Don't Have a Cow (That's So Raven)

Last updated
"Don't Have a Cow"
That's So Raven episode
Episode no.Season 2
Episode 2
Directed by Rich Correll
Written by Michael Carrington
Production code204
Original air dateOctober 17, 2003 (2003-10-17)
Guest appearances
List of episodes

"Don't Have a Cow" is the second episode and Halloween special in the second season of the Disney Channel television series That's So Raven , which aired on October 17, 2003. It was written by Michael Carrington and directed by Rich Correll.

Contents

In the episode, Raven and Chelsea attempt to use magic to attend the Halloween party of Raven's nemesis, Alana. While the plan works, a mistake in their spell-casting causes them to start turning into cows. In the subplot, Cory tries to convince Victor that he's too old to be trick-or-treating with him.

Plot

Raven and Chelsea are the only students in their class not invited to Alana's Halloween party due to Raven's bad history with her. At the Chill Grill, Victor tells them that Alana's having the party at the restaurant, which Raven knows Alana did to spite her. Chelsea panics after realizing Victor accidentally switched their orders, resulting in her eating a hamburger instead of a veggie burger. Being a vegetarian, she feels guilty and begins wearing a pin button with a cow's face on it.

After finishing his shift, Victor, dressed up as Victor Frankenstein, prepares to go trick-or-treating with Cory, who's wearing a body builder costume. Cory tells Victor that he wants to trick-or-treat with his friends rather than his father. The disappointed Victor allows Cory to go with his friend William, whose costume is a remote control that causes nearby electrical products to malfunction. Tanya, dressed as Igor, cheers Victor up by offering to trick-or-treat with him in Cory's place.

Raven and Chelsea pass the time by looking inside a trunk filled with paranormal objects that belong to Raven's grandmother, Viv. They come across a magical book that contains instructions for a spell that can grant any wish and decide to try casting it to get invited to Alana's party. After placing the necessary ingredients in a cauldron and reciting the magic words, they receive a call from a hypnotized Alana confirming their invitations. The two then wish to become the most popular girls at the party and have the best costumes. They fail to notice Chelsea's button fall into the cauldron during their second incantation and go upstairs to prepare their costumes.

While looking for outfits, they are horrified to find that their bodies have developed cow ears and tails. Eddie comes to the house to take them to the party, but they force him to leave as they start mooing sporadically and allow him to take the spell book to go with his sorcerer costume. The two discover that they are turning into cows due to the button's interference with the spell and are unable reverse the magic without the book. Raven suggests that they go to the party and get the book back to find a way to undo the spell, believing that the students won't question their appearances on Halloween.

Cory and William return to the house empty-handed due to William's costume setting off multiple alarms in the neighborhood. Victor and Tanya arrive back with a bag full of candy and allow the boys to take some of theirs. Cory tells Victor that he misses trick-or-treating with him, prompting Victor to take the two boys out to get more candy.

At the party, Raven and Chelsea struggle to find Eddie as their bodies continue to change (such as developing snouts and hooves) and they begin to display cowlike behavior such as eating straw and chewing cud. When they finally locate him, Chelsea eats the book page they needed to reverse the spell just as Alana's friends halt the party to announce the costume contest results. Alana is outraged to learn that she placed second behind Raven and Chelsea. As the students applaud them, Raven and Chelsea appear on all fours fully transformed into Holstein cows due to the spell's completion. The two sarcastically remark that their wish came true and that they "might as well milk it". It is then revealed that the whole night was all a vision that Raven had right before Chelsea ate the burger, allowing her to stop Chelsea from eating meat and prevent her vision from happening.

Back at the house, Victor and Tanya spend their alone time eating their Halloween candy.

Reception

Even a decade after its release, "Don't Have a Cow" is considered a Halloween classic, with a number of publications praising the main plot revolving around Raven and Chelsea's cow transformations. MTV named it #1 in their "9 most iconic Disney Channel Halloween episodes" and called it one of the scariest Disney Channel Halloween experiences, stating "When the spin-off series debuts, I seriously hope they remake this episode, because what's more traumatizing than becoming a cow? NOTHING." [1] [2] Glamour listed it in their "9 Disney Channel Halloween Episodes to Watch," saying, "All you need to know about the Halloween episode of That's So Raven is that it ends with Raven and Chelsea turning into real-life cows. Like, they grow snouts, moo excessively, and chew cud. If that doesn't explain the high school experience, then what does?" [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trick-or-treating</span> Halloween tradition

Trick-or-treating is a traditional Halloween custom for children and adults in some countries. During the evening of Halloween, on October 31, people in costumes travel from house to house, asking for treats with the phrase "trick or treat". The "treat" is some form of confectionery, usually candy/sweets, although in some cultures money is given instead. The "trick" refers to a threat, usually idle, to perform mischief on the resident(s) or their property if no treat is given. Some people signal that they are willing to hand out treats by putting up Halloween decorations outside their doors; houses may also leave their porch lights on as a universal indicator that they have candy; some simply leave treats available on their porches for the children to take freely, on the honor system.

<i>Trick or Treat</i> (1952 film) 1952 Donald Duck cartoon

Trick or Treat is a 1952 animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The cartoon, which takes place on Halloween night, follows a series of pranks between Donald Duck and his nephews with Witch Hazel. The film was directed by Jack Hannah and features the voices of Clarence Nash as Donald and his nephews, and June Foray as Hazel.

<i>Thats So Raven</i> American television sitcom (2003–2007)

That's So Raven is an American television teen sitcom that was created by Michael Poryes and Susan Sherman, and aired on Disney Channel for four seasons between January 2003 and November 2007. The series centers on Raven Baxter (Raven-Symoné), a teenager with hidden psychic abilities. Episodes show Raven experiencing visions of future events; she must also deal with the social and personal issues of her youth. Raven often misinterprets the events she foresees, and intervenes to prevent a vision from coming true or to protect her friends and families. She uses her skills in fashion design to create elaborate disguises she wears during these schemes. Raven's secret is shared with her best friends Eddie Thomas and Chelsea Daniels, along with her brother Cory and parents Tanya and Victor. The series explores supernatural elements, family, friendship, and adolescence.

<i>Cory in the House</i> American television series

Cory in the House is an American television sitcom which aired on the Disney Channel from January 12, 2007, to September 12, 2008, and was a spin-off from the Disney Channel show That's So Raven. The show focuses on Cory Baxter, who moves from San Francisco, California to Washington, D.C., with his father, after Victor Baxter gets a new job as the White House Executive Chef. The series was the first Disney Channel spin-off series, as well as the final Disney Channel series overall, to be both shot and broadcast in standard definition for the entire run of the show. Reruns of the series have aired on Disney Channel and Disney XD, it also aired on the Family Channel in Canada. Raven-Symoné guest-starred in one episode, reprising her role as Raven Baxter.

<i>Halloweentown</i> (film series) 1998–2006 American television film series

Halloweentown is a series of four fantasy films released as Disney Channel Original Movies: Halloweentown (1998), Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge (2001), Halloweentown High (2004), and Return to Halloweentown (2006).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party</span> Annual Halloween-themed event

Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party (MNSSHP) is a separate-admission Halloween-themed event held annually during the months of August, September, October, and November at the Magic Kingdom theme park of the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, near Orlando, and at Disneyland Paris Resort outside Paris, France. The party began as a response to the Halloween Horror Nights event at Universal Studios Florida. Disney's event caters to a traditional family atmosphere, whereas Universal's has more of a "fright-centered" event with their monsters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mickey's Halloween Party</span> Annual Halloween event at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure

Mickey's Halloween Party is an annual Halloween-themed separate admission at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. An earlier event with the original name had been held in 1995 and 1996 at the Disneyland Park, but was not revived until 2005 at Disney California Adventure. Mickey's Halloween Party was considered to be a more family-friendly response to the scare-centered events Halloween Horror Nights, Knott's Scary Farm, and Six Flags Fright Fest. The event ran at Disney California Adventure through 2009, and returned to the Disneyland park starting in 2010. In 2019, the Party was moved back to Disney California Adventure and retitled Oogie Boogie Bash. Its new features included a water show at Pixar Pier called "Villainous".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">That's So Suite Life of Hannah Montana</span> Crossover episode of three Disney Channel series

"That's So Suite Life of Hannah Montana" is a crossover episode of the Disney Channel sitcoms That's So Raven, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, and Hannah Montana. In the United States, it aired on July 28, 2006 as a three-part special and served as a TV movie. The three episodes of the crossover were watched by 5.7–7.1 million viewers.

<i>Boo to You Too! Winnie the Pooh</i> 1996 American film

Boo to You Too! Winnie the Pooh is a 1996 Halloween television special produced by Walt Disney Television Animation with the animation production done at Toon City Animation, Inc. in Manila, Philippines, along with the additional production at Thai Wang Film Productions in Bangkok, Thailand. Based on the Disney television series The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, it was originally broadcast on October 25, 1996 on ABC.

The first season of That's So Raven aired on Disney Channel from January 17, 2003 to March 5, 2004. The season introduces the Baxter family, Raven (Raven-Symoné), Cory, Tanya Baxter, and Victor Baxter as they manage with Raven and her ability to see into the future. Orlando Brown and Anneliese van der Pol co-stars as Raven's best friends, Eddie Thomas and Chelsea Daniels.

The second season of That's So Raven aired on Disney Channel from October 3, 2003, to September 24, 2004. The season deals with the Baxter family, Raven (Raven-Symoné), Cory, Tanya Baxter and Victor Baxter as they continue to manage with Raven and her ability to see into the future. Orlando Brown and Anneliese van der Pol co-star as Raven's best friends, Eddie Thomas and Chelsea Daniels.

"Halloween on Spooner Street" is the fourth episode of the ninth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on November 7, 2010. The episode follows baby Stewie and anthropomorphic dog Brian as they go trick-or-treating on Halloween. Stewie is confronted by bullies, who steal his candy, causing the two to attempt to take the candy back. Meanwhile, neighbors Peter and Joe decide to play several pranks on their other neighbor, Glenn Quagmire, causing him to want to seek revenge on his friends while Meg and Chris attend a teenage halloween party at Connie D'Amico's house. The episode is the only Halloween special of the series as well as one of the only episodes to have three subplots.

The third season of That's So Raven aired on Disney Channel from October 1, 2004 to January 16, 2006. The season deals with the Baxter family, Raven (Raven-Symoné), Cory, Tanya and Victor Baxter as they continue to manage with Raven and her ability to see into the future. Orlando Brown and Anneliese van der Pol co-stars as Raven's best friends, Eddie Thomas and Chelsea Daniels.

The fourth and final season of That's So Raven aired on Disney Channel from February 20, 2006 to November 10, 2007. This season ultimately became the final season of the show, closing the chapter on the story of the Baxter family, which now consists of only Raven Baxter (Raven-Symoné), Cory Baxter, and Victor Baxter, following T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh's departure from the show in the third season as the matriarch, Tanya Baxter. Anneliese van der Pol and Orlando Brown reprise their roles as Chelsea Daniels and Eddie Thomas respectively.

It's the Great Pancake, Cleveland Brown is the fourth episode of the second season of the American animated television series The Cleveland Show, and the 25th episode overall. It originally aired on November 7, 2010 on Fox.

"Fort Night" is the second episode of the fourth season of the American animated comedy series Bob's Burgers. The episode, written by Mike Olsen, is the series' second Halloween special, and features guest appearances from comedians Aziz Ansari and Molly Shannon. Its plot centers around the Belcher siblings – Tina, Gene, and Louise – getting trapped in their makeshift fort on Halloween with their friends Darryl (Ansari), Andy, and Ollie, all the while being tormented by Millie (Shannon), a psychotic classmate of Louise's who refuses to send any help. The children must try to escape the fort before trick-or-treating commences at night.

<i>Ravens Home</i> American television series

Raven's Home is an American family sitcom television series developed by Jed Elinoff and Scott Thomas that aired on Disney Channel from July 21, 2017 to September 3, 2023. The series stars Raven-Symoné, Issac Ryan Brown, Navia Robinson, Jason Maybaum, Sky Katz, and Anneliese van der Pol for its first four seasons. Raven-Symoné and Issac Ryan Brown returned for the fifth season, alongside Mykal-Michelle Harris, Felix Avitia, Emmy Liu-Wang and Rondell Sheridan.

"The Scoots" is the fifth episode of the twenty-second season of the American animated television series South Park. The 292nd overall episode of the series, it first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on October 31, 2018.

A Disney Halloween is a 90-minute Halloween-themed television special which originally aired as an exclusive on The Disney Channel on October 1, 1983. The special is hosted by an offscreen narrator and the Magic Mirror which incorporates segments from both "Disney's Halloween Treat" (1982) and "Disney's Greatest Villains" (1977) episodes featuring classic short cartoons and excerpts of various villains from Disney feature films. The opening and closing credits feature footage of the 1929 Silly Symphony short The Skeleton Dance, as did "Disney's Halloween Treat", but the coloring on the skeletons has been changed to green, orange, and dark green. The special was rebroadcast during October for the following years on The Disney Channel until the late 1990s.

References

  1. Grant, Stacy. "THE 9 MOST ICONIC DISNEY CHANNEL HALLOWEEN EPISODES – RANKED". mtv.com. Archived from the original on October 22, 2015.
  2. Grant, Stacy. "8 TIMES DISNEY CHANNEL'S HALLOWEEN EPISODES FREAKED YOU THE HELL OUT". mtv.com. Archived from the original on November 1, 2016.
  3. Rosa, Christopher. "9 Disney Channel Halloween Episodes to Watch If Horror Movies Freak You Out". glamour.com.