‘Friends’ is not your average cartoon

The cartoon starts innocently enough.
As the child-like humming begins as the opening score for “Happy Tree Friends,” the title of the episode, “Flippin Burgers,” appears and immediately “South Park” enters the mind.
A yellow rabbit named Cuddles along with his friend, Giggles, a pink chipmunk, sit at a diner eating french fries, while Petunia the blue skunk flips burgers in the back.
A blue skunk?
While Cuddles and Giggles are eating, Cuddles accidentally spills ketchup on Giggles. In walks Flippy, a war-scarred bear dressed in army fatigues, who has a flashback as he sees Giggles in ketchup, thinking it is blood.
Flippy sets the diner on fire, killing Petunia, Cuddles and Giggles and then the credits roll.
No, this is not “Itchy and Scratchy.”
The motto: “You are what you eat.”
“Friends”, created by Ken Nararro and Rhode Montijo debuted on Video Game Television this fall to mixed reviews. Nararro said the focus is not on the violence, but the humor, i.e., “Tom and Jerry” or the “Road Runner and Coyote” antics.
“Well, as unbelievable as it sounds, violence isn’t really the main thrust of ‘Happy Tree Friends,’ ” he said. “The violence is the result of funny set-ups and situations that the characters end up in.”
The cute, cuddly characters and sadistic endings are quite reminiscent of the widely popular “South Park.”
“South Park is satire, along with current political and social issues,” he said. “We just try and appeal to the more visceral (primitive) and knee-jerk comedic reactions.”
“Happy Tree Friends” isn’t the average violent cartoon.
While Tom and Jerry were pounding each other with anvils and running into closed doors, and Coyote was running off a cliff, Giggles, Petunia and Cuddles have to endure their skin being ripped from their bodies.
Although gruesome, “Friends” will be a cartoon that attracts those with a dark sense of humor and a longing for cartoons without a complicated plot.
In the episode “Nuttin’ Wrong with Candy,” Nutty, a candy-addicted green squirrel, places his quarter in a candy machine located in the middle of the forest.
When Nutty finds his candy stuck in the machine, he sticks his hand into the flip to try and jiggle the candy out. In pure “Friends” fashion, Nutty’s hand is broken and the candy machine falls on top of him. The moral of the story: Wash Behind Your Ears.