Television series

Adventure Time: Distant Lands

A series of specials that extends Adventure Time beyond its original run, revisiting the Land of Ooo with deeper focus on side characters and stranger corners of its world. Each special stands alone while honouring the show's blend of whimsy, melancholy, and genuine stakes. For fans who wanted more, and newcomers curious what the fuss was about.

TVMaze rating3.6

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Craig of the Creek2018

Captures that same sense of childhood adventure and discovery, with a diverse cast of kids exploring a natural world full of secrets, games, and quiet emotional moments. Every episode feels like a memory.

But The pacing is deliberately slow and contemplative; if you want constant plot momentum, this will feel meandering.

Craig of the Creek poster

The Owl House2020

Similar tonal mix of humour, genuine darkness, and character growth. Strong voice acting, inventive world-building, and it earns the emotional beats by letting characters fail and change in real time.

But The animation is less polished than Adventure Time, and some early episodes feel rougher before the show finds its rhythm.

The Owl House poster

Infinity Train2019

Anthology structure lets each arc explore a different flavour of weird and wonderful. Gorgeous art, genuine creepiness, real consequences for its characters, and the kind of lore-building that rewards close watching.

But Some arcs work better than others, and the show's cancellation means several threads never fully resolve—which frustrated fans still feel.

Infinity Train poster

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Adventure Time: Distant Lands

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Arcane: League of Legends2021

Both use animation's freedom to tell stories live-action couldn't. Both balance levity with genuine stakes, making you care about side characters as much as leads. Both trust the audience to sit with sad moments.

Animated but aimed at adults; gorgeous rotoscope and 3D animation, a story about two sisters on opposing sides of class conflict that builds genuine dread, and character work so strong it rivals live-action drama.

But Violence is real and sometimes brutal; it's fantasy but not cartoonish, and the second act deliberately breaks you before offering redemption.

Arcane: League of Legends poster
More like this (8)

Amphibia2019

A girl trapped in a frog world. Sounds silly; it's genuinely moving, with brilliant character writing, world-building that surprises you, and a found-family core that lands because the show earns it slowly.

But The first season is lighter and more comedic than later ones; it takes time to reveal its ambitions.

Amphibia poster

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power2018

A reboot that proves you can honour the source while going somewhere completely different. Gorgeous animation, real stakes, and character arcs that span seasons with genuine payoff and growth.

But The early animation is stiff and the season arcs can feel slow if you binge them; pacing is designed for weekly watching.

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power poster

Gravity Falls2012

Mystery-box storytelling that actually pays off. Twin protagonists in a weird town, building mythology episode by episode, with emotional depth hiding under jokes and genuine scares. Perfectly balanced.

But Only two seasons; ending on its own terms means some mysteries stay unsolved, which bugs completionists.

Gravity Falls poster

Over the Garden Wall2014

A autumn-dark miniseries about two brothers lost in a mysterious wood. Gorgeous, melancholic, genuinely eerie, with a folk-tale quality and voice acting that feels lived-in rather than performed.

But At just ten episodes, it's brief and relies on mood over plot—if you need constant narrative momentum, it might feel slight.

Over the Garden Wall poster

Bee and PuppyCat2013

Surreal, pastel-coloured, funny in unexpected ways. A young woman and a shapeshifting creature take jobs in space. The art is stunning and it commits completely to its own logic without explaining itself.

But The narrative is deliberately fragmented and dreamlike; traditional plot resolution is not the point, which frustrates people who want clear story structure.

Bee and PuppyCat poster

Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts2020

Post-apocalyptic world full of mutant creatures, genuinely beautiful animation, a protagonist who stays kind despite everything, and a diverse cast you actually care about by the end.

But The third season feels rushed after two strong seasons, and the ending simplifies things some fans felt deserved more complexity.

Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts poster

Hilda2018

Both are adventure shows where the world is older and stranger than the protagonist, and both find horror and wonder in the same moment. Both centre character relationships over plot spectacle.

A girl moves to a supernatural forest where the real monsters aren't evil, just alien. Genuinely creepy, genuinely funny, with folklore that feels researched rather than made up, and a protagonist who grows without losing her voice.

But The animation is deliberately sketchy and stylised rather than smooth; some find it less polished than mainstream animation.

Hilda poster

Disenchantment2018

Both treat fantasy settings as permission to ask real questions about power, identity, and belonging. Both centre on characters who don't fit their worlds and decide to change anyway.

Matt Groening's fantasy comedy with actual bite. A princess rejects her role, travels a weird world, and the show actually explores what it means to want something different. Voice acting is warm even when the humour is bleak.

But It's crude and rude in ways that date it; if you need your comedy gentler or more clever than offensive, this will grate.

Disenchantment poster

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