TV Funhouse
Saturday TV Funhouse is a segment on NBC's "Saturday Night Live" featuring cartoons created by "SNL" writer Robert Smigel. 101 "TV Funhouse" segments aired on "SNL" between 1996 and 2008, with one further segment airing in 2011. It also spawned a spinoff series of "TV Funhouse" that aired on Comedy Central. Production. Programmed to air between the host segments of "Saturday Night Live", "TV Funhouse" parodied such genres as 1950s educational films, Saturday morning Hanna-Barbera/Filmation cartoons of the 1970s and 1980s, and the 1960s stop motion holiday specials of Rankin/Bass. The animation was produced  by J.J. Sedelmaier Productions for its first three seasons until Wachtenheim/Marianetti Animation took over primary animation production duties. Disney parodies. The February 10, 2001 episode, "Ray of Light," parodies the controversy over Ray Lewis's involvement in an Atlanta homicide. Although Lewis went on to become the Super Bowl XXXV MVP, he was unable to utter the famous line "I'm going to Disney World!" The skit was involved with Disney "making it up" to Lewis by placing him in various Disney animated movies. Lewis would be shown fleeing the scene of Disney character death scenes, frequently uttering "I  didn't see nothin'!" "Bambi 2002," a poke at Disney's penchant for direct-to video sequels at the time, imagines a sequel to the original movie where Bambi's mother turns up alive. The title character fights stylized terrorist types, meets Jared Fogle, and performs a rap music number in the forest. Also in the sketch are moments involving some of Disney's darker issues, as well as some pornographic humor. On April 15, 2006, Robert Smigel again parodied Disney's home video moratorium policy, as well as Walt Disney's alleged racism and anti-Semitism. When some kids  are brought to the Disney Vault by Mickey Mouse, they find Jim Henson and Kermit the Frog bound and gagged in a chair, Mickey Mouse breaks down and quotes "He wouldn't sell! He wouldn't sell...!" (a reference to a broken deal between The Jim Henson Company and The Walt Disney Company circa 1990; Disney bought the Muppets franchise in 2004, 2 years prior to the sketch). NBC special. On April 29, 2006, NBC aired a full-length, 90-minute "SNL" "best of" special for "TV Funhouse". The special was hosted by The Ambiguously Gay Duo interacting with the  current "SNL" cast with a cameo from Jimmy Fallon. The special was released on DVD October 24, 2006. Comedy Central series. The spinoff series was somewhat of a twisted "Pee-Wee's Playhouse"-style children's TV show, hosted by Doug Dale and his "Anipals" puppet friends. Plot. Every episode had a different theme to it (e.g., "Hawaiian Day" or "Astronaut Day") and saw the Anipals usually getting into some sort of trouble, not wanting to do whatever their happy-go-lucky host had in mind for the day. The Comedy Central version of "TV Funhouse" premiered in December 2000 and  was not picked up for a second season. Interviews with Smigel indicate that Comedy Central believed in the show but was disappointed in how it went over budget every episode. Smigel has also expressed how difficult the show was and how tedious the puppet-live animal segments were to shoot. The show was released on DVD July 22, 2008 under the title "Comedy Central's TV Funhouse".