Adult animation has a bright future, if the bigwigs in charge let it happen

Right from the beginning of this year, animation fans have been treated to some animated projects that are an absolute feast for the eyes. Puss in Boots, to Across the Spider-Verse, to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, we’ve had some back to back bangers that really feel like they’re pushing the medium forward. Of course, as enjoyable as they are for all ages, they’re obviously not for adults. And yet, as luck would have it, those in the latter half of our twenties have had a couple of treats in the animation world recently in the form of Fionna and Cake, and Scavengers Reign.

For some baffling reason, animation in the west is viewed as something that’s just for kids, and only in rare circumstances are there works that could possibly be enjoyed by adults. You just need to look at the breadth of projects that come from Japan alone to understand that animation is incredibly capable of being for an older audience, but that same respect isn’t given to animation over here. So discovering that Fionna and Cake is quite specifically a show for adults, despite being a continuation of the children’s animated series Adventure Time, had me feeling thankful.

I say thankful because, while I do still love a lot of animation targeted at a younger audience (because it often does have something for everyone), sometimes I want to watch something animated that feels closer to where I’m at in life. That is to say, both in terms of the current events happening to me, as well as my stylistic tastes. Adventure Time started 13 years ago, quite literally half my lifetime ago, and so in that time both its protagonist Finn and myself have grown up a lot. Watching through Fionna and Cake, which actually features a range of different Finns, was comforting in a way I don’t think it would have been if it retained its (sort of) child friendly roots.