Representation in Cartoons: How Adventure Time Did It Right
As LGBTQ+ representation progresses in many different media forms, there seems to be one area that's not catching up. Cartoons, more specifically children's cartoons, seem to routinely avoid gay representation. Animation can be easily dubbed, so a large part of their revenue comes from airing around the world to less tolerant audiences. Many parents also worry that early exposure to LGBTQ+ representation may "turn" or confuse their children, meaning companies often have to choose between featuring diverse characters or their target demographic.
As you may have guessed, animated shows typically choose the latter. A way many shows skirt around the issue is to create a couple with romantic subtext and only confirm their relationship in the final episode when it will no longer affect viewership.
However, a successful example of this occurs in the Cartoon Network show Adventure Time, between Princess Bubblegum and Marceline the Vampire Queen. Let's look a just a few moments between them to get some context.
In the season 3 episode "What Was Missing", a witch steals each of the main characters' most precious objects and it is revealed that Princess Bubblegum's is an old t-shirt that Marceline gave her, even though at the time they are barely speaking to each other.
In that same episode, Marceline sings a song directed at Princess Bubblegum that reveals her emotional hurt at what appears to have been a breakup. The song, "I'm Just Your Problem", includes lyrics like "I shouldn't have to be the one that makes up with you, so why do I want to?" and, obviously, "I'm just your problem". The song heavily implies that Marceline is not over something that happened between her and Bubblegum and feels like she's just an inconvenience to her, even though she may still have feelings for her.
In season five the t-shirt returns and we get to see Bubblegum sleeping in the uncharacteristically dark shirt and smelling it in the morning, something that doesn't seem like a "friendly" gesture.
Another big episode for the two is "Varmints", where they finally acknowledge that they were once close but drifted apart, partially because of the pressure Bubblegum was under as ruler of the Candy Kingdom. Much of this episode is them apologizing for what went wrong and reflecting on their old bond.
The episode ends with Bubblegum falling asleep on Marceline, essentially admitting how much she trusts her.
Now there's also the entire "Stakes" mini-series where Marceline almost dies and dreams of growing old with Bubblegum not to mention all of the remarks Bubblegum makes about living without Marceline, but that would involve about fifteen more paragraphs and no one needs that. So to make a long story short, in one shining moment in the series finale, after Marceline thought Bubblegum had been killed, Cartoon Network confirmed everything:
Now I truly have no qualms with the creators. While I wish the show had been full of hand holding and cute comments, that was about the issues with kids cartoons I previously mentioned, not the artistic choices. The couple tested boundaries and eventually confirmed the relationship, subtly enough that parents wouldn't boycott but still eventually becoming explicit enough that they couldn't be explained away as "best friends". We got to watch them evolve, learn about their history and I would say that this was one of the best examples of representation in a cartoon I've ever seen (Disney take notes...)
As you may have guessed, animated shows typically choose the latter. A way many shows skirt around the issue is to create a couple with romantic subtext and only confirm their relationship in the final episode when it will no longer affect viewership.
However, a successful example of this occurs in the Cartoon Network show Adventure Time, between Princess Bubblegum and Marceline the Vampire Queen. Let's look a just a few moments between them to get some context.
In the season 3 episode "What Was Missing", a witch steals each of the main characters' most precious objects and it is revealed that Princess Bubblegum's is an old t-shirt that Marceline gave her, even though at the time they are barely speaking to each other.
In that same episode, Marceline sings a song directed at Princess Bubblegum that reveals her emotional hurt at what appears to have been a breakup. The song, "I'm Just Your Problem", includes lyrics like "I shouldn't have to be the one that makes up with you, so why do I want to?" and, obviously, "I'm just your problem". The song heavily implies that Marceline is not over something that happened between her and Bubblegum and feels like she's just an inconvenience to her, even though she may still have feelings for her.
In season five the t-shirt returns and we get to see Bubblegum sleeping in the uncharacteristically dark shirt and smelling it in the morning, something that doesn't seem like a "friendly" gesture.
Another big episode for the two is "Varmints", where they finally acknowledge that they were once close but drifted apart, partially because of the pressure Bubblegum was under as ruler of the Candy Kingdom. Much of this episode is them apologizing for what went wrong and reflecting on their old bond.
The episode ends with Bubblegum falling asleep on Marceline, essentially admitting how much she trusts her.
Now there's also the entire "Stakes" mini-series where Marceline almost dies and dreams of growing old with Bubblegum not to mention all of the remarks Bubblegum makes about living without Marceline, but that would involve about fifteen more paragraphs and no one needs that. So to make a long story short, in one shining moment in the series finale, after Marceline thought Bubblegum had been killed, Cartoon Network confirmed everything:
Now I truly have no qualms with the creators. While I wish the show had been full of hand holding and cute comments, that was about the issues with kids cartoons I previously mentioned, not the artistic choices. The couple tested boundaries and eventually confirmed the relationship, subtly enough that parents wouldn't boycott but still eventually becoming explicit enough that they couldn't be explained away as "best friends". We got to watch them evolve, learn about their history and I would say that this was one of the best examples of representation in a cartoon I've ever seen (Disney take notes...)
