Review: Apple & Onion “A New Life”

Does Cartoon Network have new life?

Overview (Possible Spoilers Below)

We begin the episode of this new series when we find the titular Apple & Onion say their goodbye’s to their respective families through separate means and separate reasons with Onion (Richard Ayoade) working a new job at the big city while Apple (George Gendi) is given a place to stay at a city apartment with a landlord who’s a literal “Falafel” (In fact every character in this universe is a talking food person).

During a series of awkward & comedic setpieces, a good portion of the episode is spent on the titular characters facing the typical “fish out of water” scenarios you’d come to expect from a comedy like this due to them both coming from small towns and adjusting to living in the big city with their acts of kindness to strangers giving the two a level of likability despite how awkward they seem. Onion doesn’t exactly leave a good impression with his new boss, while Apple by accident loses his backpack that’s hung on the Ice cream truck containing his apartment address which becomes the major obstacles.

When we get to the third act,  both characters lose their shoes for different reasons which become the catalyst to how they meet and find common ground thanks to the power of song. Later on, they actively pursue the ice cream truck containing Apple’s new address, and all their acts of kindness pay off and become a series of well-placed Chekov’s Guns of sorts when they finally catch up to get the address, but the episode ends with the titular duo move in together to start their new lives in the big city.

Our Take

For a first episode, the comedy excels in its simplicity with jokes that seem tame enough for kids to enjoy but can cater to adolescents with subtle adult undertones in terms of how grounded in reality the show often feels. The colors and animation are vibrant and the humor did give me and my wife a good laugh in places with jokes that hit their mark.

It excels as a good start for this new series and while it’s from one of the producers of “The Amazing World of Gumball” it feels differentiated enough to exist as it’s own entity.