Pop

Pop
Species	Bear
First appearance	Happy Tree Friends - Havin' A Ball (2000)
Latest appearance	Happy Tree Friends - A Handy Nanny (2016)
Latest portrayal	Aubrey Ankrum (2000 - present)

Pop is one of the main characters in the Happy Tree Friends franchise. He is the incompetent father of Cub (hence his name). He is recognized for his irresponsible nature, causing him to indirectly harm Cub on several occasions. Pop is usually seen alongside Cub in the episodes starring him, but he has a few prominent appearances without Cub, such as Pop's BBQ Smoochie. His most defining traits are his red bathrobe and cap, the pipe he constantly smokes, his unintelligence, and his deep voice.

Concept and creation

Pop was originally drawn as a bear character with little accessories smoking a pipe in his mouth. This design only featured Pop's recognizable cap and was otherwise seen with a belly marking, a trait seemingly absent in the subsequent episodes. Pop was also missing buckteeth, which is a common trait shared among earlier designs. At some point, Pop was eventually redesigned, but the most notable element in his new appearance was his recognizable bathrobe. At this point in development, he had the working name Poppy and was given a son, who was initially named Fuzzy.

When Pop and his son made their first appearance in Havin' A Ball, their designs went mostly unchanged, although with a few refinements. Most importantly, both characters were renamed to "Pop" and "Cub" respectively.

History

Happy Tree Friends

Pop first appears in the season 1 episode, Havin' a Ball, alongside Cub. His debut episode differs from other episodes he appears in as he does not cause Cub harm. Chip Off the Ol' Block depicts Pop as unaware of Cub's death, indirectly burning his corpse in the process. Pop would initially see his son die and intentionally burn his body without remorse in a deleted scene, in stark contrast to him mourning his death in later episodes. The creators felt the scene was too harsh and changed it, so Pop was more unaware than he was. Season 2 would eventually portray Pop as more negligent, as shown in Snip Snip Hooray!, he does not realize Cub has the razor in his mouth and plugs it in, causing him to die. Despite this, Pop does not realize his son died and attempts to cut his hair, assuming he is sleeping. In Water Way to Go, Pop is a bit more aware of his son's demise after he indirectly buried him.

After the television series, Pop intentionally kills Cub in Read 'em and Weep to exorcise the demon controlling him, without knowing Lumpy already doing it. This marked the first and only instance throughout the whole series where Pop deliberately killed his son. In Something Fishy, Pop is seen without Cub for the first time in the internet series.

Pop's BBQ Smoochie

Pop is the main subject in his smoochie, Pop's BBQ Smoochie. The Smoochie revolves around Pop engaging in barbeque-themed activities such as grilling, eating corn, and eating a kabob. All of these actions cause Pop to die.

Happy Tree Friends (television series)

Pop appears in the television adaptation of Happy Tree Friends. First appearing in the last two segments of One Foot in the Grave: From Hero to Eternity, and And the Kitchen Sink. Pop has the same role in the internet series, though his incompetence is more severe. However, unlike other appearances, the episode And the Kitchen Sink is the first time Pop notices that Cub dies.

Fire Escape

Pop makes his first video game appearance in Fire Escape. He is one of the victims in the inflamed building that Flaky must rescue. If Flaky fails to catch Pop and he falls onto the ground, he will violently splatter. Because the same victim can come out of the building twice, it is possible for two Pops to appear on-screen.

Biography

Physical appearance

Despite Pop's age, he shares the same cutesy design and proportions as the rest of the main characters. However, Pop's voice is notably deeper than most characters in the series. His wardrobe is a parody of the 1950s-style sitcom father, as he wears a dark-red bathrobe, a light-red belt, and a dark-red cap, though his attire sometimes changes in certain episodes. In addition, he wields a brown pipe in his mouth, which he smokes. As stated in his Collect 'em All card, he even smokes in his sleep. However, he is seen without his smoking pipe in many instances. Pop is rarely seen without his hat, though he doesn't have any hair underneath it, unlike his son.

Personality

Pop is quite similar to Lumpy in personality. Pop is very unintelligent and doesn't pay much attention to his actions. For that reason, he often causes other characters' deaths, mainly Cub. In most scenarios, he fails to notice Cub's demise and once even mistook Nutty's concrete-filled stomach as his own son because it wore Cub's hat. However, in the moments where Pop does realize his son is in genuine danger, he comes to the rescue and tries to save Cub from his predicament.

Pop rarely interacts with anyone besides Cub, and he is usually portrayed as impatient and grumpy when he does. In "A Hole Lotta Love", he threatens Sniffles to rescue Cub and, at some point, engages in a fight with him. In "A Hole Lotta Love", he gets annoyed at Mime when trying to order food. In "From Hero to Eternity", Pop is seen bothered by Splendid each time he passes by him. Pop has shown an interest in barbeque and video games. As seen in "Read 'em and Weep", Pop is a cheapskate.

Other outfits and designs

In "Cubtron Z", Pop is constructed with cardboard to be animated in a stop-motion environment.

In "Clause For Concern", Pop is dressed as Santa Claus. He wears a large white beard, a red coat with a white fur collar, a black belt, and a red hat with white fur.

In "A Handy Nanny", he wears a bowling outfit.

In "Every Litter Bit Hurts", Pop wears blue trousers over his red bathrobe.

Occupations

Pop is a full-time father who has a son to care for. However, Pop is very dimwitted and incompetent, leading to Cub getting lost, injured, or even killed.

In "Clause For Concern", Pop is a mall Santa. He plans to go to the designated mall to fulfill his occupation but is halted by many obstacles.

In "A Handy Nanny", he is depicted as a bowler. Though it is off-screen, by what it can be seen by the resolution, Pop is a proficient bowling champion, as he has won a whopping tremendous trophy.

In "Every Litter Bit Hurts", Pop is an environmental volunteer. During this episode, he works alongside Giggles and performs most of his tasks competently. However, he fishes out Cub's beanie and starts to panic. He is later killed by a pinecone.

Relationships

Speech

Unlike most characters, Pop speaks in a very deep voice. Several of Pop's given dialogue is somewhat intelligible. For instance, in "Chip Off the Ol' Block", he tells Cub to "stay here". In most instances, he often calls for his son and usually says his name. Pop is often the character to read literature, thus, he is given moments where he is heard reading (unseen) words.

Trivia

• According to the Happy Tree Friends QA section, which is handled by Kenn Navarro, Ken Pontac, and Warren Graff, on the official Mondo website, Pop is one of their favorite Happy Tree Friends characters, the other being Cub.