SkimIt
Network: Cartoon Network
Genre: Comedy
TV Rating: TV-PG
Other Choices: The Amazing World of Gumball, Adventure Time with Finn and Jake, Johnny Test
Available On: Online
Common Sense Says: Name calling, rude humor will delight tweens, not parents.
Common Sense Rates It:
Parents need to know
Parents need to know that Annoying Orange is based on a popular web series of the same name, so tweens and teens might already be familiar with it. The main character is an orange with a human mouth and eyes, which might be visually disturbing to sensitive viewers. He often interrupts others, makes bad jokes that are often rude and insensitive, and bookends every comment with a creepy laugh. There's some name calling, and one of the supporting characters is often called "midget." Fruit and veggie characters frequently meet their ends with a dramatic knife slice.
- Families can talk about the popularity of Annoying Orange on YouTube. What makes it so popular? How does a web series compare to a full-fledged TV show?
- Is Orange a positive role model or a negative one? Kids: What would happen if you acted like Orange in real life?
What's the story?
ANNOYING ORANGE (or The High Fructose Adventures of Annoying Orange) follows the adventures of the aptly described Orange (voiced by series creator Dane Boedigheimer) and his friends from a grocery store fruit cart as they go on a variety of imaginative adventures in the store.
Is it any good?
Annoying Orange lives up to its promise and may very well be the most annoying character ever. The series is based on an ultra-popular web series where episodes are, thankfully, typically less than four minutes long. The TV series, by contrast, subjects viewers to nearly half an hour of bad puns, offensive humor, and creepy syncho-vox animation. Why the web series is so popular is one of the mysteries of the universe. Parents may want to turn away rather than watch lest their eyes fall out of their sockets from rolling so much.That said, the scenes that don't contain the Annoying Orange are somewhat watchable thanks to the eccentric yet sensible supporting characters. The fruits' adventures are imaginative with unexpected twists. And the target audience of prepubescent boys will delight in the ridiculous stories and rude humor. Still, a great deal of the show is the Annoying Orange being annoying, rendering the show nearly unbearable for those who don't find the humor amusing.
The Good Stuff
Messages: No real messages of any sort, though viewers might learn how one person's annoying behavior can negatively affect others.
Educational Value: Occasional references to the kinds of vitamins and other nutrients in fruits and veggies, but that's not the focus.
Role Models: Orange is disrespectful, abrasive, and irritating. Orange's use of the term "midget" to describe his friend is disrespectful and potentially offensive. Some of the supporting fruit show Herculean amounts of restraint and patience in putting up with Orange.
What to watch out for
Violence & scariness: Some fantasy violence. In one episode, for example, characters are put into cannons and fired at others. Character deaths are implied as fruit or vegetables are cut up for human consumption by a body-less knife. The syncho-vox animation technique used to bring the fruit and vegetable characters to life might be disturbing to some younger viewers.
Sexy stuff: Passion Fruit has a crush on Orange, and there's some flirting.
Language: Characters call each other names like "loser," "annoying," and "lame." One character prefers to be called Little Apple but is called Midget Apple.
Consumerism: The show was inspired by a popular web series, and some merchandise is available.
Drinking, drugs & smoking: Not an issue
