by Thinus Ferreira
The new animated series, Adventure Time: Side Quests, will make its debut on 5 June on Hulu and Disney+ in the United States, and months later in South Africa on the Cartoon Network (DStv 301) on 5 October.
Produced by Cartoon Network Studios, South African viewers will get to see the new spin-off series four months after America, with Finn and his dog Jake reuniting for new adventures, or so-called "side quests" in the fantastical land of Ooo.
Taking place before the events of the original Adventure Time, the series moves away from the heavy serialised storytelling of its later years, to return to the lighter, standalone, episodic format of the original show's early seasons.
John DiMaggio is back to voice Jake the Dog, alongside other returning favourites like Tom Kenny as Ice King, Hynden Walch as Princess Bubblegum, and Olivia Olson as Marceline. Young Finn will be voiced by Sasha Knight.
The series is leaving the Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) platform ecosystem in the United States and will stream exclusively on Disney+ and Hulu.
It's licensed for profit and to make the project financially viable, WBD chose to license the American streaming rights to the highest external bidder, which was Disney.
The longtime series showrunner Adam Muto is not attached to this series. Instead, it is being helmed and executive produced by Nate Cash, the former Adventure Time supervising director and storyboard artist.
In order to match the creative spirit of the original show's early seasons, the crew is not using traditional scripts. Instead, a team of franchise veterans and guest artists are acting as storyboarders to organically craft the dialogue, pacing, and visual gags from basic outlines.
Adventure Time: Side Quests is structured as 10-episode companion show consisting of self-contained, light-hearted, standalone adventures.
Vanessa Brookman, Warner Bros. Discovery general manager, international kids, animation and franchise, says "With its wit, originality and unpredictability, Adventure Time has
always been quintessential Cartoon Network".
"In Side Quests, Nate and
the team have crafted the perfect entry point for new audiences
discovering the Land of Ooo for the first time, while
offering a heartfelt love letter to fans who have been on the
extraordinary journey from the very beginning."
Nate Cash says "Making Side Quests felt like making the original Adventure Time,
which felt like hanging out with art school buddies making professional
cartoons. That sounds like a big sandwich of feelings, and it was!
You're going to love these new adventures with Finn and Jake!"
