Marcy & Hunson

Last updated
"Marcy & Hunson"
Adventure Time episode
Title Card of Marcy & Hunson.webp
Title Card
Episode no.Season 10
Episode 7
Directed by
Written by Graham Falk
Adam Muto
Story byAdam Muto
Jack Pendarvis
Kent Osborne
Julia Pott
Featured music"Slow Dance with You" by Babeo Baggins
Production code1054-278 [1]
Original air dateDecember 17, 2017 (2017-12-17)
Running time11 minutes
Guest appearance
Episode chronology
 Previous
"Ring of Fire"
Next 
"The First Investigation"
Adventure Time season 10
List of episodes

"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.

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, Peppermint Butler gives Finn a new sword, the Night Blade. However, he also summons Hunson Abadeer. When Finn and Jake let slip that his daughter Marceline (voiced by Olivia Olson) is performing a solo concert for ghosts, Hunson forces his way in.

Supervising direction for "Marcy & Hunson" was handled by Cole Sanchez, whereas art direction was handled by Sandra Lee. Guest music writer Babeo Baggins contributed the song "Slow Dance with You", which has been heavily discussed and analyzed by both critics and fans for its implications. The episode was viewed by 0.76 million viewers upon its debut, and has received mostly positive reviews, with the aforementioned "Slow Dance with You" being praised by a number of media outlets.

Plot

Finn is in need of a new sword, so he enlists the help of Peppermint Butler, who forges a weapon, the Night Blade, and then summons Hunson Abadeer (voiced by Martin Olson) to infuse it with "Nightosphere magic". Released unto Ooo, Abadeer initially tries to harvest souls, but Peppermint Butler binds him with a spell, rendering him powerless. Abadeer then decides to accompany Finn and Jake to the house of his daughter, Marceline the Vampire Queen (voiced by Olivia Olson).

Marceline is getting ready to perform at a concert for a group of ghosts at the Hamburger Hills Cemetery, and is frustrated when her father randomly turns up at her doorstep. Although she tries to avoid mentioning the concert so that her father will not attend, the news is inevitably revealed and Abadeer forces his way into her concert. During a performance of Marceline's song "Slow Dance", Abadeer accidentally gets into a brawl with several ghosts. Because Abadeer is still bound by Peppermint Butler's magic, he is unable to defend himself. Finn manages to fight off the ghosts with his new sword, and then Marceline transforms into a bat, grabs her entourage, and flies away.

At the end of the episode, Marceline, Finn, Jake, and Hunson Abadeer meet up with Princess Bubblegum in a restaurant; Marceline thanks her dad for trying to support her, even if he caused a scene.

Throughout the episode, Princess Bubblegum's conniving Cousin Chicle (allied with Uncle Gumbald) disguises himself as a ghost and spies on Marceline to learn her weakness, as Gumbald has identified Marceline as one of Bubblegum's more powerful allies.

Production

AdamMutoPeabody.jpg
Martin Olson at Forbidden Planet (cropped).jpg
"Marcy & Hunson" was co-storyboarded by Adventure Time showrunner Adam Muto (left) and guest-stars writer Martin Olson (right).

"Marcy & Hunson" was storyboarded by Graham Falk and series showrunner Adam Muto, from a story by Muto, Jack Pendarvis, leader writer Kent Osborne, and Julia Pott. Supervising direction for the episode was carried out by Cole Sanchez, whereas Sandra Lee handled the episode's art direction. [2] As its title suggests, "Marcy & Hunson" features the return of Marceline's father, Hunson Abadeer. Martin Olson (the actual father of Olivia Olson, who voices Marceline) provides the voice for Abadeer. [3] He had previously appeared in the second season episode "It Came from the Nightosphere", the third season episode "Memory of a Memory", and the fourth-season two-part episode "Return to the Nightosphere"/"Daddy's Little Monster". [4] [5]

Series character and prop supervisor Benjamin Anders designed Marceline's look and outfit for this episode. On his personal Tumblr, he wrote, "[Adam Muto] asked me if I wanted to design a couple looks for Marceline for the episode and ended up going with a Yolandi Visser/Lady Gaga look." [6] While the show is animated in South Korea, [7] [8] storyboard supervisor Erik Fountain provided reference animation for the dance that Peppermint Butler does while watching Marceline perform. [9]

The song that Marceline sings in the episode, "Slow Dance with You", was written by the Washington D.C.–based musician Babeo Baggins. According to Pride.com, the song is about "the longing to get close with an unnamed love interest", with many fans online speculating that the unnamed individual is Princess Bubblegum. [10] Via Twitter, Baggins confirmed that they wrote the song about a female love-interest "who didn’t like [the singer] cause [ sic ] she had a boyfriend". [10] On Tumblr, Baggins elaborated:

So, I wanted to give you guys a bit of a backstory on the song I wrote called "Slow Dance" ... I wrote [the song] about this girl I had a big crush on, and she liked me too, but ... she had a boyfriend and I wasn’t a boy... (to her). I identify as genderfluid, and I feel very he/him most of the time. I was so heartbroken because I knew I wasn’t a "boy" in her eyes but I thought I could be, if she let me. Hence, "I know all the other boys are tough and smooth". It’s okay tho [ sic ], she’s a very lovely girl and I wrote a really good song out of it. I’m happy you all like it so much. Just wanted you all to know the root of the song. [11]

Despite Baggins's intentions when writing the song, some online users attempted to argue that the song was not about a female love interest, leading to Baggins to respond that the song is "gay as hell" and was written "for the gays". [10] The demo for the song was released on the official Adventure Time production blog on December 18, 2017. [12]

Reception

"Slow Dance with You", performed by Olivia Olson, was critically commented on. Olson Stage.jpg
"Slow Dance with You", performed by Olivia Olson, was critically commented on.

"Marcy & Hunson" aired on December 17, 2017, along with three other Adventure Time episodes (viz. "Seventeen", "Ring of Fire", and "The First Investigation") as part of an episode "bomb". [13] It was seen by 0.76 million viewers and scored a 0.2 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 0.2 percent of all individuals aged 18 to 49 years old who were watching television at the time of the episode's airing. [14]

Oliver Sava of The A.V. Club wrote that "Marcy & Hunson" is "a cute episode, but also the slightest of [the] four [that aired on December 17], telling a straightforward story about Hunson doing the bare minimum to inch his way into his daughter’s good graces." [15] He collectively awarded it, along with "Seventeen", "Ring of Fire", and "The First Investigation" a "B+". [15]

The use of "Slow Dance with You" in the episodes, and its implications resulted in extensive online discussion. Many fans of the show were quick to argue that the song was alluding to Princess Bubblegum, although some fans argued that the song was not necessarily an expression of queer feelings (this latter argument was repudiated by song writer Babeo Baggins). [10] Mey Valdivia Rude of Autostraddle wrote highly of the song's use in the episode, calling its appearance "one of my favorite pop culture moments of the year." [16] Sava wrote that he "love[d]" the song, and positively compared it to the work of Mitski (whose song "Francis Forever" was covered in the show's eighth-season episode "The Music Hole"). [15]

Explanatory notes

  1. Supervising director
  2. Art director

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olivia Olson</span> American actress and singer-songwriter

Olivia Olson is an American actress, singer-songwriter, and writer, largely known for her voice roles as Vanessa Doofenshmirtz in Phineas and Ferb and Marceline the Vampire Queen in Adventure Time. She also played the character of Joanna in the 2003 film Love Actually and its 2017 short sequel Red Nose Day Actually.

<i>Adventure Time</i> American animated television series

Adventure Time is an American fantasy animated television series created by Pendleton Ward and co-produced by Frederator Studios for Cartoon Network. The series follows the adventures of a boy named Finn and his best friend and adoptive brother Jake —a dog with the power to change size and shape at will. Finn and Jake live in the post-apocalyptic Land of Ooo, where they interact with Princess Bubblegum, the Ice King, Marceline, BMO, and others. The series is based on a 2007 short film that aired on Nicktoons. After the short became a viral hit on the Internet, Nickelodeon's executives passed on its option before Cartoon Network commissioned a full-length series from Fred Seibert and Ward, which was previewed on March 11, 2010. The same year, the series premiered on Cartoon Network on April 5, and it ended its eight-year run on September 3, 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marceline the Vampire Queen</span> Fictional character from Adventure Time

Marceline the Vampire Queen is a fictional character in the American animated Cartoon Network television series Adventure Time and resulting franchise, created by Pendleton Ward. She is voiced by Olivia Olson in most appearances, by Ava Acres as a child, and by Cloris Leachman as an older woman. Marceline is a fun-loving 1,000-year-old vampire queen, as well as a musician who plays an electric bass that she made from her family's heirloom battle-ax. Ward created the artistic design for Marceline, with small changes and additions added by Phil Rynda, the former lead character and prop designer for Adventure Time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">It Came from the Nightosphere</span> 1st episode of the 2nd season of Adventure Time

"It Came from the Nightosphere" is the first episode of the second season of the American animated television series Adventure Time. The series 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 grow and shrink at will. In this episode, Finn releases Marceline's dad from the Nightosphere after Marceline sings a song about the relationship between her and her estranged father. However, Finn—who is begrudgingly aided by an enraged Marceline—is forced to stop him from stealing all the souls in Ooo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">What Was Missing</span> 10th episode of the 3rd season of Adventure Time

"What Was Missing" is the tenth episode of the third season of the American animated television series Adventure Time. The episode was written and storyboarded by Adam Muto and Rebecca Sugar, from a story by Mark Banker, Kent Osborne, Patrick McHale, and series creator Pendleton Ward. It originally aired on Cartoon Network on September 26, 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evicted!</span> 12th episode of the 1st season of Adventure Time

"Evicted!" is the twelfth episode of the first season of the American animated television series Adventure Time. The episode was written and storyboarded by Bert Youn and Sean Jimenez, from a story by Adam Muto. It originally aired on Cartoon Network on March 18, 2010, as a preview for the series; it later officially aired that same year on May 17. The episode guest stars Erik Estrada as King Worm. The episode marks the first appearance of Marceline the Vampire Queen, who would go on to play a larger role in the series as a friend and companion to Finn and Jake.

<i>Adventure Time</i> season 2 Season of television series

The second season of Adventure Time, an American animated television series created by Pendleton Ward, premiered on Cartoon Network on October 11, 2010, and concluded on May 2, 2011, 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, and BMO.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simon & Marcy</span> 14th episode of the 5th season of Adventure Time

"Simon & Marcy" is the fourteenth episode of the fifth season of the American animated television series Adventure Time. The episode was written and storyboarded by Cole Sanchez and Rebecca Sugar, from a story by Patrick McHale, Kent Osborne, and Pendleton Ward. It originally aired on Cartoon Network on March 25, 2013, preceded by a re-run of the fourth season episode "I Remember You", and as such was advertised as a half-hour special.

I Remember You (<i>Adventure Time</i>) 25th episode of the 4th season of Adventure Time

"I Remember You" is the twenty-fifth and penultimate episode of the fourth season of the American animated television series Adventure Time. The episode was written and storyboarded by Cole Sanchez and Rebecca Sugar, from a story by Patrick McHale, Kent Osborne, and Pendleton Ward. It originally aired on Cartoon Network on October 15, 2012. The episode later re-aired on March 25, 2013, together with the fifth season episode "Simon & Marcy", and as such was advertised as a half-hour special.

"Return to the Nightosphere" and "Daddy's Little Monster" are the fifth and sixth episodes of the fourth season of the American animated television series Adventure Time. "Return to the Nightosphere" was written and storyboarded by Ako Castuera and Jesse Moynihan, whereas "Daddy's Little Monster" was written and storyboarded by Rebecca Sugar and Cole Sanchez. Both episodes' stories were developed by series creator Pendleton Ward, Patrick McHale, and Kent Osborne. Originally airing on Cartoon Network on April 30, 2012, both episodes feature the return of Martin Olson as Hunson Abadeer.

<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.

<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.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elements (miniseries)</span> 2017 television miniseries

"Elements" is an eight-episode-long miniseries that aired as part of the American animated television series Adventure Time's ninth season on Cartoon Network from April 24 to April 27, 2017. 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, and grow and shrink at will. In this limited event series, which itself follows the events of the Islands miniseries, Finn, Jake, and BMO return home to discover that Ooo has been turned into a veritable dystopia thanks to extreme elemental magic. Finn and Jake team up with Ice King, Betty, and Lumpy Space Princess to set things straight.

<i>Adventure Time</i> season 10 2017–2018 season of television series

The tenth and final season of Adventure Time, an American animated television series created by Pendleton Ward, premiered on Cartoon Network on September 17, 2017, and ended on September 3, 2018, and was produced by Frederator Studios and Cartoon Network Studios. It 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 series' other main characters: Princess Bubblegum, The Ice King, Marceline the Vampire Queen, Lumpy Space Princess, BMO, and Flame Princess.

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.

<i>Adventure Time: Distant Lands</i> American animated television limited series

Adventure Time: Distant Lands is an American animated television limited series based on the animated television series Adventure Time, which was created by Pendleton Ward and originally aired on Cartoon Network from 2010 to 2018. Distant Lands, which comprises four hour-long streaming television specials, was produced by Frederator Studios and Cartoon Network Studios; the first special was released on HBO Max on June 25, 2020. The rest of the specials were released on November 19, 2020, May 20, 2021, and September 2, 2021.

<i>Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake</i> American adult animated television series

Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake is an American adult animated television series developed by Adam Muto and serves as a spin-off to the Cartoon Network series Adventure Time. The third-released series in the franchise, it premiered via the streaming service Max on August 31, 2023. In December of the same year, Max announced that the show had been renewed for a second season.

References

  1. Derived from the following sources:
    • Olson, Olivia. "[Snippet of 'Marcy & Hunson' script]". Instagram. Archived from the original on March 22, 2016. Alt URL Archived 2016-12-23 at the Wayback Machine
    • "Adventure Time – Episode #278: "Marcy & Hunson"". United States Copyright Office . Retrieved July 14, 2017.
  2. Sanchez, Cole (supervising director); Sandra Lee (art director); Graham Falk & Adam Muto (storyboard artists) (December 17, 2017). "Marcy & Hunson". Adventure Time. Season 10. Episode 7. Cartoon Network.
  3. "Martin Olson". Behind the Voice Actors. Retrieved March 18, 2013.
  4. Leichliter, Larry (director); Cole Sanchez (creative director); Nick Jennings (art director); Tom Herpich & Ako Castuera (storyboard artists) (July 25, 2011). "Memory of a Memory". Adventure Time. Season 3. Episode 3. Cartoon Network.
  5. Dyess-Nugent, Phil (April 30, 2012). "'They Went To The Nightosphere'/'Daddy's Little Monster' | Adventure Time". The A.V. Club . The Onion . Retrieved August 22, 2012.
  6. Anders, Benjamin (December 18, 2017). "'Here are some sketches...'". KingOfOoo. Tumblr . Retrieved June 15, 2018.
  7. Goldstein, Rich (December 19, 2013). "This Is How an Episode of Cartoon Network's 'Adventure Time' Is Made". The Daily Beast . Archived from the original on March 4, 2016.
  8. McDonnell, Chris (2014). Adventure Time: The Art of Ooo. New York City: Abrams Books. pp. 348–49. ISBN   978-1-4197-0450-5.
  9. Adventure Time production staff (December 14, 2017). "Peppermint Butler Reference Animation". KingOfOoo. Tumblr . Retrieved June 16, 2018.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Henderson, Taylor (December 19, 2017). "Adventure Time Writer Confirms Love Song Is Gay, Heteros Are Big Mad". Pride.com . Retrieved June 15, 2018.
  11. Baggins, Babeo. "'So, I wanted to give you guys a bit of a backstory...'". Tumblr . Retrieved June 15, 2018.
  12. Adventure Time production staff (December 18, 2017). "Rough Demo of Upcoming Project". KingOfOoo. Tumblr . Retrieved June 15, 2018.
  13. "Adventure Time Returns on Sunday, December 17". KingOfOoo. Tumblr. December 4, 2017. Retrieved December 5, 2017.
  14. Metcalf, Mitch (December 19, 2017). "Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 12.17.2017". Showbuzz Daily . Archived from the original on December 19, 2017. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
  15. 1 2 3 Sava, Oliver (December 17, 2017). "Adventure Time Explores Family Dynamics in Four New Episodes". The A.V. Club . Retrieved June 15, 2018.
  16. Rude, Mey Valdivia (December 21, 2017). "The 15 Gayest Pop Songs of 2017". Autostraddle . Retrieved June 15, 2018.