Blue Java Pals! is a Circlian-Canadian animated series created by Hirohiko Matsuo and William Corbett for the Circlian version of Boomerang. It was meant to "give the public an idea and to raise awareness of these rare fruit species", in Matsuo's words. The series was animated in Toon Boom with additional cleanups by Canadian animation studio Nelvana.
The series ran for 35 episodes and 1 season, and concluded on March 2nd, 2008. Reruns continued airing on Teletoon up until 2010, while Boomerang continued to air reruns until its shutdown in 2012. The entire series is available on HBO Max and Amazon Prime Video.
The show is distinctly recognized by its unique artstyle, consisting of thin outlines and a low framerate in an almost animesque fashion.
Premise[]
The series follows Java, an anthropomorphic blue java banana who's trying to fit in with the other fruits in the mystical and forgotten Volcano Island, where fruits gain sentience; although he mostly shrugs off his differences and tries to have his everyday wacky and whimsical misadventures in the island, with occasional hiccups in the way, of course.
Episodes[]
| Season | Episodes | First aired | Last aired |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 35 | August 1st, 2007 | March 2nd, 2008 |
Characters[]
Main[]
- Java (voiced by Carlos Alazraqui): A blue java banana with a bubbly and almost child-like personality. He mostly likes to set his differences aside and to mostly find ways to have fun in the island, oftentimes causing the main problem in the episode.
- Soursop: A guanábana fruit who's Java's ditzy and sometimes dumb friend, who's the main source of the show's "quirky" humor.
- Steen: A mangosteen, who's the "silent type" of Java's friends. He doesn't speak much, and when he does, it's mostly just "don" or other onomatopeias. He prefers to mostly stay out of trouble in Java's part, and oftentimes betrays him by telling the others about the peril he caused.
- Gac: A Gấc fruit who's pretty much Java's polar opposite. He's grumpy, cold-hearted and quick to lose his temper.
Supporting[]
- Durian: A durian who is really energetic but doesn't socialize much due to its putrid smell.
- Barbados: A barbados cherry who thinks he's "cool" and likes to show off to others. He likes to try and date the female fruits in the island with little to no success.
- Acai, Goji and Incan: A female group of berries consisting of a acai berry, a goji berry and an incan berry, who are tired of being stalked by Barbados.
Minor[]
- Jack: A jackfruit who always only has "two lines" in each episode he appears in.
- Khaki: A khaki fruit who's always being pushed around by others. The only character to not have an official gender, despite having a female voice.
- Hello Transports: A talking cargo ship, who acts as a "voice of reason" for Java.
Reception[]
The series got mixed reviews, with most of them being positive. Many compared the show to Coconut Fred's Fruit Salad Island "but done right". Circlian TV magazine Media Mix gave the show a 6/10, praising the premise and the artstyle but "having mixed opinions in the humor".
The show currently scores a 7,5/10 on IMDb, with a negative user review saying "the show's godawful and the creators are soulless human beings that use the "it's made for kids" excuse to dismiss its criticism".
Larisa Wiseman of Common Sense Media gave the show a 3/5 rating, praising its message about equallity but "the rest is practically fun fluff for those who have time".
Broadcast[]
Aside from Circlia and Canada, the show aired in the United States on Kids' WB, in Brazil on Gloob, in Japan, Latin America and South Korea on Cartoon Network and in El Kadsre on Warptoons Network. A proposal to air the show in China was accepted by Betta Toons, but went nowhere.