Common Sense Media Review
By Joyce Slaton , based on child development research. How do we rate?
age 12+
Gender-swapped version of beloved series is more mature.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 12+?
Any Positive Content?
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Violence & Scariness
a little
Violence has a surreal and comic edge but may be scary for young children, as when Fionna chases an anthropomorphized bus that has a rat's tail and ears. The bus hangs on a precipice; people fall out and plummet through the sky toward the ground but are caught by Cake, who turns herself into a parachute.
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Sex, Romance & Nudity
very little
Talk of boyfriends, girlfriends, relationships. At one point, when Fionna is asked to give a uniform back for a job, she pulls her pants down and stands in her underwear. A male character urinates in a toilet; we see him clothed from behind but hear relevant noises.
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Language
very little
No cursing, but language occasionally skirts the line, as when a character advises Fionna to "puck up" a villain on an ice rink. Characters occasionally utter mild insults: "ding-dong."
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Drinking, Drugs & Smoking
very little
A character visits a bar where he's given a brown liquid with olives and co*cktail onions; no one acts drunk.
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Positive Messages
a lot
Positive messages are frequent and gently folded into action rather than being explicitly stated: Have kindness and patience for people even if they're different, accept others as they are, even those who feel powerless can make a big difference in the world.
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Positive Role Models
a lot
Fionna is a well-meaning character who can be selfish and impatient; she's nonetheless loyal to her friends and bravely intrepid on adventures. Cake is a little more wacky and foolhardy but is also reliable when her help is needed. As is typical for this animated show, even villains have reasons for what they do, as well as recognizably human emotions.
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Diverse Representations
some
Fionna is drawn with light skin, though characters vary in terms of race and body type. Many characters are played by voice actors of color, including Cake and Marshall Lee.
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Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Adventure Time: Fionna & Cake is a series spun off from the original animated show Adventure Time. Its main characters are versions of the original's Finn and Jake. The characters are older and more mature, and the story being told is too: Fionna is an adult in a non-magical world, though her adventures gradually bring her more in contact with a Land of Ooo-like surreal existence. As in the original, characters have recognizably human emotions, positive and negative, and go on adventures that involve some level of violence (although battles and adventures have a comic edge, and lack menace and blood). Some content is a shade more mature than Adventure Time: There's talk of boyfriends and girlfriends, and adult characters struggle with adult problems like boredom and feeling stuck in dead-end jobs. There's no cursing or drugs, but characters sometimes deliver mild insults ("ding-dong"), and one visits a bar where he drinks an unnamed brown co*cktail.
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Adventure Time: Fionna & Cake
Parent and Kid Reviews
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- Parents say (2)
- Kids say (13)
age 13+
Based on 2 parent reviews
Tyson S. Adult
September 24, 2023
age 14+
Perfect Continuation
Picks up on storylines that I desperately wanted to see continued and answers burning questions from even the much older adventure time episodes that I thought would never be answered. They carefully wrote in this story to make things make sense and connect with the original series in a way that im super impressed with. Character development and humor are great and its got some darkness to it that the new TV-14 rating allows more, and they didn't overdo the more adult content in a way that would make it corny as some shows have done. As always, very thought provoking and relatable subjects, aswell as very open minded roles portrayed in awesome ways just like the origional series. Nothing but excitement for this and hope it gets atleast a few more seasons!
JVF0 Adult
September 12, 2023
age 11+
CSM only watched the first episode
CSM review applies to the first episode only, which is the cleanest of them all for now. (I'd suggest them to update it after watching some more episodes, and update the poster since it's using non canon art.) Overall, the TV-14 rating for this show feels undeserved and a marketing move, as the only difference in content compared to the original PG-rated show is more frequent blood, alcohol use and mild swears ("ass" and "goddamn" are the strongest ones), which are allowed in TV-PG programming (the exception may be ep 2 though). Moderate horror, comic innuendos and fantasy violence, reminiscent from the original AT, is still present, although more condensed.
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See all 2 parent reviews
What's the Story?
Set in an alternate reality city that's much more ordinary than the Land of Ooo, ADVENTURE TIME: FIONNA & CAKE is a spin-off of the popular animated show Adventure Time. This time, the action revolves around Fionna Campbell (Madeleine Martin) and her cat, Cake (Roz Ryan), who are gender-swapped versions of Adventure Time's Finn the Human and Jake the Dog. While Fionna toils away at dead-end jobs during the day, at night, she dreams of a magical world. Meanwhile, in his part of the universe, Simon Petrikov (Tom Kenny) works at a theme park playing the part of a 20th century human for tourists. When these characters meet up, circ*mstance launches a wild trip through the multiverse to evade a Big Bad determined to erase them from existence.
Is It Any Good?
Our review:
Parents say (2):
Kids say (13):
As whimsical and surreal as the original Adventure Time, this gender-swapped reboot is also a shade more mature, as befits the now-adult age of its earliest fans. Fionna is an average young woman, adrift in a world that's entirely too average for her. Her city is small and boring, she sighs, and she can't seem to find a comfortable resting place from which to navigate ordinary day-to-day travails. She's just been fired from her ninth (or is it her 10th?) dead-end job this year, she doesn't have enough money to take her best friend/pet Cake to the vet, and she keeps having these weird dreams about an Ice King in a land where she has amazing powers. "What if I'm just bored with everything and wish the world were more magical?" she sighs.
Luckily, as Adventure Time fans could have guessed, things are about to change for Fionna. And fans of the original will be heartened to see that this series is deeply connected to the original, with recognizable (yet twisted) versions of familiar characters who suddenly appear, and with the same knack for surreal yet emotional plot twists. In Fionna & Cake's first episode, Fionna stumbles into a new area of her local park that has been planted with luxuriant weeds by a taciturn landscaper. "My beautiful misfits," the landscape exults, leading Fionna through dark brambles into a sunlit glade ringed with flowers. It's a lovely moment, and a potent visual metaphor for Fionna's search for something magical in her humdrum life. Oh yeah, and that same glade has a character who can talk to pets, and a portal to another land hidden in an ice cream cart. Don't worry about it -- all will make sense (sorta) in this worthy follow-up to an iconic animated fave.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Fionna & Cake was made with the stated purpose of pleasing adult fans of the original Adventure Time. How does Fionna & Cake up the ante in terms of mature content? Could it still be appreciated by young viewers? Should it be?
Adventure Time has released many miniseries and specials. How are these different from regular seasons of the show? Does anticipating the next spin-off make you enjoy it more when it arrives? Or is it frustrating?
Do you have to be a fan of Adventure Time to appreciate Fionna & Cake? Does experience with the original show increase or detract from your enjoyment of this spin-off?
TV Details
- Premiere date: August 31, 2023
- Cast: Madeleine Martin, Roz Ryan, Tom Kenny
- Network: Max
- Genre: Kids' Animation
- TV rating: TV-14
- Award: Common Sense Selection
- Last updated: December 7, 2023
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.
Adventure Time: Fionna & Cake
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