Happy Tree Friends (film)

Happy Tree Friends is a 2013 American 2D animated action-adventure horror comedy directed by Kenn Navarro and written by Rhode Montiji based on the Happy Tree Friends media series by Mondo Media. Produced by David Ichioka, with John Evershed, Deirdre O'Malley and Edward Noeltner serving as executive producers, it stars the voices of Chris Pratt, Amy Adams, Tom Holland, Katherine Heigl, David Winn, Steve Carell, Chris Evans, Kristen Schaal, Eric Bauza, Ryan Reynolds, Tom Kenny, Benedict Cumberbatch, Taika Waititi, Daniel Craig, Danny Devito, Peter Kelamis, Robert Downey Jr., Jeff Bergman, Renée T. MacDonald and Tom Hiddleston.

In theaters, a sneak peek from the upcoming Disney film entitled Heffalump was shown prior to the film. The film was theatrically released in movie theaters on March 29, 2013 in the United States and Canada by 20th Century Fox, on April 1, 2013 in Australia by Village Roadshow Pictures and internationally on April 3, 2013 by Warner Bros. Pictures. The film was met with critical acclaim upon release, with critics praising its animation, voice acting, soundtrack and humor. The film was a box-office success, grossing over $2.225 billion worldwide against a $140 million budget.

A sequel, Happy Tree Friends 2, was released on November 23, 2020, which unfortunately was not received as well as its predecessor, receiving mixed reviews from critics, but was still a box office success, grossing $2.512 billion against a $450 million budget.

Cast

 * Chris Pratt as Cuddles
 * Amy Adams as Giggles
 * Tom Holland as Toothy
 * Katherine Heigl as Petunia
 * David Winn as Lumpy
 * Steve Carell as Nutty
 * Chris Evans as Flippy
 * Kristen Schaal as Flaky
 * Eric Bauza as Handy
 * Ryan Reynolds as Disco Bear
 * Tom Kenny as Mime
 * Benedict Cumberbatch as Splendid
 * Taika Waititi as Russell
 * Daniel Craig as The Mole
 * Danny Devito as Lifty
 * Peter Kelamis as Shifty
 * Robert Downey Jr. as Pop
 * Jeff Bergman as Teenage Cub
 * Renée T. MacDonald as Lammy
 * Tom Hiddleston as Fliqpy

Announcement
The announcement for a Happy Tree Friends feature film was announced at the 2011 San Diego Comic Con, with Director Kenn Navarro making a statement after being asked by a spokesperson. He stated that "there will be a Happy Tree Friends film. We're still working on development," leaving the audience going wild. Shortly after the announcement, Kenn Navarro and series writer Rhode Montijo said in an interview that the "film would begin production either in December this year, or early to mid 2012." But, in February 2012, the development for the film began.

Development
Development on the film began in 2012 after the announcement was made at the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con, with Kenn Navarro as the director and Rhode Montijo as the writer. David Ichioka was served as the producer for the film. Its storyboard was developed and created by Aubrey Ankrum, Rhode Montijo and Kenn Navarro.

Casting
The film stars the characters from the series, with Chris Pratt as Cuddles, Amy Adams as Giggles, Tom Holland as Toothy, Katherine Heigl as Petunia, David Winn as Lumpy, Steve Carell as Nutty, Chris Evans as Flippy, Kristen Schaal as Flaky, Eric Bauza as Handy, Ryan Reynolds as Disco Bear, Tom Kenny as Mine, Benedict Cumberbatch as Splendid, Taika Waititi as Russell, Daniel Craig as The Mole, Danny Devito as Lifty, Peter Kelamis as Shifty, Robert Downey Jr. as Pop, Jeff Bergman as Teenage Cub, Renee T. MacDonald as Lammy, and Tom Hiddleston as Fliqpy.

Chris Pratt, Amy Adams, Tom Holland, Katherine Heigl, Steve Carell, Chris Evans, Kristen Schaal, Eric Bauza, Ryan Reynolds, Tom Kenny, Benedict Cumberbatch, Taiki Waititi, Daniel Craig, Danny Devito, Peter Kelamis, Robert Downey Jr., Jeff Bergman and Tom Hiddleston replaced voice actors/actresses Kenn Navarro, Ellen Connell, Michael "Lippy" Lipman, Aubrey Ankrum, Dean MacDonald, Peter Herrmann, Francis Carr, Sarah Castelblanco and Warren Graff.

Actors Chris Pratt and Tom Holland agreed to sign on for voicing Cuddles (Pratt) and Toothy (Holland) as they were "expressible characters with lively emotions, but can turn deadly and gruesome if they get hurt". Actresses Amy Adams, Katherine Heigl and Kristen Schaal signed to voice Giggles (Adams), Petunia (Heigl) and Flaky (Schaal) as they were "cute, sweet and giggly characters with so much emotion, but will turn into scary and bloody if they get killed".

Animation
Animation for the film was produced at Buddy Studios, 6 Point Harness and Mondo Media. Principal animation production began on April 17, 2012 at Buddy Studios and Mondo Media, with additional animation being produced at 20th Century Animation.

Soundtrack
Happy Tree Friends ' music was produced by RJ Eleven, Jim Lively and Winn Winn Situation. The music was composed, orchestrated and conducted by American film composer Michael Giacchino.

Release
The film was theatrically released in theaters on March 29, 2013 in the United States and Canada, by Mondo Media and 20th Century Fox. The film was presented in a 1.85:1 format. The film's theatrical release was serving as a sneak peek to the upcoming Disney animated film Heffalump. The film was rated R for Restricted by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA, now the MPA) for cruel, explicit violence, blood, some sexual content, and language.

Marketing
The film's trailer was released on September 1, 2012 on the Mondo Media YouTube channels, and on the 20th Century Fox YouTube channels. FritoLay, a subsidiary of PepsiCo, began promoting the film on its chip bags, including Lays, Doritos and Ruffles. Restaurants including McDonald's, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Burger King promoted the film.

Home media
The film was released on digital on May 4 and on Blu-Ray and DVD on May 8, 2013 by Buddy Home Entertainment. It contains the deleted scenes, the 18-minute featurette, behind-the-scenes of Happy Tree Friends, featuring interviews with most of the principal cast and crew, animatics, the pilot episode, the audio commentaries and the sneak peek of the upcoming Disney film Heffalump.

Disney+ and Buddy+ streaming
The film was available for streaming on Buddy+ on March 29, 2018, 5 years after the film's release. The film was soon available on the streaming service Disney+ on June 9, 2020.

Critical response
The movie was opened to critical acclaim. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a rare 100% approval rating based on 196 critic reviews, with an average rating of 8.5/10. The critical consensus reads, "Gruesome, horrific, and bloody fantastic, Happy Tree Friends serves as not only a perfect motion picture, but as the standalone kickstart to the newer era of the series." Metacritic assigns the film a weighted average score of 93 out of 100 based on 33 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a rare grade of "A+" on its A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak reported 98% of audience members gave it a positive score, with 83% saying they would recommend it.

Manolha Dargis of The New York Times gave the film a positive review, stating "Happy Tree Friends does everything a horror film does. Gruesome fights and the amounts of blood present." She went on to say that "Chris Pratt as [Cuddles] was more perfect than Kenn Navarro's acting of him". She also called the film "a bloody masterpiece that is a murder rampage for adults to enjoy. Obviously, if you have children, don't let them watch it".

Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter felt that "its nature and cute looking characters and murderous atmosphere and violent, gruesome deaths is what sums up Happy Tree Friends. Cute looking and amazing, and violent, gruesome, and filled with blood and gore. The creators of the original series pictured what it is to be, which is to make it follow the series' original format", and goes on to say that "its visuals and effects are stunning," and that the "animation, being done by Mondo Media and 6 Point Harness, is flawless".

Noah Berlatsky of The Atlantic wrote: "The acting is beautiful, with many actors like Chris Pratt and Ryan Reynolds casting as the characters for the adult animated cartoon. I can in good conscience recommend that many moviegoers should see this film."

Roth Cornet of IGN gave it an "amazing" score of 9/10, stating that the film is "gruesomely hilarious", "horrifyingly terrific", and "bloody adventurous". Cornet says that its dynamics and visuals make it appealing, but its blood and slaughters are what make the film stand out. A talented cast with on-point voice acting is what makes this movie apply to its dynamics. She praised the film's animation and visual effects, and praised the character designs by Kenn Navarro.

Happy Tree Friends was the final film to be reviewed by film critic Roger Ebert prior his death on April 4, 2013, and the last major film review to be published in his lifetime. He rated the film 3.5/4 stars, saying "Happy Tree Friends is a motion picture, but not like any motion picture. Its gory imagery and material used from the creators of the web series, and its talented cast is what make this a good movie. All aspects of this film is willing to freak some moviegoers out, but at the same time, will be able to make some audience members laugh."

2013 release
Happy Tree Friends opened theatrically in the United States alongside Tyler Perry's Temptation and The Host on March 29, 2013 in 3,912 theaters. The film was projected to gross $15-25 million in its first opening weekend. In the opening weekend of the film, it grossed $60.5 million ($59.4 million with an additional $5.6 million in Saturday night previews), hitting #1 at the US and Canadian box offices. In international markets, the film grossed $102.5 million ($92.3 with an additional $10.2 million in Saturday night previews). Throughout the week following in the United States, it grossed over $154.3 million, while internationally, it grossed $293.2 million.

In the following weeks, its projection was estimated to $70-100 million. The film grossed $95.8 million in the United States and $299.4 million internationally in its 2nd weekend. The films projections ended on October 12th, 2013, for a total of $390.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $741.3 internationally, for a worldwide total of $1.186 billion, making it the highest grossing film of 2013, and the 6th highest grossing animated film of all time, dethroning Minions.

The film was screened in 3,912 theaters, and grossed an average of $5,911 per theater.

August 2021 re-release
The film re-opened in cinemas in the United States and Canada and other territories on August 20, 2021, releasing next to Nickelodeon's PAW Patrol: The Movie, Lionsgate's The Protégé, Searchlight Pictures' The Night House, Warner Bros. Pictures' Reminiscence, and Paramount Pictures + Nickelodeon's The Loud House Movie.

The film's box office projections were between $30-40 million in its opening weekend. In the opening weekend of the movie's premiere, it grossed $79.4 million ($68.1 million with an additional $11.3 million in Saturday night previews), hitting #1 at the US and Canadian box offices. In international markets, the film grossed $90.2 million ($77 million + additional $13.2 million in Saturday night previews). Throughout its opening week in the United States and Canada, the film projected to gross over $293.1 million, while in other territorial markets, it grossed $329.5 million.

In following weeks of the film's box office openings, projections estimated to $60-95 million. The film grossed $114.8 million in the United States and Canada and $330.1 million in other territories, for a total of $444.9 million in its second weekend. The film's projections ended on January 9, 2022, for a total of $482 million in the United States and Canada, and $557 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $1.039 billion. Adding that with 2013's worldwide grossing total, the worldwide total is $2.225 billion, making it the highest grossing film of 2021, and the second highest grossing animated film of all time, behind The Super Mario Movie 3: Bowser's Revenge.

The film was screened in 4,290 theaters, with an average income of $7,090 per theater.

Accolades
The film won 7 awards, and were nominated for 3, with 1 being the runner-up.

Main transcript
Main article: Happy Tree Friends/Transcript

Trailer transcripts
Main article: Happy Tree Friends/Trailer transcripts

Credits
Main article: Happy Tree Friends/Credits

Sequel
Main article: Happy Tree Friends 2

The film's success spun off a sequel, which was released on November 23, 2020.

The film was screened at the Regency Village Theater and was released theatrically on November 23, to mixed reviews from critics, but was a box office success, garnering $2.512 billion against a $450 million budget.

Trivia

 * It is 20th Century Studios' first 2D animated film with Mondo Media.
 * It is the first feature length film in the Happy Tree Friends series.
 * It is the franchise's first film to be rated R by the MPA.
 * It is the first Mondo Media film to be distributed with 20th Century Studios.