Class Act

"Class Act" is the first Christmas episode of the Happy Tree Friends internet series, and to date, the only episode to feature all of the main characters (though many of them only have background cameos).

HTF's Episode Description
This is the first Holiday episode we made and it features the entire cast. You have to admire Lumpy's attitude that the show must go on, but sometimes there is even too much disaster for even the Happy Tree Friends gang to handle. In true holiday spirit, they pull together for a tear-jerk ending. Peace to everyone.

Plot
The episode begins on a clear starlit night, at the Happy Tree Friends' school in the middle of the forest. Generic Tree Friends fill the auditorium, where onstage Nutty lies in a bed in front of a set resembling a bedroom. Offstage, Lumpy, the director, motions for Toothy to walk onstage. Holding a candle, Toothy moves to the center of the stage when a spotlight shines several feet to the left of him. Lumpy clears his throat, and The Mole, who is operating the spotlight, moves the light onto Toothy. Lumpy then motions up to Lifty and Shifty, who stand above the stage. The two begin shaking an upside down, and obviously upset, Flaky, her dandruff acting as snow in the background. With everything in place, Lumpy motions for Toothy to start singing.

Toothy begins singing "O Tannenbaum", while Giggles, Sniffles, and Cuddles come onstage dressed in cardboard cutouts of a present, a candy cane, and a Christmas tree, respectively. From Nutty's point of view, however, he can only see the top part of Sniffles' candy cane costume. The spotlight makes the costume look like a divine treat. Toothy stops singing upon hearing a crunching noise and a scream. Everyone looks over to see Sniffles with a big bite mark on his costume and torso. Everyone looks over to see Nutty lying in bed with blood on his face, giggling happily, unaware that he just consumed cardboard and flesh rather than a candy cane. A scared Toothy looks over to Lumpy, who tells him to keep singing.

As Toothy begins singing again, Sniffles runs offstage and gets the curved part of his costume caught on a rope. This causes a sandbag to drop and knock Giggles' costume off her body. Unfortunately, this also cuts her face off, which lands at Toothy's feet. Screaming, he looks back to Lumpy for guidance. Once more Lumpy motions Toothy to keep singing.

By now, Toothy can barely sing as he sobs in fear. Giggles runs around the stage in a panic, until she slips on her own face. Giggles' face flies up and hits the Mole in his face, causing him to swing the spotlight over to Lifty and Shifty. They throw up their hands to shield their eyes, dropping Flaky in the process. She falls down through the chimney in the set and, as her quills poke through the set, emerges out of the fireplace, missing her skin. Toothy and Cuddles scream and look over to Lumpy yet again. Lumpy, scared himself, is climbing out the window. Cuddles and Toothy scream and run offstage, but not before Toothy tosses his candle in the air.

The candle lands right by the curtains, setting them ablaze. Petunia screams in fear while everyone starts panicking and running from their seats. Cuddles is the first to reach the door, but in all the confusion he forgets to remove his costume. He gets stuck in the doorway, while numerous Generic Tree Friends run against him, trying to get out. Eventually, Cuddles is forced out of the face-hole of his costume, squeezing his face and the insides of his body into a red, cylinder-shaped glob of blood. Finally his costume breaks and animals come flooding out of the school.

Disco Bear stands next to Lumpy, the entire right side of his face (and Afro) burnt. Lumpy coughs and looks around at the damage. The Mole's cane has impaled him through his eye, Pop is burnt and bruised, Cub screams in pain as a Christmas star is lodged in his head, and slowly, a Generic Tree Friend weakly raises his hand. Blood and organs are everywhere.

Nutty appears to have been lightly burned, and has some blood on his fur, though it's not clear if its his or it belongs to someone else. Flaky kneels on all fours, freezing without any skin. In the background, Mime tries to comfort a burnt Generic Tree Friend while a flipped out Flippy stabs another Generic Tree Friend. Giggles laments the loss of her face, Sniffles looks nervously at the gaping hole in his torso, and Handy stares horrified as he is now missing both of his feet in addition to his hands.

Cro-Marmot stands off in the distance, and Shifty drags Lifty (who is missing the bottom half of his body) away. Everywhere dead and dying Generic Tree Friends litter the ground. Behind Toothy, Splendid lands in the middle of it all, apparently having been alerted by the Tree Friend's screams.

Toothy looks down in despair, but as a shooting star flies by in the background he looks up, determined. Once more he begins singing, and everyone looks up. The cries and whimpers stop and everyone smiles, moved by Toothy's singing (except for Flippy who continues stabbing his victim). Lumpy is even moved to tears by the sound of Toothy's voice. Suddenly, everyone starts joining hands, hooks, and bones around the burning school, joining Toothy in his song. As the camera pans up to the clear night sky, where a bright star shines brilliantly, a loud explosion is heard, and bodies are sent flying into the air.

Moral
"It's better to give than to receive!"

Blurb
The blurb video of Class Act contains these annotations (note that the blurb uses the remastered Class Act video):
 * BlurB!: Just stating at the start it's the blurb version of the episode (the grammatical error is intentional).
 * It is proper etiquette to arrive at plays on time: Appears as two GTFs get to their seats, a little late.
 * "Real" directors don't wear shirts!: This references Lumpy not wearing a shirt, while still wearing a director's cap, trousers, and scarf.
 * Safety tip: Don't eat yellow dandruff!: This references the old phrase "don't eat yellow snow", as it has been urinated on, it could also be because Flaky is being held up high, upside down, and being shaken by Lifty and Shifty, hinting she may have wet herself.
 * The set is an actual replica of writer Warren Graff's house: Stating the set is based off s room in Warren Graff's (whether it is true or not is not known).
 * He's still saving up to but the other three walls and a roof!: Follows on from the previous annotation, joking that Warren Graff doesn't have a complete house.
 * Candy canes were invented by pirates on their day off: Explaining the origin of candy canes (whether this is true or not is also unknown).
 * They died a few hours later in a laundry related accident: Most likely a joke, which relates to the previous annotation.
 * Countdown to carnage!: Appears as Sniffles is running around in terror because Nutty had bitten his arm off, also has a countdown with flashing lights.
 * 3
 * 2
 * 1
 * Pizza face!: Appears and flashes when Giggles' face is chopped off, possibly because of the bloody mush (tomato sauce) of a face she has left.
 * Face-a-phobia is the irrational fear of severed faces: A joke displayed when Toothy freaks out at Giggles' severed face landing next to him.
 * It affects thousands of beavers and turtles every year: A follow-on joke from the previous annotation.
 * Someone in the world goes blind every 5 seconds: The number counts down to 1, where Lifty and Shifty are blinded by the stagelight.
 * Q: Name another seasonal chimney user?: Appears as Flaky is forced down the chimney.
 * A: Mark Twain: The answer to the question (can someone get what this references?).
 * Fire is HOT!: Stating the obvious, because the candle sets the stage curtains alight.
 * We got nothing...: It is what it is.
 * This door was specifically made to keep costumes within school premises: Mocking the fact that Cuddles' costume is what prevents him from getting out through the door.
 * Countdown to carnage!: Appears as Cuddles is being pushed against the door by the GTFs, and also has a countdown with flashing lights.
 * 3
 * 2
 * 1
 * Slinky face!!!: Appears and blinks because Cuddles' head falls down the steps like a slinky, and is keeping to a trend with Giggles' face earlier.
 * Lumpy had just enough time to buy a new hat!: Referencing the goof where Lumpy had somehow got his hat back.
 * The skin is the largest organ in the body: Mocking Flaky's loss of her skin with a random fact.
 * Safety tip: look up! Shooting star related accidents are real!: Appears as a shooting star flies by, which flies by as Toothy is about to sing.
 * Better late than never!: Mocking about how Splendid has arrived after the carnage has taken place.
 * Snow is COLD!: See back to Fire is HOT!
 * Yup, still nothing...: Follows on from the previous annotation.
 * Holding hands with friends is fun!: A random statement when the HTFs begin holding hands, and the characters are also happier than when they were, so it has some relevance.
 * Holding hands with hobos... not so much: A gag that follows on from the previous annotation, where a skinned Flaky holds Disco Bear's hand.
 * Safety tip: schools are not the ideal place to store explosives: A reference to the confusion about the school blowing up for apparently no reason.
 * Pizza Face and Slinky Face later teamed up and now run a detective agency that go around the country solving crime: Appears in the credits, obviously referencing what happened to Giggles and Cuddles earler (If there is another reference, please place it.).
 * They also have a successful off-broadway production and a comic book featured at the back of the "Weekly Shopper's Paradise.": Please fill in.
 * All proceeds from their businesses benefit the "Animals with Faces" foundation: Another reference to their severed faces.

Deaths

 * 1) Cuddles dies when his face and insides are forced out of the face-hole of his costume, forming a bloody cylinder.
 * 2) Many Generic Tree Friends die trying to get out of the burning school.
 * 3) Everyone else is killed when the school explodes. There are three possible exceptions to this. The first is Splendid, who is usually not hurt by common things (for example, a bus once ran into him at full speed with no effect on him), although the explosion may have injured him. The second is Cro-Marmot, who is usually safe from injury due to the block of ice protecting his body (although the heat from the explosion may have melted it,but he can be only free once again). Third is Flippy, who didn't react to Toothy's singing and thus probably didn't join the others around the building. It all depends on whether or not he was far enough away from the building when the explosion occured.

Explosion
Practically since the episode had aired, there were masses of controversy over whether or not Toothy was to blame for the deaths in the explosion in Class Act. There are a few key points to consider: For starters, yes, Toothy did drop the candle and caused the fire, which led to the explosion. The point being here is that even though there have been people who say "they don't blame", it's about what occurred, and it could've been prevented as Toothy was the one who dropped the candle, that was his reaction to the circumstances, but maybe another character would not have dropped the candle and the fire wouldn't have happened. However, there are a few counter-arguments to be made: for one thing, even though people can argue that Toothy also gave everyone an excuse to stand near the building as it burned, it was their choice, all they had to do was say decide not to stand next to a burning building. The other is that a candle isn't generally what causes an explosion on its own, there must have been something incredibly flammable, explosive even, in the building to cause such an explosion. That being said, however, the point is made a little redundant by these explosive almost certainly being placed there before Toothy had dropped the candle, if, by chance, those items did exist and were put in place after Toothy dropped the candle he would be off the hook, as whoever put the items in the building could be accussed of "setting it up" or was just another fool.

As a conclusion, Toothy is definitely to blame for the fire, almost certainly to blame for the school explosion, but getting the other characters killed in the explosion (which is the key part) comes down to a matter of opinion: do you blame the one for telling his friends to walk into a hazard, or do you blame the others for not thinking things through, there are two ways this massacre could've been avoided right at the end.

Cro-Marmot's Death
Cro-Marmot is one of the characters that has had significant controversy over whether or not he died in the Class Act explosion, simply because he's in a (supposedly) inpenetrable block of ice, it's even been able taken abuse from a military jeep impact and still be unscathed, however this is not a guarantee he could have survived the Class Act explosion.

The block of ice has clearly mythical properties, as ice generally can't withstand impacts, such as by a military jeep, ice also cannot withstand a high-explosive shockwave, as it will be shredded, that being said, the explosion in Class Act was most likely not high explosive, as the characters were launched instead of shredded, so Cro-Marmot's block of ice stands a better chance of protecting him, but do note that he would have to come back down to earth (assuming he was launched into the air), and an ice block falling ito the ground is most likely going to end up faster than a jeep. Another point worthy to note is the fact that explosions generally come with heat, and so what if, even though Cro-Marmot has been seen on the beaches in his ice block, the ice block was melted in an equally-mythical fireball explosion, and one of the bodies in the air was Cro-Marmot's?

At the end of the day, this is still highly inconclusive, as it is down to one's opinion if Cro-Marmot's ice block can withstand, firstly, the heat and shockwave of the explosion, and, secondly, a fall at terminal velocity (as fast as you can fall), assumming he was flung high, without breaking and therefore protecting him from the explosion.

Splendid's Death
Splendid is another character in Class Act where it has been hotly debated whether or not he had died, it seems unlikely as he is the squirrel equivalent of superman. There has been talk that Mondo Media stated Splendid did die in Class Act, but there is still a huge set of issues with such a claim: He has been run into by a bus, he has crashed through a building, has survived in the vacuum of space, and even been crushed by the moon, and the latter only seemed to have scratched him, and classroom fireball pales in comparison. If the debris in the explosion is looked at, the said shrapnel still doesn't compare to the impact of the moon, look at the heat, he can generate far more heat in his (delicate) eyes while using his laser eyes ability, and if he was one of the Happy Tree Friends launched into the stratosphere (unlikely, because a cape would've been noticed), it is fair to assume he could survive a fall at his terminal velocity (the fastest something something can fall) because he was able to survive the high-speed impact of the entire moon being smashed into him. Also, his only known weakness has been revealed to be Kryptonut, which, other than the moon and Splendont directly, has ever been able to harm him.

In conclusion, if Mondo Media states he did die in the Class Act explosion (proven with reliable sources), then it would officially be so, but it would unofficially be left as inconclusive and highly unlikely as everything seen about Splendid throughout the series suggests he would survive a comparatively light hazard.

Flippy's Death
Another debate in this episode is whether or not Flippy died, simply because he was flipped-out and stabbing a generic tree friend in the background, all the while Toothy was singing. There are two arguments to this: Flippy may not have died because he didn't join in with the crowd as he was flipped-out, and stayed far away enough to survive, the other is Flippy may have died because the explosion could have been large enough to wipe him out at whatever distance he was at. There is also an argument that he may have decided to leave, as he was flipped-out, he may have noticed the potential carnage that was about to happen. Whichever case it is, there is the problem that this goes off-screen, so his fate is inconclusive.

Goofs

 * 1) Throughout the episode there are three steps in front of the school. At the end of the episode, however, there are two steps.
 * 2) The positions of the ornaments on Cuddles' costume change several times.
 * 3) The curve on Sniffles' costume changes places after he is bitten by Nutty.
 * 4) The Mole's mole changes places several times, sometimes during continuous shots.
 * 5) The cup surrounding the candle that Toothy holds disappears briefly after Flaky falls through the chimney.
 * 6) When Giggle's face was sliced off, it was a clear cut and her eye, nose, or mouth holes weren't visible.
 * 7) When Nutty bites Sniffles, you can see that he ate his arm. Later, when everyone is outside, he still has both of his arms.
 * 8) Flaky's dandruff is falling from above the window, but she fell down in the fireplace which is to the side of the window.
 * 9) Toothy has normal buckteeth through some parts of the episode.
 * 10) Even though Lumpy dropped his hat when he ran out the window, he has it again when he is outside. (the writers make fun of this in the "BLURBED" version.)
 * 11) If one slows down the frame rate, they will see when the shot of Toothy singing outside the school grounds changes to the shot of Flaky, Nutty, Mime, Flippy and Splendid, Splendid and Flaky don't appear at first and Toothy can be seen next to Nutty, without a head.
 * 12) Even though the most characters had brutal injuries, they appeared fine when they stood around the school (e.g., Handy had his feet back).
 * 13) In the shadows near the end, Handy has hands.
 * 14) Lifty and Shifty don't have thier Pac-Man shaped pupils, even though they weren't stealing anything.
 * 15) When we see Sniffles ruining in pain after he got his arm (later is back on) bitting off he run to the left but when we zoom out and toothy start singing again he's ruining the same way again.

Trivia

 * 1) This is the only episode that features all of the 20 original main characters.
 * 2) This is the first episode to have a winter version of the opening. The next Christmas opening would occur in We're Scrooged! Toothy and Lumpy star in both episodes.
 * 3) The Cursed Idol sits on a shelf in the background as Flaky falls.
 * 4) Flaky would later suffer a similar injury in Let it Slide where she would drown after her injury.
 * 5) Cuddles' skinned, compressed body moves down the school steps similar to the child's toy the Slinky.
 * 6) Cuddles would later suffer a similar death in Ipso Fatso.
 * 7) This is the only time Flippy and Splendid are together. Splendid flies in at the end while Flippy stabs a Tree Friend.
 * 8) When Toothy begins singing outside the school, Giggles' eyes on her severed face move to look at Toothy.
 * 9) The scene where everybody joins hands and sings around the burning school is likely a reference to How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
 * 10) After the school explodes, Cuddles' costume flies in the air.
 * 11) This is the only episode in which Splendid has a featuring role.
 * 12) This is (debatably) Splendid's first death in the internet series. He also dies in the TV episode Gems the Breaks.
 * 13) The only major character who definitely wasn't killed by the explosion was Cuddles (who was killed earlier).
 * 14) This is one of the few episodes where Lifty and Shifty do not steal anything.
 * 15) Lifty's injury is similar to Petunia's injury from Snow What? That's What!
 * 16) Russell is the only character whose entire body and face isn't shown.
 * 17) This was the last episode where Mark Giambruno provided the voices for Lifty and Shifty.
 * 18) This is the only episode where Splendid does not save or kill anybody.
 * 19) During December 2009, a remastered "BLURB" version of this was released, featuring remastered animation and pop-up facts, much like the Popcorn version of Spin Fun Knowin' Ya.
 * 20) This is one of the few episodes where Lifty and Shifty show concern for each other; Shifty seems to be trying to help or get help for Lifty when part of his body is cut off.
 * 21) Nutty is indirectly responsible for every death in this episode (except, perhaps, for those caused by the class explosion). This would later be repeated in Party Animal.
 * 22) When Handy is shown outside, his feet are now cut off, thus the irony.
 * 23) Lammy and Mr. Pickels are the only main characters to not appear in this episode because they were not introduced until April 2010.
 * 24) This episode has the highest amount of deaths.
 * 25) This is debated as the most popular episode.
 * 26) In the blurb version the text "Spreading Holiday Cheer- MOD" can be seen in the credits.