Happy Tree Friends

History

While working at Mondo Media, Rhode Montijo drew a character on scrap paper that later became Shifty, then a yellow rabbit resembling Cuddles with the phrase "Resistance is futile" on a poster. The idea was pitched to Mondo executives and accepted. In 1999, Mondo gave Ankrum, Montijo, and Navarro a chance to produce a short called "Banjo Frenzy," featuring a dinosaur (an early Lumpy) killing three woodland animals (early versions of Giggles, Cuddles, and Toothy) with a banjo.

Mondo then greenlit an Internet series named Happy Tree Friends. The first episodes were produced in 1999 but released online in 2000, becoming an unexpected success with over 15 million hits per month and festival screenings. Mondo Media CEO John Evershed credited animator Kenn Navarro for the series' success. In 2014, after the episode "Dream Job," Mondo announced plans for a feature film, but in 2016 Navarro tweeted he was unaware of film work, with his team "in talk to do more shorts."

He later told a fan that a treatment he and the writers did was all the work he knew of for the movie. On December 22, 2016, Mondo released five new episodes as a bundle called "Happy Tree Friends: Still Alive," with bonus material. In January 2017, Navarro tweeted that sales were OK but below expectations. On August 17, 2023, a new episode "Too Much Scream Time" was announced for September 27, 2023, tied to The Crackpet Show DLC. On October 18, 2024, "Happy Train Friends" was released as a crossover with Dumb Ways to Die.

Characters and cast

Cuddles is a yellow rabbit with big ears, pink cheeks, a tuft of fur on his head, and pink bunny slippers. He is sometimes rebellious and does dangerous things, serving as the series' unofficial mascot with the highest death count, often involving slicing, vehicles, or intestines. He is voiced by Kenn Navarro. Giggles is a pink chipmunk with a small red bow, the first female Tree Friend introduced.

Her early design was a blue squirrel. Her deaths often involve crushing, her chest, or her head. She is a girly girl and best friend to Petunia, often a romantic interest for male characters except Disco Bear, and has a moderate survival rate. If counting the pilot "Banjo Frenzy," she was the first character to die.

She has been voiced by Dana Belben (seasons 1–2), Ellen Connell (TV series–season 4), and Lori Jee (a few season 3 episodes). Toothy is a purple beaver with freckles and large buckteeth, friends with Cuddles. His deaths mostly involve his eyes and sharp objects. He is considered the most undeveloped character or a "redshirt," and holds the distinction of being the first character to die in the series (if not counting the pilot). He is voiced by Warren Graff.

Reception

The series has drawn criticism over concerns that children might be influenced by its violent content, as it appears to be made for children. In 2005, author Katherine Ellison expressed her feelings to The Washington Post after her six-year-old son watched it, arguing the series should be regulated due to its potential impact on young minds. The series has also been controversial with Russian government agencies. In 2008, the Russian Media Culture Protection Department (Rossvyazokhrankultura) warned TV channel 2×2 about airing the series along with The Adventures of Big Jeff, claiming they promoted "violence and brutality" that could harm children's psychic health, moral development, and social morality, violating the license agreement.

The channel reluctantly removed them. In 2021, the Oktyabrsky District Court in Saint Petersburg banned the series along with some anime films, stating it "contains elements of cruelty" and is "designed in a style common for American animation," and that watching it harms young children's spiritual and moral education, contradicting Russia's humanistic upbringing.

In other media

Fall Out Boy's 2007 music video for "The Carpal Tunnel of Love" was directed by Kenn Navarro and features series characters, with band members appearing as animated cameos. A mobile game, Happy Tree Friends: Spin Fun, was released in 2005 by Daydream Software. Happy Tree Friends: False Alarm, developed by Stainless Games and Sega, was released on June 25, 2008, for Xbox Live Arcade and PC. An iOS game, Happy Tree Friends: Deadeye Derby, came out on January 16, 2014.

On August 17, 2023, Mondo Media and Ravenage Games announced a crossover DLC, The Crackpet Show: Happy Tree Friends Edition, released September 27, 2023, on Steam, GOG.com, Epic Games Store, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch. A spin-off series, Ka-Pow!, an anthology of action stories starring The Mole, Flippy, Splendid, and Buddhist Monkey, debuted in September 2008 with six episodes. In 2014, Kenn Navarro created D_Void, a similar show; two episodes were uploaded to the Mondo Media YouTube channel in mid-2020.