Fantastic news. Adventure Time was my favourite thing for, oh, ages.

Amazing news! I adored the short to pieces, and i’m giddy with the thought of adventure after adventure! Best of luck, Pen, and way to go CN - can’t wait!

Cartoon Network has made a smart move on grabbing this one. It became an instant cult classic on the net and for good reason. Adventure Time is going places, and I cannot wait to see the full series =)

Why? Cartoon Network already has a show about Adventure.(Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack) and what’s more, Pen Ward boards that show too.

I’m assuming Pendleton won’t work on this new show AND Flapjack both at the same time?

Oh, hell yes. That short always makes me smile. It’s just brilliant.

HOLY CRAP, that’s awesome news!!!!

I hope they keep the series in the same spirit as the short.

Adventure Time is one of the best pilots ever made, and for my money, the best short to ever come out of Frederator’s shorts program. Congrats to Pen! The show’s gonna be a smash!

Cartoon Network is building on the “adventure”-theme big time now, aren’t they? What took them so long to find a solid demo and a reliable theme? Did it really take the resignation of Samples those several, several months ago to spur the network into action?

What the hell? Making a series from a show that actually DESERVES it?! What on Earth is going on here? Surely there must be a Hollywood celebrity somewhere with a lame, derivative cartoon concept that could have money thrown at it instead!

Did this fellow go to RISD?

I’m excited, Cartoon Network has three great shows now and they just seem to be coming out with hit after hit.. let’s keep em coming. I’m curious to see how much of the rather nice animation we’ll see in the final show. Flapjack and Chowder are great but you can tell when there’s an episode that spent a little more time on making the animation smooth and fun to look at than others (as seems to be the curse of telelvision animation in the states.)

Finally! I can’t tell you how excited I am about this. I hope Ward manages to maintain the fun and quirkiness of the pilot in the series.

im not one who usually enjoys kid cartoons, but the imagination of that toon is pretty refreshing. well done.

RHOMBUS!!

Aww yeah super adventure time!!!
The pilot was awesome!

YAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYY!!!!

Is it just me or does that kid sound exactly like Sid from Toy Story?

YAY! :) Congratulations, Pen!!

Great a good short gets a show! Now im still waiting for KORGOTH to get picked up!

I couldn’t make it through the first minute of it. But then, it’s aimed at 3 year olds, right? Egad. Adventure Time is a perfect example of industry people loving something that’s quirky, different, and a little offputting (which is as much to say weird, ugly and obnoxious) and believing that kids will share their adoration for it. That explains how that flop Camp Lazlo came into being (yes, it’s won an Emmy - more proof of the strange tastes of the aforementioned industry people, yet it’s never found any kind of substantial audience, even amongst 3 year olds.) Adventure Time looks even worse. Doesn’t CN have the rights to the Looney Tunes? Why in hell doesn’t it run those, instead of investing in eye torture like Adventure Time?

Congratulation Pen! I can’t wait to see what you come up with next.

Why is there a tree growing out of his head?

Great news! Maybe this’ll finally prompt Nick to do something with that massive stack of Random Cartoons they’ve been sitting on for 2+ years.

WOOHOO! Go Pen!

The pilot short is great. I thought it was too good to be picked up as a series. The show is fitting company for CHOWDER and FLAPJACK.

Radness.

Adventure Time was definitely a standout…and holds up to repeated viewings. Smart move on CN’s part. Part Yellow Submarine/Peter Max/Winsor McCay w/ oddball humor. Refreshing!

Hooray!

How can I never have seen this before? This is the most genuinely funny and interesting cartoon I’ve seen in a LONG time. I love the cuteness and scruffyness of it without falling into the trope that so many cartoon network and adult swim shows have of being ironic hipster gross-outs. Truly great stuff! The humor reminds me a bit of clockwork samurai.

Awesome. Looking forward to the ALGEBRAIC adventures.

(Jason: if you don’t watch something, you sorta give up your right to get all righteously critical about it. Just a thought.)

Shows that there is a market for silly imagination, which is a good thing. But I’m not too excited about this show… it is kind of drab in the center with just an occasional spurt of fun.

The Ice King’s bedroom looks familiar.

Yes, yes YES! It’s about damn time, too.

I’m sure the show will be a hit.

@Jason:
Shoot, I never knew me and my circle of friends were “industry people”. I just thought we were high schoolers who liked good entertainment.

Wait till I tell ‘em the good news that we magically got into an industry just for liking a pilot!

It’s faux corporate edge that blends in with the rest of CN’s schedule. Tis a sad day when the wrinkled John McCain can come up with something more diverting than the Hollywood animation industry. I’m sure Pen’s a swell creative person, but he’s caught in a leaky dike along with too many executive fingers.

this cartoon makes me cry a little with joy. serious.

dear diary,
i decided not to kill myself today. i hope my neighbor will give me back my cat.

Freakin’ awesome! Go Pen!!!!

The haters are oxymorons. Pen has some of the most unique animation out there, and some of the best facial hair.

Great news, Pen!

Don’t bag on Jason, because he is right, little stoned nerdlings. This a good, cute festival short that as a series will hopefully get every CN exec fired and might force them to re-evaluate what direction they are going in. “The AT sensibility is now the tentpole of what CN is looking for.” - Quote from a CN pitch meeting. Good luck, Puffinstuffs.

ahhhhhh, truly a work of genius.

BIG congrats to Pendleton, Fred and CN !!!

I will be looking forward to the series, Adventure Time
just plain-out RULES! :)

I’ve been hoping for this since I first saw the short. My only concern is that it will be very difficult maintain the just-cogent-enough crazy randomness of the short over a whole series (or even more than the length of this short).

Having said that, this is pretty damn exciting. It’s nice to see something positive and quirky getting made.

Congrats Pen! This is awesome news.

(btw, Richard O’Connor….he went to CalArts)

I love rubber hose animation.

Im not sure if I liked that or hated it. lol

on one hand, its really badly drawn. but on the other, it doesnt have that flash look to it with the overly angular character deisngs and stiff animation. it could grow me I guess.
it kind of reminds me of the off-beats (a series of shorts aired on Kablam!!) but not nearly as good imo.

maybe it’ll improve now that its been picked up.

How could Nick even let this goldmine slip out of their hands! Well, their loss, at least I think Cartoon Network will let Adventure Time take a few more risks than Nickelodeon may have allowed. This also gives me hope that Zim may one day slip Nick’s grasp too and find a new home at the Cartoon Network…

*strains in hope*

pen u rock and i am verry happy for u keep up the awsome work and i know u will go very far with the stuff u are working on and soo u will be rich$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Finally, something 2D that would have looked better in CG! Just kidding, this thing is hilarious and perfect! It’s Tex Avery on acid. I saw a screening and it was definitely one of the most memorable of the lot. I can’t believe Nick let it slip out of their hands! I should be in development!

Mmm… still awesome.

Horray for Pendelton! That guy is a comedic anomaly of the prettiest kind.

“(btw, Richard O’Connor….he went to CalArts)”

NO WAAAY. He went to CalArts and he has a job at Cartoon Network?!!?!?

Seriously, if i worked at a studio and everyone working there went tot eh same school I did and had the same teachers I would throw up. The situation over there reflects poorly on the studio and CalArts grads.

*The situation over there reflects poorly on the studio and CalArts grads.*

So does this short. Lord god, I realize that the glorious 2D days of Disney are over (or very nearly), but does that excuse a school founded by Disney to encourage students to turn out subpar junk and call it animation, with like-minded cronies egging them on? Pitiful. This looks even worse than the old Hanna-Barbera crap that was on in my father’s time. Wow, that’s progress.

I couldn’t get through more than 30 seconds of this. I would have hated this as a kid. The character designs are awful, IMHO.

Are the people complaining about Adventure Time being badly drawn aware of what its competition is? Or if it had corners and thick outlines it’d be just fine?

At least it can make people laugh. Yes, including children.

I wasn’t a big fan of the short (just not my sense of humor), but it IS different, it IS creator driven, and clearly it could have a loyal cult following. I’m glad CN isn’t just replaying stuff from their vaults or building a show around a toy or celebrity personality or video game or rehashing old toons with new ‘tudes or whatever other poor ideas infested Saturday morning when I was a kid.

Bravo Pen, bravo CN. Hope it’s a hit and encourages more people to make their own shorts and more networks to take risks.

I can’t help thinking that if that still you posted was from a Disney or Dreamworks film that there would have been quite a point made out of the poor composition of the shot , with the tree growing out of the kid’s head and the meditating dog’s arm line forming that nasty tangent along the front edge of the kid’s shirt.

(ok, sure maybe it’s just a poorly chosen still and what we’re seeing is not a key pose , but is this supposed to be a good example of 2D animation and design ? )

No, you detractors are right, I mean, I’d much rather keep the visual feast that is CN’s block of generic flash shows.

Criticism is one thing, but to bag on “Adventure Time” because of its childlike art style, rubber-hose animation, and stream-of-consciousness storyline is missing the point entirely. Apparently the detractors have never had a story told to them by a ten year old.

“No, you detractors are right, I mean, I’d much rather keep the visual feast that is CN’s block of generic flash shows.”

I’d rather not have any of it , generic Flash shows or this.

This little short Adventure Time has some clever/quirky qualities I suppose … it’s ok . But a series ?

To me , this stuff is so boring in terms of the animation and design (CN’s generic Flash shows , too). There’s got to be better stuff than this ?

I’ve liked this short a ton since I first saw it. If the series is even half as excellent, it’ll still be a success. Congrats to anyone/everyone involved; may you create a series that will surprise us all (in a good way).

Why the hell is Nickelodeon taking so damn long launching Random Cartoons? It’s been almost two years since the series was announced?

:(

Cartoon Network is a breeding ground for horrible cartoons. I hope Adventure Time will change this.

I’m thrilled by this. I’ve been a big fan of this short for ages and I can’t wait to see it swing for the fences as a series.

Now, about Korgoth of Barbaria…

…and yet another low for CN. Weak, thin, low in color and character design, even less quality in story. What passes for acceptable on CN these days should give all decent animators/story/designers a lot of hope that their work will one day be recognized…LONG LIVE VENTURE BROTHERS!!!

“I’d rather not have any of it , generic Flash shows or this. ”

Even if you dont care for it’s humor or art style, animation wise, it has a surprising amount of bright spots. Like when Pen is running while talking to the elementals, or fighting the wizard, there is some very satisfying movement and timing in there, something lacking in many American show these days. Except like Avatar or something.

If ever there was a show that was a hit before it aired, Adventure Time is it. Everyone I’ve ever showed the short to has flipped out over it. Friends of mine were quoting lines from it for months after they saw it. What’s not to love? Adventure Time is a totally original and brilliantly crafted show. It has that rare ability to entertain adults and kids. Since the current state of television animation is so abysmal, I’m amazed that this show slipped through. That said, what was Nick thinking when they passed on this?

Seems like Cartoon Networks is taking some awesome creative “risks”…I am a huge fan of Flapjack, and will be overjoyed to have this and Adventure Time both on the air.

I don’t know how to gage how popular shows like Flapjack are with children. I would really like to know… Maybe Flapjack will strike kids in the same funny bone as Pee-wee did in the late 80’s. I hope.

I think this show is influenced by Tex Avery but with the indirect influence of the cartoons of “Pic Pic” the crazy pig from the Pic Pic et André show (early 90’s) from belgian animators Stéphane Aubier. If you haven’t seen this guy’s work it is well worth a look on youtube.

Better late than never with a post, but finally, after what has seemed like forever, we get confirmation of the all-too-obvious. It would have been a tremendous opportunity lost of this show was not picked up in some form. I’m very much looking forward to the series.

EPIC.

Congrats Pen!

Pen Ward is brilliant!!
Best news I’ve heard all day!

YES! yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes - I actually typed all those yesses because I’ve known Pen for years on and off and I’m SO excited Adventure Time got greenlit!!!

weehahhhahaahhhhuiuuu!!

I decided to do a review of this show on my blog. Welll, not so much of a review, but more of a screeching dissatisfaction.

“I didn’t get no/
Satisfaction…”

This is AWESOME NEWS. I’ll watch the show FOR SURE.

this was terrible, not even funny in a weird way, not even well drawn in a bad way, it was all crap and not funny, and dont tell me i “dont get it” Tex Avery had talent, please stop comparing this to him, if people talk about “adventure time” in 30 years, I will resign my successful argument of the crappyness of what I just watched.

“Adventure Time is one of the best pilots ever made”

really? do you REALLY believe its one of the BEST EVER. I think you need to think that one through again.

I was expecting more quotes from the short and less people telling me how cool this is, i already know how cool this is. so to start you guys off.

MATHMATICAL!!!!

As someone who has had decades of experience in the animation industry, I have seen many, many animation shorts, but this one is probably the best one I have seen ever.
I have taught professional animation for ever 15 years, and never in my life have i seen such amazing talent and such wonderful creativity. The talent shown here is better than many feature films of the 80’s and 90’s and of recent.

Truly amazing!

Great choice, this is an awesome short…

Very nostalgic.

YEESS! This is fabulous news. Pen Ward is so amazing! Flapjack is awesome, and with Adventure Time on the air as well, I would say that Cartoon Network is doing a wonderful job lately! Yayayy!