The Princess Paradox: Or my love-hate relationship with Adventure Time

It feels unkind to berate something for not being progressive enough but that is where I am at with Adventure Time. Mostly as a reaction to the way in online circles it is lauded as an ideal representation of gender and equality. Because when I initially watched the first series my reaction was, and still is, ‘But why are they all princesses?‘ And it is a question that has yet to be answered in the show. Largely because I do not think it could be. Adventure Time is a show of contradictions, with the A-Cast ladies the writers make some interesting choices and present some challenging points of view, however with the B-Cast ladies things become much more traditional, and princess-y. (Not to mention the C-Cast with nameless women such as the Bikini Babes – s5e20). And it is this contradiction, and it is the presence of the female characters inhabiting the traditional ‘damsel-in-distress’ roles that undermines what the writers are doing with the primary characters. For every challenge they make to our expectations using major characters, they are reinforced two-fold with minor characters.

I have seen remarkably few explorations of this princess paradox, it seems to be a trope that we are willing to accept either at face-value or because; “Almost every female character is a princess but the typical cliché Damsel in Distress and/or romance obsessed girly-girl are parodied and subverted for all they’re worth.” But the question is; does that make it okay? Because I do not think it does. I do not think it is enough to subvert a trope without also offering viable alternatives. Because by subverting a trope you are also expecting a level of literacy from your audience which may not always be there. This is especially true of Adventure Time, it is ostensibly targeted at children despite having a popular following of viewers in their twenties and thirties.

So, to be female in Adventure Time is to be a princess. Or in the case of Marceline the Vampire Queen or Lady Rainicorn, nobility of some variety (and there is a distinction to be made there, which I will touch on later). What this leaves us with is a female cast named largely for their function. They are ‘X-Y-Z Princess’ and are called by their honorific which acts to strip them of their individuality. (What do we know of Hotdog Princess aside from the fact that she’s a hotdog? Wildberry Princess? Turtle Princess? Ghost Princess? They exist for their function, for their role, not as individuals, and quite honestly it feels like a lot of their names are place-holder jokes. Which does not even begin to touch the distastefulness of Embryo Princess (and the subtle pro-life message therein)).

There are a great number of female characters and though others have stated that there are more female characters than male, my impression is that it is more likely that it is something approaching 40/60. This is all the more apparent given how infrequently we see female characters sharing screen-time in any significant way. Out of five complete series of over twenty episodes per piece, I would be confident in saying that less than ten episodes have featured female characters having meaningful exchanges, enough to pass that base measure and absolute minimum Bechdel Test. I want to say that the episodes that feature the sex-swapped protagonists, Fionna and Cake, pass the Bechdel Test however there is a problematic focus on relationship drama rather than adventuring once we have Fionna as our lead. Whilst not technically a princess she fulfils a more typical princess role, albeit a role she is seen to de-construct; “Princess Fionna” is then in contrast to “Finn the Hero”, emphasising the traditional gender norms. And by presenting the episodes that feature the pair of female protagonists as episodes that focus on Fionna’s relationships with the boys in her life, the show’s creators make it very difficult for these episodes to even pass the Bechdel Test because Fionna and Cake are existing in relation to the male characters. In comparison, the male (presenting) characters in Adventure Time not only spend a significant amount of time on screen together, they also tend to be named more individually. Often their names do not include any honorifics, or where they do they are used to denote their uniqueness. Significantly their names are not taken from the same idealised pool.

There are only a small number of non-male non-princesses in Adventure Time: Treetrunks, a grandmotherly elephant who appears to embody the powers of domesticity; Susan Strong, a (possible) human who is older than Finn and a literal strong woman, who is most likely a pun at the idea of a ‘strong female character’ and meant to be played for laughs as she fulfils a gentle-giant role, Susan’s position in the show comes directly from her otherness and how she is, very literally, not like the others. Another play on the un-girly girl who is able to move amongst men because of what she is not. Huntress Wizard is of princess material, only she is older than Finn, apparently similar in age to Princess Bubblegum and Marceline. Huntress Wizard is then named for her role as a Huntress and a Wizard, with no room for her individuality. This is in stark contrast to a character like Marceline who, along with Princess Bubblegum, is granted a first name. And names are important. If you name a woman a thing, a Princess of X-thing, she is an object. She is a function. So Marceline, whilst being a Vampire Queen, is Marceline first and foremost. Princess Bubblegum’s first name, Bonnibel, is revealed in s2e20. So whilst her name is not used, ordinarily she’s referred to by her honorific, she is afforded enough individuality to be granted a name. And knowing that these two A-Cast women have names, and the difference that them having names means, serves to highlight the difference between them and the B-Cast.

Which should then cause us to look at Finn’s relationship with these A-Cast women. Finn’s role as an adventuring hero to Bonnibel’s princess is a deliberate choice and, yes, a deconstruction of the trope. Finn attempts to fulfil the role he thinks he should to enable him to win the Bonnibel’s affections, it is important to note that a kiss from Princess Bubblegum is offered as a prize on various occasions throughout the series. Rendering her affections as something that can be literally won. By ‘saving’ her, and/ or coming to the Candy Kingdom’s rescue Finn puts himself in contact with Bonnibel far more frequently than he otherwise would. He is, initially, aggressively pursuing this contact and is demanding her attention. This is not to deny that a relationship cannot be born out of this, but it is a relationship which is not built on honesty, and is built on unspoken obligations and demands which left unaddressed can go on to cause some very serious problems. The complexity of their relationship is illustrated by Bonnibel’s reaction to Finn’s transference of affections to another (more suitable for him) Princess [s4e16]. My own interpretation is that Bonnibel does not hold the same sort of affection for Finn despite being aware of his feelings, and for an egocentric megalomaniac like Bonnibel that type of attention is gratifying. Much like a traditional Prince basking in the attentions of the maids who he will never pursue a relationship with. Finn’s relationship with Marceline is much less problematic and this is largely due to the fact that she and Finn have made clear that they were not romantically interested in each other. This cleared the air and made it possible for the writers to (mostly) move beyond a focus on ‘will they/ won’t they’. And these two established friendships are in absolute and complete contrast to all the other princess characters in the show.

Which is a problem. It is a problem because it is the princesses that are portrayed as viable love-interests for Finn. Any of the female characters given a degree of agency are categorically not suitable for romance: Bonnibel, Marceline, Lady Rainicorn, Susan Strong, Treetrunks, and Huntress Wizard are all eliminated due largely to their age. Leaving Finn with an array of (mostly) young princesses to both rescue and woo in a traditionally heroic manner. Which leaves the young viewers of the show having the state of idealised otherness unhealthily reinforced. Take Flame Princess for example, Finn’s current girlfriend; this is an incredibly problematic relationship, which suffers from Finn’s idealisation of Flame Princess, a girl without a name of her own. Throughout the show they are shown to have very little in common with each other. The writers go to the extent (s5e5, and s5e12) of showing that Flame Princess is bored around him. These characters, the Hero and the Princess, appear to be the embodiment of teenage lust; a relationship built upon attraction with very little substance that fulfils societal norms and the expectations of those around them. Of even the viewer. A hero must want a princess and a princess must want a hero. So if we take this artificial construct and then look at it in relation to the explicit message that Flame Princess has caused Finn physical harm and is capable of doing it again [s5e12], their relationship begins to reads like the start of an abusive relationship. An abusive relationship which appears to be born out of an inability, or an unwillingness, to recognise that Flame Princess is a real person with flaws and problems all of her own. By only viewing her through the limited view of ‘Princess’ any behaviour that does not meet that expectation can be disregarded, to what I presume, and hope, will be terrible consequences.

Whilst I do think that it is wonderful that any and all types of princess can exist in Adventure Time it does not negate the issue that young girls are groomed to want to be princesses. The narrative we are presented with in Adventure Time is one of many-types-of-princess, much like the offerings from Disney. And like choosing your favourite Disney Princess; no matter who you choose as your favourite female character in Adventure Time, it is likely she will be a Princess. Gender stereotyping like this, is a driving force for a portion of the episodes and the comics. Princesses need rescuing. Occasionally they turn the tables and they do the rescuing themselves [s4e19], occasionally they just need some assistance from their friends in order to do something big. But quite frequently where the minor princesses are concerned, they need real, actual, physical, rescuing from danger. The source of which is usually the Ice King. And this is something that is often overlooked. These young women, these princesses, which are just background noise women still fulfil the role of damsels in distress. So on the one hand the show is giving us the array of women who are strong and capable and not in need of a hero to rescue them; like Bonnibel, Marceline, and Lady. But on the other hand, we are seeing exactly those traditional princesses in need of rescuing.

Finn’s raison d’etre is to save princesses. He knows that is what you should do [s2e3]. And that is what he continues to attempt to do. Whilst this episode goes a little way to dealing with how Finn’s been socially groomed to do what is expected of him, and how he will (initially) bow down to the patriarchal force in the form of the N’Ice King, he still ultimately rescues the princesses from this state. It is his actions that keep them trapped and it is his actions which free them. To compound the damsel in distress idea, issue #16 of the Adventure Time comic presents us with a moment that addresses this state of ‘princess-dom’ that the majority of our female cast inhabit. And it comes from the (increasingly less) surprising lips of the Ice King.

Jake: YOU KIDNAP PRINCESSES!!

Ice King: Are you kidding, Jake? I don’t KIDNAP princesses, guys! I rescue ‘em.

Finn: From what?

Ice King: Ha! …You’re serious? The lot in life of a princess is a sad one, guys. She’s destined from birth to be trapped in the boring, tedious role of a head of state. Believe me, know how it is! Oh, the endless meetings! The infinite series of petty disputes all needing YOUR personal intervention! Those dang flippin’ spurn that patient merit of the unworth takes! But don’t princesses DESERVE only the best things in life? What if—like YOU, Jake—she wants excitement? What if—like YOU, Finn— she wants adventure? What if, like me, she even wants… COMPANIONSHIP?? I rescue princesses from boredom, guys! From loneliness! I rescue them from not having ME in their lives! But then you guys appear and usually mess everything up, but it’s fine. I know we’re pals, you guys just don’t know any better. S’cool.

Finn: Wow, you know, I never looked at it that way befor—

Jake: What about that time you made a monster wife out of stolen stiched-together princess body parts?!

Ice King: Oh, her? The woman who you made feel SO BAD that, one night, she left…forever?!

In just a couple of pages we are shown the doubly-rescued nature of the shows Princesses. First rescued from a life of being a princess by the Ice King and secondly rescued from the Ice King by Finn and Jake. None of the men present in this exchange address that any of the princesses could escape or that they may even have agency of their own. The princesses are treated as objects to be acted upon and to be affected by the choices and the behaviour of the men present. And it is incredibly important to note that Finn at least empathises with the Ice King’s point of view. Personally, I would go so far as to say that he agrees with it. Finn is a white-knight heroic adventurer (when he’s not Davey). He seeks to embody more traditionally male values and will protect his masculinity at the cost of his safety. For example, Finn refused to wear the totally click-click Armour of Zeldron because it was for girls [s2e4]. Both Finn’s and the Ice King’s desire for masculine supremacy forces the princesses they encounter into submissive roles. They are men creating the narrative that the princesses have to inhabit.

There are exceptions to the damsel in distress trope. Our four core females this time; Bonnibel, Marceline, Lady and Lumpy Space Princess. However whilst the first three have been rendered non-princess (through age or other attachments), Lumpy Space Princess meets the requirements of the minor princess group. Yet her advances to Finn are frequently rejected and she is symbolically removed from the viable princess pool when her princess jewel is shown to be unnecessary to unlock the Enchiridion [s4e26]. Because she is no longer like the other princesses she is rendered other and non-princess. Which, I would argue, is what provides her with more agency. Or quite possibly, it is her increased agency which renders her un-princess-like. Perhaps the starkest rejection of the damsel in distress trope comes in the form another non-princess, Gunter. Gunter appears to be biologically female; he has laid an egg and is the parent of a magical kitten. However twice we see him come face to face with some of the largest hazards to princesses in Adventure Time. When the Ice King dresses Gunter as a princess and then tries to make advances on him, Gunter does not hesitate to use a taser on the Ice King, preventing the situation from escalating [s5e18]; Gunter is well prepared for this situation and appears to take it in his stride. However it is the first encounter with the greatest danger to come to the land of Ooo, Hunson Abadeer, which shows us how little Gunter needs rescuing.

 Hunson: Of all of history’s greatest monsters, you are by far the most evil thing I’ve encountered. Offer your soul to me, dark one!

Gunter: [angrily refuses – and apparently demands Hunson’s soul instead]

Hunson: No! You can’t have my soul! I don’t even– look, just get in here!

Gunter: [slaps Hunson across the face]

Hunson: Keep your crummy soul!
[s2e5]

But Gunter, like BMO and Princess Cookie, inhabits an (intentionally) difficult sphere to our non-princesses, because Adventure Time does do a lot of commendable work with characters who defy gender stereotypes. Would I like to see more? Yes, I would. Does it make the representation of the majority of the female characters as nameless princesses any less problematic? No, it does not.

We see this most clearly in the eponymously named Princess Cookie episode [s4e13]. Cookie wants to be a Princess, but he is a he and it is implied, therefore cannot. He does not fulfil the requirements to be a Princess. Cookie lives his life unable to be himself and to express himself as he wishes he could, this leads to an extreme reaction which is the result of living in a society where it is not normal for a man to be a princess and where it is comical that he should. Had it been a little girl cookie who’d said she wanted to be a princess, I sincerely doubt that Bonnibel’s reaction would have been to giggle. So this episode is an example of how damaging patriarchy is for the men who inhabit it too, because the position of conflict that Princess Cookie is forced into is unhealthy;

“the fact that we are made to think it’s wrong to act in ways outside of what is perceived ‘suitable’ for our gender, thus forces us to either suppress these desires or to act out against the system, and this experience is psychologically traumatic”

So what we see is that Princess Cookie is not be able to be a princess in that society. To truly be a princess he needs to leave the Candy Kingdom and create a kingdom of his own which he can then rule. Rather than presenting us with that eventuality, the episode ends with him symbolically crowned a princes whilst in a psychiatric hospital. A statement that society forces people like Princess Cookie into situations that are damaging and fundamentally unsupportable. However, both Finn and Bonnibel enforce the social status quo where a male presenting character may not be a princess. For different reasons, but enforce it they do. It is only Jake who attempts to manoeuvre within the boundaries of that society to bring Princess Cookie to his best conclusion (unsuccessfully). And it is Jake who is frequently shown to have little regard for gender traditions; happily wearing the (female) armour of Zeldron [s2e4] because it’s the best armour, and taking on a more traditionally female ‘mothering’ role with the rainipups [s5e6]. Despite Jake’s position as a character who rejects gender norms, we see the show present the adherence to norms as valuable with the handling of Gunter. It is only when Gunter is dressed as a princess that we see him interacting with anyone other than the Ice King, which suggests that Gunter’s presence is only validated by society at large when confirming to those societal norms.

Which brings me to Princess Monster Wife. The Ice King decides to make his perfect wife, she is made of parts stolen from princesses, and she is also named ‘Princess Monster Wife’. Her virtue resides in the state of idealised femininity as defined by the title ‘Princess’. Which is in direct opposition with her physical appearance, and it is this contrast which is the crux of this episode [s4e9]. Bear in mind that Princess Monster Wife is shown to be an individual in her own right, gentle and caring, and not an amalgamation of the collective princess parts. The Ice King is clearly in love with her, and as shown in the comic quote above, still holds a torch for her.

However. This is an episode which focuses on visual gags and on the physical appearance of women. Or at least this one particular woman. However problematic the Ice King’s behaviour is (and frequently it is very problematic) Finn, Jake’s, and the rest of Ooo’s behaviour towards someone who doesn’t conform to the stereotype of ideal beauty is despicable. Their (male) behaviour effectively dictates what is acceptable of not just a princess, but of a person. (There is also a lingering subtext that the princesses who have lost parts are no longer desirable in their maimed yet functional state). Finn and Jake, and the array of penguins, pass out, vomit, and are generally horrified by Princess Monster Wife’s appearance. The comedy in this episode comes from the Ice King staging a fashion show so his new and insecure wife can gain self-confidence and worth through having her appearance validated and normalised. A fashion show which is ruined by the reactions to her physical appearance, she is rendered a literal monster to be laughed at by all but the Ice King. This reinforces the idea that a woman’s worth, a princesses worth, is based on her looks and her adherence to what is socially acceptable. For example, someone who does not fit those norms should not try to look sexy or beautiful because it is either funny or gross. The joke is, ‘How could someone that hideous think that would even work?’ Which, like the deconstruction of the many varieties of princess, is something a mature and critical viewer can recognise. However the ostensibly target audience of 10-12 year old’s? Episode’s like this are read much more literally. And this is a real problem when the accepted norm in the show is: girls are all princesses and all princesses are still subject to social pressures regarding their appearance.

The continual undermining of the female (presenting) cast through the reinforcement of what is acceptable of a princess feels like it should be in direct contradiction with the all-inclusiveness of the plethora of princesses even though they are problematic in and of themselves. And I would dearly love for Adventure Time to come down on one side or another in regards to this. Because I cannot in good faith herald the show as entirely feminist. I believe that it is trying, I just also believe that it I failing on a great many counts.

However I do acknowledge that in Bonnibel and Marceline we have two excellent portrayals of female characters who explore the complexity of that state. “[Bonnibel’s] an absolute genius – shattering the still pervasive stereotype that the sciences are domains for men – and she also bucks the stereotype that all nerdy/ geeky people are unable to have fun or relate to others. Similarly, Marceline’s interest in punk/ indie rock also combats the stereotype that rock is a genre made by and for the enjoyment of men.” Adventure Time is good at this; I just need more.