Adventure Time Quadruple Feature #1, written by Mariko Tamaki with art by Brenda Hickey and colors by Leonardo Ito, has a brilliant concept: drop Adventure Time characters into different film eras and genres and let the magic happen. And it does!
Finn, Jake, Marceline the Vampire Queen, and Lumpy Space Princess want to see a movie. But which one? Unable to agree on anything, they agree to split up and go see the movie they want. So much for a group movie session, but that just means four times the fun for us!
This first issue features Jake going to see “What’s Up Princess?”, which is modeled after those classic screwball comedy films of the 1930s and ’40s like His Girl Friday and The Philadelphia Story. Of course, the lead of the film is Jake himself, with the romantic interest being none other than Princess Bubblegum. We get to see the whole film and it’s a blast, as Jake’s character hops aboard a train and races to get to a Broadway-type show he’s starring in. And guess what? Princess happens to be a passenger on the train, too.
In a nod to the classic Barbra Streisand/Ryan O’Neal film What’s Up, Doc?, Princess’s suitcase gets mixed up with another man’s suitcase on the train, which sets up a comedy of errors that gets Jake and Princess kicked off the train. Then the REAL journey begins!
The star of the book is Brenda Hickey’s art, which perfectly captures the look and feel of the old Max Fleischer Betty Boop shorts, with all the rubbery-limbed, semaphore-eyed characters and surreal landscapes. For those unfamiliar with Max Fleischer’s work (and if you are, why?), a more modern version of his style is used in the video game Cuphead. Anyone who’s a fan of Fleischer’s classic animated short films will love this book; after I read the story, I found myself flipping back through the book again a few more times just drinking in those beautiful visuals. It’s a prime example of how an artist can catapult a story to new heights.
I’ve always enjoyed the romantic escapades of the old movies more than the schmaltzy saccharine romance prevalent in most of the Hallmark films and thankfully this book sticks more with the old school format, with some great banter between Jake and the Princess and some loveably wacky mishaps along the way. I especially enjoyed a sequence where Jake and the Princess take a hay ride of sorts and end up in a hilarious argument after suffering another indignity.
If you’re a movie buff who also loves Adventure Time, you’re in for a treat! Grab this issue and enjoy the ride, because there are three more issues coming!
