The Web sensation that claims more than 1 billion views on YouTube since October 2009 comes to Cartoon Network as a half-hour comedy.
And guess what? “Annoying Orange” (7:30 p.m. June 11, Cartoon Network; 2 stars out of 4) is just as obnoxious as the title claims. But that doesn’t mean it’s not occasionally funny. I chuckled at least twice during the premiere.
Dane Boedigheimer, creator of the original web series, co-created the TV series with Tom Sheppard and The Collective using the Syncro-Vox animation technique popularized by Conan O’Brien (human mouth on an inanimate object).
The obnoxious piece of produce in the title irritates the heck out of his fruity friends–including level-headed Pear, possible gal-pal Passion Fruit, goody-goody Apple, upbeat Marshmallow and Orange’s nemesis Grapefruit–with bad puns and other kitchen/supermarket/anywhere-they-roam carnage. Cartoon Network promises Orange and the fruit-stand gang will venture from the prehistoric era to colonial times during the season.
The TV series introduces a new human character, Nerville (played by YouTube star Toby Turner), the owner of the fruit stand where Orange and his fruit salad of friends live.
Lending their voices to various fruits and veggies this season will be Michael Clarke Duncan, Jeffrey Tambor, Tim Curry, Tony Hawk, Malcolm McDowell, Billy Dee Williams, Leah Remini, Tom Kenny, John DiMaggio, Nick Swordson, Danny Trejo and Felicia Day.
In the premiere, Orange–or “Captain Blood Orange”–and friends are pirates taking on carts of veggies and eventually a group of creepy corn-on-the-cobs. You’ll “ear” a lot of “Children of the Corn” type jokes.
“Orange” you glad I didn’t do puns throughout this review? Yes? Maybe you won’t want to watch “Annoying Orange.”
![Four years into cannabis legalization in Illinois, celebrations of the April 20 informal weed holiday known as 420 are getting bigger and more widespread. Named for the time of day a group of friends met to get high, 420 has become a chance for marijuana users to publicly share a previously illegal drug and the counter-cultural atmosphere surrounding it. The main event in downtown Chicago likely will be the second annual 420 Sesh Fest, at Green Rose Dispensary. The party will include live music, a magic show, carnival games, food trucks, pop ups, and product discounts. It also will feature Grammy-nominated […]](https://www.chicagotribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/ctc-l-Illinois-marijuana_175925141.jpg?w=546 "Four years into cannabis legalization in Illinois, celebrations of the April 20 informal weed holiday known as 420 are getting bigger and more widespread. Named for the time of day a group of friends met to get high, 420 has become a chance for marijuana users to publicly share a previously illegal drug and the counter-cultural atmosphere surrounding it. The main event in downtown Chicago likely will be the second annual 420 Sesh Fest, at Green Rose Dispensary. The party will include live music, a magic show, carnival games, food trucks, pop ups, and product discounts. It also will feature Grammy-nominated […]")
