Havin' A Ball



"Havin' A Ball" is an episode of the Happy Tree Friends internet series. This episode introduces the father-son duo, Pop and Cub, and with it, a crash course on how not to care for your kids.

Starring Roles

 * Pop
 * Cub

Featuring Roles

 * Lumpy

HTF's Episode Description
A friendly game of catch goes horribly wrong for this father and son bear. Pop tries to impress Cub with his ball handling skills, but disaster ensues and a rescue chopper goes down. So sad that even the simple things go so wrong in Happy Tree Friends Land.

Plot
Pop and Cub are having a nice little ball game, but Pop has a slight mis-throw, and the ball bounces off of Cub's head. The ball ends up across a busy highway, filled with speeding semi-trucks! With an expectant Cub wanting his ball back, Pop knows he hasn't really got much of a choice but to fight through the traffic.

As Pop travels through the traffic, you can hear him scream in pain from the bludgeoning impact of the trucks. In the distance, behind Cub, a helicopter flies away. When Pop finally makes it to the ball on the other side, he is a total mess. He has a steering wheel sticking out of him and skid marks on his face, but at least he gets the ball. He picks it up with a smile, but then walks straight off a cliff.

As Pop falls, he looks down to realize that he is heading right for the helicopter's rotor blades. He hits them and is totally shredded, forming a neat pile of body parts on the ground. The ball and his hat, however, are untouched. While Pop could not get to the ball without certain death, his son climbs down the cliff with climbing gear; picking up his ball with a happy smile.

Unfortunately, Lumpy, who was strapped to the helicopter by a gurney, becomes disconnected and plummets down on top of Cub. Lumpy suddenly tries to move his gurney, when suddenly the helicopter comes crashing down on him. Despite this, the ball remains untouched. As a final decoration to this slaughter, Cub's beanie lands perfectly on top of the ball.

Moral
"Eat your Veggies!"

Deaths

 * 1) Pop is sliced up by the blades of a helicopter.
 * 2) Cub is crushed by a falling gurney.
 * 3) Lumpy is crushed by a falling helicopter.
 * 4) The helicopter pilot dies in a crash.

Goofs

 * 1) Initially there is no cliff on the other side of the traffic. It only appears when Pop walks it after retrieving the ball.
 * 2) When Pop falls off the cliff the steering wheel embedded in his arm falls away, but for a frame, when you get a close-up of Pop falling, it is actually back in his arm before disappearing again.
 * 3) Cub is almost as tall as Pop when they are playing with the ball.
 * 4) Pop and Cub's blood are orange when Pop gets sliced up and the helicopter lands on Cub.

Trivia

 * 1) This is one of only two instances in an episode where Pop dies before Cub. This later happens in Stealing the Spotlight.
 * 2) This is the first Internet Short in which all the characters die.
 * 3) Some versions of this episode showed the side of the cliff at the end, but not all.