They're cute-looking little critters, and they come in the kinds of pretty colors that would be right at home in kiddie cartoons or on children's birthday greeting cards. They have names such as Cuddles (a bright yellow rabbit), Giggles (pink pussy cat with bow), Petunia (blue skunk with orange flower) and Lumpy (who looks like Bullwinkle's loopy cousin). They chirp away, sounding a bit like demented chipmunks, and they appear in an array of short adventures that end with wholesome helpful advice slogans such as "Don't forget to floss!", "Eat your vegies!" and "Take your vitamins!"
But appearances are deceptive…
Take “Havin' a Ball”, in which Pop (father) & Cub's (son) game of catch takes an unexpected turn when Pop is run over and falls off a cliff. His descent is interrupted by the rotor-blades of a helicopter (carrying Lumpy), and he lands in a vermillion splat. Cub tries to retrieve the ball, but he's squashed flat by Lumpy, who in turn is squashed flatter still by the stricken helicopter. There are no survivors…
Happy Tree Friends – Havin' a Ball
The experience of watching "Happy Tree Friends" is an awkward one. Sitting through a few episodes got me thinking, “Why am I even watching this”? It just feels wrong… It’s like watching one horrible accident after another.
"Happy Tree Friends" is really one of those things where viewers either immediately love it or hate it. But it also one of those things you have to see to believe.
After some time, you get really “disgusted” by all that you see and it’s like, you just tell yourself that’s enough gore for a day.
I’m always curious as to who actually likes to watch all these… Even my 15-year-old brother and 19-year sister find the gore disconcerting. Interesting right? To think I thought teenage boys would be so into it. I know I’m bad. Stereotyping…
I find it really fascinating or should I say disturbed when I actually hear people tell me that despite the gore, they tend to continue watching it, because they’ll be curious about what would happen next, what other possible scenario and horrible death sequence could the authors actually come up with…
Hmm… probably that’s one of the main driving forces behind "Happy Tree Friends” that prompts people to watch?
I caught this on the “Happy Tree Friends” website. It really set me thinking so I thought I’d just share:
Comedy served up just the way you like it
short, funny, free… and loaded with unnecessary violence, racial insensitivity, misguided politics and screwed up values.
What is it all telling? You tell me? In fact, I haven’t quite recovered from the gore…
Labels: Faustina, Havin' a Ball, personal opinion
2 Comments:
I feel that if HTF were to be just featuring the little cuties, it would not have come so far. After all, I see little difference in the HTF characters from those in other cartoons, and they seriously do not appeal to me, not enough to keep me watching more than a couple of episodes. The violence and gore (with humour, of course) sets HTF apart from the rest, and people might just be looking for this new kind of cartoon, different from what we have been exposed to throughout our childhood.
I wouldn't say I like HTF, in fact, I detest gore, but HTF has definitely gained my attention, it being an extraordinary type of cartoon-comedy. To me, at least, the unnecessary violence, racial insensivity, and all that, no longer matters as they are barely remembered, viewers just laugh them off. I guess it might be a different issue for children, but aren't chilren discouraged from watching HTF in the first place? Well, seems like this raises another issue...
By 
Sin Yee, at
November 6, 2007 at 12:49 AM
I totally agree with sinyee! HTF sets itself apart from other cartoons through its gore.
But honestly, how is this amusing?
Is it sadism?
Or could this laughing mechanism be a means of coping with the uneasy nature of this content?
I haven't quite decided yet.
Emily
