Dream of Love (Adventure Time)

"Dream of Love" is the fourth episode of the fourth season of the American animated television series Adventure Time. The episode was written and storyboarded by Bert Youn and Somvilay Xayaphone, from a story by Patrick McHale, Kent Osborne, and Pendleton Ward. It originally aired on Cartoon Network on April 23, 2012. The episode guest stars Ron Lynch as Mr. Pig.

The series follows the adventures of Finn (voiced by Jeremy Shada), a human boy, and his best friend and adoptive brother Jake (voiced by John DiMaggio), a dog with magical powers to change shape and grow and shrink at will. In this episode, Tree Trunks (voiced by Polly Lou Livingston) is courted by Mr. Pig, but their over-expressive love begins to make many people uncomfortable. The two are separated, but due to the power of their love, they are allowed to be reunited.

The episode contains the eponymous song, which was crafted by McHale to be reminiscent of a duet between Dolly Parton and Meat Loaf. Together with other episodes of Cartoon Network programming, the episodes helped make the network the number one television destination for boys aged 2–11, 6-11, and 9-14 on Monday nights. The episode received mixed critical reviews; Oliver Sava of The A.V. Club felt that the episode was juvenile, whereas Mike Lechevaillier of Slate magazine praised the installment for its original yet resounding presentation of the nature of relationships.

Plot

Finn and Jake venture to Tree Trunks’s (voiced by Polly Lou Livingston) house to acquire apple pie. While there, they discover that Tree Trunks has entered into a relationship with Mr. Pig (voiced by Ron Lynch). Finn asks Tree Trunks if she would be willing to make apple pie for Princess Bubblegum’s musical concert, to which she agrees. Later at the concert, however, Tree Trunks and Mr. Pig arrive, sans apple pie. The two begin to passionately kiss, which makes the entire audience feel uncomfortable.

The two are told to stop showing public displays of affection, but they fail miserably. As a last-ditch effort, the two are separated from one another. Distressed, both perform the song “Dream of Love”, which details the sadness they feel about being separated from one another. The song is so moving that both Finn and Jake concede, allowing Tree Trunks and Mr. Pig to be reunited. Their relationship, however, still manages to disgust people, although Finn and Jake are beyond the point of worrying.

Production

The episode guest stars Ron Lynch as Mr. Pig.

"Dream of Love" was written and storyboarded by Somvilay Xayaphone and Bert Youn, from a story developed by series creator Pendleton Ward, Patrick McHale, and Kent Osborne.^[2] Ward later noted in the DVD commentary that while the episode was fun to write, once the episode was finalized, the storyline involving kissing came out "weird" and "gross".^[3]

Ron Lynch reprises his role as Mr. Pig in the episode; after the completion of "Apple Thief", Ward wanted Mr. Pig to come back because he felt that both the character and Lynch's voice acting were funny.^[4] The titular song was written by McHale. When he was writing and recording the demo version, McHale, who has a penchant for "smooth music",^[5] envisioned the female part to sound like Dolly Parton, and for the male part to be reminiscent of Meat Loaf.^[6] McHale later released the demo version on his Twitter account.^[7]

Reception

"Dream of Love" first aired on Cartoon Network on April 23, 2012. Together with other episodes of Cartoon Network programming, the episodes helped make the network the number one television destination for boys aged 2–11, 6-11, and 9-14 on Monday nights, according to Nielsen ratings.^[8] The episode first saw physical release as part of the complete fourth season DVD in October 2014.^[9]

Oliver Sava of The A.V. Club awarded the episode an "C–", noting that episode's plot was "juvenile" when compared to other Adventure Time episodes that deal with relationships.^[10] Despite this, Sava complimented the fact that the series was willing to explore the ideas that both public displays of affection can make people uncomfortable, but that people should not have to restrain their affection based on the whims of public. Sava also felt that the titular song was "an easy way of conveying a lot of feeling in a short amount of time".^[10]

Mike Lechevaillier of Slate magazine, in a review of the fourth season, argued that the episode "present[s] determinedly adult interrelations through the eyes of the inexperienced Finn" and delves "into the societal rift created by the public displays of affection between a tiny pachyderm and a pig (complete with Beat Happening-style musical number)."^[11] Lechevaillier compared and contrasted the episode with the previous episode "Web Weirdos", noting that both deal with relationships in different ways, "yet do so with such originality, humbleness, and poise that any viewer, from age six to 60, can find something to identify with."^[11]

References