Adventure Time (TV Series) Holly Jolly Secrets (2011) User Reviews

Poor Ice King

[Rectangular_businessman · 9/10 · 11 December 2012]

Before I saw the second part of "Holly Jolly Secrets", the Christmas special from "Adventure Time", I always considered the Ice King to be a funny and likable character, despite the fact of him being one of the "villains" from this series.

However, the revelation from this episode showed that he is probably a much complex character than I thought, and certainly, all the funny moments involving him (from past and future episodes) would be seen in a different manner.

I have to say that I never expected the Ice King to be such a tragic character. Even when some previous episodes have some moments which involve a darker subtext (particularly concerning the past of the world in which the series takes place) this revelation came as something completely unexpected, and the tape which shows the Ice King's past and previous identity could easily considered as one of the saddest moments of the series (Along with the episode "I Remember You") The ending of this episode was nice, however, softening all the implied darkness and tragedy with humor and a cute final scene.

I really hope that some future episodes from "Adventure Time" (Besides of "I Remember You") show more hindsight about the past of all the characters and the world where the series take place. It certainly would be something unexpected and even epic, if it is done in one appropriate manner.

Character development in unexpected places

[Mr-Fusion · 9/10 · 27 May 2016]

Episodes like 'Holly Jolly Secrets' (Part II, specifically) are exactly why I love "Adventure Time" (well, one of the many reasons). There's more going on here than a show like this would let on, and for a kid's show, there's uncommon depth. What started out as a discovery of secrets in Ice King's diary sheds just a sliver of light on his origins. It's not a long sequence, and the opening of the episode certainly doesn't give you any indication there'd be heavy stuff coming. I don't want to spoil anything here, but the Ice King wasn't sad and creepy years before, and seeing the transformation carries more than a little bit of sadness.

But it's a Christmas episode, and they bring you right back from the sadness with a moment of levity before our characters take up real estate by the fire, "to celebrate the day when Finn and Jake had a fleeting moment of empathy for the biggest weirdo in Ooo".

And what's really cool about this backstory is that it hints at a larger story for the Candy Kingdom.

Shockingly good stuff.

9/10

An odd spin on the Christmas special

[Mr-Fusion · 9/10 · 27 May 2016]

Finn and Jake think they've scored it big after stumbling onto Ice King's stash of "Evil Secrets" tapes . . . which turn out to be little more than his video diary. What made this enjoyable (beyond Finn and Jake's usual annoyance) is that there's plenty of comedy at the expense of Ice King and his sad, creepy life. There's not really anything here we haven't seen before, just more of it, and the promise that something might come of this in the second half.

This is one of the episodes I haven't seen (as opposed to the usual rewatches), so I genuinely don't know what Part II has in store.

7/10

The Ice King's tapes

[Rectangular_businessman · 9/10 · 11 December 2012]

The first part of this "Adventure Time" Christmas special somewhat reminded one episode from "Invader Zim" (Another great animated show) called "Zim Eats Waffles", since both involve the heroes from the series spying the privacy of their "enemies" in order to know about his future "evil" plans, with comical results.

This part of the episode is funny and lighthearted…The second part is funny and lighthearted too, but it contains an important revelation, which could make all the funny moments from this first part of the episode (And probably all the funny moments involving the Ice King) being seen from a completely different perspective.

This episode has me SHOOKETH

[philnr · 9/10 · 18 June 2020]

An interesting look into ice king and how he came to be.