What Cow and Chicken Means To Me

If you were a child in the 90s, there's a chance you watched Cartoon Network in its early days. This channel got its start broadcasting a library of animated shorts from Warner Bros and MGM respectively; as well as Hanna Barbera's vast programming. But it wasn't long till the channel started creating its own original programming, their first wave of shows was called the 'Cartoon Cartoons'. One of these shows that helped build their empire was Cow and Chicken. The show was about these interspecies siblings, who would be put into various scenarios. But as each episode goes on, these situations would get crazier, they would often have encounters with a devil called the Red Guy. This was a show I watched a lot on the channel as a child, there was something to its characters and settings I adored. However, as my interests shifted away from it, I would want more out of the kid's shows I watched; but is there something about it that people are forgetting to appreciate?

On the surface, the stories might seem nonsensical, you might even think they sound absurd. I mean a 

young calf has a fully grown udder, and a boy fowl is called 'chicken'. But that's just the type of bizarre logic that the show lives by. By removing realism, it can make for more interesting stories. If you're willing to buy surreal ideas like talking farm animals eating pork butt and potatoes for dinner, you can buy this too. As long as it can pull you in with its bizarre logic and antics with the relatability of its characters. The lines are delivered in a way that gives the stories their own spice and flavour. The show also contains gross-out humour, I may have criticised other shows for using that brand of humour, but it works here. A lot of it involves meat products, as well as innuendo. People often compare its comedy to 'Ren and Stimpy', but I feel the show offers its own approach to that style of humour. I'd dare say this show did a better job with this trend of grotesque wackiness. I was worried that it wasn't the masterpiece I remember it to be. The gross-out doesn't bother me much as it's not the main focus, the real meat of the story is how it plays with tropes and your expectations. I love the show so much I don't question its logic or sanity. But the way it pushes things to an extreme also applies to how it's drawn. The designs on the characters and backgrounds give them a distinctive style, the features make them look strange, but they fit with the world they live in. The movements on the characters don't go overly surreal, there's a weight and restraint to the fluidity that make the motion and physical humour effective. It's really the comedy and stories that carry the visuals.

Looking back, the two lead characters have such a strong dynamic. Cow may be overly cheery and optimistic but she can also get emotionally attached to certain characters. She's always looking out for her older brother, despite all the pain and mayhem she puts him through. But she also has a superhero identity to help out those in need. Chicken is the more cynical and aggressive protagonist in contrast. His attitude and manic energy is reflective of young boys. His reactions to the character's stupidity and to his setting make him the straight man, he is able to work off Cow extremely well. But I think the character everyone remembers the most is The Red Guy. He makes for a comical antagonist who likes to mess with our main characters, as he serves as the catalyst for the situations. He appears in a wide variety of personas depending on the story, it's always interesting to see how his schemes turn out. His deviousness is a joy. What makes him so funny and memorable is his flamboyant mannerisms and fierce remarks, part of that comes from Charlie Adler's voice performance; he's able to give off such a vociferous range when portraying these characters. The supporting characters also have their share of funny moments, like the human parents who are seen from the waist down. There's also the main character's cousin, Boneless Chicken who has a deprecating sense of humour; he doesn't let his handicap hold him back. 

It is one of the funniest TV shows of the late 90s, without a doubt, it showed David Feiss as a pioneer in the field of animation. It's shows like Cow and Chicken that prove that they don't necessarily need to be deep or complex or have story arcs to be great. You just have to be good at what you do, and what this cartoon does is make me laugh. And if you can tell engaging stories and portray compelling characters that'll draw you in while also making people laugh; that's an impressive feat. Coming back to this show made me see how humour can be just as important a factor. It's worth going back to for some bonafide laughs. 

But the question remains, would I replace Gravity Falls on my favourite animated shows list for this? Well, while Cow and Chicken has been in my life longer than that show has, Gravity Falls just has the right balance of humour and lore. Gravity Falls may contain details and plot points for the viewers to decipher, but you can tell the makers of C&C tried to connect to a specific sense of humour. Dipper and Mabel may have a similar dynamic, but they're fleshed out throughout, but that doesn't make the ones from C&C any less charming or well written. It also has ambiguously LGBT characters, but C&C had ones long before, in a banned episode may I add. Gravity Falls did open up to mystery and world building for children, C&C did the same for mine and other people's sense of humour by presenting a wild part of it. Well, depending on what mood I'm in, I could like one or the other either way.