Production
Conceived by Peter M. Lenkov, Cookie Jar Entertainment received a development deal from Teletoon in 2006 to create a new series under the name Jet Force. The show was also known as Mach Force before being unveiled under its final title at MIPCOM 2008. MetaJets was produced by Cookie Jar in Canada and Sunwoo Entertainment in South Korea over a two year period. A Japanese partner was initially onboard, but left the project due to disagreements.
The 40-episode series had a production budget of ₩6.4 billion, with the city of Seoul investing in the project. Cookie Jar provided the script and audio work, while Sunwoo handled all aspects of the animation. Lenkov helped create the initial concept and structure of the series, while a team of roughly ten writers wrote the scripts. The series mixed traditional animation with elements of computer animation. Sunwoo initially estimated the show would need 300 shots per episode with roughly 80-100 requiring CG animation. After a storyboarded version of the first episode came back with over 200 shots requiring CG assets, Sunwoo decided to animate lesser seen mecha in 2D for budgetary and scheduling reasons.
The Korean version of the show features "Fly Away" by Kim Kyung-ho as its opening theme song. The credits song is "In Search of Freedom" by Hyoyeon Kim. The English version features music by Voodoo Highway.
Broadcast
MetaJets first aired on KBS1 in South Korea between January 31 and November 7, 2009. It would also run on Daekyo Kids TV and Tooniverse. In English-speaking Canada, the series premiered between October 3, 2010 and July 3, 2011 on Teletoon, with reruns also on sister channel Cartoon Network. The show debuted in French-speaking Canada on Télétoon between November 7, 2010 and August 21, 2011.
In the United States, MetaJets premiered on Cartoon Network on July 4, 2010 with a ten episode marathon before being stripped daily at 6AM until the show's conclusion on August 13, 2010. This was reported to be the first time a predominantly Korean animated series aired on the channel. Reruns would later be broadcast on This TV's Cookie Jar Toons block. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, the series aired on Kix!. In South Africa, it ran on eToonz+. MetaJets premiered across Disney Channel Asia on June 28, 2009. Elsewhere, it premiered on TF1 on October 7, 2009 in France, Studio 23 on July 13, 2010 in the Philippines, and in 2011 it was shown on Clan in Spain.
The entire series was made available to watch on Netflix in the United States and other select territories from December 2010. In Canada it was offered from 2017–2018 via Kids Suite from Bell Satellite TV.
Merchandise
Sunwoo Entertainment designed the series with the intention of it being a Multi Source, Multi Use property. The company released a limited amount of toys in South Korea. Mattel was attached to distribute a toyline internationally, but none would make it to market.
Cookie Jar released a free downloadable game for Mac and Windows personal computers called MetaJets: Extreme Turbulence. Developed by Helios Interactive in conjunction with Reach Games, the title debuted in beta in early 2009 before officially launching in January 2010.
