Line #15 Recap/HTFBanjoFrenzy


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/banjofrenzy.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:The seed that blossomed into the bloody good time we all come to know and love.]]
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4	Airdate: May 15, 1999
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6	"Banjo Frenzy" is the very first ''WebAnimation/HappyTreeFriends'' short, under the working title ''The Happy Tree Friends Bonanza'', and features prototype versions of Lumpy, Cuddles, Giggles and Toothy, all of whom would eventually be central members of the series’ cast.
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8	A blue dinosaur is entertaining a trio of small woodland animals (a squirrel, a rabbit, and a beaver) by playing his banjo. The banjo suddenly breaks, causing the critters to laugh at him. Offended by this, he begins to slaughter the critters with his banjo. The squirrel gets decapitated and her head lands in the fire pit, the rabbit gets cut in half vertically, and the beaver is also decapitated. However, the beaver realises he’s still alive and immediately bites down on the dino's leg while he’s distracted by going LaughingMad, causing him to scream in pain.
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10	!!"The Happy Tree Friends Bonanza in: Banjo Frenzy" contains the following:
11	* AccessoryWearingCartoonAnimal: The squirrel is the only one with this. Proto-Cuddles does not even have his signature slippers.
12	* CastOfSnowflakes: Unlike the regular series' OnlySixFaces, each of the three mammals has a unique design that can be easily distinguished aside from just color and tacked-on animal features (the squirrel has large ears and eyes; the rabbit has large feet as expected from his species and the smallest buckteeth; the beaver has smaller ears than the squirrel, eyes closer to each other, and a more angular body shape to go with his differently-designed legs and feet).
13	* CruelAndUnusualDeath:
14	** The squirrel gets decapitated. Her head ends up burning in the fire pit.
15	** The rabbit gets cut in half vertically.
16	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Giggles was a blue squirrel and had a tail, Lumpy was a dinosaur who murdered everyone at the slightest provocation, Cuddles wasn't wearing bunny slippers, and Toothy looked different too. Also, being decapitated didn't mean instant death like it does in regular episodes.
17	* EstablishingSeriesMoment: For the whole ''Happy Tree Friends'' series. Seemingly innocent [[AmazingTechnicolorPopulation colorful]] characters in the world of SugarBowl also in pastel coloring... only for [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath bloody deaths]] to occur.
18	* {{Expy}}: Proto-Lumpy appears to be one for [[Series/BarneyAndFriends Barney]].
19	* HalfTheManHeUsedToBe: The rabbit's death.
20	* ImprovisedWeapon: The dino uses his banjo to kill.
21	* LaughingMad: The dino laughs maniacally as he butchers the poor mammals.
22	* MoodWhiplash: The moment the dino feels offended by the woodland animals laughing at him, new viewers will get a taste of the shock humor that is considered normal for ''Happy Tree Friends''.
23	* OffWithHisHead: Two of the mammals lose their heads from the dino's rampage. Only one still somehow manages to strike back.
24	* ShoutOut: The banjo tune played by the dino is the "Dueling Banjos" tune from the film ''Film/{{Deliverance}}''.
25	* SpaceWhaleAesop: Don’t laugh at someone’s misfortune, or they’ll [[BloodyHilarious smash you into a bloody pulp with a banjo]], [[LaughingMad having completely lost it.]]
26	* StrippedToTheBone: The squirrel's head instantly burns to her skull when it lands in the fire pit.

Context Recap / HTFBanjoFrenzy