Massively popular Cartoon Network show Adventure Time is being developed at Warner Bros. as an animated feature film.
The Pendleton Ward-created cartoon, which is currently airing its sixth season and has been renewed for a seventh, centers on the adventures of a human boy named Finn and his best friend dog Jake, who fight to protect their beloved Land of Ooo from the villainous Ice King, who is usually searching for his coveted Princess Bubblegum.
Chris McKay, who exec-produced The LEGO Movie and has been tapped to direct The LEGO Batman Movie, and Roy Lee, who produced The LEGO Movie and is producing McKay’s Batman feature, are teaming to produce the adaptation. Cartoon Network Studios will be involved, as will Ward, who is expected to write and produce the feature.
Warner Bros. is high on animation at the moment following the blockbuster success of The LEGO Movie, which already has birthed a sequel and two spinoffs. The crossover appeal of Adventure Time (which has a devoted adult following) holds an obvious appeal for the studio, which is busy attempting to launch franchises in all areas.
Whether Adventure Time, which is known for its short, 11-minute episodes, will translate to the big screen is another question entirely. So long as Ward and voice actors Jeremy Shada and John DiMaggio are involved, fans of the series will certainly have reason to check it out, and if the adaptation brings more attention to one of the most enjoyable, smartly written series on television, all the better.
Adventure Time has featured an array of colorful, cleverly named characters, including Boobafina, Earl of Lemongrab, Cloud Groom, Evil Guy (voiced by Mark Hamill), Lumpy Space Princess, Flame Princess and Marceline the Vampire Queen, but which of those, if any, will feature into the movie is anyone’s guess at this point.
We’ll keep you posted as we learn more.
