cadebra. Thirdly, some butt’s been causing major bad wiz biz on campus, and Peppermint Butler gets the blame and has to clear his name. Oh, and there’s this evil cult that wants to use the dark heart of an ancient wizard for evil.

The Owl House Beat Them To It

I’ll be honest and upfront about this: I think that Wizard City was the weakest of the four Distant Lands specials. While it was fun to see some more of Ooo, we lacked the emotional investment needed to enjoy Wizard City. In addition, there’s the fact that The Owl House already covered the magical school angle to an insane degree. In addition, the bad guy’s plan left me confused. Like, who was this dark wizard that they were supposed to be using? Why are we supposed to care about them? I honestly cared more about the fact that Peppermint Butler’s adult self was haunting his kid version and acting like an abusive parental figure to him.

In the end, the special ended with the same premise that a lot of stories in Adventure Time end on. Telling the abusive authority figures where to stick it, and have the youth forge their own path. In this case, Peppermint decides that he’s still gonna become a super-powerful wizard; just not like what he used to.

Like I said, not the best way to end this miniseries. Even if it was to lead into a new series, it still wasn’t a smart move, Warner Bros.

I Give Distant Lands- Wizard City a 2.5/5

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Adventure Time: Distant Lands-Together Again Review

There’s just something so good about getting back to basics in a story, isn’t there? At the start, Adventure Time was the show about Finn & Jake, two bros duking it up in a post-apocalyptic Earth. It was a simple premise! However, then it became this vast high-fantasy world where everyone could potentially be a great story to tell. As a result, Adventure Time became one of the best cartoons of all time! Ironically, this led it to focus less on the duo that we started with. Yet the third Distant Lands special changes all of that by putting the focus firmly on this beautiful bromance. Finn and Jake are together again, because not even the forces of life and death themselves can stop a bromance this good.

Together Again No Matter What

When I first saw the preview for “Together Again”, I was very confused. Seeing Finn & Jake fight the Ice King (who shouldn’t even be the Ice King anymore) made me wonder if this was a clip from an early episode that I never saw or forgot. However, that proves to be an elaborate cover to set us up for the real plot of the special. While I won’t tell you guys what happens, let’s just say that Cartoon Network wasn’t lying when they said this would be Finn & Jake’s biggest adventure ever.

Amidst all the world-building and high fantasy concepts, Adventure Time has always been a show about two bros going through the greatest adventure of all: life. And sometimes, life can see people who were once close take separate paths. While Finn went through some serious maturing during the show’s run, he always remained the guy who wanted to help everyone. Meanwhile, Jake became more in touch with his inner zen, got kids (and grandkids), and found out that he was part alien. “Together Again” reflects on this notion of people taking different paths as we see Finn using all his willpower to bring the two, well, together again. Yet before the credits roll, Finn comes to the epiphany that I just mentioned. Sometimes, you can’t help it if you and the people you care about take different paths. That doesn’t make them any less significant to each other.

Bros for Eternity

I know that it may be back tracking, but while Finn has his big “ah-ha!” moment, so does Jake. However, in Jake’s case, he realizes that, even with all the changes in life, some things are worth trying to keep around. In this case, it’s his and Finn’s bromance.

Like I said, it feels like back tracking or defeating the moral of the story, but it’s not. When it’s time for the two to go their separate ways, Jake decides to come along with him. Not because he has to, but simply because he enjoys being with Finn. Because for all the reasons they may be different, Finn & Jake work best when they’re together.

Ultimately, while it may not be the big finale to Distant Lands, “Together Again” can ultimately be considered the end to the mini-series, as well as Adventure Time as a whole. At least, for now, anyway. Something tells me that no matter form they’re in, we’ll see Finn & Jake again one day. Because a good bromance is one that not even death can keep apart.

I Give Distant Lands- Together Again a 5/5

Bonus points for one final appearance by Tree Trunks, whose voice actress passed away earlier this year.

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Adventure Time: Distant Lands-Obsidian Review

When people ship fictional characters and then see them get together, they act like everything will be perfect from then on. That’s even if said ship becomes canon in a story’s grand finale. However, in the real world, finding your soulmate’s half the battle. The other half involves the effort that goes into growing and maintaining a healthy relationship whilst working through problems. Despite getting together in the series finale, Princess Bubblegum and Marcilene still have a lot of baggage that they need to work through. And Obsidian sees them do just that while also answering some lingering questions about their history.

Obsidian: Sharp But Fragile

Firstly, I want to say that I loved the title for this special. Obsidian is a rock that’s well-known for being sharp and capable of delivering vicious cuts. At the same time, it’s also fragile and can break easily. In the context of the special, it symbolizes Marcilene’s character. She’s capable of delivering some sharp and cutting lines with her songs. However, at the same time, she’s also vulnerable and insecure about herself and how she acted in the past. And when a little glassboy comes knocking on her door, begging her to help defeat a dragon she sealed away centuries ago, she gets a good look at who she was then and who she is now.

Fans of Adventure Time know that that Marcy and PB were in a relationship once before, but the exact circumstances of their breakup remained a mystery after the show’s end. Obsidian finally reveals the truth: when they sealed the dragon away last time, Marcilene used a song that basically called out and belittled PB over all her faults. It’s a very harsh way for Marcy to dump PB, yet you can’t help but enjoy it for its catchy tune.

Fortunately, PB knows that Marcilene’s grown since then and has forgiven her, but Marcilene hasn’t forgiven herself. This, in turn, leads to an identity crisis that makes her question her whole ‘tough girl’ persona and confront some things about her past.

No spoilers, but it involves her mom’s fate and its a tearjerker.

Healing Process

Again, I will not spoil anything, but I will say that by the time the credits roll around, PB and Marcy come out better for it. Marcilene learns that she doesn’t need to guard her emotions so much and she should be honest with herself. And while PB didn’t get as much focus, she also learned to not be so insecure about herself.

While I enjoyed BMO, I think that Obsidian is leaps and bounds over it. It carries the actual weight of the show behind it, and that gives it far more power in the process. If you have HBO Max, you need to watch Obsidian.

I Give Distant Lands- ObsidianA Solid 4.8/5

Stray Observations

• Grown-up Finn!

• It seems that despite no longer being the Ice King, Simon’s still got a few of his quirks left in him.

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Adventure Time: Distant Lands-BMO Review

When it comes to cartoons, few have been as defining for the 2010s as that
of Adventure Time. It was different, it was whimsical and poignant and
filled with enough lore to make George R.R. Martin jealous. Even now, two years after it ended, it’s still remembered fondly by many people. So when it was announced a limited series of hour-long specials would be coming to HBO Max, fans were excited. Heck, watching it was half the reason I got the new streaming service. So, did the first special, starring BMO, live up to its hype in the end?

I’m happy to say that even after all this time, Adventure Time’s still got the magic that made it so much fun.

Sheriff BMO Here To Save the Day

In this 45-minute special, we see BMO off on a trip into space, only for it to go awry when he lands in a place called the Drift. The Drift is this old space station populated by a bunch of aliens, and its falling apart. Thus, BMO takes it upon himself to become the Drift’s sheriff, with a little bunny girl named Y5 as his deputy.

Now, I won’t say how this story ends, as the ending is too good to spoil. What I will say, though, is that the special keeps the themes of the show alive. Specifically, the idea of kids rising above their deadbeat parents. It’s clear that Y5’s parents don’t think very highly of her, yet she wants to make them proud. When push comes to shove, though, she has to choose between pleasing her parents and doing the right thing. Ultimately, thanks to BMO’s influence, she does the right thing.

I think the takeaway from that is that you don’t always need your parents approval to be happy in life. You may end up disappointing them in some way, but if they really love you, they’ll accept your choices. That, and you should always try to do the right thing even if others think you look stupid.

Ultimately, I think Distant Lands: BMO was a nice return to the world of Adventure Time. I honestly can’t wait for the rest of the specials to come out. With everything going on in the world, we need this kind of escapism in our lives. Welcome back, Adventure Time.

I Give Distant Lands- BMO A Solid 4.5/5

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