What fruit-themed mobile game are you dying to see turned into a hit children’s animated series? If you said Fruit Ninja, then you’re in luck, because that show is real, and it’s coming next January.
The show, which will feature roughly 11-minute episodes, is being produced by Halfbrick, the same studio responsible for the Fruit Ninja game series. While the game isn’t marketed to one demographic in particular, the show will focus on younger kids “co-viewing with their parents,” according to Halfbrick Vice President of Entertainment and Licensing Sam White. The series will also be featured on the YouTube Kids app to make viewing episodes easier for younger children.
“Fruit Ninja promotes a positive sense of humour and accessibility to players in all walks of life,” said YouTube Asia Pacific’s Ben Grubbs. This is in contrast to the similar (but just as fun!) Dishonored: Rat Assassin from Bethesda, which takes the (apple) core Fruit Ninja gameplay but replaces pears and pineapples with diseased vermin.
In addition to the show, White announced that Halfbrick will be producing “a new compilation playlist” dubbed “Fruit Ninja Nation,” for fans to submit their own content for the YouTube channel, as well as developer diaries and documentaries. This seems like a perfect opportunity for people to record themselves flailing their arms around like they’re fighting several imaginary ghosts, and it’s hard to beat that.
While Halfbrick is certainly best known for the Fruit Ninja series — which recently crossed 1 billion downloads — the developer was also responsible for another hit on iOS, Android, and even Windows 8: the sidescrolling Jetpack Joyride. Should Halfbrick decide to turn another one of its games into an animated series, it might be a good pick, especially since it actually has a character.
