Cow and Chicken
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Cow and Chicken | |
|---|---|
 Cow and Chicken |
|
| Format | Animation/Comedy |
| Created by | David Feiss |
| Voices of | Charles Adler Dee Bradley Baker Candi Milo Howard Morris Tom Kenny Dan Castellaneta Michael Dorn |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 51 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 22 minutes approx. |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Cartoon Network |
| Original run | July 15, 1997 – 1999 |
| External links | |
| Official website | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
Cow and Chicken is an Emmy Award-nominated American animated television series, created by David Feiss. The series shows the adventures of a cow, named Cow, and her chicken brother, named Chicken, who are often tormented by the Red Guy, a usually pants-less devil-like character who poses as various characters to scam or hurt them as seen in the episodes "Supermodel Cow and Part Time Job". The series was nominated for an Emmy Award in 1996 and 1998.[1]
Like Dexter's Laboratory and other Cartoon Network series from the 1990s, the original pilot appeared as an episode of the series What a Cartoon!. The Cow and Chicken series first broadcast on Cartoon Network from 1997 to the year 2000, with reruns airing prominently on the network until 2004. Late into the series run, the characters I.M. Weasel and I.R. Baboon, who were part of the series' recurring segment, I Am Weasel, were another counterpart onto their own series.
Contents |
[edit] Background
[edit] Premise
Cow and Chicken are sister and brother, a cow and a chicken, but who have human parents whose faces are never seen in any episode (although there are references where you can see their shadows of their upper halves). The creators were faced with the question of whether and how to explain this scenario. Sometimes opening credits are cumbersome vehicles for an origin story. David Feiss approached this problem in the series' opening title sequence: Mama had a chicken/Mama had a cow/Dad was proud/He didn't care how. This is all that is ever offered in explanation, though there is one hint in the episode "The Day I Was Born" that Cow is adopted, while Chicken's paternity is unknown.
Cow and Chicken's extended family consists of various other types of animals, including Cousin Boneless, who is a boneless chicken (unable to walk or get up from the floor); Snail Boy, a snail; Cousin Black Sheep, a sheep; and Sow, an evil pig. They also have an uncle Longhorn Steer, who appears in "Professor Longhorn Steer". The episode "Happy Meat" also showed the ghosts of a pair of Cow and Chicken's ancestors, a male farmer married to a female chicken.
[edit] Main characters
[edit] Cow
(voiced by Charlie Adler) One of the two main characters and Chicken's 7-year old sister. Her weight is given at several points as 600 pounds. Usually viewed (at least by Chicken) as exceedingly infantile & stupid, she however occasionally displays uncanny talents.
Cow's alter ego is Super Cow, a powerful cow with the ability to fly. Super Cow's powers lie in a green blanket. Super Cow's costume is purple with a logo on the chest which slightly resembles that of Super Man, but with a C instead of a S. Inexplicably, she speaks Spanish. Her catchphrase is "¡Super Cow al rescate!" ("Super Cow to the rescue!"), but in the Spanish translation she speaks in English. Her catchphrase is often said before a battle. Cow first became Super Cow in the Pilot, "No Smoking."
[edit] Chicken
(voiced by Charlie Adler) Cow's 11-year old brother. At times, he can be quite mean to his younger sister, and even the rest of the family (as seen in "Chicken in the Bathroom", where he refuses to take a bath solely to prevent everyone else from using the toilet). He has a rather large ego. In spite of this, he has a powerful conscience, usually only displayed when Cow is in danger (and unable to become Supercow). He speaks with a "street" type of accent, often peppering his speech with malapropisms (as do the rest of the characters), and often using sarcasm. He often gets injured, sometimes quite brutally or almost killed. Sometimes Chicken uses Cow for his needs. In Sumo Cow, Chicken used Cow's size to get his money, then told her to get lost making her look like the bully. Despite being a male, he, in one episode, demonstrated being able to lay eggs, only to toss a dozen of them at the Red Guy, who was posing as Dead Ghost (a parody of Space Ghost). Chicken is very fond of ice skating. Like chickens, he can not fly, but is also very much afraid of flying.
[edit] The Red Guy
(voiced by Charlie Adler) Cow, Chicken, Weasel and I.R. Baboon's arch fiend/nemesis. He is an often-incompetent antagonist/protagonist disguised as various authority figures (principals, kings, lunch ladies), trying to either scam the protagonists or torment them (or, in the earliest episodes, trying to kill them). In some episodes, multiple and seemingly distinct Red Guys are present, usually working together. The Red Guy was originally The Devil in the pilot episode of Cow and Chicken, "No Smoking". Red also has a reputation in wearing no pants, which he can also bring into his disguise names (i.e. Dr. Lax Slax, Ben Panced, Seymour Butts, Mr. Lackapants, Mrs. Bare Derierre, Ivan Panced,Dr. I.C. High-knee etc.). Sometimes more than one Red Guy is shown at a time, such as in the episode "Dirty Laundry", when the warden from an earlier episode has a conversation with another Red Guy. The Red Guy will usually make pants jokes and butt jokes. His catch phrases are, "Hello it's me (whoever he is)" , "Sue me", and "Is that a crime?" (Pronounced "cra-yim", like his "nine" is pronounced "na-yin"). Like the other characters on "Cow and Chicken" Red will refer everyone as ladies, girls, gals, or men.
[edit] Flem
(voiced by Howard Morris) Chicken's best friend, who has thick red lips. He and his father both have glasses. Of the three (Earl, Chicken and himself), he is the one most often sent to perform tasks, because he is considered the ugliest or fatest. Flem is named after one of David Feiss' friends back in Middle School who was not good looking but was very loyal. Flem sometimes breaks into tears when the Red Guy talks about him. No information about Flem's mom is known. One of the weirdest moments including Flem is when he laid a large Gold egg.
[edit] Earl
(voiced by Dan Castellaneta) Chicken's other best friend who wears a red cap and braces. Like Flem, Earl is based on one of David Feiss' friends back in Middle School. It's unknown what happened to Earl's parents or if he'll ever get his braces off.
[edit] Dad
(voiced by Dee Bradley Baker) Cow and Chicken's father (Partially unseen character, up to his waist). Often boasts his manliness, stating that even the most mundane of tasks (such as driving in the snow, in "Goin' My Way") "bring out the man in (him)". Although he is a man, he once gave a clock to Cow and stated that his mother gave it to him and the clock was passed down to all the girls in the family. Dad does not seem to know about Cow's birth, as once in an episode, he told Cow that she was born in a cabbage. Not only that, but he is also very proud of it as he cried and said, That was the best cabbage we ever had. Like his wife, sometime he also seems to be insane, as he once woke up his kids at 3 o' clock at night only to tell them how he and Mom met. Although he told them that they met each other when they were foot soldiers in the army, in many other episodes that is not the case as once he told them that they met when they were Pirates.
[edit] Mom
(voiced by Candi Milo) Cow and Chicken's mother (Partially unseen character). She seems to be slightly insane, especially when she laughs. She also seems to be very sensitive, as shown in an episode, she started to cry when Chicken asked what would happen if a guy goes in a girl's bathroom. She loves her kids very much but once, when she thought that Cow's pet snake could talk like both Cow and Chicken, she said, Then what the heck do we need kids for?. On another episode, when she thought Dad's new chair (but unknown to both that the chair was really their old one) can give milk, she said, Then what the heck do we need Cow for?
[edit] Teacher
(voiced by Candi Milo) Cow and Chicken's female teacher who is simply called Teacher. She says "Shut your pork traps!" or "Shut your pie holes!" to get people to listen to her. Despite being a teacher, she sometimes shows signs of stupidity. She always yells her two catchphrases, instead of speaking in a normal tone, for some bizarre reason. Once, she told Cow that she was hatched.
[edit] Minor and one-time characters
- Crabs the Warthog- One of Cow's favorite dolls. Shaped as a warthog with wheels instead of legs, as well as being dressed up in some smart and colourful clothes. His first appearance was in "Part Time Job." Crabs also has a key role in the episode, "Cow's Toys." Also appeared in "Can Cow Come Out and Play?" and in "Lawnmower Chicken."
- Piles the Beaver- One of Cow's favourite dolls. Shaped as a purple beaver with blond hair. Much to Manure the Bear's disgust, Piles also has a rip-cord that says random things such as, "I'm Piles the Beaver. Hey!" His debut was in "Cow Loves Piles," but he was first mentioned in the episode, "Who is Supercow?" Piles also has an important role in "Cow's Toys."
- Munch Kelly- One of the Buffalo Gals who only appeared in the banned episode "Buffalo Gals", she tried to invade Cow and Chicken's house. She was voiced by Dee Bradley Baker.
- Manure the Bear- One of Cow's favorite dolls. Shaped as a disgruntled bear wearing a stinky diaper. Manure was first referenced in "Chicken's First Kiss," when Earl tells Chicken that he was hit with the same doll. Manure wasn't introduced as one of Cow's dolls until series 3. Like Crabs and Piles, he also has a key role in "Cow's Toys."
- Boneless Chicken (voiced by Charlie Adler)- Cow and Chicken's funny cousin. An older chicken who possesses no bones, except for having teeth. He always says random things, but the watcher can't tell if he's serious or just joking. He is a veteran of the Vietnam War. He only appeared in "Alive!", "The Laughing Puddle," "Red Butler," "Dream Date Chicken," "Boneless Kite." and Cow & Chicken Blues."
- Grandmama (voiced by Bibi Osterwald)- Mom's mother and Cow and Chicken's grandmother. She often seems as blind as a bat. Once she lost her husband, and her only reason was can't remember where I put him. She was seen in the episodes, "Grandma at the Mall," and "No Smoking."
- Flem's Dad- usually seen wearing Summer Camp clothing; he made appearances in the episodes, "The Legend of Sailcat", "Going My Way?", Lost at Sea".
- Mr. Fleur- Cow and Chicken's drama teacher. He is seen wearing old-fashioned director's clothing that goes through three different colour schemes between shots. He appeared in the only two-part episode, "The Ugliest Weenie.
- Black Sheep (voiced by Tom Kenny)- Cow and Chicken's cousin, who keeps getting into trouble despite his sincere efforts to do good. His only appearance was in "Black Sheep of the Family."
- Snail Boy (voiced by Tom Kenny)- Cow and Chicken's cousin and Mom and Dad's nephew who is a snail. Only appeared in "Snail Boy."
- Sow- Cow and Chicken's cousin. She is an anarchic pig who blames Cow for bad things she does. Her only appearances were in the episode "Sow and Chicken".
- Slappy McCracken (voiced by Tom Kenny)- An exchange student from neighboring Mozerellaville. Fell in love with Cow in his only episode "The Exchange Stüdent".
- Professor Longhorn Steer (voiced by Tom Kenny)- A steer , who is not really a professor. He is Cow and Chicken's uncle, and Dad's brother. Appeared in "Professor Longhorn Steer".
- Cerberus (voiced by Jess Harnell)- The Red Guy's assistant, a dog with three heads, one being a poodle, one being a weiner dog, and the other a dalmatian. This character only appeared in the original pilot "No Smoking".
- Blind Mud Puddle Johnson- He is the king of the blues. His voice was provided by B. B. King, the King of the Blues. Appeared only in the episode, "Cow and Chicken got the Blues."
- Photo-Realistic Beaver- In "The Bad News Plastic Surgeons", Chicken chose to do the "Photo-Realistic Beaver" surgery on himself in order to win the event. Following this, we see him as the beaver eating breakfast with Cow.
- Linda- A Woman who was supposed to be Boneless Chicken's Blind date but dated Chicken. She, along with Chicken, got arrested (thanks to Boneless Chicken) in the end of the only episode in which she appeared, "Dream Date Chicken".
- Fluffy- Cow's pet Anaconda whom Cow and her parents believe that he can talk just like Chicken (but unknown to them Chicken was inside Fluffy and was screaming for help). Fluffy continously tried to eat Chicken and eventually ate him and all of his family members.
- Sgt. Weenie Arms- A very strict person who came from fire after Chicken recited the ancient weenie chant in Dead Skull Cave. As his name suggests, his arms are huge weenies. He ordered Chicken, Flem and Earl to give him 20 push-ups, shave with a river rock and chop down a tree with their faces, then the next day, they were turned into 'real men'. He gave them dolls stating that 'real weenie marines' are not scared to play wth sissy dolls. He was revealed to be very girly. Only appeared in the episode "Sargent Weenie Arms".
- Butch- Chicken and Flem's bully since Kindergarten. When Butch met his match, Cow, Flem and Chicken tried to help him. Only appeared in the episode "School Bully".
- Sailcat- A cat which was turned into a super invincible cat by a strange radiation from outer space. Only appeared in the episode "Legend of Sailcat".
[edit] History
The idea of Cow and Chicken first existed as a story that David Feiss had made for his daughter.[2] Feiss was a cartoonist who had worked with Hanna Barbera and related projects since 1978.[2]
Later, Feiss was called to submit any ideas he had for the series "What a Cartoon!", a series that was comprised of various cartoon shorts from various creators and writers. Feiss submitted three ideas for the series, one of which was Cow and Chicken.[3] Cow and Chicken premiered on the "What a Cartoon!" series in 1995. Although most cartoons in the series had never gone beyond one short, Hanna Barbera had decided to turn Cow and Chicken into full series, following many letters from fans asking for more Cow and Chicken Cartoons.[3]
The new Cow and Chicken series premiered on July 7, 1997, and ran until 1999. The series ran for 52 episodes, and ran in syndication from 2000 to 2004 spun-off the series "I am Weasel". Cow and Chicken aired on Boomerang in reruns until February 2008, when it was replaced with Voltron (the show still airs on the weekends.)
It should be noted that "Cow and Chicken" currently reruns on Boomerang UK late at night on select weekdays.
[edit] Production
[edit] Voicing
A single actor, Charlie Adler, voiced four leading roles of Cow, Chicken, the Red Guy, and I. R. Baboon. Other actors provided supporting voices, including Dan Castellaneta (the voice of Earl). David Feiss himself did the voice of a clown in an episode called "The Great Pantzini". Also, Will Ferrell voiced in various episodes.
[edit] Humor
Cow and Chicken drew on several types of cartoon humor through its run. The series often made use of cartoon violence; Cow and Chicken were frequently placed in dangerous situations and the Red Guy was frequently pummelled and beaten (usually by Supercow). The series also made fun of the clichés of cartoons. For example, Cow has an alter-ego Supercow, who is a superhero with different characteristics to her normal character (such as flight, and the ability to speak Spanish); and the Red Guy tries in vain to discover Supercow's secret identity. Another cliché made fun of in the series is that the children's parents, who are called Mom and Dad, exist only from the waist down, and can be seen to stop at the waist (whenever their shadows appear, they are cut off at the waist). A picture even exists on the wall of the parents from the waist down. Also Cow disguises herself as Dad simply by wearing Dad's pants. This makes fun of the idea of partially unseen characters and cartoons in which adults are seen only from the waist down (e.g. Muppet Babies). Also, many jokes of the series use adolescent humor, which made the show somewhat controversial.
[edit] Recurring jokes and gags
In some episodes, the missing upper bodies are used as a gag. For example in one episode ("No Smoking"), the cartoon "camera" accidentally zooms out too far, and shows Mom and Dad cut off at the waist. In another episode ("Cow and Chicken Reclining"), Cow and Chicken search through a closet by throwing out everything inside, and for a small moment, the upper (human) bodies of Mom and Dad are visible as part of a discarded science project by Cow (however, considering the absurdist nature of the show's humor, this may be a throwaway gag). They are also occasionally seen driving a car with their feet, writing and grabbing on to things with their toes, and dialling a phone by kicking the numbers. Mom and Dad's shadows are also shown as being cut off at the waist in several episodes. Additionally, at the end of one episode, when Mom and Dad are driving, the camera backs up, showing that they indeed have no upper half. In one episode, Cow also "disguises" herself as Dad by wearing his pants, which nearly cover Cow's face.
When disguised, The Red Guy often is without pants or, if he is cross-dressed, in an impossibly short skirt, revealing his large red butt. The Red Guy's alter-egos names often reflect this in puns or more literal references, such as "Officer Pantsoffski," "Mrs. Bare Derierre," "Ben Panced," "Rear Admiral Floyd" and "Dr. Lax Slax"; Supercow will refer to the Red Guy's incarnations as "El Diablo sin pantalones" (literally, "the Devil without pants").
The show often breaks the fourth wall. I Am Weasel exists as a cartoon in the fictional world of Cow and Chicken, however this is contradicted in "I.R. In Wrong Cartoon" (a crossover between the two cartoons), when the Red Guy, disguised as a bearskin rug, says to Cow when she wants to take Weasel out of the TV to make him real, "He's just as real as you and I." In "The Laughing Puddle", when the entire population of Folsom has gone into the titular puddle, Chicken states "Is anything in this cartoon ever going to make sense?" A few times throughout the series, some characters (usually the Red Guy) request for the cartoon to end.
[edit] Merchandise
[edit] DVD releases
Cow and Chicken: Season 1, a two-disc set featuring the complete first season which contains 13 complete episodes, was released by Madman Entertainment in Australia (Region 4 PAL) on September 12, 2007. There are currently no plans for a US release, however Warner Brothers has stated in an interview that they are "...in conversations with Cartoon Network" for DVD collections of various cartoons, among which is Cow and Chicken. [4]
[edit] Toys
Recently, according to AnimationInsider.net,[5] Cow and Chicken, among many other Cartoon Network shows from the 1990s, will be in a new toy line in the fall of 2007. Cartoon Network has not yet released any other information on the subject of Cow and Chicken specifically.
Cow and Chicken, The Red Guy, and I Am Weasel have all been characters in the game Cartoon Network Racing. The game is for the PlayStation 2, Game Boy Advance and the Nintendo DS.
[edit] Controversy
[edit] Lesbian stereotyping
The episode titled "Buffalo Gals" was banned because of its innuendos implying that the Buffalo Gals were lesbians and its lesbian stereotypes.[6] Some of the innuendos and sexual content included the carpet calling card Cow uses to find The Buffalo Gals, Mom's line "It's the Buffalo Gals, a biker group that randomly breaks into people's houses and chews on their carpet," the name of one of the bikers being "Munch Kelly", and the Buffalo Gals playing softball and talking about "pitching" and "catching", slang term for gay sex. Cartoon Network had aired "Buffalo Gals" only once because it was banned, and since then it was replaced with the episode "Orthodontic Police".
[edit] "Oh divot!"
The episode "Comet!" was edited after its first showing. On the part where Dad hits his golf ball too far, he originally shouts, "Oh, divot!". This language offended people, due to the fact that it sounded like "damn it", and almost led to cancellation. On reruns, this was edited by having the Dad shout, "Oh..." followed by a few seconds of silence and a repeat of Dad yelling, "Two!" The unedited episode could be seen on Cartoon Network Video August 26th to October 8th 2007 and on Boomerang (TV channel).
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Emmy Awards Archive Database, using the year range as 1996-1998: http://www.emmys.tv/awards/awardsearch.php
- ^ a b Animator Profile: David Feiss. cartoonnetworkla.com. Cartoon Network. Retrieved on 2007-07-20.
- ^ a b Cow and Chicken, and I Am Weasel - two animated cartoon series. h2g2. BBC (2002-09-05). Retrieved on 2007-07-20.
- ^ Lacey, Gord (2006-06-07). Home Theatre Forum Warner Bros Chat Transcript - Part 2. TVShowsonDVD.com. Retrieved on 2007-03-26.
- ^ Bynum, Aaron H. (2006-02-09). CN Enterprises Announcements. AnimationInsider.net. Retrieved on 2007-03-26.
- ^ Trivia for "Cow and Chicken". The Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on 2007-07-05.
[edit] External links
