Don't worry, B. Happy!
B. Happy was a four-episode flash-animated web series and one of the first in a line of Web Premiere Toons that were produced by Funny Garbage specifically for Cartoon Network's website. The series - which was an early example of Adobe Flash animation - follows the title character B. Happy, the Bluebird of Happiness, who is summoned by the Goddess of Happiness, Maureen, to go down to Earth and deal with situations in which something or someone is miserable, and see if they are deserving of happiness. B. Happy - who is much more of a cynical Deadpan Snarker - does so out of reluctance, and each episode, has to go through the agony of laying the Egg of Justice, which determines the outcome of the plight.
One of the features of this series was an interactive feature called Click-O-Rama, in which the viewer could determine the outcome of the situation of each episode, as in should the person in distress be bestowed happiness or not, and depending on which selection is chosen, B. Happy will either be rewarded for making the correct decision, or face consequences for making the wrong decision (which he then berates the "computer geeks" for misleading him). Other Click-O-Rama options would be spread throughout each cartoon as for, sometimes either related to the story (for example, one episode has a French artist who falls into a crying fit over accidentally ruining his painting when he hiccups, and a selection is available for you to rewatch his fit), or completely random (such as a brief insert of Hokey Wolf saying, "Stop thief, come back with my sheep.")
This Web Premiere Toon was first made available on Cartoon Network's website in 1999, and was featured up until 2003, when it and other older Web Premiere Toons disappeared. Currently, they have been archived and are available here: http://www.skyetheguy.com/WPT/index3.html
You can also watch them on YouTube here, but they have only the good endings.
Note: Because this was an interactive series, and each episode's outcome depends on the viewer's choice, many examples below have been marked with spoilers.
Tropes:
- Ambiguously Jewish: B. Happy loves to eat bialys, which are a traditional Ashkenazi Jewish dish. That said, considering he's a bluebird, he probably has no ethnicity.
- Artistic License – Biology: B. Happy has to lay an Egg of Justice each episode, despite being a male bird.
- Bait-and-Switch:
- In Episode 1, if you decide the cute kitty deserves the fish you will enrage the larger cat who then eats both the kitty and B. Happy as a result, indicating this was the incorrect choice.
- In Episode 3, if you decide Baby Eugene deserves the balloon it will carry him away; the mother turns to B. Happy with a Death Glare, while B. Happy looks visibly scared. But, it turns out that this was the correct choice as it gives the mother her freedom back.
- Balloonacy: Episode 3 deals with Baby Eugene driving his mother and B. Happy crazy with his crying over wanting a balloon. At one in the episode, Click-O-Rama treats viewers to a preview screen test for the Balloon Man's non-existent spin-off. If you make the correct decision, the balloon will carry the baby away, giving the mother her freedom back; the Balloon Man also gives B. Happy a balloon, which carries him away as well.
- Berserk Button:
- B. Happy hates personal contact, but what really sets him off is Baby Eugene's incessant crying, to the point that B. Happy turns red and actually breathes fire!
- Maureen is quick to smite B. Happy if he makes the wrong decision, or his otherwise difficult behavior.
- Big Eater: B. Happy has a number of examples:
- In Episode 1, aside from having to help the Cute Kitty, his main concern is finding a peanut machine, which he does during The Stinger, if he chooses correctly, Maureen will allow him to get the peanuts, however, it's a Click-O-Rama feature as to whether or not the machine will work.
- In Episode 2, he expresses his dislike for art, until he comes across a painting of a colossal sandwich, which turns out to be the Goddess Maureen in disguise.
- In Episode 3, has multiple examples:
- When he comes upon the door leading his next case, he remarks, "Hey, this isn't the free salad bar!"
- Halfway through producing his Egg of Justice, he becomes so fed up with Baby Eugene's incessant crying that he goes on strike, and has to be bribed with a platter of bialys to continue.
- During The Stinger, all he wants to do is eat. If he makes the correct choice, Maureen rewards him with a mountain of food, which he hastily runs off to eat, only to regret it later on when he's so stuffed he's miserable.
- As Episode 4 ends, he can be heard turning down bialys in favor of demanding a steak.
- The Cameo:
- In Episode 2, a Click-O-Rama selection for "Beloved Animal Pals Who Speak With the Voices of Late Hollywood Character Actors" features Hokey Wolf.
- In Episode 3, Snagglepuss (or rather, an illustration of Snagglepuss) thanks Click-O-Rama on behalf of himself and B. Happy for the digital technology that only a toon could love.
- Catchphrase: B. Happy has a spiel that he delivers Once an Episode in an implicitly-forced chipper tone, as opposed to his usual grouchy demeanor. By episode 3 he just cuts it short.B. Happy: Hi, I'm the Bluebird of Happiness! I've arrived in your hour of abject misery to deliberate whether you're deserving of happiness or not. Our judgement shall be rendered by the Egg of Justice, and the decision of the judge shall be final!
- Clickbait Gag: B. Happy is built on this trope with its Click-O-Rama feature, in which viewers determine the outcome of the story (as well as other tidbits throughout) by being presented with multiple choices to click on. Sometimes this trope is played straight such as Episode 1, which features a Click-O-Rama option to win millions of dollars, only to be taken to a screen saying, "Server is busy." The outcome of Episode 1 and Episode 3 also play this straight.
- Easter Egg: The Cute Kitty from Episode 1 is hidden in the follow episodes; in Episode 2, the French artist accidentally paints him as the result of a hiccup, while in Episode 3 he's hidden in a Click-O-Rama button that promotes "Just because."
- Egg-Laying Male: B. Happy, who is sent down to Earth in order to deliberate whether or not certain troubled individuals deserve happiness. In order to do this, he must lay the rather large "Egg of Justice". B. Happy does not particularly enjoy this aspect of his job.
- Epileptic Flashing Lights
- The first episode has a section of flashing lights, which one announcer blames on the viewer's computer.
- There are some during the sequence where B. Happy lays the Egg of Justice.
- Episode two has flashing backgrounds while the French artist rips his hair out.
- Episode four has them when showing the promotional t-shirt.
- Fake-Out Opening: In Episode 1, after the opening episode title card, the "The End" card comes on (complete with vocal closing theme that only shows up here.) Then a We Are Experiencing Technical Difficulties moment occurs, and then the cartoon begins for real.
- Flat Scare: No matter what decision you make in Episode 2, B. Happy will try to scare the hiccups out of the French "arteest" wearing a plastic mask of an ugly yellow-skinned man and simply saying "Boo." It doesn't work.
- And if you make the wrong decision, the narrator asks if the ensuing Hiccup Hijinks gave you the hiccups and provides an "instant cure" to click, which would show a glass panel shattering followed by the narrator flatly saying "Boo."
- Formula-Breaking Episode: Episode 4 doesn't have a case for B. Happy to solve, so he instead gives viewers a thank you message for watching the previous episodes.
- Hiccup Hijinks: Episode 2 deals with a French artist who comes down with a terrible case of the hiccups, and as a result, ruins the painting he was working on. It gets exaggerated if you make the wrong decision, as B. Happy's failure to cure him results in him catching the hiccups, and when Maureen tries to smite them, causes all of them to get smote to death with hiccups, and continuing hiccupping in their graves.
- Ironic Name: Despite his name, B. Happy is actually a rather grumpy, irritable, lazy, and cynical bird.
- Jerkass: B. Happy, in spite that he can actually bestow happiness onto people. Maureen to a lesser extent, depending on the outcome of his assignments.
- Jerkass Has a Point: In Episode 3, when B. Happy first confronts Baby Eugene, he tells him, "Look, Schnooki-Snuggums, some day when you're big and old, you'll realize that material objects will never, ever bring you true happiness."
- Lemony Narrator: This is where a lot of the Click-O-Rama aspect comes into play.
- Once an Episode: B. Happy's Aside Comments, usually to spout off a random one-liner to viewers, or to express his hatred for Click-O-Rama.
- Ridiculously Cute Critter: The Cute Kitty.
- Sadist Show: The humor of this series is rather jaded and cynical, but it's actually what gives it its charm.
- Maureen is very quick to smite B. Happy whenever he makes an incorrect decision, or just pisses her off with how difficult he can be.
- Episodes 1 and 3 are particular victims of this:
- In Episode 1, the Cute Kitty is hassled by a larger cat who wants his fish, if you make the correct decision, the larger cat gets the fish, though the Cute Kitty manages to catch a huge "granddaddy" fish that a nearby fisherman pulls out of a lake, making the Cute Kitty even larger than his bully, and allowing him to eat him too. If you make the wrong decision, the Cute Kitty may get the fish, but he and B. Happy end up eaten by the larger cat.
- In Episode 3, if you make the correct decision, Baby Eugene is actually carried away by the balloon he receives, never to be heard from again; B. Happy understandably actually looks visibly worried, possibly leading viewers to believe they may have made the wrong decision. And if you do make the wrong decision, Baby Eugene will literally cry himself to his death of old age.
- Episode 2 likes to make the French artist's misery entertaining, it even has a Click-O-Rama option that allows you to watch him throw a fit over and over again, if you want to.
- Also in Episode 2, if you make the correct choice, you can choose to have Maureen literally beat some sense (and art appreciation) into him, or shut off all the porch lights in Staten Island. If you choose the latter, you hear a man say in the blackness, "Hey Vinny, gimme that crowbar..." and chuckling dementedly, followed by an ambulance siren.
- As noted above, the Cute Kitty is used as an Easter Egg in other episodes, and it's face is almost always pitiful.
- Schmuck Bait: One Click-O-Rama option is to win money. Clicking it leads to a message saying "Server is busy".
- Shapeshifting: The Goddess Maureen is capable of doing this, and whatever she morphs into (such as a water bucket, a hand pointing downward, a permanent record with a gold star, etc.) will be colored the same shade of purple as her normal form.
- The Stinger: Each episode has one, and the outcome of each one depends on what choice you make.
- Episode 1: B. Happy comes across a peanut machine. If you make the correct decision, Maureen will let him have the peanuts, but it's actually still up to you as to whether or not he'll get them (if you choose yes, the peanuts will spill all over him, prompting him to say "Bah! I hate the peanuts!"); if you make the wrong decision, Maureen will deny him the peanuts.
- Episode 2: B. Happy grumbles about his lack of appreciation for art, until he comes across a painting of a huge sandwich. If you make the correct decision, you can choose to have Maureen literally beat some sense (and art appreciation) into him, or shut off all the porch lights in Staten Island.
- Episode 3: B. Happy wants to eat. If you make the correct decision, Maureen will bestow a banquet of food onto B. Happy, which he scurries away to eat in one sitting... and eventually regrets it; if you make the wrong decision, Maureen will disallow him to eat anything ever again.
- Thick-Line Animation: For the most part, but really only when characters are shown in larger proportions, otherwise, if they're smaller, the line art is much thinner.
- Trademark Favorite Food: B. Happy really loves him some bialys.
- Unique Pilot Title Sequence: Episode 1 has Maureen informing B. Happy about Earth's peril, and instructs him to go down to bestow happiness on three specific cases, informing him that for each correct decision, he will receive another gold star on his permanent record. It's also available to watch as an option for Episode 2 and 3, and can be skipped in Episode 1 but is generally recommended for first-time watchers.
- Volumetric Mouth: Baby Eugene when he's crying. In some shots his throat is drawn like concentric circles.
- What the Hell, Player?: In the bad endings, B. Happy bangs on the computer screen and yells at the viewer for messing up.B. Happy: You double-crossed me, man! Yeah, you! Computer geek. I trusted you, man. I listened to you, and you blew it!
