History Main / HappyBirthdayToYou

* In ''{{The Powerpuff Girls}}'' episode "Birthday Bash" everyone is about to sing the song. However, they are quickly stopped by the girls, who are in a hurry to get to opening their presents.
* In an episode of ''{{Metalocalypse}}'', Murderface is treated to a birthday-themed death metal song: ''"Many years ago today/Something grew inside your mother...it was YOU"''

** The song, if one wishes to look it up, is "Birthday Dethday".

** He got [[{{Rush}} GeddyLee]] in on the project too.

** This troper's (UK Region 2) copy of the DVD still has the performance of "Happy Birthday."

** This troper recalls a Simpsons comic book issue when Homer and his pals became volunteer firefighters, and when they realized they couldn't do anything when a fair caught on fire, Ralph comes up with an idea to put out the fire, by ''singing the birthday song and blowing it out like birthday candles''. The whole cast begins to sing the song, but then the Blue-Haired Lawyer comes in warning them about the royalties of the song they'd need to pay to sing it before he passes out from the smoke. So Lisa writes up a new unique birthday song ("...pleasant birthday to that person, we're glad you're not dead!") and then they all blow on the fire, which ''actually extinguishes the blaze!''

* ''SaturdayNightLive'' had a sketch where a songwriter (played by JackBlack) had devised an absurdly elaborate miniature RockOpera that was supposed to be sung at birthday parties in lieu of "Happy Birthday To You". However, "Happy Birthday To You" itself was used right in the beginning of the sketch.

* ''DoraTheExplorer'' got away with using the song on one of its episodes thanks to it being sung in Spanish.
* ''{{Pingu}}'' also managed to feature the song in the episode when Pingu celebrated his birthday, but then again, his friends were singing the song in Penguinese (a gibberish language everyone speaks on the show), so they were able to get away with avoiding the copyrighted lyrics.

* The copyrighted version appears to be Kousei Kougami's favorite song in ''KamenRiderOOO''. He often sings it while baking cakes.

Incidentally, even foreign language translations are not exempt -- ''Series/StarTrek'' writers found out that even showing it in ''Klingon'' would cost them. British tropers may be relieved to know that the copyright ends in the UK in 2016, while in America it's [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Birthday_to_You#Copyright_status currently the subject]] of a class-action lawsuit.

* [[SpongebobSquarepants Happy Birthday Squidward!]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VqRdpltPB8 Pin the tail on the seahorse!]]

* Chain restaurants like Applebee's, Bennigan's, and TGI Friday's usually make a fuss over customer birthdays, but the staff must sing an original corporate birthday song or chant because it is a "public performance"; if they were to sing "Happy Birthday" it would have to be licensed and paid for.

* ''OfficeSpace'' has the actual song sung during a birthday party in the office.
* ''OnGoldenPond'' has the characters perform the song for Norman's birthday.

* In ''Podcast/HowDidThisGetMade?'' the team is speculating about an imagined version of ''FromJustinToKelly'' which used entirely public domain songs, singing various StandardSnippets to each other in overwrought ''AmericanIdol''-style oversinging. June-Diane then sings the first line of "Happy Birthday", prompting both Paul and Jason to yell at her for bankrupting the show.

* BreakingBad had Skyler sing "Happy Birthday" in the style of MarilynMonroe to her boss, Ted Beneke, even extending "Mr. Beneke..." to include his full job title.

* In the first ''WesternAnimation/Madagascar'', Alex, Melman and Gloria sing the ThisLoserIsYou version to Marty. (Happy birthday to you, you live in a zoo...)

* Spoofed in an episode of ''{{Futurama}}''. While celebrating Nibbler's birthday, all of the cast sing a completely different song (in lyrics and melody), which is assumed to be a version that was adopted sometime in the future. At the end, Fry can be heard singing "And you smell like one, too!"

** A classic early episode had a guy who claimed to be MichaelJackson serenade Lisa; "Lisa, it's your birthday...happy birthday, Lisa!"[[hottip:*:(Actually written by Jackson, but credited to "W.A. Mozart" on the ''Songs in the Key of Springfield'' CD.)]]

* An episode of ''GarfieldAndFriends'' gives us [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPE_Vpd9lO8 this little number]].
* Aversion (sort of): In the WallaceAndGromit film ''The Wrong Trousers'', Wallace gives Gromit a birthday card which plays an instrumental of "Happy Birthday to You." But even though the melody is supposedly not copyrighted, the producers were still forced to replace it (with "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow") after the first video release.
* ''HomeMovies'' has an episode at Fenton's birthday party, with a birthday song so annoying and asinine that it's an object lesson against copyrighting tunes like 'Happy Birthday'.

* An episode of ''Rugrats'', entitled "Baking Dil" Didi (who is celebrating her birthday in that episode) and her friend Betty go out for lunch at a restaurant where a quartet sing a birthday song for her to the tune of "God Save the Queen." In order to stall her (as there was a surprise birthday party for her at home), Betty gets the quartet to sing her an anniversary ''and'' a Bar Mitzvah song, too (also to the tune of aforementioned song).
* "Happy Birthday To You" was used as background music in a {{Popples}} episode about Bonnie's birthday when the kids see a cake in Bonnie's room.

* Sung on ''GilmoreGirls'' during Rory's 21st birthday which was held at her grandparents' mansion led by Logan, possibly a TakeThat from the writers [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney explaining that the show can afford that waste the money on singing the song.]]

* ''TheRoom''. They actually paid for the rights to the song.

Incidentally, while the lyrics to "Happy Birthday to You" are still under copyright, the melody is ''not''. It was [[ToTheTuneOf borrowed from an older song]], "Good Morning to All." So, instrumental or foreign-language versions are exempt from this rule.