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Anna Kendrick and Pharrell Williams get happy on ‘SNL’

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If you thought the Louis CK episode of “SNL” was weird and dark, you ain’t seen nothing until you’ve watched the Anna Kendrick episode.

Just kidding. this weekend’s show, with Pharrell Williams as musical guest, was as harmonious, lighthearted and girly as one would expect from the “Pitch Perfect” actress, serving as a spring palate cleaner between CK’s episode and next week’s, which will feature Seth Rogen as host and undoubtedly some pot humor and James Franco references.

Not only was last night’s episode musical, it was downright Disneyfied, with Kendrick performing a parody of “Belle” from “Beauty and the Beast” during her monologue, enchanting everyone at the show (except for Lorne Michaels) with her wide-eyed wonder. Again, it was a far cry from last week, where CK addressed misogyny and atheism with his monologue, but it just goes to show that entertainment can wear many different hats (insert Pharrell joke here.)

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Disney was evoked again in a “Little Mermaid” sketch, where Aidy Bryant (rocking an Ursula costume) tried to entice Ariel into giving her her voice, but Kendrick, as the titular mermaid, instead of performing in her naturally sweet style, sang in the styles of less traditionally beautiful voices like those of Ke$ha and Britney Spears. With the costumes, the puppets, the lighting and the musical cues, it was a huge production of a sketch. The laughs weren’t necessarily proportionate to the effort that went into producing the scene but it was a treat for the eyes, plus Kendrick showed that despite her tiny adorableness, she’s not above taking a poke at other performers.

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Disney worked its way into a third sketch last night too. In “Fox and Friends,” while Kendrick portrayed an alcoholic, stalker Southern belle who is very concerned about Obamacare, Bobby Moynihan’s ever-devolving talking head character (he’s turning into something resembling a childlike bear), proclaimed that he watched a documentary where a princess creates a world of snow (i.e., “Frozen.”)

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“Yeah, yeah,” you wonder. “But what about ‘Cups’?” Don’t worry. Kendrick’s song and performance from “Pitch Perfect” made a cameo in the sketch “Les Jeunes de Paris,” where Kendrick, being wooed in a dance number by Taran Killam (whose hilari-sad work as a tragic giant named Big Joe should also be noted), performs the hand-dance, only to smash the cup at the end — a move that she seems to have been yearning to do for awhile now.

Possibly to cut the overall sweetness of the episode, Kendrick also appeared in a not-so-cute video called “Dongs All Over the World,” which parodied songs where male artists like Pitbull brag about being international playboys. It wasn’t quite as funny as the somewhat-similar “Twin Bed,” but it is still worth a watch just to see Kendrick sing “Each dong is like a snowflake, except that it’s a dong.”

“Yeah, yeah,” you wonder. “But what about ‘Happy’?!” Don’t worry. Pharrell performed the song, along with his delightful tween backup dancers. Watch it, and you’ll feel … well, you know.

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“SNL” returns live next week with musician Ed Sheeran accompanying Rogen.

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Pharrell Williams joins ‘The Voice’ as a coach

Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson sign on for ‘Pitch Perfect 2’

Twitter: @Zulkey

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