Pen Ward on ADVENTURE TIME: Animation Interview Podcast

Moving outward (there's a novel approach): Me-Mow, Jake, and Finn from ADVENTURE TIME.
Moving outward (there's a novel approach): Me-Mow, Jake, and Finn from ADVENTURE TIME.

Television has managed to deliver up no shortage of animated shows ostensibly aimed at kids that also manage to build a justifiably enthusiastic adult fan base. Even with that, ADVENTURE TIME stands out. The tale of a human boy, Finn, and a shape-shifting dog, Jake (who’s also Finn’s brother — long story), making their way as heroes in a wide-ranging fantasy world that’s actually a post-apocalyptic Earth, the show manages a distinctively gentle kind of anarchy that owes as much to the sophisticated themes of its stories — a recent episode served as rumination on the nature of evil — as to its inventive character design and animation.
In connection with the release of a new box set of episodes headlined by the fan-instigated “Jake vs. Me-Mow,” in which the dog has to do battle with a miniature cat assassin hiding out in his nose, I got a chance to talk with the show’s creator, Pendleton Ward.

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THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN; SOME GUY WHO KILLS PEOPLE; & ADVENTURE TIME

Respinning the Web: Andrew Garfiled dons the spandex for THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN.
Respinning the Web: Andrew Garfiled dons the spandex for THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN.

Nothing like using the patriotic holiday of the Fourth of July to re-introduce the U.S. to a beloved New York Commie liberal. Or THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, if you will: Big Apple native and irradiated-arachnid-bit crime fighter. Sony has decided to punch the reboot button for what is actually the fourth installment of the franchise (but should we start counting from one again?). Gone is the post-college, working-joe Peter Parker; the revenge-obsessed Harry Osborne; and romantic shuttlecock Mary Jane. Here instead is Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield), humble high-school student; big bad villain, the Lizard (Rhys Ifans), and alt love-interest Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone). Plus the wrinkle of a whole new conspiracy theory added to the tragic death of Parker’s parents and his eventual transformation into the cocky web-slinger.
Come join Cinefantastique Online’s Steve Biodrowski, Lawrence French, and Dan Persons as they determine whether going back to square one was worth the effort, how director Marc Webb’s approach to the legend varies from Sam Raimi’s, and whether there are limits to Chekov’s observations on introducing a gun in the first act. Then, Dan will give his takes on the indie horror comedy SOME GUY WHO KILLS PEOPLE, and the cult animated kids show, ADVENTURE TIME: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON. Plus: What’s coming to theaters next week.

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