Tree Trunks is just not that appealing.
Adventure Time occasionally will revert to its old random-ish format of storytelling on occasion, and it happens most often when the character Tree Trunks is involved. The Land of Oo’s resident granny elephant has provided some dark humor for viewers in the past by being the first character to “die” on screen (and later be resurrected.) She does, however, lack a certain presence in comparison to other characters like Ice King. This becomes even more apparent in this week’s episode.
Tree Trunks has her special apples stolen by an unknown assailant and now our duo must find the culprit. If they don’t, Tree Trunks can’t make her famous apple pies anymore. Cue a Ren and Stimpy-esque reaction by Finn and Jake. Pendleton Ward and crew are animation aficionados and know the power of exaggerated poses in their character frames. What’s not so powerful is Tree Trunks. Tree Trunks persona as the sweet grandmother of the Land of Oo really lacks presence in an already saccharine world of characters. The only way to make her character more appealing is to juxtapose her personality to a dark story like candy mafia or Lovecraftian forests.
It also does not help that Tree Trunks is one of the more awkwardly designed characters. Her character design lacks meaningful “poses.” In drawing animation, poses are everything. Tree Trunks looks too much like a deflated Dumbo and doesn’t leave a strong impression on a child. That, and this episode’s story feels flatter. The classic Adventure Time structure is there, but Chekhov’s gun lacks the gusto it usually has. Finn having a “Sherlock” epiphany doesn’t fit his character makes the story look insufferably deus ex machina-y.
Most of the episode falls victim to these convenient plot points. At one point Jake states he used to steal bicycles because he “didn’t know it was wrong.” This seems contradictory due to the fact that show implies that Finn and Jake grew up together. Wouldn’t Finn know this already? In any case, “Apple Thief” qualifies as one of the show’s more lackluster episodes. It’s still quality story structure but lacks the punch of most of the other episodes.
Some stats and info about Adventure Time, “Apple Thief”
TV SHOW – Adventure Time
SEASON/EPISODE – Season 3, Episode 11
AIRED ON – October 3rd, 2011
NETWORK/STREAMING SERVICE – Cartoon Network
GENRE – Animated Shows, Comedy
CREATED BY – Pendleton Ward
CAST – John DiMaggio, Jeremy Shada, Tom Kenny, Hynden Walch, Niki Yang, Pendleton Ward, Dee Bradley Baker, Maria Bamford Lumpy Space Princess seduces Finn with her lumps.
This review originally appeared on TV Geek Army.