Cow and Chicken: Why "Ugly" Cartoons Matter - Hats Off

Cow and Chicken is fondly remembered, but does it get the respect it deserves? Join me as I go over it's history, and how this ugly cartoon changed Cartoon Network forever.
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[@LowellLucasJr.]

Ugly cartoons need to exist because you need to have a unique way of portraying raw motion that can be both comedic and just downright entertaining! When you're getting something like Ben 10 you can never risk anything straying away from the character model, verses something like Teen Titans; where you can get away with cartoony chibi and exaggerated expressions that are just plain ugly. In short, ugliest ,is great because you need a varied artstyle to stand out from the norm! So my hat's off goes to cow and chicken, Beetlejuice , the animators behind Ren and stimpy ( no not the creator, just the art team), 80s Mighty Mouse, Baby Huey, The Mighty B, Schnookums and Meat, and so much more!❤ It's truly good to be ugly after all!!!

[@fryguy9704]

MAMA HAD A CHICKEN! MAMA HAD A COW! DAD WAS PROUD! HE DIDN’T CARE HOW 🗣️🔥🔥🔥

[@BugsyFoga]

One of the few cartoons that hopped on the Ren and Stimpy bandwagon that people fondly remember

[@mechajay3358]

0:10 Archer: "HEY, PHRASING!"

[@LowellLucasJr.]

I hate to be that guy, but in a later episodes of cow and chicken, its revealed that the top half of the parents have been erased!😂 The fact that they function without their tops halves is disturbing as they're able to drive a car, make breakfast, and other other oddities!😂 It's also revealed that there's more than one red guy in town! There was an episode where two of them are meeting face-to-face to each other, even one of them having a scab fairy as a cousin or brother! So I guess the intro proves that point!

[@larrylaffer3246]

Ah yes Charlie Adler's magnum opus of VA roles Red Guy, Cow, and Chicken.

[@Fatih_M177]

I love "Ugly Cartoons" a lot cause they really just go out and say "Screw the Rules, we're gonna do it OUR WAY!" and just draw in the most absurd, yet stylized way! I even take a lot of inspiration from them, i tend to draw humans without foreheads, and have their eyes and hair just kinda extend upwards, not cause i don't know how to draw, but cause i think it's funny! and besides, they can't all be pretty and beautiful, we gotta balance it out (But the same should also be for the other way, not everything needs to be absurd, there's a time and place for beautiful shows with overarching lore and there's a time and place for silly wacky fun!)

[@calebpribyl5152]

Yeah I really love it as well! I know a lot of people hate this one but personally I really liked the brothers grunt! The characters look so fun to draw and it was made by the guy who would later work on ed Edd n eddy! Ren and stimpy (even if it was made by John kountry) I also really liked! You can be so creative with your ideas! (Heak I’ve been throwing this idea around in my head after a weird movie I saw in theatres!

[@jurtheorc8117]

Right on! Although these next titles are video games rather than cartoons, i think you'd find a lot to love in stuff like the Zeno Clash games. The protgaonist of the 2023 prequel Clash: Artifacts of Chaos, named Pseudo, is a * w e i r d * fupping creature and i love him for it. Otherwise, the Oddworld games, Psychonauts, most of the games by Zoink! such as Stick It To The Man and Lost in Random, the recently released Judero and the upcoming The Midnight Walk are of great delight and strangeness too.

[@johndex]

You're one of the few people who actually talk about CN classics in respectful way, great ass video 👌

[@LowellLucasJr.]

Without ugly cartoons, we wouldn't have the red guys comedic expressions and hilarious yelling animated to match Charlie Adler's wonderful voice!!!😂❤ Just remember kids, it's good to be ugly after all!!!🎉🎉🎉

[@Tacom4ster]

I actually met Michael Dorn, I talked about that Duck Dodgers Megadeth episode, he doesn't remember, but signed my Blu Ray of Star Trek 6

[@Jamal-bl7yh]

I Understand D'Angelo I Feel The Same About defunct Wrestling promotion WCW after watching that on KZbin In 2007 I got so much Insight to the Wrestling buisness also I grew up watching Cow and Chicken In the late 1990's prefer 2 Stupid Dogs more

[@rokzupan1306]

Cow and Chicken was an amazing tv show

[@TheAllSeeingEye2468]

This show was unhinged. And the lesbian ep was the best

[@jurtheorc8117]

"Ugly" video games too! Such as Oddworld, the Zeno Clash series (still greatly love the prequel Clash: Artifacts of Chaos from 2023), the recent Judero, and i think to an extent the games by Zoink! (Stick It To The Man, Flipping Death, Zombie Vikings) and the upcoming game by Moonhood, The Midnight Walk.

[@Godzilla-tu2cd]

Man this show is super hilarious... igly cartoons need more love 😂😂😂

[@kikisniper2579]

The goat is back

[@CodyVondell]

this show was a classic! great use of the breaks, appreciate the shout out!

[@HatsOffMedias]

Thanks! Been a patreon for a bit, so I'm glad I finally got to use them

[@TheCartoonGamer8000]

I was at a low point earlier in the year, and just watched the "No Smoking" pilot on a whim, and it made my slump infinitely better. I'd like to give this series a go sometime - I need a good shocking kids cartoon to watch again. Also Charlie Adler is king, so there's that too.

[@HatsOffMedias]

Hope ya feel better, and yeah he's the best!

[@alejandrodeleon6648]

Great to see ya back, dude and with a new video to boot~~😏👌🏼

[@HatsOffMedias]

More to come!

[@Aberyyyy]

finally, it's about time someone talked about GOAT and PEAKen

[@dtlegacy2495]

Cow and chicken needs to be on streaming and needs to be on DVD and Blu-ray.

[@slim_streams]

I was ready to skip the ad because I thought it was gonna be for displate or something but seeing it was your mom's awesome art was way better

[@jamilfrost6217]

No lie this shows scares and makes me more uncomfortable than Ren and Stimpy. Why, two words. RED. GUY.

[@mightyfilm]

Cow and Chicken is basically THE so stupid it's brilliant show. It proved you can have a stupid cartoon with a stupid premise and stupid characters, but you have to commit. You can't just throw in a bunch of "pee pee poo poo" jokes with goofy voices, you have to go so over the top in every aspect that you create this glorious madness that gives it that bite, that edge. I've seen other cartoons pull it off (Pig, Goat, Banana, Cricket and Uncle Grandpa) and ones that failed miserably at it (the late season Ren and Stimpy episodes and Mr. Pickles for example). There's an art to it. Though, honestly, I don't think it's remembered as fondly as the other CN shows at the time, nor did it get the big wave of merch Dexter and PPG managed to get. Like there was a Taco Bell promotion once, and that was it. And yes, I do prefer I. M. Weasel just a tiny bit more.

[@brandimate]

omg...when you watch the show now with adult eyes, the sly dirty jokes you understand now is hilarious!

[@SilverScribe85]

As far as "ugly" cartoons go, Cow & Chicken works because none of its imagery came off as...excessively gross. Meanwhile, stuff like Mega Babies or Secret Mountain Fort Awesome were just an assault on the eyes from the trailers alone. One other thing I gotta say is that I really miss Charlie's voice work. I often wonder if he retired or if he's still in the animation business

[@mesousagaby740]

It's kinda weird how ugly cartoons are more accepted if it's for kids than for adults. I...admit it's a tiny bit of a double standard. Everyone complains about Big Mouth, but those same people also praise Klasky-Csupo's stuff. One more weird David Feiss fact: he then worked on a cartoon named YooHoo & Friends that has Flava Flav voicing one of the characters. A friend of mine is obsessed with it. XD

[@505izzy01]

I LOST MY MIND AT THAT CLIP FROM THE INTRO WHEN WATCHING COW AND CHICKEN AS AN ADULT, I WANTED EVERYONE TO KNOW IMMEDIATELY HOW WILD THAT IS

[@patricklauer4452]

I never liked when people brought up Cow & Chicken in old vids they would always dismiss it just “too weird” which is a shame because I always really liked it and this vid shows why. Awesome work as always, Hats:D

[@SmrtPhonRtistCF]

Good job covering this. There is more to what goes on in Cow and Chicken than what we see and what we hear and this makes the series way more special than one would know.

[@LowellLucasJr.]

Question, would you be able to do a video on Cartoon Network of japan? I was really shocked to see their commercials having the red guy team up with Aku and other villains trying to attack the Cartoon Network heroes! It was really awesome and really cool!!

[@condemnedpotbelly8491]

This was a guilty pleasure even as a 9 year old 😅

[@sjmhadsock4586]

The fact that the red guy is the devil is funny

[@spencerdokes6056]

Young David fiess= pro jared

[@sjmhadsock4586]

And the red guys jokes are about how he has no pants

[@byrine]

lookin forward to your show comin out!

[@eugenegodzilla946]

Cow and chicken

[@thegreatacolyt1277]

They make me feel weird in a great way

[@thecyberdork776]

👍

[@171QA]

XD

[@ChloeHotline]

FINALLY a good CoW & Chicken video! Thanks Hats Off!! This show was one of my favs as a young kid and always found it underrated

[@HatsOffMedias]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@amm2media472]

OMG, I wasn't allowed to watch Cow and Chicken either! However, that didn't stop me from sneaking a few episodes either.

[@HatsOffMedias]

Nothing can keep a kid away for a cartoon they want

[@rahbeeuh]

Completely forgot I was subbed but glad to see this video pop up in notifications! Takes me back. Cartoon, Cartoon 🎉

[@HatsOffMedias]

Yeah, been busy, but thanks for watching!

[@tylerferguson3193]

Hope you're having a good day

[@HatsOffMedias]

So far so good

[@madmanzeek9081]

Oh, my God. This cartoon takes me back😊

[@HatsOffMedias]

Same!

[@Xiaolin-Loonatic]

I like the surreal art styles that shows like Cow & Chicken/I.M. Weasel, Flapjack, Problem Solverz, Secret Mountain Fort Awesome and Uncle Grandpa are known for. I find them all charmingly rustic (Only exception being My Gym Partner's a Monkey.).

[@HatsOffMedias]

I dunno man, Gym Partner looks great in hd

[@Xiaolin-Loonatic]

@@HatsOffMedias I beg to differ.

[@sjmhadsock4586]

Awesome

[@HatsOffMedias]

Thanks!