Cow and Chicken


Cow and Chicken is an American animated comedy television series created by David Feiss for Cartoon Network, and the third of the network's Cartoon Cartoons. It follows the surreal adventures of two funny animal siblings, Cow and Chicken. They are often antagonized by the Red Guy, a cartoon Devil who poses as various characters to scam them.
The original pilot appeared as an episode of the animation showcase series What a Cartoon!. The popularity of the original short allowed Hanna-Barbera to give it the green light for a full series, which premiered on July 15, 1997. Originally, Cow and Chicken was attached to another segment called I Am Weasel, which was later spun-off into its own half-hour series on June 10, 1999. The series was produced by Hanna-Barbera Cartoons. It was nominated for two Emmy Awards.

Premise

The series focuses on the misadventures of two unlikely yet somehow biological siblings: the sweet-natured, dim, ecstatic, anthropomorphic 7-year-old Cow Steer and her cynical 11-year-old older brother Chicken Steer. The two are often caught in escapades with their flamboyant enemy, the Red Guy, who disguises himself under various personas to attempt to scam them.
Supporting characters include Chicken and Cow's human parents Dad and Mom, only seen from the waist down; Chicken's best friends Flem and Earl ; and his cousin, Boneless Chicken.
The series draws on eccentric, surreal, grotesque, and repulsive humor. For example, Cow and Chicken always order "pork butts and taters" in the cafeteria, the Red Guy always shows his butt, and characters often pepper their speech with malapropisms and sarcasm. The humor and storylines depicted are often based on traditional childhood worries, anxieties, or phobias such as cooties or venturing into the girls' restroom, but enhanced comically.
Many of the slapstick antics involve Cow getting physically abused.

Production

Development

David Feiss first created Cow and Chicken as a story for his daughter. Feiss was an animator who had worked with Hanna-Barbera and related projects since 1978.
Years later, Feiss was called to submit ideas for What a Cartoon!, a series of various animated shorts from numerous creators and writers. Feiss submitted three ideas to executive producer Larry Huber, one of which was Cow and Chicken. Cow and Chicken premiered on What a Cartoon! in 1995. Later, Hanna-Barbera decided to turn Cow and Chicken into a full series, following many letters from fans asking for more.

Voice actors

A single actor, Charlie Adler, voiced the three leading roles of Cow, Chicken, and the Red Guy. Supporting voices included Candi Milo and Dee Bradley Baker as Mom and Dad, and Dan Castellaneta and Howard Morris as Earl and Flem.
Guest stars included Feiss, Will Ferrell, Carlos Alazraqui, Tom Kenny, Jill Talley, Dom DeLuise, Michael Gough, Mark Hamill, Jess Harnell, Pamela Adlon, and many others.

Episodes

Cow and Chicken has a total of 52 episodes in 3 seasons that were produced from November 1996 to April 1999. Each half-hour contains 2 Cow and Chicken and 1 I Am Weasel segment. Cow and Chicken premiered as a full half-hour on July 15, 1997. The series ran for 52 episodes through 1999. As a supporting segment, the show included a cartoon called I Am Weasel; this segment was spun off as an independent series late in the show's run. Typically, an episode would consist of two seven-minute Cow and Chicken shorts playing back-to-back, then followed by a seven-minute I Am Weasel short before the end credits. The exception to this structure was episode 105, which had the Weasel short play in-between the two Cow and Chicken shorts, possibly because said shorts were one storyline.
Reruns continued to be shown on Cartoon Network from 1999 to 2003, and again from 2005 to 2008 as part of the network's blocks titled The Cartoon Cartoon Show and Top 5.

Controversial episode

The second season segment "Buffalo Gals", first paired with "Cow and Chicken Reclining", was banned by Cartoon Network after receiving one letter of complaint from a parent about the episode's liberal visual and verbal innuendo about the titular biker group being lesbians. In the segment, the Buffalo Gals break into people's homes to chew on the carpet, a biker named Munch Kelly has a carpet swatch for a calling card, and when Dad freaks out over the Buffalo Gals in the house, Mom says, "They're not after you." In addition, the Buffalo Gals play softball and talk about pitching and catching. Although it was only shown on air once, it was replaced by "Orthodontic Police" in future airings, including on Netflix streaming and reruns on Boomerang. The episode was also discussed on an installment of Rob Paulsen's Talkin' Toons special featuring Cow and Chicken creator David Feiss and voice actor Charlie Adler when an audience member asked why "Buffalo Gals" only aired once.

Awards and nominations

Other media

The two main characters, Cow and Chicken, made cameo appearances as aliens in . They were the second Cartoon Network characters to make cameo appearances in the Ben 10 franchise, Billy from The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy being the first. Adler reprised his roles for the cameo.
Chicken made a cameo near the end of the Cartoon Planet episode " Tom Foolery".
Cow makes a cameo in the beginning of The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy episode "Herbicidal Maniac" giving General Skarr fertilizer.
During the Mad episode "Once Upon a Toon", Cow and Chicken are among the classic cartoon characters reunited in a spoof of ABC's Once Upon a Time.
In the OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes episode "Crossover Nexus", Chicken and I.M. Weasel made cameo appearances as two of the Cartoon Network heroes that were summoned by Strike, and also Cow appears as one the Cartoon Network heroes that Ben Tennyson shapeshifts into.

Home media

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 on September 12, 2007. Season 2 came out on February 10, 2010, by the same company in Australia. The entire series got partially released on DVD in Thailand as 4 season sets, containing Thai and English audio, with the segment "Buffalo Gals" banned from these releases.
The video game Cartoon Network Racing contains the episodes "Black Sheep of the Family" and "Child Star" as unlockable extras.
All 4 seasons were released on iTunes and Amazon as of August 16, 2018.
TitleFormatDVD RegionCountryDistributorRelease dateRef.
Cartoon Cartoons: Cow and ChickenVHSUnited StatesCartoon Network1998
Cow and Chicken: Season 1DVD4AustraliaMadman EntertainmentSeptember 12, 2007
Cow and Chicken: Season 2DVD4AustraliaMadman EntertainmentFebruary 10, 2010

American releases
Cow, Chicken, and the Red Guy are playable characters in the game Cartoon Network Racing. The PlayStation 2 version includes Flem and Earl as playable characters.
Cow/Supercow, Chicken, and the Red Guy are playable characters in the game Cartoon Network Speedway.
In the video game FusionFall, one of the character items is based on Cow and Chicken. Cow and Chicken's cousin, Boneless Chicken, can also be seen on a billboard in the game. Though not in the game, Cow is seen as Supercow as a statue at Mt. Neverest.