Adventure TimeLists about the 2010 animated series that follows a boy named Jake, his magical dog Finn, and their friends and neighbors in the colorful post-apocalyptic Land of Ooo.
Updated August 30, 2023 18.1K votes 3.1K voters 140.6K views
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Vote up the most disturbing Adventure Time moments on this list.
Adventure Time quickly became a Cartoon Network hit thanks to its fun, quirky, and often optimistic world view. But as the show has grown over the seasons, things have definitely matured. The writers have introduced plenty of adult themes and a few strangely dark moments. Some of the darkest, violent Adventure Time scenes lie among the mathematical action sequences and sassy humor. And things do get dark. Really dark.
In a post-apocalyptic world filled with candy princesses, princess-stealing kings (complete with magical ice powers), screaming sociopathic lemon people, and rock n' roll vampires, the planet's last human, who just so happens to be a twelve-year-old boy, and his shape-shifting dog protect their kingdom against all sorts of evil-doers. Each eleven minute long episode of Adventure Time is filled with multicolored shenanigans and is jam-packed with rouge-like RPG innuendos.
Pendleton Ward's psychedelic creation has sparked a huge following and touches on intellectual subjects aimed at adults and kids alike. Although the show has been going strong since its Cartoon Network debut in 2010, Adventure Time's next season will be its last. Keep reading to see some of the best Adventure Time scenes, including some that get pretty dark pretty quickly.
1
1,484 VOTES
The Earl of Lemongrab Eats His Clone Alive
Photo: Cartoon Network
This one gets pretty dark pretty damn quickly. In the scene, Lemongrab and Lemongrab's clone, Lemongrab 2, are playing with their “son” Lemonsweets, which is really just a toy doll.
Lemongrab 2 says that Lemonsweets wants to go to bed, while Lemongrab (the crazier, more sociopathic of the Lemongrabs), insists that Lemonsweets wants to dance. He grabs Lemonsweets, which again, he has described as his child, makes him dance, and insists that the both of them hate Lemongrab 2. Lemongrab 2 becomes understandably upset and tries to grab the toy away, causing Lemonsweets to fall to the floor and shatter into pieces.
Lemongrab does not handle this plot twist well. He bares his sharp, fang-like teeth, jumps on Lemongrab 2, and devours him whole while his clone screams in agony. Yum.
1,484 votes
2
1,213 VOTES
Finn Watches as His Helpless Town and Family Burn
Photo: Cartoon Network
Things get weird in Season 5 of Adventure Time. Finn enters an alternate universe where Finn's family and town still exist and Jake is nothing more than his pet dog. This is what his life would look like if the Mushroom Bomb never exploded...
And this is also what his town would look like set on fire...
And this is what Finn's family would look like engulfed in flames...
The local thugs in The Destiny Gang cheer “Destiny! Destiny!” while burning Finn's defenseless parents and younger sibling - and the rest of the village - to the ground. Things work out OK when Finn eventually finds his way back to Ooo and his "normal" timeline, but this definitely stands as one dark time in the show's history.
1,213 votes
3
1,370 VOTES
Princess Cookie Kills Himself
Photo: Cartoon Network
Princess Cookie gets into a bit of trouble and ends up holding the residents of Candy Kingdom hostage in Season 4. He bears his heart to Jake who implores him to just give up, but Princess Cookie has other plans. After explaining how upset he is because Princess Bubblegum laughed at his dreams of becoming a princess, Jake feels empathy for him and tries to help him escape. But they run into a dead end.
Standing atop the cliff, Jake tries to help, but Princess Cookie merely falls backwards off the cliff, dropping slowly through the air, eventually turning to face the ground and his impending doom. The directing in this scene only adds to its enormous weight.
1,370 votes
4
1,216 VOTES
This Deer-Thing Slowly Eats the People of Candy Kingdom by Licking Them
Photo: Cartoon Network
Adventure Time's third season introduces viewers to one of the creepiest characters in the entire series: Stag, aka Freak Deer. The deer prances around the Candy Kingdom licking residents "for their sugar" and even manages to best Finn and Jake in an early fight. He then starts kidnapping candy people and sticking them to the walls of his sewer hideout.
In a truly dark moment, he pulls off his hooves to reveal human-like hands and an ability to stand on just two legs, which he does for his final showdown with the show's heroes. Even the show's lead designer was creeped out by this deer.
1,216 votes
5
1,056 VOTES
The Fruit Witches Eat Another Witch
Photo: Cartoon Network
There's something sketchy about the fruit that the Fruit Witches keep tempting Finn and Jake to eat in Season 3. It becomes obvious why they wanted them to eat the fruit when Jake makes a Fruit Witch bite down on an apple and she turns into an apple herself. The other Fruit Witches devour her in a mess of mutalated bones and apple guts. Cannibalism, that's not dark at all.
1,056 votes
6
1,274 VOTES
Finn Forces the Tiny People of Ooo to Act Out His Sexual Fantasies
Photo: Cartoon Network
In Season 5, Magic Man leaves a mysterious bag for Finn to find. The bag contains tiny versions of all the inhabitants of Candy Kingdom, whom Finn starts playing with. Playing is a good word here, as he forces the miniature versions of Ooo's inhabitants to get “involved”, and by "involved" he means he forces the tiny beings into weird sexual relationships with each other for his own amusement or… other things. The little people spank, lick, and make out with each other, and Finn enjoys it all a bit too much.
