We’ve seen horror director Eli Roth split open skulls before, but the jack-of-many-trades and (surprise!) stop-motion animator has never been stuck in your head like he will be with “The Rotten Fruit.” Catchy bordering on torturous, the theme song for Roth’s latest archival release goes a little something like…
♫ Rotten Fruit… We’re The Rotten Fruit… The most popular band in the wooorld! ♫
Celebrating its 25th anniversary by finally making its streaming debut on the platform WeShort today, April 18, “The Rotten Fruit” is a cult classic web series co-created by Roth and Noah Belson. A childhood friend of the gonzo filmmaker, better known to genre fans for his credit as Guitar Man in “Cabin Fever,” Belson grew up making movies with Roth in Newton, Massachusetts. While living in L.A. trying to break into the industry together, the pair developed “The Rotten Fruit” for the now-defunct Z.com in 2000.
Despite a lofty goal to become “the HBO of the internet,” Z.com released just three of the eight episodes Roth, Belson, and their animation crew made on a shoestring budget. The other five installments have either never been released or remain completely unseen, until now. By the time these so-called “new” episodes were posted online, the duo told IndieWire, the site had gone completely bankrupt.
“Even though it was limited in terms of who saw it, we had a lot of people contacting us asking about more episodes,” Roth told IndieWire. The director not only wrote, animated, and edited on the project but also composed and performed its outrageous songs; Belson and Roth voiced the shorts’ cast together.
“We had a mailing list with thousands of people on it who were constantly asking, ‘When are more ‘Rotten Fruit’ episodes coming out?’” Roth said. “Now, it’s like, ‘We’re working on it. Really.”
“Give us 25 more years, maybe,” Belson joked. “But we’ll get you some more.’”
Speaking with IndieWire over Zoom, the reunited collaborators shared their hopes to revive “The Rotten Fruit” as a modern satire soon. They also reflected on the ridiculousness of the original production — a “crazy” quintessential SoCal summer that, for good or bad, sounds like the plot of its own movie. From the pitfalls of early web financing to a backyard pool filled with alligators, “The Rotten Fruit” got as rock-and-roll behind the scenes as its edible punk rockers look getting sliced and diced on stage.
Running roughly three minutes each, all eight “Rotten Fruit” episodes are free for anyone to watch during the raunchy (or should we say ranchy?) comedy’s first week streaming on WeShort. The short film service is working in partnership with Roth’s fan-owned media company and genre brand, The Horror Section. The following episode descriptions were provided to IndieWire:
- Episode 1 — “The Battle of the Bands”
- The Rotten Fruit compete against the popular boy band C-5 in a battle of the bands. Suspecting they might lose, the Fruit use cutthroat tactics to ensure victory.
- Episode 2 — “Concert Riots”
- After a stampede at one of their concerts resulting in the death of a fan, the band decide to put on a benefit show, with even more disastrous results.
- Episode 3 — “The Critic”
- The Rotten Fruit take their biggest critic hostage to try and win him over.
- Episode 4 — “We Are the World”
- Manager Guy The Pie Shapiro arranges a collaboration for a charity song, only for the band to learn it’s with the newly re-formed C-5.
- Episode 5 — “Snackster”
- The Rotten Fruit try to put an end to online piracy by personally going after the fans stealing their music.
- Episode 6 — “David Lunch”
- The Rotten Fruit film a music video with legendary artist and surrealist director David Lunch.
- Episode 7 — “Room Service”
- The Rotten Fruit trash a hotel room, then are tricked into cleaning it up.
- Episode 8 — “Cancer Boy”
- The Rotten Fruit decide to record a benefit song for a young peach with cancer, only to realize that no good deed goes unpunished.
WeShort is now streaming “The Rotten Fruit.” Check back for IndieWire’s full interview with Roth and Belson.
