Princess Bubblegum

Princess Bubblegum
Adventure Time character
First appearance Adventure Time (rough-cut)
"Slumber Party Panic" (official)
Created by Pendleton Ward
Voiced by Hynden Walch, Paige Moss (pilot), Isabella Acres (young)
Information
Full name Princess Bonnibel Bubblegum
Nickname(s) Princess Bubblegum
Species Candy Person
Gender Female
Occupation Monarch of the Candy Kingdom, Scientist
Title Princess of the Candy Kingdom
Family Earls of Lemongrab (both created),[1]
Children Goliad (created)
Nationality the Earth (later The Land of Ooo)

Princess Bonnibel Bubblegum (voiced by Hynden Walch)[2] is a fictional character in the Adventure Time animated series on the Cartoon Network. She is a bubblegum humanoid, comparable to the inhabitants of Candy Kingdom, which she rules, who are all composed of types of desserts and candies.[3] Her proficiency in science and fluency in Korean are a testament to her high intelligence. While Princess Bubblegum is typically kind and well-mannered, her temper can be a powerful force when provoked. Marceline reveals that Bubblegum's first name is "Bonnibel" in "Go with Me". In the Season 2 finale "Mortal Recoil", after being possessed by The Lich, she is accidentally shattered and returned to life as a 13-year-old due to the doctors not having enough gum to work with — though it appears that her memories have remained intact.[4] In "Too Young", she becomes 18 again by absorbing the parts sacrificed by her candy subjects in order to reclaim her kingdom from the Earl of Lemongrab. In the season 4 episode "Goliad", the events have shown to have an effect on Princess Bubblegum, as she begins to feel very vulnerable, and makes a clone-Sphinx of herself named Goliad.[5] She also begins exhibiting strong utilitarian behavior, as she starts spying on all her subjects, and begins taking more assertive actions from then onwards.

She is the former love interest of the protagonist, Finn, and while the two are friends she never showed any real attraction to him, due to the age difference. While she is 13 in the episode "Too Young" she is presented as having a crush on him. After Finn got a new girlfriend, Flame Princess, his feelings for her seem to have faded, and Finn becomes angry with Princess Bubblegum when she informs Finn the two have to break up. (Finn thinks she is doing it out of jealousy; when actually it is for Flame Princess, the act of falling in love can destroy the earth.) In some episodes however it is suggested Finn may still have feelings for Princess Bubblegum (as in the episode King Worm he dreams that they are married). Although Princess Bubblegum looks 18, the events shown in "The Vault" reveals that she may in fact be much older than she looks. In the 2013 videogame Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I Don't Know! Princess Bubblegum states that she is 827 years old.

Controversy

The third season episode "What Was Missing" became controversial because of an allegedly implied past relationship between Marceline and Princess Bubblegum.[6][7] The controversy largely began after an accompanying "Mathematical" recap—a behind the scenes video series produced by Frederator Studios that implied that there were lesbian relations between Princess Bubblegum and Marceline and that the writing staff actively seeks input from fans.[7][8][9] This incident was addressed by Fred Seibert, the show's executive producer, who said that "in trying to get the show’s audience involved we got wrapped up by both fan conjecture and spicy fanart and went a little too far."[6][7] Soon after, the video recap and the entire channel was pulled off of YouTube, although "What Was Missing" still airs during reruns.[7] Seibert's decision to remove the video also proved controversial; Bitch magazine later wrote an article about how the episode "handled female desire—female queer desire at that—in a subtle but complex way", but that the removal of the recap and the studio's perceived treatment of the controversy was detrimental towards the acceptance of queer romance in children's television.[6] Ward later addressed the issue and gave a more neutral view; he said that, because there were "so many extreme positions taken on it all over the Internet", he did not "really want to comment on it [because] it was a big hullaballoo."[10]

In August 2014, Olivia Olson, the voice of Marceline, told a crowd of fans gathered at a Barnes & Noble book signing from The Adventure Time Encyclopedia, that Marceline and Princess Bubblegum had dated in the past, but that because the series airs in some areas where homosexual relationships are illegal, the show has not been able to officially make clear the relationship in the series itself.[11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Sava, Oliver (August 27, 2012). "'You Made Me' | Adventure Time | TV Club". The A.V. Club. The Onion. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
  2. ↑ Orange, B. Alan. "SDCC 2011 Exclusive: Adventure Time Cast Interviews". Movie Web. Retrieved August 20, 2011.
  3. ↑ "Voice Compare: Adventure Time – Princess Bubblegum". Behind the Voice Actors. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
  4. ↑ Larry Leichliter (director); Cole Sanchez & Jesse Moynihan (writers) (May 2, 2011). "Mortal Recoil". Adventure Time. Season 2. Episode 26. Cartoon Network.
  5. ↑ Larry Leichliter (director); Tom Herpich & Jesse Moynihan (writers) (August 8, 2011). "Too Young". Adventure Time. Season 3. Episode 5. Cartoon Network.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Johnson, Kjerstin (October 4, 2011). "Adventure Time Gay Subtext: "Spicy" or Adorbz?". Bitch. Retrieved March 20, 2013.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Seibert, Fred (2012). "Well I Completely Screwed Up". Frederator Studios. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  8. ↑ Polo, Susana (September 28, 2011). "Did Adventure Time Just Admit To Lesbian Characters". TheMarySue.com. The Mary Sue, LLC. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
  9. ↑ Muto, Adam (September 29, 2011). "Could you explain what this whole Mathematical video thing did that was bad?". Formspring. Archived from the original on March 20, 2013. Retrieved March 20, 2013.
  10. ↑ Smith, Zack (February 13, 2012). "Adventure Time Creator Pen Ward Talks Before Season Finale". Newsarama.com. TechMediaNetwork. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  11. ↑ Adventure Time cast member reveals characters sexuality