Think of the cute, harmonic "Alvin and The Chipmunks." Now imagine them getting brutally slaughtered.
This is "Happy Tree Friends," a collection of cute and furry animals that are just begging to be mutilated. No matter what the story is, each episode ends with a bloody "Kill Bill"-esque death for each adorable forest creature. The cartoon features a significant lack of compassion, with gruesome beheadings, amputations and head explosions. There's no limit to the torture that Mondo Entertainment will put these critters through.
Why would anyone create such a cartoon? Anyone who ever watched "Care Bears" should already have an answer.
With names like Cuddles, Giggles and Flippy, an unsuspecting viewer would think "Happy Tree Friends" is just one more children's cartoon. This deception is half the fun; watching the horrified reactions of family and friends is a blast.
Despite its interesting approach to cartoon mayhem, the formulaic patterns of each episode can get repetitive. Though each death is unique, a death's a death. Each two- to five-minute episode is a setup for the untimely deaths of its characters. No real plot is involved.
While it's easy to overdose on "Happy Tree Friends," the growth of the series is just beginning. Starting as a Flash cartoon, the series quickly garnered a following and is now one of the most popular cartoons on the Internet. "Happy Tree Friends" is now also shown regularly on G4TV every Monday and Friday.
The "Happy Tree Friends: Winter Break" DVD will be released on October 4. It contains six episodes and six shorts of pure Christmas-themed violence. Originally airing on MTV, this collection of violence can now become a permanent part of a video library. The main piece of the collection involves a Christmas play featuring all of the forest animals. Through various mishaps, all the animals are mercilessly beaten and finally explode.
The DVD extras aren't that great, consisting of an additional episode about skiing and some sing-along carols. While these extras don't add much, it's the thought that counts.
The 500,000 who have already bought a "Happy Tree Friends" DVD will tell you that "Winter Break" is a fun collection to own. It can provide countless hours of entertainment when one is really tired. For the real sadist, the "Happy Tree Friends: Overkill" collection will soon also be on sale. This collection consists of all three previous DVD releases and a special collector's book. If you are new to the "Happy Tree Friends" cult, however, "Winter Break" is a good place to start.
