Nutty (Happy Tree Friends) Review

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Nutty (Happy Tree Friends) Review

Nutty
Happy Tree Friends (Stevenson Entertainment)There were many things that there were more popular in the 2000s than they are now, and one of those things is known as Happy Tree Friends. Despite the name, the web series has enough gore to make Mortal Kombat jealous. At the peak of its popularity, HTF has had a huge fanbase, a televised series on G4 (yes, the video game network that recently made a comeback), and a good amount of merchandise that is hard to find nowadays. Part of the many merchandise includes a figure line by Stevenson Entertainment Group. Nutty is one of the five they made, and as with the others, came in both regular and deluxe versions.

The big window box takes up quite a bit of space on the shelf, but it has pretty decent graphics. The front and sides show off the show and character name, but the back is a fittingly graphic image of the five characters included in the line. As big as the box is, it's still collector-friendly, and you can take everything out easily. There are a few twist-ties you have to put up with, though.

The sculpting on the figure is pretty dead-on. It's not always easy to translate 2D characters to 3D, but SEG did a good job here, with all the right proportions. It's worth noting that the head is more of a rotocast material, but everything else is plastic. The tail is a separate piece that plugs into his rear, but he can't stand with it, hence why a base is included. The base has a nice grassy look, and is adorned with the show's logo. The figure itself stands about 4", not counting the caramel apple on his head.

The paint is pretty good, but there are a few nits. There's a few areas of slop and fuzzy edges, but nothing super noticeable. And the pupils are green for some reason? Shouldn't they be black? And the iris around the left pupil is gray-greenish when it should just be light green. It's also kinda worth noting that the lollipop on the right side of his face is less colorful than it should be, being red and yellow as opposed to a variety of colors. Again, nothing bad, but it looks like they cut a few corners.

Nutty doesn't move a lot, with swivels at the head, shoulders, and thighs, and the shoulders hinge as well. It's clear that the character design doesn't lend a lot to joint possibilities, but he still moves where it counts, and a few good poses are possible.

Aside from the box, the main thing that separates the deluxe releases of these figures from their regular versions is an extra figure showcasing HTF's violent side. The extra Nutty here has a different head, with the eyes and mouth pretty much screaming "sugar overload". Or rabies. Or whatever. The extra body here is a whole other level of deranged, as it splits apart at the waist. And the stomach inside? That's a separate piece from the body, and in a way the only accessory aside from the base (what? No extra candy?). The paint on the extra figure is pretty good, and the mouth is printed on instead of sculpted. Again, cutting corners, but look at the crazy shape of that mouth, it would've been impossible to sculpt. The extra figure doesn't have its own arms or tail, so he'll need to share them with his non-violent counterpart, and they swap easily. The heads swap as well, though it takes a bit of strength to pop them off. Though whenever it do it, I fear I'll pull out the peg as well, but thankfully that hasn't happened (yet).

Overall, aside from a few paint issues and a lack of accessories, Nutty's pretty good. Throwing in an extra figure with the deluxe release is a good way to show off HTF's naughty and nice sides, and it also shows that SEG cared for this license. Sadly, they didn't do well enough to warrant more, and with the show falling into obscurity and not having a new episode since 2016, I feel that we won't get something like this again.