Banjo Frenzy

Banjo Frenzy
Episode type	Pilot
Date	May 15, 1999 (original) February 18, 2002 (DVD) January 9, 2009 (Mondo re-release) January 10, 2009 (YouTube)
Character(s)	The dinosaur The squirrel The rabbit The beaver

Banjo Frenzy (full title: The Happy Tree Friends Bonanza in Banjo Frenzy) is the pilot short for Happy Tree Friends. It is available on the Happy Tree Friends: Volume #1: First Blood DVD under the name Original Formula in the bonus features. The song "Dueling Banjos" by Arthur Smith was used as the music played by the dinosaur with the banjo as well as the short's background music overall.

Synopsis

Happy Tree Friends website: Before there was Cuddles, Giggles, Toothy and Lumpy, three cute creatures sat around a camp fire with a banjo playing dinosaur that dont [sic] take well to criticism. Watch Banjo Frenzy, the seed that blossomed into the bloody good time weve [sic] all come to love!

Plot

A blue dinosaur is playing his banjo in front of three colorful woodland animals around a camp fire. While playing, a string on the instrument suddenly snaps, ruining his performance and earning him a laugh from the critters. The dinosaur does not take this well and unleashes his anger at them. Using his banjo, he decapitates the squirrel's head which ends up falling into the camp fire, cuts the rabbit in half, and decapitates the beaver as well. He continues butchering the beaver's body while laughing maniacally. The beaver, though only a mere head, is still alive and bites the dinosaur's leg, causing him to scream in pain.

Fates

Deaths

• The squirrel is decapitated by the dinosaur's banjo. Her head falls into the campfire, burning it.
• The rabbit is cut in half.

Injuries

• The beaver is decapitated, though the head remains alive.
• The dinosaur's leg is bitten by the beaver.

Animation errors

• Eye balls and a brain are shown among the bits scattered when the dinosaur was butchering the beaver's body even though his head got decapitated and sent off-screen earlier.
• The green oval on the dinosaur's stomach is not drawn starting from the scene when he was smashing the beaver's body into bits until the beaver's head bites his leg.

References in later episodes

• In "Wrath of Con", Cub is seen wearing a mask of the dinosaur character depicted in this short.
• In YouTube Copyright School, the backdrop for the "Lumpy and the Lumpettes" movie resembles the backdrop depicted in this short albeit with less rough linework.

Staff

• Aubrey Ankrum (director, animator, voice)
• Rhode Montijo (storyboards, character design, voice)
• Jimbo Lively (sound design)
• George Dondero (technical direction)
• Doug Wright (technical direction)
• Dana Belben (voice)
• Dean MacDonald (voice)
• Kenn Navarro (animation supervision)
• Nica Lorber (animation supervision)
• Lisa Reeves Zenner (producer)

Trivia

• When the dinosaur was butchering the beaver's body, an empty can with a "SOUP" label on it can be seen among the body parts sent flying.