Coconut Fred's Fruit Salad Island!

Coconut Fred's Fruit Salad Island! (or simply Coconut Fred or CFFSI) is an animated television series created by Sammy Oriti and Don Oriolo that aired for two seasons on Kids' WB from September 17, 2005, to May 27, 2006. The show was produced by Warner Bros. Animation with flash animation provided by Dong Yang Animation (which also did the intro), Studio B Productions, and Top Draw Animation.

Coconut Fred's Fruit Salad Island!
GenreSurreal comedy
Slapstick
Created by
Developed byRay DeLaurentis
Written by
  • Ray DeLaurentis
  • Will Schifrin
Directed byMatt Danner
Voices of
Country of origin
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes13 (25 segments) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producerSander Schwartz
Producers
Running time21 minutes (9–10 minutes per segment)
Production companiesWarner Bros. Family Entertainment
Warner Bros. Animation
Original release
NetworkKids' WB! (United States)
Teletoon (Canada)
ReleaseSeptember 17, 2005 (2005-09-17) –
May 27, 2006 (2006-05-27)

This show premiered on Kids' WB! alongside Johnny Test and Loonatics Unleashed.

Premise

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Coconut Fred's Fruit Salad Island! takes place on an island inhabited exclusively by fruit. The residents enjoy their own tropical paradise without a care in the world; they must share their peaceful utopia with the joyfully strange Coconut Fred, a whimsical, blissfully foolish coconut with the special ability to materialize anything he thinks about. The plot revolves around the adventures of Fred and his friends, as his boundless imagination springs to life while his friends struggle to cover up the collateral. Any conflict could range from getting a "fruit canal", to sailing off the island only to find themselves in a humongous storm.

Main characters

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The main characters of the series. (Coconut Fred, Slip and Slide D'Peel, Bingo Cherry, Bunga Berry and Mel Greenrind)
  • Coconut Fred (voiced by Rob Paulsen) is a happy-go-lucky coconut with a strange imagination. Fred has the special ability to turn whatever he imagines into reality. He can often be heard saying, "Yay, me!" and "Now you're talking, coconut!"
  • Slip & Slide D'Peel (both voiced by Eric Bauza) are hillbilly banana brothers. They are less intelligent than the rest of the cast, and often take things a little too seriously (though they aren't exempt from moments of brilliance). There is no clear way of telling them apart unless Fred or another character identifies one of them. They are in a band with Fred called "Coconut Fred's All-Body Sound Band", and their music consists mainly of bodily sounds (burping, rude armpit noises, gargling, etc.).
  • Bingo Cherry (voiced by Tracey Moore for the first two episodes and by Britt McKillip for the remainder of the series) is a shy and timid cherry. Bingo usually hangs out with Fred, Slip and Slide and Bunga Berry. He is easily terrified, something that Fred does not know and usually provokes.
  • Mr. Mel Greenrind (voiced by Michael Donovan) is a strict watermelon. Most commonly assisted by Bingo, Mr. Greenrind routinely attempts to keep everything and everyone in order on the island with his chart of rules known as the squeaky board. A lot of the rules on the squeaky board are really nonsensical, but can be applied to Coconut Fred and his friends. While often troubled by Fred's disruptful and chaotic misadventures, Mr. Greenrind's frustrations are less about him wreaking havoc and more about disrupting his own personal peace. He is otherwise shown to be somewhat lazy, often unloads his responsibilities onto others (most frequently Bingo), and mostly only retains his position for the perks of managing a resort island; his first instinct in the face of complaints is to blame Fred regardless of the context, which backfired horribly in the one instance Fred actually left the island. In spite of all this, he seems reasonably dedicated to doing his job of ensuring that the island remains in one piece, and while Fred has a tendency to get on Greenrind's nerves and stress him out from all of his antics, he is occasionally able to show friendliness towards the coconut (which usually doesn't last long).
  • Wedgie (voiced by Brian Drummond) is an accident-prone lemon who works as a sailor. He ended up on Fruit Salad Island due to Fred's intervention. Wedgie spends a great deal of time talking to "Betty", the wooden figurehead. He often fabricates plans to escape from the island, all of which are foiled by Fred's antics, either directly or indirectly.
  • Bunga Berry (voiced by David Kaye) is a wild strawberry who communicates exclusively in grunts and growls. Despite this, everyone is still able to understand what he is saying, and is docile enough to interact with other islanders calmly.

Recurring

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  • Butchy (voiced by Eric Bauza) is a gravenstein apple. He is well-known for being the island's resident troublemaker and his pride in said fact. He enjoys bullying others, especially Bingo.
  • Black Berry (voiced by Brian Drummond) is Butchy's secretary. As his name describes, he is a blackberry. Butchy keeps him in his pocket. His name is a pun on the name of the BlackBerry Personal digital assistant.
  • Tiffany Pears (voiced by Britt McKillip) is a famous pear singer on Fruit Salad Island. Everybody likes her music, except for Mr. Greenrind. In the episode "The Ripley Van Ripened Book of World Records", she holds the record for the most off-key singer ever to perform in public. She is a parody of singer Britney Spears.
  • B.L. Tomato (voiced by Ashleigh Ball) is an outcast tomato wondering if he is a fruit or a vegetable. His most prominent role is in the Season 2 episode "Captain Nut and the Power Fruits", where he joins Blendar, Captain Nut's archenemy, and turns to the dark side with a new name, the Tomatonator.
  • Rusty Candu (voiced by David Kaye) is a friend of Fred's. He is a can of fruit. His only appearances are in the intro, "Hocus Pocus Lack of Focus", "Amuse-Otel", and "Fred Rules!" (in a cameo).
  • Slurpy (voiced by Michael Donovan) is a fruit bat who is bent on eating Fruit Salad Island inhabitants. He is afraid of light.
  • Melonie Greenrind (voiced by Kelly Sheridan) is Mr. Greenrind's perky niece. She likes to enforce rules even more than her uncle and carries around a very noisy chalkboard.
  • Vic (voiced by Garry Chalk) is an alien from Loft Lost 57 in the Sasaft Quadrant in the depths of other space who appears in "Turn on Your Nut Light" as the main antagonist. Originally planning to invade the island with his spaceship fleet, he was mistaken as a tourist to Fred and the island, and due to him and his friends playing in his ship and almost destroying it by going into black holes and ramming into asteroids, he aborted the invasion, causing Fred to crash the ship into Mr. Greenrind's sand castle cabana (they all survived the crash).
  • Mrs. Plumcott (voiced by Kathleen Barr) is an elderly, small, chipper plum lady of the island. She hates Mr. Greenrind. Her catchphrase is "Oh dear."
  • Dr. Bartlett (voiced by Brian Drummond impersonating Ed Wynn) is a pear dentist on Fruit Salad Island.

Reception

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Despite some critics praising the animation and creativity, as well as some elements of the comedy, the series has been criticized for its often loud, over-the-top humor.[2] Joly Herman of Common Sense Media posted a review of Coconut Fred's Fruit Salad Island on Disney's Go.com. The review describes the show as "the TV equivalent of sugary cereal, and nothing more", and gives the show 2 stars out of 5.[3]

Despite numerous claims, Rob Paulsen did not regret or hate voicing Fred, as he said to a fan on San Diego Comic-Con that it was just a gig that he got paid for, and by no means was he a fan but he was not mad about it. He did however state that the show was a shameless ripoff of SpongeBob SquarePants.[4] Additionally, in a QnA section of the new release of "Voice Lessons", he says he did not have any problem with Coconut Fred and Bubsy.[5]

Series overview

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SeasonSegmentsEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
1189September 17, 2005 (2005-09-17)November 26, 2005 (2005-11-26)
274May 6, 2006 (2006-05-06)May 27, 2006 (2006-05-27)

Episodes

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Each episode was directed by Matt Danner.

Season 1 (2005)

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No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleWritten byStoryboard byOriginal release date
1a1a"No News is Good News!"Ray DeLaurentisEddie TriguerosSeptember 17, 2005 (2005-09-17)
One day, Fred awakens, pondering just what he should be doing today. After procrastinating by spraying Mr. Greenrind with a squirt gun filled with glue, he, Slip, Slide, and Bingo discuss their ideas. Suddenly, a newspaper flies into Bingo's face, and Fred decides to use this as an opportunity to become a news reporter. His stories involve supernatural beings and other mythical creatures that somehow come to life, alongside other significantly more mundane occurrences like Mr. Greenrind getting caught picking his nose or him annoying Wedgie during one of his many unsuccessful attempts to escape Fruit Salad Island. Suddenly, the bizarre creatures that he imagined for his stories begin terrorizing Fruit Salad Island, and he and only he, transforming into his alter ego Lifeguard Fred, can rescue the inhabitants.
1b1b"Master of Disaster"Ray DeLaurentisRicky GardunoSeptember 17, 2005 (2005-09-17)
Fred and the others learn of a volcano on Fruit Salad Island that Fred dubs "Melvin", and try to stop it from erupting before it destroys all of Fruit Salad Island.
2a2a"Hocus Pocus Lack of Focus"Will SchifrinGabe SwarrSeptember 24, 2005 (2005-09-24)
Fred tries to be a magician.
2b2b"Amuse-Otel"Ray DeLaurentisSandra FrameSeptember 24, 2005 (2005-09-24)
Fred builds a cross between an amusement park and a hotel, and gets Mr. Greenrind to come along.
3a3a"Fruit Canal"Will SchifrinRicky GardunoOctober 1, 2005 (2005-10-01)
Bingo Cherry needs to go to the dentist after he gets a toothache.
3b3b"Lemon Overboard"Ray DeLaurentisRob SchrabOctober 1, 2005 (2005-10-01)
Fred tries to help out Wedgie.
4a4a"Fred Rules!"Ray DeLaurentis and Will SchifrinEddie TriguerosOctober 8, 2005 (2005-10-08)
Mr. Greenrind leaves Fred in charge of the rules board.
4b4b"Monster Island"Eddie GuzelianSandra FrameOctober 8, 2005 (2005-10-08)
Fred and the gang visit Monster Island.
5a5a"A Bad Case of the Fruitcups"Will SchifrinRay Morelli and Eddie TriguerosOctober 29, 2005 (2005-10-29)
Mr. Greenrind catches the hiccups.
5b5b"Fruity Booty"Ray DeLaurentis
Story by : Steve Slavkin
Sandra FrameOctober 29, 2005 (2005-10-29)
Fred and his friends go on a Treasure Hunt.
6a6a"Nutcase"Ray DeLaurentis and Will SchifrinRicky GardunoNovember 5, 2005 (2005-11-05)
Fred becomes a detective.
6b6b"One Bad Apple"Ray DeLaurentis and Will SchifrinRob SchrabNovember 5, 2005 (2005-11-05)
Butchy intimidates the island and especially Bingo.
7a7a"Bananas for Golf"Story by : Matt Danner
Teleplay by : Ray DeLaurentis
Eddie TriguerosNovember 12, 2005 (2005-11-12)
Mr. Greenrind just wants to spend a peaceful day golfing, but Fred and the banana brothers ruin his plans.
7b7b"Fruitball Heroes"R.J. CollearyGabe SwarrNovember 12, 2005 (2005-11-12)
The gang plays Fruitball at the Island Stadium.
8a8a"A Cold Day on Fruit Salad Island"Ray DeLaurentisRicky GardunoNovember 19, 2005 (2005-11-19)
Fred gets sick during the Island Carnival, and has to find a cure before the carnival is over.
8b8b"Five Nuts and a Baby"Will SchifrinDave CunninghamNovember 19, 2005 (2005-11-19)
The gang finds a Fruit Bat and tries to parent it.
9a9a"Banana Cabana"Will SchifrinKirk Van WormerNovember 26, 2005 (2005-11-26)
The Banana Brothers are left to repair Mr. Greenrind's door after Fred used it for a Surfboard and destroying it.
9b9b"Coconut Freds"Phillip Vaughn and Ray DeLaurentisSandra FrameNovember 26, 2005 (2005-11-26)
Fred finds a magical printer and makes duplicates of himself with it.

Season 2 (2006)

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No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleWritten byStoryboard byOriginal air date
101"Captain Nut and the Power Fruits"Ray DeLaurentis and Will SchifrinRicky Garduno and Eddie TriguerosMay 6, 2006 (2006-05-06)
Fred and the gang become Super Heroes to defeat Blendark.
11a2a"Monkey Business"Ray DeLaurentisDave CunninghamMay 13, 2006 (2006-05-13)
A rude baboon upsets the fruits of the island.
11b2b"Sir Nutalot"Will SchifrinSandra FrameMay 13, 2006 (2006-05-13)
After Fred and the gang wish to be in a video game, they have to rescue Princess Greenrind (Mr. Greenrind as Princess Peach) from Butchy (as Sephiroth). Fred is dressed as Cloud, Slip & Slide as Mario and Luigi and Bingo is dressed as Navi.
12a3a"One Fruit's Trash is Another Fruit's Treasure"Ray DeLaurentisJay BakerMay 20, 2006 (2006-05-20)
Mr. Greenrind forbids Fred from collecting bottle caps.
12b3b"Turn on Your Nut Light"Will SchifrinGabe SwarrMay 20, 2006 (2006-05-20)
Fred summons an alien.
13a4a"The Ripley Van Ripend Book of World Records"Ray DeLaurentisRay Morelli and Eddie TriguerosMay 27, 2006 (2006-05-27)
Sad that he is the only islander to not have broken a record, Fred tries to show Mr. Ripley Van Ripend that he can attain a world record.
13b4b"Frozen in the Time"Dan Danko & Tom MasonRicky GardunoMay 27, 2006 (2006-05-27)
The fruits travel through time.

References

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  1. ^ "American Animation Directory- KOKO Productions Inc". Archived from the original on 2019-12-22. Retrieved 2021-12-30. Award winning recording studio and production house. Selected animation credits: Ed Edd n Eddy, Dragon Tales, Johnny Test, Transformers, Bratz, Care Bears, He-Man, Krypto, Madeline, Martin Mystery, Strawberry Shortcake, Noddy. Features: Barbie (Island Princess, Christmas Carol, Thumbelina, Diamond Castle), My Scene, The Condor, The Chameleon, Edison & Leo, My Little Pony.
  2. ^ Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows (1st ed.). Rowman & Littlefield. p. 131. ISBN 978-1538103739.
  3. ^ Herman, Joly. "Television Review: Coconut Fred's Fruit Salad Island". DisneyFamily.com. Archived from the original on 7 August 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. ^ JustARefletion. "Comment". Archived from the original on 2022-11-04. Retrieved 2022-11-04.[non-primary source needed]
  5. ^ "Rob Paulsen on Animaniacs 2020 Reboot, Experience in Voice Acting and Bubsy Bobcat". YouTube. 13 October 2019. Archived from the original on 2022-10-30. Retrieved 2022-10-30.

Notes

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  1. ^ Although not mentioned on the site, it is still stated at the ending credits.
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