Princess Bubblegum
 | This article describes a work or element of fiction in a primarily in-universe style. (June 2013) |
| 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) |
| In-universe information | |
| Nickname | "PB" , "Peebles" , "P-Bubs", "Bonnie" |
| Species | Gum Golem (Candy Elemental) |
| Gender | Female |
| Title | Princess of the Candy Kingdom |
| Occupation | Monarch of the Candy Kingdom Life scientist |
| Children | Goliad (created) |
| Nationality | the Earth (later The Land of Ooo) |
Princess Bonnibel Bubblegum of the Candy Kingdom (voiced by Hynden Walch)[1] is a fictional character in the Adventure Time animated series on the Cartoon Network. She is a Gum Golem, comparable to the inhabitants of the Candy Kingdom, who are all composed of types of desserts and candies. In the season 7 episode "Elemental," Princess Bubblegum was revealed to be the current Candy Elemental (in the Adventure Time universe, the Elementals are the embodiments of the four main elements that make up the world: ice, fire, candy and slime. They have existed since the beginning of life, living, dying and reincarnating for eons and millennia).[2] She rules over the Candy Kingdom, but in the Season 6 episode "Hot Diggity Doom" (the first part of the season's finale), an election was held and she lost to the King of Ooo by a landslide. As a result, she no longer ruled the Candy Kingdom and the King of Ooo replaced her as the new ruler, until a rebellion against King of Ooo allowed her to reclaim the throne in "The Dark Cloud". Her proficiency in science and fluency in Korean are a testament to her high intelligence. In 2014, Olivia Olsen (the voice actress of Marceline the Vampire Queen) alleged at a book signing that the show's creator Ward had confirmed that Marceline and Princess Bubblegum dated but were unable to put any official confirmation in the show due to controversy. However, Olsen seemed to redact the statement in a Tweet that same day by stating "I like to make things up at panels. Ya'll take my stories way too seriously". [3]
Characteristics
Personality and traits
While Princess Bubblegum is typically kind, good-hearted, and well-mannered or temperamental, 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 authoritarian behavior, as she starts spying on all her subjects, and begins taking more assertive actions from then onwards.
Relationships
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. During the time 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 because, 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 video game Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I Don't Know!, Princess Bubblegum states that she is 827 years old. In an interview, Olivia Olsen (who voices Marceline) stated that Marceline and Bubblegum are ex-girlfriends.[6][7][8] She claimed to be informed of this by Pendleton Ward, the creator of Adventure Time, although Ward never confirmed this.
Physical appearance
Princess Bubblegum has light pink skin, long magenta-pink "bubblegum" hair and usually dresses in a puffy-sleeved flowing dark pink gown with pink trim at the sleeve, purple trim at the scoop-neck collar. When ever she does any science experiments, she wears a lab coat, with her hair often tied, either up in a bun or a ponytail, otherwise let out like in her formal outfit.
Other
Princess Bubblegum has a genderswapped version of herself in the 61st episode, Fionna and Cake, who was Prince "Bubba" Gumball. In that episode it is revealed that the characters only exist in fanfiction written by the Ice King. Like Princess Bubblegum, Prince Gumball also has his own loyal companion, Lord Monochromicorn. Just as Princess Bubblegum can understand Lady's Korean, Prince Gumball can understand Lord Monochromicorn's Morse code. Prince Gumball has shown romantic feelings for Fionna, but that was actually the Ice Queen in disguise. However, the real Prince Gumball also shows feelings for Fionna and had actually asked her out on a date.
Controversy
The third season episode "What Was Missing" became controversial because of an allegedly implied past relationship between Marceline and Princess Bubblegum.[9][10] 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.[10][11][12] 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."[9][10] Soon after, the video recap and the entire channel was pulled off of YouTube, although "What Was Missing" still airs during reruns.[10] 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.[9] 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."[13]
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.[7]
See also
References
- ^ Orange, B. Alan. "SDCC 2011 Exclusive: Adventure Time Cast Interviews". Movie Web. Retrieved August 20, 2011.
- ^ "Voice Compare: Adventure Time – Princess Bubblegum". Behind the Voice Actors. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
- ^ "Bubbline Shippers Rejoice: Adventure Time's Marceline & Princess Bubblegum Confirmed To Have Dated". www.themarysue.com. Retrieved 2016-07-10.
- ^ Larry Leichliter (director); Cole Sanchez & Jesse Moynihan (writers) (May 2, 2011). "Mortal Recoil". Adventure Time. Season 2. Episode 26. Cartoon Network.
{{cite episode}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|serieslink=(help) - ^ Larry Leichliter (director); Tom Herpich & Jesse Moynihan (writers) (August 8, 2011). "Too Young". Adventure Time. Season 3. Episode 5. Cartoon Network.
{{cite episode}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|serieslink=(help) - ^ Potts, Andrew (21 August 2014). "Adventure Time's Marceline and Princess Bubblegum once dated, show's creator said". Gay Star News. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
- ^ a b Wu, Connie (August 15, 2014). "Adventure Time Fans Rejoice! Olivia Olson Confirms Marceline and Princess Bubblegum Dated". SheWired. Here Media. Retrieved August 17, 2014.
- ^ Bradley, Bill (August 15, 2014). "'Adventure Time' Actress Confirms That Big Rumor We All Suspected". The Huffington Post. Retrieved August 17, 2014.
- ^ a b c Johnson, Kjerstin (October 4, 2011). "Adventure Time Gay Subtext: "Spicy" or Adorbz?". Bitch. Retrieved March 20, 2013.
- ^ a b c d Seibert, Fred (2012). "Well I Completely Screwed Up". Frederator Studios. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
- ^ Polo, Susana (September 28, 2011). "Did Adventure Time Just Admit To Lesbian Characters". TheMarySue.com. The Mary Sue, LLC. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|work=(help) - ^ 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.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Smith, Zack (February 13, 2012). "Adventure Time Creator Pen Ward Talks Before Season Finale". Newsarama.com. TechMediaNetwork. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|work=(help)
