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This article sorts and organizes all the questions from the forum Happy tree friends Writer's Questions and Answers in the sites Happytreefriends.com and the new social networking site: social.happytreefriends.com. This is also done under Warren Graff's permission

Notes:

  1. Questions about Flippy and Splendid that are related to ka-pow are included in their section in the Happy tree friends characters
  2. Questions that aren't related to Happy tree friends/ Ka-pow / Mondo Media will be placed in the writer's section, depending on who answered.


Mondo Media

Happy tree friends

1.

1) With "Happy Tree Friends" being such an edgy show have there been attempts by outsiders to censor you guys or even shut you down completely? What justification did they give for it? How did you deal with it?
2) What was your reaction when the show won an award at Annecy Film Festival?


Warren Graff:

1) We have never had somebody from the outside try and shut us down. If we did, I'm sure we would lock ourselves in the Mondo offices and fight them off. It would be like the Alamo, only not in Texas.
2) I thought it was great. Eye Candy is one of my favorite episodes. The French people really are smart when it comes to animation. I think next we should shot for an Oscar.

Episodes

2.

Has any moment during the writing of an episode made you just burst out laughing?

Warren Graff: It happens all the time. I can't think of any specifics right now, but we probably have those moments with every episode. We are a group of laughers.

Internet Series Season 1

Internet Series Season 2

Internet Series Season 3

TV Series

Kringles

Smoochies

Love Bites

Breaks

Irregular episodes

Characters

1.

The Happy Tree Friends are anthropomorphic creatures, since they behave more like humans than they do their animal counterparts. However, there were a few episodes in the series where the characters have behaved like animals, such as Sniffles and his ant obsession, or when Splendid was trying to harvest acorns in ‘Helping Helps’.

I wanted to ask, do you plan on ever having the characters behave similarly to their animal counterparts in future episodes? I’m not talking about having the characters lose all their anthropomorphic traits, but rather, a subtle reference to the species that they are, such as the aforementioned Splendid scene in ‘Helping Helps’.


Warren Graff: Not really, unless it helps the story. Sniffles eating ants was really just to set up his battles with the ants. In Helping Helps, we needed Splendid doing something so we thought, "Well, squirrels collect nuts, he can do that." Now he does more domestic stuff when he hears a cry for help.

I don't think we know enough about animals to make them actually act like animals. We aren't that smart.

2.

There are many normal animals in the Happy Tree Friends world, despite the fact that the Happy Tree Friends are animals themselves. If you were to write an episode where the characters come across an animal of their same species, how would they react to it, or treat it? I suppose it would differ from character to character, but I’m interested in hearing the answer to this question, as I’ve always been somewhat curious when it comes to regular animals and the Happy Tree Friends.


Warren Graff: Maybe we should look at it this way. Happy Tree Friends are Happy Tree Friends, and animals are animals. It's the same way that people are people and monkeys are monkeys. Even though we evolved from monkeys (sorry creationists) we don't feel overly connected to them. If you saw a monkey on the street you wouldn't stop to talk to one or invite it into your home. You would probably call the police or animal control.

Happy Tree Friends are the next evolution of animals...I can't remember if it's forward or backwards, I always forget. Basically though, all Cuddles sees when he comes up to a bunny is a bunny.

3.

Since the Happy Tree Friends are primarily social creatures, do you wish to expand upon their social behavior in future episodes? At the moment, fans merely speculate on who are supposed to be friends, while others have ignored the issue altogether, saying that the characters just appear with other characters for the sake of making the episode come together. I know that each episode will result in many deaths, though I thought I’d ask this, as I’ve noticed that the first season seemed to show a lot of what the Happy Tree Friends do in their spare time, before the Grim Reaper makes his episodic debut.


Warren Graff: There is not set reason that certain characters hang out together. Toothy and Cuddles usually are trouble makers together. Pop and Cub, Lifty and Shifty, that's about it. We will expand on their social behaviors for the sake of the story, but I don't think we will lock it into anything permanate. We are painted into a small enough corner with no talking, no words, limited physical abilities, limited number of characters, etc, that I think limiting each characters social interaction to certain other characters would make the show impossible to write.

Everybody can be friends with everybody.

4.

In the Happy Tree Friends universe, do each of the buildings and locations have a specific place in their “world map”, or does each episode wipe the slate clean and use a completely new setting and environment? You mentioned that there is character continuity, but no plot continuity; I suppose this question is asking whether this is world and environmental continuity.


Ken Pontac: We haven't established geography, and probably never will.

Cuddles

Giggles

Toothy

Lumpy

Handy

Petunia

Splendid

Sniffles

Pop and Cub

Flaky

Lifty and Shifty

The Mole

Flippy

Mime

Disco Bear

Nutty

Russell

Cro-Marmot

Buddhist Monkey

Ka-pow

Episodes

Characters

Staff

Kenn Navarro

Warren Graff

1.

If I may ask, how much do you get paid for your services as a writer on Happy Tree Friends? Many people refuse to disclose such information, though it seems like you guys have one of the best jobs in the world and I was just curious if you received the due amount of payment that you deserve.

Also, if you were asked to come back and write episodes for the second season, but you were told that your pay would be cut by 1/4th its current amount, would you still come back and continue to write episodes for the series?


Warren Graff: I get an old nickel and a moldy piece of bread every two weeks. Actually, I would never tell what I make. That comes from the business side of me that says it's unprofessional.

Probably not.

Ken Pontac

Aubrey Ankrum

Micheal "Lippy" Lipman

Dana Belben

Peter Hermann

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