The High Fructose Adventures of Annoying Orange, Vol. 1: Escape from the Kitchen

True to its name, the Cartoon Network series built around the YouTube sensation Annoying Orange is indeed annoying. A hit with kids who enjoy wacky, irreverent humor, the animated The High Fructose Adventures of Annoying Orange features a chattering, citrus anti-hero compelled to tell bad puns and laugh in a manner that drives even his friends (Apple, Grapefruit, Banana, Marshmallow, and others) to distraction. The 10 episodes compiled here include “Captain Blood Orange,” in which Orange (in pirate mode) makes Apple walk a gangplank and leads a battle against some British yachts, absurdly ending with the characters caught up in a weird Corn cult that seeks sacrifices to the mysterious He Who Comes During Night Shift. In “Veggie Zombies,” vegetables discarded by human kids turn into zombies, although before that apocalypse happens, Orange is the subject of an intervention that leads him to a psychiatrist. In “Fruit-Vengers,” Orange and the others swim in chemical goo and develop such superpowers as flying, super-speed, and x-ray vision, while Grapefruit turns into a mad super-villain. And in “Dr. Strangeplum,” Orange and pals become the reluctant guests of spooky Professor Plum in his mad mansion, where Apple disappears just before a tray arrives—of sliced apple. Toby Turner appears as the only human in the series, the jittery Nerville. While the random craziness of the stories carries some appeal, Orange is too well-named. Optional, at best. Aud: P. (T. Keogh)