No Smoking

"No Smoking" is the eighteenth episode of What a Cartoon! It aired on November 12, 1995 on Cartoon Network. It was written and directed by its creator, Dave Feiss, and voice directed by Kris Zimmerman. It was a successful backdoor pilot to a fully realized Cow and Chicken spin-off series on July 15, 1997.

Characters

 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Chicken
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Charlie Adler
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Cow
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Charlie Adler
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Dad
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Dee Bradley Baker
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Mom
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Candi Milo
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| The Devil
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Charlie Adler
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Cerberus
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Jess Harnell
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| The Devil
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Charlie Adler
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Cerberus
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Jess Harnell
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Cerberus
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Jess Harnell

Locations

 * Earth
 * United States
 * Cow and Chicken's residence
 * Hell

Objects

 * Cigarettes
 * Flem-O's

Vehicles

 * None

Development
The idea originally came to Feiss after creating a bedtime story for his then six-year-old daughter. The morning after, he remembered it and turned it into a 25-page children's book. When Hanna-Barbera called him for their 52-episode What a Cartoon! idea, he pitched them Cow and Chicken. They started off as life-long friends with a romantic interest, but they were changed to siblings. The parents and the Red Guy (originally called the Devil) were also added; Feiss saw the Red Guy as the key to the show, "adding that extra element of chaos."

Casting
A hundred people auditioned for the different parts, with Charlie Adler auditioning separately for Cow, Chicken, and the Red Guy. There was a "little pushback" from Cartoon Network who believed that each character should be played by a different actor, but Feiss reminded them of Mel Blanc.

Filming
It was copyrighted in 1995.

Music
The What a Cartoon! theme song was performed by Gary Lionelli. The episode's main music was composed by Guy Moon. The director of music production was Bodie Chandler.

Crew credits

 * Story by: Pilar Feiss, Sam Keith, Dave Feiss
 * Art director: Deane Taylor
 * Executive producer: Buzz Potamkin
 * Supervising producer: Larry Huber
 * Production supervisor: Sylvia Edwards
 * Overseas animation director: Chris Cuddington
 * Casting director: Kris Zimmerman
 * Talent coordinator: Cindi Lyn Peltier
 * Supervising recording engineer: Ed Collins
 * Recording engineer: Preston Oliver
 * Background artists: Joseph Binggeli, BG Callahan, Jonathan Goley
 * Clean-up artist: Dana Jo Granger
 * Background supervisor: Al Gmuer
 * Xerographists: Star Wirth, Martin Crossley, Catherine Parotino
 * Ink and paint supervisor: Alison Leopold
 * Color stylist: Karen Greslie
 * Final checker: Nelda Ridley
 * Inkers and painters: Lori Hansen, Carmen Brooks
 * Executive in charge of post production: John Forrest Niss
 * Camera operators: Jim Keefer, Dan Larson, Steven Mills
 * Animation checkers: Beth Goodwin, Robert Revell
 * Track readers: Jim Hearn, Kerry Iverson
 * Supervising film editor: Paul Douglas
 * Negative consultant: William DeBoer, Jr.
 * Post production coordinator: Gail D. Silvers
 * Post-production supervisor: Gayle Mnookin
 * Sound mixing provider: Digimix
 * Sound editors: 21st Century Sound Design Corp.
 * Production manager: Debby Hindman
 * Production liaison: Heather Kenyon
 * Production assistants: Donna Castricone, Sandra Benenati, Linda Moore, Jeffrey Collins
 * Executive in charge of production: Joe Mazzuca
 * Development executive: Ellen Cockrill
 * Senior vice president of production: Sherry Gunther
 * Produced in association with: Fil-Cartoons
 * Production executive at FIL-Cartoons: Bill Dennis

Release
Dates are in order of release:


 * United States: November 12, 1995 on Cartoon Network

Behind the scenes

 * Feiss wrote the story with his then-wife, Pilar, and cousin, Sam Keith.
 * The Devil is later renamed the Red Guy for Cow and Chicken.
 * The milk carton Cow uses is dated February 7, 1984.
 * Sylvia Edwards is credited as production supervisor in the original end credits, but in the generic What a Cartoon! end credits, she is credited as line producer.
 * Lydia Swayne is credited as an inker and painter in the What a Cartoon! end credits.
 * For the poster, Captain Planet is in the Hanna-Barbera logo, which was either unironic or coincidental.

Errors

 * When Cow points out the milk carton she uses, there is a background marker still visible.