The Mind-Blowing Multiverse: An Exclusive Interview with Adam Muto, Creator of Fionna & Cake and the Exciting Future of Adventure Time

Summary

Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake is a spin-off of the beloved series, expanding on the franchise's universe in a new and exciting way.

The challenges of distinguishing Fionna as an individual character from Finn were successfully addressed by providing her with unique choices and placing her in a distinct environment.

In Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake, the concept of the multiverse was tackled in a different manner, emphasizing visually diverse and substantial storylines in every episode.

Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake is the highly anticipated spin-off of Cartoon Network's beloved series Adventure Time. The new Max series, set to be released in 2023, takes viewers deeper into the Adventure Time universe than ever before. In this spin-off, we follow the exciting adventures of Fionna and Cake, characters that initially appeared in a single episode with a gender-swapped twist. Now, they take center stage as a key part of the Adventure Time story. Although the first season of Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake has concluded, fans eagerly anticipate more thrilling quests in the Adventure Time universe.

Adam Muto, a talented storyboard artist and animator, is the creator and executive producer of Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake. Muto's involvement with Adventure Time started early on, where he worked as a storyboard artist, story writer, and director during the show's early seasons. Eventually, he was promoted to showrunner for seasons 5-10 and executive producer for seasons 6-10. Muto later returned to his role for the Adventure Time: Distant Lands Max specials and now brings his expertise to Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake. Recently, Muto made a special appearance at the SCAD AnimationFest 2023, where he shared exclusive deleted scenes from Adventure Time, participated in a Q&A session, and was honored with the SCAD AnimationFest Spotlight Award.

Adam Muto On Adventure Time: Fionna And Cake

Screen Rant: What were some of the challenges that came with differentiating Fionna from Finn in the original Adventure Time series?

Adam Muto explains that the biggest challenge in developing the character of Fionna was determining her trajectory in relation to Finn, who had a clear character arc throughout the series. They needed to create a situation that allowed Fionna to make distinct choices and exist in a different environment. The freedom of the series ending allowed them to explore Fionna and Cake's story as its own separate entity, rather than directly tying it to the main series. They chose to focus on a snapshot of Fionna's life, rather than portraying her entire life story.

The multiverse was already established in the previous show, Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake, but our series took a different approach. With the abundance of multiverse media out there, we wanted to stand out by doing things differently. We didn't want to show every single version of the characters, as that has become a common trend. Additionally, our TV budget limited what we could do. So, we brainstormed various ideas and narrowed them down based on their potential depth and visual uniqueness. Since the series was episodic, we treated each episode as its own alternate universe, rather than having a continuous thread throughout. We drew inspiration from shows like Sliders to enhance the storytelling.

Do you have any universes in mind that you wanted to include but didn't make it into the final version?

When Adventure Time first transitioned from episodic storytelling to more serialized content, there was some resistance from Cartoon Network. At that time, there weren't many animated shows targeting younger audiences that explored broader storylines. However, the network eventually saw the potential for marketing these serialized episodes as special events, allowing them to be packaged together and promoted as such. This shift in approach made it more challenging to promote individual episodes, leading Cartoon Network to request multiple episodes from various shows to be grouped together. This trend continued in later seasons of ongoing shows, such as the last season of Summer Camp Island, where there was a single overarching storyline. Both the creators and the network recognized the advantages of this approach in terms of promotion and audience engagement.

Were elements like the Enchiridion, which had a big impact on the overall story from the beginning, planned from the start or did your team discover and incorporate them as the overarching story developed?

We attempted to position it in a way that allows for a smooth start, even if it's your first time watching the series. It might appear confusing at first, but you can catch up quickly. It would seem like a backstory that may not even exist. Even without knowledge of the original series, you can still watch it and perceive it as a reference to something in the distant past. Considering we had previously depicted the Enchiridion in connection with Simon, it felt appropriate to revisit that.

The Adventure Time fan base is undeniably enormous. Did you ever anticipate it would become this massive?

Adam Muto: No, in the beginning, our main focus was just making sure we didn't get canceled after the first season. We didn't spend time speculating about events like Comic-Con or anticipating which character pairings fans would ship. Our conversations revolved around meeting deadlines and completing the show on time. Working in a studio environment often limits exposure to external factors, but we do appreciate fan reactions. When we witness fan enthusiasm in person, it feels more genuine compared to online interactions, which can feel detached. It's quite surprising to see people's genuine interest because initially, we weren't sure if anyone was even watching. While it's nice to have a dedicated fan base, it wasn't the driving force behind our creative process.

Now, with the later seasons and the introduction of Fionna and Cake, as well as Distant Lands, which came after the established fan base, did the desires of the fans influence the production of the show?

Adam Muto: The influence of the fandom played a significant role in determining which characters appeared in the show. Characters with an established fan base were more likely to be featured in a new series, considering the show's fan-oriented nature. However, certain characters like Mr. Pig, Shelby, or the Snail would be challenging to base an entire series around because the Adventure Time world is vast and allows for a wide range of storytelling possibilities. I believe that Max would have rejected many of those ideas. On the other hand, Fionna and Cake episodes consistently received high ratings during their airing on linear television, which made it easier for us to pitch and sell the concept of a potential series.

Do you have any hints about what lies ahead for the Adventure Time franchise?

Adam Muto expressed uncertainty about the future of the show due to the impact of streaming. While he believes there will be another iteration, the timing remains unknown. In the meantime, they are focused on developing new content and anticipating what the upcoming year will bring.

About Adventure Time: Fionna And Cake

This exciting new 10-episode series takes place in the enchanting land of Ooo, featuring beloved characters from the "Adventure Time" franchise. Join Finn & Jake as they embark on an epic journey through alternate universes, exploring their true selves along the way. When faced with a formidable new adversary, Fionna and her loyal companion, Cake, are forced to turn to the wise and powerful former Ice King, Simon Petrikov, for assistance. Prepare to encounter familiar faces like Marshall Lee, Marceline the Vampire Queen, Princess Bubblegum, and Finn the Human as "Adventure Time: Fionna & Cake" transports fans into both familiar and mesmerizingly new worlds. The talented voice cast includes Madeleine Martin, Roz Ryan, Tom Kenny, Andrew Rannells, Donald Glover, Kayleigh Mckee, Sean Rohani, and others. Leading the production team are Executive Producers Adam Muto, Fred Seibert, and Sam Register. This captivating series is brought to you by Cartoon Network Studios.

Check out our other Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake interview here:

Adam Muto and Ryann Shannon

All episodes of Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake are out now on Max.