The episode is just fun all around. You’re waiting to see how many characters are going to show up so we can see their alternate versions. Fionna is just awesome as a female version of Finn. You’ve got pretty much the same motivations (love of adventure) and the same taste in clothing, and the same loyal sidekick in Cake the cat. There’s just a little twist to the characters and their motivations here and there. And I loved the male versions of Princess Bubblegum and Lady Rainicorn. Lord Monochomicorn is pretty badass if you ask me, and it’s also quite charming that he only speaks in some sort of hoof morse code. The creativity of the whole episode just had me grinning the whole time.
As for the rest of the episodes on this DVD, we’ve got a nice selection once again. The same jaw-dropping irreverence governs the direction of each episode. I mean really, I spent most of my time laughing while saying "What the hell is wrong with these people?" in reference to the creators. For example, in "Wizard Battle," a wizard tournament is held with the prize being a kiss from Princess Bubblegum. One wizard asks if it’s going to be an open mouth kiss, after which he backs out of the tournament, uninterested. Several other wizards are unimpressed with the prize, and are subsequently turned into cats for their attempts to exit the tournament prematurely. The episode called "Storytelling" is all kinds of wrong, with a duck complaining that she’s been "soiled" because she was forced to kiss a fox, and therefore is no longer desirable. Pay attention to that PG rating on this one, because man do you not want to have to explain the stuff coming out of your kid’s mouth otherwise. Did I mention the male version of Lumpy Space Princess does a little "bump n’ grind" dance in the "Fionna and Cake" episode? Adventure Time is just so wrong, but so right.
There is a new gender-swapped episode coming out on February 18th, which Cartoon Network was nice enough to send an advance copy of along with this DVD. Although it won’t come with your retail copy, I can say this episode is going to be just as much fun as the first one. Really, I’d be happy to see a whole season of Fionna and Cake. There’s something just a little less wacky about her while she still keeps the same wild enthusiasm as Finn that just works so well in the bizarre surroundings of the Adventure Time world.
Getting back to the Fionna and Cake DVD, once again, this is an assortment of episodes from across several seasons. The sentiment from reviewers on Amazon is pretty negative (note that the DVD isn’t even out yet), with most people wanting full seasons on DVD instead of the current compilation trend that’s been so popular with publishers lately. Season One is the only full season currently on DVD, while the show is already in Season Five on Cartoon Network. It’s getting worn out, but I still agree with this complaint. Whatever happened to just releasing seasons of shows? Do they think kids can’t handle continuity?
The special feature for this DVD is the "Little Did You Know" feature. It has background information on the gender-swapped characters from Fionna and Cake as well as a few others like Princess Cookie, but it’s just text and pictures. It’s definitely not my favorite type of special feature, but it might have a tidbit of information here and there that a fan would enjoy.
It’s hard to say whether this is the best compilation DVD so far, but I’ll list the episodes here to help your decision. You get "Fionna and Cake," "Storytelling," "The Other Tarts," "The Silent King," "Death in Bloom," "Still," "Wizard Battle," "What was Missing," "From Bad to Worse," "Marceline’s Closet," "Ghost Princess," "Incendium," "Card Wars," "Princess Cookie," "You Made Me," and "Lady & Peebles." My favorites were "Wizard Battle" (come on, when Adventure Time does wizards, you know it’s going to be awesome), "Lady & Peebles" (some Princess Bubblegum and Lady Rainicorn fan service that plays out like a suspenseful movie), and of course "Fionna and Cake." Give me a Fionna and Cake DVD full of Fionna episodes, and I’d be all about this. But for now, you’ll have to weigh out whether you like this selection of episodes enough to take a chance on this DVD.
