Cow and Chicken

***Cow and Chicken*** is an American animated comedy television series created by David Feiss for Cartoon Network and the 3rd 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.

## Production

### Development

David Feiss first created *Cow and Chicken* as a story for his daughter.[2] Feiss was an animator who had worked with Hanna-Barberaand 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*.[3] 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 Miloand 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.

## Characters

* Cow
* Chicken

## Other media

The two main characters, Cow (with Crabs the Warthog, Piles the Beaver, and Manure the Bear at her side) and Chicken, made cameo appearances as aliens in *Ben 10: Omniverse*. 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 (with Crabs the Warthog, Piles the Beaver, and Manure the Bear at her side) 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 (along with Crabs the Warthog, Piles the Beaver, and Manure the Bear) and Chicken are among the classic cartoon characters reunited in a spoof of ABC's *Once Upon a Time*.

Cow as her alter-ego Super Cow (with Crabs the Warthog, Piles the Beaver, and Manure the Bear) makes a cameo appareance on the *OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes* episode "Crossover Nexus" as one the *Ben Tennyson* transformations into different Cartoon Network characters. Chicken also appears turned into a stone along with other Cartoon Network characters in this episode.

## References

1. Kempner, Matt (March 6, 2002). "Tickling the Global Funny Bone: Cartoon Network Tweaks Shows to Click with Humor Around the World". Atlanta & the World. *The Atlanta Journal-Constitution*. p. 4E.
2. ^ Jump up to:***a*** ***b*** "Animator Profile: David Feiss". *cartoonnetworkla.com*. Cartoon Network. Archived from the original on 2006-05-16. Retrieved 2007-07-20.
3. ^ Jump up to:***a*** ***b*** "Cow and Chicken, and I Am Weasel — two animated cartoon series". *h2g2*. BBC. 2002-09-05. Retrieved 2007-07-20.
4. **^** Feiss, David (January 12, 2000). "Episode Guide: Cow and Chicken and I Am Weasel". Archived from the original on 2006-12-12. Retrieved 2011-07-05.
5. ^ Jump up to:***a*** ***b*** Gallo, Phil (July 15, 1997). "Cow and Chicken". *Variety*. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2013-05-31.
6. **^** Anthony Scibelli (August 6, 2010). "The 6 Creepiest Things Ever Slipped Into Children's Cartoons". *Cracked*. Retrieved January 16, 2011.
7. **^** "24th Annie Award Winners Announced". *Animation World Magazine*. Animation World Network (1.9). December 1996.
8. **^** "Cow And Chicken in No Smoking". *Emmys.com*. Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 2013-04-15.
9. **^** "25th Annual Annie Award Nominees and Winners (1997)". *AnnieAwards.org*. ASIFA-Hollywood. Retrieved 2013-01-26.
10. ^ Jump up to:***a*** ***b*** ***c*** "26th Annual Annie Award Nominees and Winners (1998)". *AnnieAwards.org*. ASIFA-Hollywood. Retrieved 2013-01-26.
11. ^ Jump up to:***a*** ***b*** ***c*** "Motion Picture Sound Editors, USA (1998)". *IMDb*. Retrieved 2013-01-26.
12. **^** "Cow And Chicken". *Emmys.com*. Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 2013-04-15.
13. **^** "27th Annual Annie Award Nominees and Winners (1999)". *AnnieAwards.org*. ASIFA-Hollywood. Retrieved 2013-01-26.
14. ^ Jump up to:***a*** ***b*** "Motion Picture Sound Editors, USA (1999)". *IMDb*. Retrieved 2013-01-26.
15. **^** "Motion Picture Sound Editors, USA (2000)". *IMDb*. Retrieved 2013-01-26.
16. **^** "Cow and Chicken Season 1". *Madman.com.au*. Madman Entertainment. Retrieved 2012-07-01.
17. **^** "Cow and Chicken Season 2". *Madman.com.au*. Madman Entertainment. Retrieved 2012-07-01.