Don’t hug me I’m scared started out like a fresh and updated version of classic psychedelic TV puppet shows like HR Pufnstuf and The Bugaloos. It was fun, upbeat, and had great and really funny and catchy songs.
However, as the series progressed it became more and more evident that there is a very negative undertone underlying the whole thing. There’s no one better then Becky Sloan and Joseph Pelling, the creators of Don’t Hug me I’m Scared, in creating funny and brilliant psychedelic lyrics and visuals, combining it all with a catchy tune. However, for some reason, in the makers view, this colorful scheme must always be a disguise to something horrid which lurks in the background. Take episode 3 for example. It contains an amazing cheery and silly song about how wonderful love is, only in order to finish with some of the worst bad trip images that come to demonstrate that love is a lie. In episode 4 the whole episode becomes a even nightmare earlier on.
The popular internet show “YouTube Explained” has episodes analyzing on each of the DHMIS videos. They explain that the show is basically a critique of children’s TV shows, and additionally the 3rd episode is a critique on marriage and religion, while the 4th one is a critique on the internet age. That very well may be, but these videos still end up giving me the creeps. Don’t get me wrong, I still love don’t hug me I’m scared, but I for one do not think that behind everything beautiful in the world there is something evil and terrible. I can only hope the makers of DHMIS will ingest a psychedelic and come to this conclusion as well…
The Daily Psychedelic Video 