The Scientist Princess of Ooo; A Princess Bubblegum Explainer
In case ruling the candy kingdom with a rock candy fist isn’t enough work, Princess Bubblegum is also an accomplished scientist.
There are a lot of princesses in the land of Ooo, a detail we’ll get to in a little bit. But the most regal, and possibly the most terrifying is Princess Bubblegum. Ruler, scientist, a sentient piece of bubblegum residing over a kingdom of candy people. How did PB come to power and why is everyone (rightfully) a little afraid of her?
Princess Bubblegum Basics
Princess Bonnibel Bubblegum is one of the main protagonists of Adventure Time and the ruler of the Candy Kingdom. The kingdom-city inhabited entirely by sentient candy people is where a great deal of the show takes place- especially in its earlier seasons- and where Finn and Jake are shown to spend a lot of time. Though, this is likely because of their friendship with Princess Bubblegum.
Throughout the show we see PB as a multifaced character with a lot of her royal plate. She can be kind and a good friend, or a borderline authoritarian ruler. She’s often the smartest person in the room, but not terribly intuitive when it comes to interpersonal relationships.
“People get built different. We don’t need to figure it out. We just need to respect it.”
– Princess Bubblegum.
At one point we learn that Princess Bubblegum is the current incarnation of the Candy Elemental. In Ooo the elementals are eternal embodiments of the four main elements that make up the entire world: fire, ice slime, and candy. They have exited forever and have lived, died, and reincarnated for eons. So while Princess Bubblegum is much older than she looks, she has been reincarnating forward for even longer.
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The Backstory of a Bubblegum Princess
Shortly after the Mushroom War- which is as dark as it sounds- a massive hive-minded blob of pink bubblegum known as the ‘Mother Gum’ was formed. It spread out, destroying the city it originated in and occasionally helped some familiar characters. But overtime Bonnibel began to form independent of her gummy parent(s). She learned to think and feel for herself and eventually broke free of the Mother Gum.
As a child, Bonnibel and her brother Neddy would hide out in Ooo, scavenging, and creating additional family members when they got lonely. This eventually went poorly as her family made plans to build a city, but Bonnibel, would always have a need to stay in control after exposing them to the ‘Dum-Dum Juice’ and turning them into docile and agreeable candy subjects, she declared herself Princess of the now-forming Candy Kingdom
Powers & Abilities
Princess Bubblegum’s greatest ability is her intelligence and scientific aptitude. She is often seen creating, inventing, and fixing things in her lab. She is also multi-lingual, speaking at least English, German, and understanding if not speaking Korean. PB can also write equally well with both hands and has some proficientcy in hand to hand combat.
As a bubble-gum person, she is fairly tough, can replace or reform parts of her body out of gum, and can shoot candy out of her hands as projectiles. We see her communicating with people though her dreams and connecting to all of the candy throughout the entire galaxy. And her crown and earrings act as a guard against the Lich’s influence.
The Candy Kingdom
Originally the idea of PB’s family, the Candy Kingdom is a city-kingdom inhabited almost entirely by sentient candy people. Its first inhabitants were Bubblegum’s candy family after they had been effected by the juice that made them happy and agreeable, and in its earliest years, we see that there is a river of radioactive sludge being buried under candy where the city would one day stand.
After it’s completion, the Candy Kingdom was a prosperous and relatively technologically advanced state under the rule of Princess Bubblegum, but it has for short periods of time had other rulers such as the King of Ooo and Lemongrab.
We know that at some point in the future the Candy Kingdom sees a catastrophic event and is abandoned. Predicting this, Princess Bubblegum sends colonization missiles to other planets just in case something does happen. But when we see the far-future flash-forwards, it’s not revealed what has caused this future to come to be.
Notable Relationships
Princess Bubblegum has close friendships with a number of figures throughout Ooo including Finn, Jake, Lady Rainicorn. The Ice King has a fascination with Bubblegum, since she reminds of him of his long lost finance, Betty, who looked similar and was also a scientist.
But Bonnibel’s most notable relationship is the romantic one with Marceline. They have one-and-off dated for a number of years, eventually breaking up due to the stress and Bubblegum’s responsibilities to her kingdom. Towards the end of the series they reconnect as friends and eventually begin dating again.
Is Princess Bubblegum LGBT?
Yes! Bonnibell is seen dating or having romantic feelings for a few characters. Most well known is Marceline. But when she was turned into a thirteen year old version of herself, we see her returning Finn’s feelings and we know that she also dating a Mr. Cream Puff.
That said, Princess Bubblegum is made of candy and many of the characters in Adventure Time aren’t human. Sexuality and attraction in this world may be somewhat fluid in general.
Who Is The Male Version of Princess Bubblegum?
In Fionna and Cake we are introduced to Prince Gumball, the male version of Princess Bubblegum. He is voiced by Neil Patrick Harris in the spin-off series.
Why Are There So Many Princesses in Adventure Time?
Ooo is a world made up of a whole bunch of kingdoms including the Candy Kingdom, the Flame Kingdom, Lumpy Space, the Ice Kingdom. And most of them are ruled by a princesses. There’s never a reason given for this in world. But it’s likely just a fun trope based on Finn’s character archetype as a fantasy hero or knight who has to rescue the princess(es).
Happy adventuring!
