I’m very fond of the show Adventure Time on Cartoon Network. While it would seem the cartoon is aired at children, the show has a large following among teens and college students due to it’s quirky, offbeat and occasionally absurd humor. The most recent episode, “Ignition Point,” aired on Monday, and the episode supported numerous intertextual references, which reminded me of a previous class in which we discussed how films often borrow from other films.
The episode draws inspiration from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, and a small portion of the “To be or not to be” soliloquy can even be heard during a short scene. Much like how Hamlet’s father was murdered by having poison poured into his ear, the climax of the episode features Finn and Jake foiling an assassin’s attempt to pour ice cubes in the Flame King’s ear. The Flame King’s nephews are also directly based on Hamlet himself, as they seek to avenge their father.
Additionally, a reference to the game Dungeons & Dragons is made when the characters discuss alignment, which describes how a player character makes ethical and moral decisions. The chaotic neutral alignment is specifically mentioned by Finn when he asks if the Flame Princess is truly evil; chaotic neutral characters are neither good nor evil, and are typically free-spirited or unpredictable.
Overall, I thought the episode was very entertaining and did a good job of making Hamlet approachable for its younger viewers. I plan on watching some previous episodes of Adventure Time to see if I can catch any intertextual references I missed on the first viewing!
For added fun, you can take this online alignment quiz, answering the questions as your player character would: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dnd/20001222b
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