Road trip!
The Ice King, Ron James, Abracadaniel and the rest of Ooo’s not-so-top wizards are hitting the road in search of adventure and newfound magical awareness. Serious “Bro” time and hijinks, guaranteed. There’s even a mysterious, half-naked, old stranger named Giuseppe who speaks in farts. Brilliant.
I love the Ice King. He’s one of my favorite characters on the show (they are all my favorites) because you never know what he’s going to do. The guy is a loose cannon. A funny loose cannon to boot! Sure, he’s obsessed with kidnapping princesses and forcing them to marry him but he also writes fan fiction. How bad could the guy be? Besides, now that we know he’s a man who sacrificed his sanity and identity by wearing the crown to save a young Marceline waaaaay back after the Mushroom War, he’s got our sympathy as a tragic figure.
Nobody in Adventure Time is two dimensional. Everyone has motivation and a backstory.
But, this episode isn’t about tragedy. It’s a buddy/road show about having fun! Let’s climb into Abracadaniel’s bus and be off.
First stop, the Treehouse to pick up some water nymphs. What would a road trip be without some strange riding with you? Sadly, Abracadaniel isn’t very good at picking up chicks. Someone should tell him that showing women your large, floppy rainbow is sexual harassment. Ron James saves the day with a Sparkly Eye potion and the nymphs are aboard.
Can’t have a road movie unless there’s trouble so the wheels fall off the party bus and our wizards are stranded. Not wasting the opportunity to engage fate, Abracadaniel suggests they all write freeverse poetry to unleash some funky magic. Well it certainly inspires Ice King and he creates an ice road for the bus to slide along so that their journey to Butt Rock can be completed.
While the bus is sliding along, they happen upon a crabapple tree. Giuseppe jumps out to fetch some tasty treats, but he can’t keep up with the sliding bus so is left behind. So long, Giuseppe.
Soon, Butt Rock appears over the horizon. The journey is nearly complete! So, of course, Ice King summons his cauldron and puts everyone to sleep. Loose cannon! See, I told you. When everyone wakes up, the bus is sinking into a swamp. Ancient Sleeping Magi of Life Giving (voiced by the incredible Dana Snyder) gives life to the bus to gain freedom but the bus can’t swim. Ron James uses a potion to escape but only manages to switch his head with Treetrunks. Ice King takes the potion as well but switches heads with Ancient Magi, so they’re stuck.
But, what’s this? Giuseppe returns and magics them right out of the swamp like a little, half-naked, farting Yoda.
Who was Giuseppe? What does it all mean? I don’t know, but I’m ready for my own road trip.