| Cow and Chicken | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | |
| Created by | David Feiss |
| Voices of | |
| Theme music composer | Guy Moon |
| Opening theme | "Cow and Chicken" |
| Ending theme | "Cow and Chicken" (Instrumental) |
| Composer | Guy Moon |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 52 (104 segments)(list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Producers |
|
| Running time | 14 minutes |
| Production companies | |
| Original release | |
| Network | Cartoon Network |
| Release | July 15, 1997 (1997-7-15) – August 13, 1999 (1999-8-13) |
| Related | |
Cow and Chicken is an Americananimatedcomedy television series created byDavid Feiss forCartoon Network. It is the third of the network'sCartoon Cartoons. It follows thesurreal adventures of twotalking animal siblings, Cow and Chicken. They are often antagonized by the Red Guy, a cartoonish version ofthe Devil who poses as various characters to scam them.[1]
The original pilot appeared as an episode of the animation showcase seriesWhat a Cartoon!. The popularity of the original short allowedHanna-Barbera Cartoons andCartoon Network Studios 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 calledI Am Weasel, which was later spun-off into its own half-hour series on June 10, 1999; both shows were the final shows on the network to be produced solely by Hanna-Barbera and Cartoon Network Studios. It was nominated for twoEmmy Awards.
The series focuses on the misadventures of two unlikely yet somehow biological siblings: the sweet-natured, dim, ecstatic,anthropomorphic Cow and her cynical older brother Chicken (both voiced byCharlie Adler). The two are often caught in escapades with their flamboyant enemy, the Red Guy (Adler), a comical version ofthe Devil himself who disguises himself under various personas, usually to either scam everyone around or just for fun. However, he once tried to take Chicken toHell.[a]
Supporting characters include Chicken and Cow's delirious human parents Dad and Mom (Dee Bradley Baker andCandi Milo, respectively), only seen from the waist down and implied to have no torsos, heads, or arms; Chicken's best friends Flem (Howard Morris) and Earl (Dan Castellaneta); and their cousin, Boneless Chicken (Adler).[2] Cow has her favorite dolls, Crabs the Warthog, Piles the Beaver, and Manure the Bear, who is a polar bear.
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 ascooties or venturing into the girls' restroom, but enhanced comically.
David Feiss first createdCow and Chicken as a story for his daughter.[3] Feiss was an animator who had worked withHanna-Barbera and related projects since 1978.[3]
Years later, Feiss was called to submit ideas forWhat a Cartoon!, a series of various animated shorts from numerous creators and writers, created by Hanna-Barbera presidentFred Seibert. Feiss submitted three ideas to executive producerLarry Huber, one of which wasCow and Chicken.[4] Cow and Chicken premiered onWhat a Cartoon! in 1995. Later, Hanna-Barbera decided to turnCow and Chicken into a full series, following many letters from fans asking for more.[4]
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,Jim Belushi,Pamela Adlon,Tom Kane and many others.
| Season | Episodes | Originally released | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | |||
| Pilot | November 12, 1995 (1995-11-12) | |||
| 1 | 13 | July 15, 1997 (1997-7-15) | October 7, 1997 (1997-10-7) | |
| 2 | 13 | January 13, 1998 (1998-1-13) | April 7, 1998 (1998-4-7) | |
| 3 | 13 | September 1, 1998 (1998-9-1) | May 3, 1999 (1999-5-3) | |
| 4 | 13 | April 26, 1999 (1999-4-26) | August 13, 1999 (1999-8-13) | |
Cow and Chicken has a total of 52 episodes in 4 seasons that were produced from July 1997 to July 1999. Each half-hour contains 2Cow and Chicken and 1I Am Weasel segment.[5]Cow and Chicken premiered as a full half-hour on July 15, 1997.[6] The series ran for 52 episodes through 1999. As a supporting segment, the show included a cartoon calledI Am Weasel; this segment was spun off as an independent series that premiered on June 10, 1999.[7] Typically, an episode would consist of two seven-minuteCow and Chicken shorts playing back-to-back, then followed by a seven-minuteI Am Weasel short before the end credits.[6] The exception to this structure was episode 105 ("The Ugliest Weenie"), which had theWeasel short ("I Are Big Star") play in-between the twoCow and Chicken shorts, possibly because said shorts were one storyline.
The second season segment "Buffalo Gals", first paired with "Cow and Chicken Reclining", was banned by Cartoon Network after they received one letter of complaint from a parent about the episode's visual and verbal innuendo about the titular biker group beinglesbians. 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."[8] In addition, the Buffalo Gals play softball and talk about pitching and catching.
"Buffalo Gals" only aired once on June 27, 1998, and was replaced with "Orthodontic Police" in future airings, including onNetflix streaming and reruns onBoomerang. The episode was also discussed on an installment ofRob Paulsen'sTalkin' Toons special featuringCow and Chicken creator David Feiss and voice actor Charlie Adler when an audience member asked why "Buffalo Gals" only aired once.
KJ Dell'Antonia ofCommon Sense Media gave the show three stars out of five, describing it as "if Ren & Stimpy starred inMonty Python..."[9]
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Annie Award | Best Animated Short Subject[10] |
| Won |
| Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming One Hour or Less)[11] |
| Nominated | |
| 1997 | Annie Award | Best Individual Achievement: Storyboarding in a TV Production[12] |
| Won |
| 1998 | Outstanding Individual Achievement for Music in an Animated Television Production[13] |
| Nominated | |
| Outstanding Individual Achievement for Producing in an Animated Television Production[13] | Vincent Davis | Won | ||
| Outstanding Individual Achievement for Storyboarding in an Animated Television Production[13] |
| Nominated | ||
| Golden Reel Award | Best Sound Editing — Sound Effects[14] | Greg LaPlante | Nominated | |
| Best Sound Editing — Television Animated Series[14] | Cartoon Network | Nominated | ||
| Best Sound Editing — Television Animation — Music[14] | Cartoon Network | Nominated | ||
| Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming One Hour or Less)[15] |
| Nominated | |
| 1999 | Annie Award | Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production[16] |
| Nominated |
| Golden Reel Award | Best Sound Editing — Television Animated Series — Sound[17] | Cartoon Network | Nominated | |
| Best Sound Editing — Television Animation — Music[17] | Cartoon Network | Nominated |
Cow makes a cameo in the beginning ofThe Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy episode "Herbicidal Maniac" giving General Skarr fertilizer.
During theMad episode "Once Upon a Toon", Cow and Chicken are among the classic cartoon characters reunited in a spoof of ABC'sOnce Upon a Time.
The two main characters, Cow and Chicken, made cameo appearances as aliens inBen 10: Omniverse. They were the second Cartoon Network characters to make cameo appearances in theBen 10 franchise, Billy fromThe Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy being the first. Adler reprised his roles for the cameo.
In theOK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes episode "Crossover Nexus", Chicken and I.M. Weasel (withMichael Dorn reprising his role as Weasel for a speaking cameo) made cameo appearances as two of the Cartoon Network heroes that were summoned by Strike, and also Cow (as SuperCow) appears as one of the Cartoon Network heroes thatBen Tennyson (Ben 10) shapeshifts into.
The Red Guy briefly appears in theJellystone! episode "Vote Raspberry", where he is shown to reside in Hell once again. For this appearance, he is voiced byDana Snyder.
Cow and Chicken: Season 1, a two-disc set featuring the complete first season which contains 13 complete episodes, was released byMadman Entertainment in Australia (Region 4PAL) on September 12, 2007.[18]Season 2 came out on February 10, 2010, by the same company in Australia.[19] 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 gameCartoon Network Racing contains the episodes "Black Sheep of the Family" and "Child Star" (PS2 version only) as unlockable extras.
All 4 seasons were released on iTunes and Amazon as of August 16, 2018.
| Title | Format | Format | Country | Distributor | Release date | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cartoon Cartoons: Cow and Chicken | VHS | NTSC | United States | Cartoon Network | 1998 | [20] |
| Cow and Chicken: Volume 1 | PAL | United Kingdom | Warner Home Video (UK) | — | ||
| Cow and Chicken: Who Is Super Cow? | Australia | Warner Home Video (Australia) | — | |||
| Cow and Chicken: Season 1 | DVD | PAL | Australia | Madman Entertainment | September 12, 2007 | [18] |
| Cow and Chicken: Season 2 | February 10, 2010 | [19] |
American releases
Taco Bell promoted the series with a licensed kids meal featuring five toys fromCow and Chicken at 4200 restaurants beginning in February 1999.[23]
Cow, Chicken, and the Red Guy are playable characters in the 2006racing gameCartoon Network Racing, which released on thePlayStation 2 andNintendo DS. The PlayStation 2 version includes Flem and Earl as playable characters.
Cow/Supercow, Chicken, and the Red Guy are playable characters in thekart racing video gameCartoon Network Speedway, which released on theGame Boy Advance in North America on November 17, 2004.
Cow and Chicken are playable characters and other characters cameo from the show in the party video game Cartoon Network: Block Party, which released on the Game Boy Advance in North America on August 5, 2004.
Cow and Chicken: Super Cow Adventure platform java game developed by Cobra Mobile was released on mobile devices on 2007. The Red Guy kidnaps Chicken and Cow must save him and defeat The Red Guy. The game contains 21 level and 1 mini game.
In the online video gameFusionFall, one of the character items is based onCow 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.
