[7.7/10] It’s funny, I don’t think I really picked up any themes from this show when I watched it as a teenager, but they come in loud and clear now. There’s the idea of honesty at the root of this pretty absurd situation, where as much as the boys are scandalized that baby cows are being help captive and slaughtered, they’re just as angry about the fact that parents and authority figures lied to them about it. The fact that they fight for the FDA to change the name of veal to “tortured baby cow” (with predictable market-crashing results) and that their parents can’t end the stand-off because they refuse to lie to their kids again is an interesting thread through the episode.
There’s also the obvious point on meat-eating in the episode. It’s funny how the show tries to stake out a middle ground, saying that it’s not okay to eat tortured baby cows, but that we still shouldn’t stop eating meat or else we’ll become “giant pussies” or worse yet, hippies. You could maybe chalk this up as satire, but it feels pretty earnest. It is, frankly, a little hypocritical for the show to complain about veal specifically while endorsing beef in general where factory farming has its own issues, but maybe that’s the point?
Regardless of all that semi-social stuff, this is just a fun caper. Butters is such a great addition to the main crew, and the way he says goodnight to the calf, or mistakes what a “calf exerciser” does, or just generally annoys Cartman is delightful. The addition of a bewildered Michael Dorn and Cartman instructions to be referred to as “captain” are hilarious, and Cartman’s interactions with the terrible FBI negotiator are just as enjoyable. The parents’ efforts to get their kids to open the door, and their little jabs at one another are good for a laugh. And really, the whole enterprise of using calves as hostages is good for a lot of amusing bits.
Overall, this is a very funny episode, whose point gets a little muddled at times, but which manages to tell an amusing if characteristically wacky story about honesty, vegetarian principles, and crazy hostage schemes perpetrated by 3rd graders.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2018-09-21T01:35:37Z
[7.7/10] It’s funny, I don’t think I really picked up any themes from this show when I watched it as a teenager, but they come in loud and clear now. There’s the idea of honesty at the root of this pretty absurd situation, where as much as the boys are scandalized that baby cows are being help captive and slaughtered, they’re just as angry about the fact that parents and authority figures lied to them about it. The fact that they fight for the FDA to change the name of veal to “tortured baby cow” (with predictable market-crashing results) and that their parents can’t end the stand-off because they refuse to lie to their kids again is an interesting thread through the episode.
There’s also the obvious point on meat-eating in the episode. It’s funny how the show tries to stake out a middle ground, saying that it’s not okay to eat tortured baby cows, but that we still shouldn’t stop eating meat or else we’ll become “giant pussies” or worse yet, hippies. You could maybe chalk this up as satire, but it feels pretty earnest. It is, frankly, a little hypocritical for the show to complain about veal specifically while endorsing beef in general where factory farming has its own issues, but maybe that’s the point?
Regardless of all that semi-social stuff, this is just a fun caper. Butters is such a great addition to the main crew, and the way he says goodnight to the calf, or mistakes what a “calf exerciser” does, or just generally annoys Cartman is delightful. The addition of a bewildered Michael Dorn and Cartman instructions to be referred to as “captain” are hilarious, and Cartman’s interactions with the terrible FBI negotiator are just as enjoyable. The parents’ efforts to get their kids to open the door, and their little jabs at one another are good for a laugh. And really, the whole enterprise of using calves as hostages is good for a lot of amusing bits.
Overall, this is a very funny episode, whose point gets a little muddled at times, but which manages to tell an amusing if characteristically wacky story about honesty, vegetarian principles, and crazy hostage schemes perpetrated by 3rd graders.