Opinions on Happy Tree Friends

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Hello all,

I'm a member of rabroad but don't post threads very often. I'm an animation lover since I like to draw and paint a lot.

A couple of years ago I heard or saw or however knew about "Happy Tree Friends". I would like to receive opinions on this series from the animator point of view.

I don't want to discuss here if these series are good or bad for children, and things like that. What I wanted to ask is: Are these series original? I mean, do they have any merit? I mean, it's very well known that if you put some ketchup (blood) in your series it will go better, it is like displaying an ad with a pretty half-naked girl, it will always go better.

I've seen a couple of episodes and personally I think this is the most lack-of-originality series that have been ever produced. I wouldn't like my children to see this either if I had children :)

What do you think? Thank you very much.
 
I think you're asking three different questions here.

Is Happy Tree Friends original?

Probably not, I would wager that the basic concept is lifted from Itchy & Scratchy on The Simpsons, which is in itself lifted from Tom & Jerry.

Does Happy Tree Friends have merit?

I think all programs have some kind of merit. They're works of art, in the case of animation, figuratively and literally. As gruesome as HTF is, at the very least it can be argued that it shows a lot of things you should never, ever do. It's a learning device!

Finally, is Happy Tree Friends entertaining?

This one is the question most up for interpretation. Personally, I don't enjoy it and I don't see the humor in watching cuddly forest creatures getting disemboweled or worse. I don't understand the appeal at all. So I don't watch. If others want to, that's up to them.
 
Having seen quite a bit of it, I'm not really into it. Seeing cute forest animals getting graphically mutilated gets old after a while.

My main draw to any series is interesting characters and their interactions with each other. And it's impossible to get attached to characters who can't speak any intelligible dialogue and whose sole purpose is to get splattered.

It also doesn't help that I'm not into gore in the first place. It's one of the reasons I dislike 99% of the stuff on Adult Swim.
 
I like it, but I'm the kinda masochistic 80's survivor who enjoys cuddly animals getting slaughtered randomly.

And of course there's no continuity at all so you don't feel bad in the end.
 
The television series was much better. Unfortunately, it bombed catastrophically and G4 pulled it from their schedule as soon as the final episode aired. I used to be a huge fan of “Happy Tree Friends” and was even a moderator on their official forums – they even sent me a bunch of merchandise and an autographed script and storyboard – but I’ve since lost interest. However, there is more to it than just random dismemberment. It’s difficult to have lasting character development when characters can’t talk and routinely die, but they’ve done a surprisingly good job. Giggles was always my favorite character. She was downright adorable.
 
I love Happy Tree Friends. Flippy is my favorite character. I wish he was in more episodes though.

I'm really looking forward to the new characters.
 
Well the thing is with these characters, its almost wish fulfillment. They are cloyingly cute and cuddly and have zero to no intelligence/personality that you actually want to see them die in the most horrible way possible. For instance, Cuddles is, behind the sweet rabbit getup, a moronic stuck-up jerk who usually deserves exactly what he gets.

These are not just cartoons. They're morality plays.
 
I got bored of it quickly back in 2005 or so. One of my friends loved it, but he was the kinda guy that participated in the alternative culture just because he wanted to be different.

I'm surprised though. The series is still going?
 
They?re not all bad. I stopped watching once the television series ended, but I don?t recall Flaky or Giggles doing much to deserve their fates. I?ve always contended that the deaths are more satisfying if the characters have actually done something to deserve it, but a few of the critters are genuinely nice. Even Flippy, despite all of his brutal murders, is just a tortured soul who would love nothing more than to be friends with everybody.
 
I saw a few. The animation is indeed spectacular, but I only really laughed once, and even then, it wasn't a joke that involved uberviolence. And that would be the time Petunia was on an...er, "date" with Disco Bear, and was reacting to his dancing like he was coming at her with a knife. Sadly, I had to sit through several uncomfortable minutes of a rotting moose to get to it.

Petunia's my favorite, by the way.
 
It?s really their only hit, so they don?t have much choice in the matter. The series wasn?t mainstream enough to thrive on television, as I?ve said, but it?s rather popular amongst certain youths. I believe most of the people who registered on their forums back when I was moderator were between twelve and fifteen.
 
I liked it due to it's cartoon violence at first, and the nice animation for Flash. One of my friends in High School actually showed it to me. I also liked the TV Series as well. My favorite characters are normally Flippy, The Mole, and Pop & Cub.

My favorite HTF segment was the one where after flipping out, Flippy tries to seek help to get rid of his dark side, which I think led to events where Flippy confronted his dark side, but ended up going on a murderous rampage during said trip.
 
In all honesty, I despise Happy Tree Friends. From the few episodes I have seen, I've gathered that it consists of nothing besides shock value, extreme gross-out humor, and gore. Even if this could pass as entertainment (and with me, it doesn't), it's very repetitive, with the only variances between the episodes being the color of the critter being mutilated and the method by which it happens. Obviously this is just a matter of taste, but I cringe every time I think about this show.
 
I’m afraid my knowledge of the series has withered away in these past few years, but as I’ve said, the television series had more substance. They were forced to stretch each segment out to seven minutes, which meant that there was more of a focus on the plot and character interactions. In fact, they brought on Ken Pontac – the co-creator of Bump In The Night – because they needed somebody with television experience to help them make the series work.

I agree that some episodes have gone over the top, but it’s not all mindless violence.
 
The odd thing is, I find I actually like the similar Teen Girl Squad from Homestar Runner. I guess it's mostly because it's more surrealist humor, and, frankly, I think the creators of Monty Python were on the right track when they claimed that the Black Knight scene wouldn't have been as funny if he felt pain.

Sure, the TGS feel pain, but it's always understated, like what you'd expect if someone banged their head or stubbed their toe.
 
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