Jake the Brick

Last updated

"Jake the Brick"
Adventure Time episode
Adventure Time Jake the Brick Title Card.png
Episode no.Season 6
Episode 20
Directed by
Written byKent Osborne
Story by Adam Muto
Kent Osborne
Jack Pendarvis
Pendleton Ward
Production code1025-177
Original air dateNovember 26, 2014 (2014-11-26)
Running time11 minutes
Episode chronology
 Previous
"Is That You?"
Next 
"Dentist"
Adventure Time season 6
List of episodes

"Jake the Brick" is the twentieth episode of the sixth season of the American animated television series Adventure Time . The episode was written, storyboarded, and directed by head writer Kent Osborne, from an outline by Adam Muto, Osborne, and series creator Pendleton Ward. "Jake the Brick" debuted on November 26, 2014, on Cartoon Network as the third episode to be aired as part of the "Corn-Ooo-copia"—a week of all-new Adventure Time premieres.

Contents

The series follows the adventures of Finn (voiced by Jeremy Shada), a human boy, and his best friend and adoptive brother Jake (voiced by John DiMaggio), a dog with magical powers to change shape and grow and shrink at will. In this episode, Jake tries to fulfill a bizarre lifelong ambition of being a brick inside a shack as it collapses. Finn, being supportive, leaves a walkie talkie with Jake, who absentmindedly begins to narrate the events around him. Finn and BMO are drawn into Jake's storytelling, and Finn uses Starchy's radio station to broadcast Jake's narration of the trials and tribulations of a rabbit. All of Ooo is soon engrossed in the radio broadcast, unbeknownst to Jake.

"Jake the Brick" was based on a doodle made by Tom Herpich during a game of exquisite corpse, making it one of the few episodes of Adventure Time to have been developed out of the game. Osborne and the production crew were so amused by Herpich's drawing that they decided to build an episode in order to showcase it. The episode was viewed by 2.00 million viewers. The episode also was met with mostly positive critical reception, with many commenters appreciating its simplistic and calm nature. In 2015, it won a Primetime Emmy Award for Short-format Animation.

Plot

Finn wanders all over Ooo until he manages to locate Jake, who is fulfilling a bizarre lifelong ambition of being a brick inside a shack as it collapses. Finn expresses his support, but decides to head back to the Tree Fort. He leaves a walkie talkie with Jake. After a period of time passes, Jake begins absentmindedly narrating the events around him. Finn and BMO are drawn into Jake's storytelling, and Finn uses Starchy's radio station to broadcast Jake's narration.

Jake focuses his attention on the trials and tribulations of a rabbit. First, the rabbit is tormented by a rogue deer. Then, a storm threatens to destroy his home. But luckily, the rabbit enlists the aid of a friendly sea lard and several beavers, and together, the animals are able to rebuild the rabbit's home. While Jake narrates, the entirety of Ooo tunes into the broadcast and becomes engrossed in the tale of the rabbit, unbeknownst to Jake.

Production

The episode was storyboarded by Adventure Time head writer Kent Osborne. KentOsborneBW.jpg
The episode was storyboarded by Adventure Time head writer Kent Osborne.

"Jake the Brick" was written and storyboarded by Adventure Time head writer Kent Osborne, from a story by Adam Muto, Osborne, Jack Pendarvis, and series creator Pendleton Ward. Osborne also served as the episode's supervising director, while the art direction was helmed by Nick Jennings. [1] The genesis for the episode can be traced back to a drawing made during a game of exquisite corpse by Tom Herpich. The quick doodle, which featured Finn offering a brick-shaped Jake a sandwich, was accompanied by a short plot synopsis involving Jake's son Kim Kil Whan. [2] [3] [4] The plot was never used, but Osborne and the crew found the drawing so amusing that they decided to work it into an episode. [4] In reality, "Jake the Brick" was one of the few episodes to have been generated from a game of exquisite corpse. [2] According to Ward, most of the ideas that come from the game are "terrible". [5] A large portion of the dialogue used in the final episode was written by Pendarvis. [6]

Reception

"Jake the Brick" aired on November 26, 2014 on Cartoon Network and was the third episode to air during the "Corn-Ooo-copia"—a week of all-new Adventure Time premieres. It was seen by 2.00 million viewers and scored a 0.4 Nielsen rating in the 18- to 49-year-old demographic. Nielsen ratings are audience measurement systems that determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States, which means that the episode was seen by 0.4 percent of all households aged 18 to 49 years old were watching television at the time of the episode's airing. [7]

The episode also was met with mostly positive critical reception, with many commenters appreciating its simplistic and calm nature. Oliver Sava of The A.V. Club awarded the episode a "B", calling it a "satisfying episode." He applauded the way that Osborne took the episode's fairly simple plot structure and framed it around an emergency news broadcast, noting that the episode emphasizes the importance of radio in regards to communication; he positively compared the episode to the popular podcast Serial , writing that both this episode and the aforementioned podcast emphasize the importance of the audio experience. Furthermore, Sava opined that the episode was one of the show's more experimental outings, and it was proof that the writers of Adventure Time had full creative control over their series. [8]

Dara Driscoll of TV Overmind named "Jake the Brick" one of the six best episodes of Adventure Time's sixth season. She praised the episode for its calm and peaceful tone, arguing that "it’s a … relaxing episode [and] as you listen to Jake tell the story of the bunny … you become attached to its well-being just like all of the listeners of the radio show." [9]

In September 2015, the episode won an Emmy for Short-format Animation, making it the series' first win in this category. [lower-alpha 3] [10]

Explanatory notes

  1. Supervising director
  2. Art director
  3. Adventure Time staffers Andy Ristaino, Nick Jennings, and Tom Herpich had previously won Emmys for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation in 2013, 2014, and 2015, respectively. [10]

Related Research Articles

<i>Adventure Time</i> season 5 Season of television series

The fifth season of Adventure Time, an American animated television series created by Pendleton Ward, premiered on Cartoon Network on November 12, 2012 and concluded on March 17, 2014, and was produced by Frederator Studios and Cartoon Network Studios. The season follows the adventures of Finn, a human boy, and his best friend and adoptive brother Jake, a dog with magical powers to change shape and size at will. Finn and Jake live in the post-apocalyptic Land of Ooo, where they interact with the other main characters of the show: Princess Bubblegum, The Ice King, Marceline the Vampire Queen, Lumpy Space Princess, BMO, and Flame Princess.

<i>Adventure Time</i> season 6 Season of television series

The sixth season of Adventure Time, an American animated television series created by Pendleton Ward, premiered on Cartoon Network on April 21, 2014 and concluded on June 5, 2015, and was produced by Frederator Studios and Cartoon Network Studios. The season follows the adventures of Finn, a human boy, and his best friend and adoptive brother Jake, a dog with magical powers to change shape and size at will. Finn and Jake live in the post-apocalyptic Land of Ooo, where they interact with the other main characters of the show: Princess Bubblegum, The Ice King, Marceline the Vampire Queen, Lumpy Space Princess, BMO, and Flame Princess.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Puhoy</span> 16th episode of the 5th season of Adventure Time

"Puhoy" is the sixteenth episode of the fifth season of the American animated television series Adventure Time. The episode was written and storyboarded by Tom Herpich and Steve Wolfhard, from a story by Patrick McHale, Kent Osborne, and Pendleton Ward. It originally aired on Cartoon Network on April 8, 2013. The episode guest stars Mandy Siegfried as Roselinen, Jonathan Frakes as Adult Finn, and Wallace Shawn as Rasheeta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Be More</span> 28th episode of the 5th season of Adventure Time

"Be More" is the twenty-eighth episode of the fifth season of the American animated television series Adventure Time. It was written and storyboarded by Tom Herpich and Steve Wolfhard, from a story by Patrick McHale, Kent Osborne, Pendleton Ward, Rebecca Sugar, Herpich, and Wolfhard. It originally aired on Cartoon Network on July 22, 2013. The episode guest stars Aziz Ansari as DMO, Paul F. Tompkins as the SMOs, and Chuck McCann as Moe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Baxter the Horse</span> 19th episode of the 5th season of Adventure Time

"James Baxter the Horse" is the nineteenth episode of the fifth season of the American animated television series Adventure Time. The episode was written and storyboarded by series creator Pendleton Ward and Somvilay Xayaphone, from a story by Patrick McHale, Kent Osborne, and Ward. It originally aired on Cartoon Network on May 6, 2013. The episode guest stars animator James Baxter as the titular horse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wizards Only, Fools</span> 26th episode of the 5th season of Adventure Time

"Wizards Only, Fools" is the twenty-sixth episode of the fifth season of the American animated television series Adventure Time. The episode was written and storyboarded by Jesse Moynihan and Thomas Wellmann, from a story by Adam Muto, Kent Osborne, Pendleton Ward, and Moynihan. It originally aired on Cartoon Network on July 1, 2013. The episode guest stars Duncan Trussell as Ron James and Maurice LaMarche as Grand Master Wizard.

Frost & Fire (<i>Adventure Time</i>) 30th episode of the 5th season of Adventure Time

"Frost & Fire" is the thirtieth episode of the fifth season of the American animated television series Adventure Time. It was written and storyboarded by Luke Pearson and Somvilay Xayaphone, from a story by Kent Osborne, series creator Pendleton Ward, Jack Pendarvis, and showrunner Adam Muto. It originally aired on Cartoon Network on August 5, 2013. The episode guest stars M. Emmet Walsh as the Cosmic Owl.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wake Up and Escape from the Citadel</span> 1st and 2nd episodes of the 6th season of Adventure Time

"Wake Up" and "Escape from the Citadel" are the first two episodes of the sixth season of the American animated television series Adventure Time. "Wake Up" was written and storyboarded by Andy Ristaino and Cole Sanchez, whereas "Escape from the Citadel" was storyboarded by Tom Herpich and Steve Wolfhard. Both episodes' stories were developed by Kent Osborne, Pendleton Ward, Jack Pendarvis, and Adam Muto. The two episodes originally aired on Cartoon Network on April 21, 2014. The episodes guest star Kumail Nanjiani as Prismo, M. Emmet Walsh as the Cosmic Owl, Miguel Ferrer as Death, Ron Perlman as the Lich, and Stephen Root as Martin.

<i>Adventure Time</i> season 7 Season of television series

The seventh season of Adventure Time, an American animated television series created by Pendleton Ward, premiered on Cartoon Network on November 2, 2015, and concluded on March 19, 2016, and was produced by Frederator Studios and Cartoon Network Studios. It follows the adventures of Finn, a human boy, and his best friend and adoptive brother Jake, a dog with magical powers to change shape and size at will. Finn and Jake live in the post-apocalyptic Land of Ooo, where they interact with the show's other main characters: Princess Bubblegum, The Ice King, Marceline the Vampire Queen, Lumpy Space Princess, BMO, and Flame Princess.

Something Big (<i>Adventure Time</i>) 10th episode of the 6th season of Adventure Time

"Something Big" is the tenth episode of the sixth season of the American animated television series Adventure Time. The episode was written and storyboarded by Jesse Moynihan, from a story by Kent Osborne, Pendleton Ward, Moynihan, Jack Pendarvis, and Adam Muto. It originally aired on Cartoon Network on July 3, 2014. The episode guest stars Jill Talley, Alan Oppenheimer, Keith Ferguson, and Steve Agee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stakes (miniseries)</span> 2015 Adventure Time miniseries

Stakes is an American animated television miniseries comprising eight episodes from the television show Adventure Time, created by Pendleton Ward. It aired as part of the show's seventh season from November 16, 2015 to November 19, 2015 on Cartoon Network. Adventure Time follows the adventures of Finn, a human boy, and his best friend and adoptive brother Jake, a dog with magical powers to change shape, grow and shrink at will. In this limited event series, Princess Bubblegum removes the vampiric essence from Marceline the Vampire Queen, which unleashes five recently resurrected vampires into The Land of Ooo. Marceline, Bubblegum, Finn, Jake, and Peppermint Butler are forced to deal with the fallout.

Is That You? (<i>Adventure Time</i>) 19th episode of the 6th season of Adventure Time

"Is That You?" is the nineteenth episode of the sixth season of the American animated television series Adventure Time. The episode was written and storyboarded by Jesse Moynihan, from an outline by Pendleton Ward, Adam Muto, Kent Osborne, and Jack Pendarvis. The episode debuted on November 25, 2014, the second episode to air as part of Cartoon Network's "Corn-Ooo-Copia", a week of new Adventure Time episodes. It guest stars both Kumail Nanjiani as Prismo and Ron Perlman as The Lich.

Dentist (<i>Adventure Time</i>) 21st episode of the 6th season of Adventure Time

"Dentist" is the twenty-first episode of the sixth season of the American animated television series Adventure Time. The episode was written and storyboarded by Tom Herpich and Steve Wolfhard, from an outline by Herpich, Wolfhard, Adam Muto, Kent Osborne, Jack Pendarvis, and Pendleton Ward. The episode debuted on November 28, 2014 and guest stars Lucy Lawless, Collin Dean, and Andy Daly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walnuts & Rain</span> 31st episode of the 6th season of Adventure Time

"Walnuts & Rain" is the thirty-first episode of the sixth season of the American animated television series Adventure Time. The episode was written and storyboarded by Tom Herpich, from an outline by Herpich, Adam Muto, Kent Osborne, Jack Pendarvis, and Pendleton Ward. The episode debuted on March 5, 2015 on Cartoon Network, and guest stars Chris Isaak as a bear named Seven and Matt L. Jones as King Huge.

<i>Adventure Time</i> season 9 Season of television series

The ninth season of Adventure Time, an American animated television series created by Pendleton Ward, premiered on the Cartoon Network on April 21, 2017 and concluded on July 21, 2017, and was produced by Frederator Studios and Cartoon Network Studios. The season follows the adventures of Finn and his best friend and adoptive brother, Jake, a dog with magical powers to change shape and size at will. Finn and Jake live in the post-apocalyptic Land of Ooo, where they interact with the other main characters of the show: Princess Bubblegum, The Ice King, Marceline the Vampire Queen, Lumpy Space Princess, BMO, and Flame Princess.

Crossover (<i>Adventure Time</i>) 23rd episode of the 7th season of Adventure Time

"Crossover" is the twenty-third episode of the seventh season of the American animated television series Adventure Time. The episode was written and storyboarded by Sam Alden and Jesse Moynihan, from an outline by showrunner Adam Muto, Jack Pendarvis, and head writer Kent Osborne. The episode, which debuted on January 28, 2016 on Cartoon Network, guest stars Kumail Nanjiani as Prismo, Lou Ferrigno as Bobby, and James Kyson as Big Destiny.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Hall of Egress</span> 24th episode of the 7th season of Adventure Time

"The Hall of Egress" is the twenty-fourth episode of the seventh season of the American animated television series Adventure Time. The episode—which was written and storyboarded by Tom Herpich, from a story by head writer Kent Osborne, Jack Pendarvis, Ashly Burch, and Herpich—debuted on March 5, 2016 on Cartoon Network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marcy & Hunson</span> 7th episode of the 10th season of Adventure Time

"Marcy & Hunson" is the seventh episode of the tenth season of the American animated television series Adventure Time. The episode was written and storyboarded by Graham Falk and series showrunner Adam Muto, from an outline by Muto, Jack Pendarvis, head writer Kent Osborne, and Julia Pott. The episode, which debuted on December 17, 2017 on Cartoon Network, guest stars Martin Olson as Hunson Abadeer.

Ketchup (<i>Adventure Time</i>) 11th episode of the 9th season of Adventure Time

"Ketchup" is the name of the eleventh episode of the ninth season of the American animated television series Adventure Time. The episode was written and storyboarded by Seo Kim and Somvilay Xayaphone, from a story by lead writer Kent Osborne, Jack Pendarvis, Julia Pott, Patrick McHale, Ashly Burch, and series showrunner Adam Muto. It originally aired on Cartoon Network on July 18, 2017 and guest stars J. G. Quintel as a blue jay.

"Come Along with Me" is the series finale of the American animated television series Adventure Time. A 44-minute four-part episode, it is counted as the 13th to 16th episodes of the series' tenth season and as the 280th to 283rd episodes of the series overall. The episode first aired on September 3, 2018, on Cartoon Network.

References

Footnotes

  1. Osborne, Kent (supervising director); Nick Jennings (art director); Kent Osborne (storyboard artist) (November 26, 2014). "Jake the Brick". Adventure Time. Season 6. Episode 20. Cartoon Network.
  2. 1 2 McDonnell 2014 , p. 258
  3. McDonnell 2014 , pp. 260–261
  4. 1 2 Osborne, Kent (September 16, 2015). "Congrats on the Emmy for "Jake the Brick"". Frederator. Archived from the original on April 15, 2016. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
  5. Graham, Bill (July 16, 2012). "Comic-Con: Adventure Time Panel Features Live Radio Play With Audio; A Brief Look At New Flame Princess Episode". Collider.com. Archived from the original on April 13, 2016. Retrieved March 4, 2013.
  6. Osborne, Kent (November 26, 2014). "Jake the Brick". Tumblr. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
  7. Kondolojy, Amanda (December 1, 2014). "Wednesday Cable Ratings: 'Duck Dynasty' Tops Night + 'Property Bros.' NBA Basketball & More". TV by the Numbers . Zap2it. Archived from the original on April 15, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
  8. Sava, Oliver (November 26, 2014). "Adventure Time: 'Jake the Brick'". The A.V. Club . The Onion. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
  9. Driscoll, Dara (January 26, 2015). "The Best Six Episodes of Adventure Time Season 6". TV Overmind . Zap2it. Archived from the original on October 27, 2015. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
  10. 1 2 "Adventure Time". Emmys.com. Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved January 23, 2013.

Bibliography