The "Happy Fun Ball" is the subject of a series of parody advertisements on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

''. Described as a "classic that can sit right up there with

Dan Aykroyd Daniel Edward Aykroyd ( ; born July 1, 1952) is a Canadian actor, comedian, producer, musician and writer. He was an original member of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" on ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1979). During his tenure on ''SNL'' ...

's Bass-o-Matic", it originally aired February 16, 1991 on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

and was brought back for several "Best of" specials. The topic of the sketch is a toy rubber ball, the advertisement for which is accompanied by a long series of bizarre disclaimers and increasingly ominous warnings, including "Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball."

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Written by

Jack Handey Jack Handey (born February 25, 1949) is an American humorist. He is best known for his "Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey", a large body of surrealistic one-liner jokes, as well as his "Fuzzy Memories" and "My Big Thick Novel" shorts, and for his deadp ...

and voiced by

Phil Hartman Philip Edward Hartman (; September 24, 1948 – May 28, 1998) was a Canadian-American actor, comedian, screenwriter and graphic designer. Hartman was born in Brantford, Ontario, Canada, and his family moved to the United States w ...

,Podcast: Jack Handey, Author, TV Writer and Creator of "Deep Thoughts" Posted Fri, 05/30/2008 by Jesse Thor
Maximumfun.org
/ref> the ad featured three "kids" portrayed by

Dana Carvey Dana Thomas Carvey (born June 2, 1955) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, impressionist, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for his seven seasons as a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1986 to 1993, which earned him fiv ...

Jan Hooks Janet Vivian HooksJan Hooks obituary
liteseyfh.com; accesse ...

, and

Mike Myers Michael John Myers OC (born May 25, 1963) is a Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. His accolades include seven MTV Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2002, he was awarded a star on the Hollyw ...

. The brief commercial declares Happy Fun Ball (produced by Wacky Products Incorporated, and its parent company, Global Chemical Unlimited), just $14.95, was "the toy sensation sweeping the nation!" However, this positive message about the innocuous-seeming toy was undercut by a lengthier number of bizarre

disclaimer A disclaimer is generally any statement intended to specify or delimit the scope of rights and obligations that may be exercised and enforced by parties in a legally recognized relationship. In contrast to other terms for legally operative langua ...

s and warnings, including "may suddenly accelerate to dangerous speeds" and "If Happy Fun Ball begins to smoke, seek

shelter Shelter is a small building giving temporary protection from bad weather or danger. Shelter may also refer to: Places * Port Shelter, Hong Kong * Shelter Bay (disambiguation), various locations * Shelter Cove (disambiguation), various locatio ...

and cover head." Ingredients include " an unknown glowing substance which fell to Earth, presumably from

outer space Outer space, commonly shortened to space, is the expanse that exists beyond Earth and its atmosphere and between celestial bodies. Outer space is not completely empty—it is a near-perfect vacuum containing a low density of particles, pred ...

"; said ingredients are not to be "touched, inhaled, or looked at" if exposed due to rupture. Viewers were also warned, "Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball." The sketch ends with a slogan for Happy Fun Ball: "Accept no substitutes!" The parody lampooned advertisers, pharmaceutical companies,

toy A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and pet ...

manufacturers, chemical companies, absurdly long

legal Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

disclaimers,

alien Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, intelligent extrater ...

conspiracies A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agree ...

, and mentions the 1991

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

(stating Happy Fun Ball was dropped by U.S. warplanes on

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

). Happy Fun Ball was presented as one of the sponsors of the first "

Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer Keyrock, known as "The Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer", was a recurring character created by Jack Handey and played by Phil Hartman on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1991 through 1996. He was a caveman with the beetle brows of a Neanderthal who had fallen ...

" sketch (aired November 23, 1991), with the claim Happy Fun Ball was "Still legal in 16 states. It's happy. It's fun. It's Happy Fun Ball."

References

External links

Happy Fun Ball sketch on YouTubeFan site containing .WAV samples of the sketchTranscript of the SNL sketch
{{Saturday Night Live Saturday Night Live sketches Saturday Night Live in the 1990s Fictional balls 1991 in American television Fictional elements introduced in 1991

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See also

References

External links