There’s a moment in the first episode of Adventure Time: Side Quests where Finn (voiced by Sasha Knight, taking over from Jeremy Shada) gets his hands on a crossbow and immediately starts making reckless decisions. He’s obsessed with getting tougher and proving how macho he is. Jake (John DiMaggio, reprising his iconic role), as always, is there to play the voice of reason, desperately trying to keep his best friend from turning every minor inconvenience into a full-scale catastrophe. Within minutes, it becomes abundantly clear that Side Quests understands exactly what made audiences fall in love with Adventure Time in the first place.
The original Adventure Time series, which ran from 2010 to 2017 on Cartoon Network, eventually evolved from offbeat silliness into one of the most ambitious animated TV franchises ever made. Creator Pendleton Ward built a sprawling mythology full of complex relationships, emotional character arcs, and enough lore to keep fans theorizing for years on end. While that growth was certainly part of what made Adventure Time so special, it also created a somewhat daunting barrier for newcomers.
Back to the Basics
Adventure Time: Side Quests, made for Disney+ and Hulu, wisely takes the opposite approach. Rather than attempting to add another layer to an already massive mythology in compelling ways like the Distant Lands and Fionna and Cake spin-off shows have, it strips things back to basics. Set during the early chronological years of Adventure Time, Finn the Human and Jake the Dog go on self-contained, episodic adventures in the weird and lively world of Ooo. The jokes come fast, and everyone is just a little bit insane. That decision pays off immediately.
This feels very much like a spiritual sibling to recent Cartoon Network revivals such as The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball and Regular Show: The Lost Tapes; shows that recognized audiences still loved these worlds but didn’t necessarily need years of continuity homework to jump in and enjoy them. Side Quests serves as an ideal entry point for new viewers while simultaneously appealing to longtime fans who might simply miss hanging out with these characters.
More importantly, Side Quests is funny. Really funny. Led by experienced showrunner Nate Cash, best known for his work on SpongeBob SquarePants, Over the Garden Wall, and Tiny Toons Looniversity, the series never forgets what Adventure Time was all about. First and foremost, it was an exceptionally cartoonish cartoon — one that’s able to deliver hilariously bizarre, mile-a-minute comedy with a wide array of lovably strange characters.
A Return to the Fantastical Land of Ooo
Across this first season, Finn attempts to banish himself after being frightened by a bee in front of everyone. Ice King (the legendary Tom Kenny returning) is forced to babysit an uncontrollable Goblin Prince. Plenty of new characters, like the immaculately named Joey Waffles (a perpetually miserable troll who can’t stop trauma dumping on Jake), get introduced as well. Side Quests constantly finds new ways to exploit Ooo’s comedic absurdity.
The humor remains delightfully unpredictable from episode to episode. One minute you’re watching a ridiculous duel. Next, you’re hearing Jake wonder why he’s thirsty despite “chugging seawater nonstop.” Then, suddenly, an entire episode has become an acute exploration of shame, culminating in the wonderfully ridiculous declaration that “Shame is doo-doo! And it’s time to start flushing!” The show’s willingness to commit entirely to a joke remains one of its greatest strengths.
This reset version of Ice King, in particular, is an endless source of comedy. His hopeless obsession with finding princesses who want absolutely nothing to do with him continues to generate laughs, and there’s something strangely timeless about how accurately his behavior mirrors modern parasocial relationships. He’s ridiculous, pathetic, and weirdly relatable all at once.
Reuniting a Lovable Supporting Cast
Returning characters like Marceline (Olivia Olson) and Princess Bubblegum (Hynden Walch) slide effortlessly back into the show’s rhythm. One standout episode finds Marceline attempting to establish herself as the ultimate prank queen by covering Finn and Jake’s house in living demon toilet paper. Another revolves around Princess Bubblegum joining Finn and Jake on an adventure that accidentally triggers the dreaded Candy Ragnarok. These stories thankfully don’t exist to genuinely advance mythology or set up future seasons. They are purely great comedic premises executed with plenty of panache.
There is even a girls-only, Dungeons & Dragons-inspired tabletop roleplaying episode featuring Bubblegum, Marceline, Lumpy Space Princess (Pendleton Ward), and Lady Rainicorn (Niki Yang) acting as Dungeon Master, which serves as a true highlight of the standalone fun Adventure Time: Side Quests excels in. It also proves the show still knows how to find fresh angles for its beloved supporting cast.
New Look, Same Heart
The visual side of Adventure Time: Side Quests may be what generates the most conversation. Art director Nick Cross leads a new animation style that is undeniably different, but it quickly proves itself as more than a cosmetic redesign. If anything, the exaggerated expressions, hyper-detailed reaction shots, and increased emphasis on physical comedy allow the animators to push jokes even further than before. Side Quests fully embraces the strengths of 2D animation, delivering sequences that are constantly energetic, expressive, and inventive.
The music helps maintain the show’s identity, too. From the familiar 2010s indie-folk energy that echoes the original series to Finn’s delightfully auto-tuned singing, there are countless little touches that immediately feel like Adventure Time. Hearing those recognizable sounds again creates an almost instant sense of comfort, and having them arranged by none other than The Moldy Peaches certainly doesn’t hurt, either.
‘Adventure Time: Side Quests’ is a Testament to the Franchise’s Longevity
Perhaps most impressively, Adventure Time: Side Quests never feels sanitized, despite now existing under the giant shadow of the Disney umbrella. The slightly suggestive humor, bizarre tangents, and astonishing number of gross-out jokes remain firmly intact. This is the same strange world that fans remember growing up in.
Side Quests isn’t trying to be the next great chapter in Adventure Time lore. It’s not aiming for the emotional devastation of the original series’ biggest episodes or the ambitious storytelling of the later spin-offs. Instead, it focuses on something much simpler: spending time with characters we love in a world where anything can happen. Thankfully, that turns out to be more than enough. Adventure Time: Side Quests is pure fluffy fun, packed with imagination, laughter, and enough bizarre nonsense to remind everyone why Ooo remains one of animation’s most enduring playgrounds.
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
‘Adventure Time: Side Quests’ premieres on Disney+ and Hulu on June 29!
Developed by Nate Cash.
Showrunner: Nate Cash.
Based on Adventure Time by Pendleton Ward.
Executive Producers: Nate Cash, Fred Seibert, & Sam Register.
Main Cast: Sasha Knight, John DiMaggio, Hynden Walch, Tom Kenny, Olivia Olson, Pendleton Ward, & Niki Yang.
Composer: Matthew Janszen.
Production Companies: Cartoon Network Studios & FredFilms.
Networks: Disney+ and Hulu.
