Western Animation / Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa

"Comet raised the mesa to the western skies
With the sound of a thousand cattle drives
A chosen few would see the light
And fight the wrong with right!"

Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa is a Saturday-Morning Cartoon that aired on ABC starting in 1992 created by comic artist Ryan Brown (who inked several dozen issues of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics and designed several figures for the toy lines, which probably explains a few of the themes of the show). The show focused on the exploits of three anthropomorphic bulls who were in fact cowboys (har har).

See, in the 19^th century, a random comet crashed into the Southwestern United States causing a massive transformation among not only the land, but the animals as well, turning them into intelligent versions of themselves that decided to create their own city, Moo Mesa. In this city, they basically act as humans of the Old West did, and as such, there were good guys and bad guys... the former being the trio of C.O.W.-Boys (Marshall Moo Montana, The Cowlarado Kid, and Dakota) and the latter being composed of the city's shady politician Mayor Bulloney, and Sheriff Terrorbull who took on the alias of the Masked Bull, a criminal mastermind.

---

Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa provides examples of:

• Abnormal Ammo: The heroes use guns which, instead of firing bullets, shoot spinning six-pointed metal stars, resembling marshal's badges. How they are able to load this ammo into guns which appear to have ordinary revolver cylinders (as well as Bottomless Magazines) is never explained.
• Aborted Arc: When Terrorbull is forced to leave Cowtown, Bulloney tells him to deal with it until he can think of a way to bring him back. This is immediately forgotten.
• Absurdly Spacious Sewer: The Underground City from "The Down Under Gang" is somehow big enough to hide a whole network of crooks.
• The Ace: Moo Montana is seen as a capable and competent individual by nearly everyone, and especially Cody.
• Action Girl: Tejua and Cowlamity Kate, both are females and kick ass. The latter being a capable ranch owner, and the former is still a little girl.
• Aerith and Bob: Moo Montana and Lily Bovine is just one of the many examples of unusual names juxtaposed with mundane names in the series. Along with Cody, Carly, and Jake then Puma, Saddlesore, and Boothill
• Alliterative Name: Moo Montana, Dakota Dude, Cody Calf, Boothill Buzzard, Saddle Sore, Buffalo Bull, Cowlamity Kate, Colorado Kid...
• All There in the Script: The C.O.W.-Boys' crossover appearances in Tales of the TMNT reveal that J.R.'s initials stand for Jose Rey.
• Always Someone Better: Cowlamity Kate is this to Cowlarado Kid, outdoing him in lasso skills by a country mile. By the same token, Cowline's horse Tornado is far faster than Cowlarado's horse Jezebelle.
• And I'm the Queen of Sheba: "No Way to Treat a Lady" has the antelope member of Barbwire Babs' gang remark about Cowlarado Disguised in Drag "If that's a heifer, then I'm a billy goat".
• Animal Superheroes: Or rather Animal Lawmen.
• Animation Bump: The animation became a lot smoother in the second season.
• Answer Cut: In "No Face to Hide", once Miss Lily and Puma receive a telegram from Moo Montana telling them the real Shock Holiday is still at large, Puma asks who was arrested by Sheriff Terrorbull and the next scene shows the impersonator taking off his mask, revealing himself to be Boothill Buzzard.
• Anthropomorphic Transformation: The characters are turned into anthropomorphic versions of themselves thanks to the comet.
• Anti-Climactic Unmasking: When Shock Holiday was captured and unmasked, the characters witnessing the unmasking were disappointed by the lack of any special features at his face. Then again, it was overshadowed by the previous unmasking of the criminal's impersonator. (Marshall Moo Montana and Sheriff Terrorbull made a bet over who captured Shock Holiday and agreed the loser would leave Cow Town)
• Art Evolution: The series is a lot more detailed in the second season. One notable change is that Cowlamity Kate starts wearing lipstick, most likely to make her appear more feminine.
• Back from the Dead: Tom Duggery who is resurrected as Skull Duggery.
• Badass Adorable: Cody and Tejua had their moments of this, just because they're young doesn't mean they're helpless.
• Badass Bookworm: Cody and J.R. most of the time when they use their wits.
• Badass Longcoat: Both Bat Blastagun and Shock Holiday wear these.
• Bait-and-Switch: In "A Snake in Cow's Clothing", it's implied that the smooth-talking Jacques Le Beef might rob Miss Lily's safe. Instead, Mayor Bulloney has Saddlesore Scorpion rob it and Sheriff Terrorbull plant one of Le Beef's handkerchiefs to frame him.
• Banana Peel: Cody slips on a banana peel in the episode "Thoroughly Moodern Lily".
• Bankruptcy Barrel: In "Circus Daze", one of clowns in The Great Bovini's circus wore a barrel as part of his costume.
• Barefoot Cartoon Animal: Few of the characters actually wear boots.
• Bash Brothers: Moo and his deputies who fight crime together, along with Sheriff Terrorbull and Horrorbull who are actually brothers and do crime together.
• Bat Out of Hell:
  • Minor villain Bat Blastagun, an anthropomorphic bat.
  • The Cowgoyle also counts to a certain degree, since it's a monster with bat-like wings.
• Beauty Is Bad: Jacques Le Beef, Sadie Wowcow and Barbwire Babs are good-looking and also very untrustworthy.
• Berserk Button: Never ever threaten or disrespect Cowlamity Kate when Dakota's around.
• The Bet: In "No Face to Hide", Marshal Moo Montana and Sheriff Terrorbull enter a bet where the one who catches Shock Holiday wins and the loser leaves Cowtown and never returns. Moo is temporarily forced to leave when Terrorbull disguises Boothill as Holiday to trick the town but Moo and his friends eventually capture the real Shock Holiday and Terrorbull leaves Cowtown and becomes the Sheriff of Lonesome Gulch.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Most of the heroes fall under this category, their friendly demeanor lasts so long if anyone is foolish enough to piss them off.
• Big Bad: The Masked Bull, who's really the corrupt Sheriff Terrorbull.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing:
  • Jacques Le Beef from "A Snake in Cow's Clothing" turns out to be a con man using his charm to avoid suspicion.
  • Sadie Wowcow from "Thoroughly Moodern Lily" tries to shut down her rival Miss Lily with a competing saloon and puts on a false charm so that the customers don't know how rotten she really is.
  • In "No Way to Treat a Lady", Barbwire Babs and her gang pretend to be nice women when not committing crimes as the Masked Marauders.
• Bound and Gagged: Given this is a Western, expect this every other episode. Cody, and at least once Cowlorado, end up getting in this situation the most.
• Brainwashed and Crazy: Dakota, after being defeated by Skull Duggery and his gang in "Skull Duggery Rides Again", ends up having his mind controlled by them.
• Brainy Brunette: Tejua, Cowlamity Kate, and Buffalo Bull, all are brunettes and intelligent in their own fields.
• Bruiser with a Soft Center: Dakota Dude, whose massive strength is big as his heart and love for justice.
• Bumbling Henchmen Duo: Terrorbull's bumbling henchmen, Boothill Buzzard and Saddlesore Scorpion are rarely seen apart.
• Can't Catch Up: Cowlarado's horse Jezebelle is fast, but nowhere near as fast as Cowline's horse Tornado.
• Cat Girl: Barbara, a.k.a. Barbwire Babs is a humanoid feline.
• Cat Fight: Lily Bovine and Sadie Wowcow have a pretty big quarrel in the episode "Thoroughly Moo-dern Lily" and even tear off parts of their outfits during it.
• Cats Are Mean: Evil Eye and Barbara, a.k.a. Barbwire Babs are cats and villains.
• Character Development: Actually, there was a pretty decent amount in this show. In particular, there is Cody starting out as a Tagalong Kid and eventually becoming a useful ally to the lawcows.
• Chaste Toons: J.R.'s only seen relative is his niece Tejua.
• Chick Magnet: Moo Montana, Dakota Dude, Cowlarado Kid, and Jacques Le Beef all get a lot of attention from the ladies.
• Chivalrous Pervert: Cowlorado Kid and Swifty Buckhorn are both a bit lecherous at times, but are also decent people.
• Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Tejua, Carly and Jake were not in Season 2.
• City of Adventure: There is always a conflict for the lawcows to resolve in Cowtown, be it the doings of the corrupt Mayor Bulloney or a crime committed by crooks from out of town.
• Cloudcuckoolander: Boothill Buzzard isn't exactly right in the head to say the least. Saddlesore Scorpion also like this, to a lesser degree.
• The Complainer Is Always Wrong: This is averted when Moo and his deputies were suspicious of Jacques Le Beef when he became extremely popular in Cowtown, especially with the ladies. It turns out they were right since he was a con artist that was using a fake name to hide his true identity and cover up his scam.
• Cool Big Sis: Bessy for her two brothers Frank and Beans. Also Lily to Cody to a certain degree.
• Cool Teacher: Sara Sheep from "School Days" is loved by all the children and even has the respect of Dakota Dude.
• Cool Uncle: J.R. is this to his niece.
• Commuting on a Bus: Sheriff Terrorbull ends up banished from Cowtown in the beginning of season two, but returns to help Mayor Bulloney with more dishonest deeds after becoming the sheriff of the deserted Lonesome Gulch.
• Corrupt Corporate Executive: While Mayor Bulloney is mainly a politician, he's also a corrupt businessman.
• Country Star Composer: The theme song was co-written and sung by 1990s country singer Billy Dean.
• Courtroom Episode: While no episode had too much, if any, of courtroom time, a good deal of "Bulls of a Feather" was about the good guys keeping the witness safe for Sheriff Terrorbull's trial and the bad guys trying to either prevent the witness from showing up or make sure the witness' testimony wouldn't be enough to convict Terrorbull as the Masked Bull.
• Cover Innocent Eyes and Ears: In "Thoroughly Moo-Dern Lily", when the dance-off between Lily and her rival Sadie Wowcow devolves into a Cat Fight with their daring showgirl costumes being torn to shreds, the Dakota Dude is quick to cover Tagalong Kid Cody's eyes.
• Cowboy: No pun intended.
• Crossover:
  • The main heroes appeared as starring roles in the Tales of the TMNT series for a few issues, as well as in a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fast Forward episode. This pretty much confirms the show being part of the Turtles multi-verse.
  • The Fast Forward episode doesn't feature the actual Moo Mesa-verse but a virtual simulation.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: When Cowlamity Kate is attacked and aged by Skull Duggery's gang, Dakota tries to avenge her, but it really doesn't go as planned.
• Cute Bruiser: Cowlamity Kate, she may be pretty but doesn't stop her from kicking ass like the men.
• Damsel in Distress: Lily Bovine, at times in the arcade game where you have to save her.
• Damsel out of Distress: Lily and Tejua at certain points, even when getting kidnapped, they will often put up a fight and even free themselves.
• A Day in the Limelight: Several characters aside from the main heroes had episodes that focused on them and allowed for some nice Character Development along the way.
• Death Dealer: Five Card Cud, as on his toy he is also The Gambler. He "has little need of a gun because he can skin a snake with the flip of a playing card from fifty paces away." In the arcade game, he can create playing cards that can try to home in on you (though you can shoot them down).
• Defeat Equals Friendship: Cowline defeats both Cowlarado and Swifty in the horse race causing them to put aside their differences.
• Dem Bones: Skull Duggery, once a greedy miner, now resurrected to a skeleton in his debut.
• Demoted to Extra: In the first season, Bulloney and the Masked Bull were the villains of almost every episode. In season two, they were more-or-less replaced by one-shot villains.
• Disguised in Drag:
  • Cowlarado Kid does this to try to infiltrate Barbwire Babs' gang. It doesn't go very well.
  • Also Boothill Buzzard tries to pose as the school's female teacher to trick the children into helping him commit crimes.
• Distracted by the Sexy: The first episode has Montana get so flustered by Lily's proximity that he fumbles his Mad Libs Catchphrase - the Code of the West says many things, but "your eyes are beautiful" is probably not one of them.
• Dr. Fakenstein: "How the West was Shrunk" had Bat Blastagun and his gang conspire with a mad scientist named Dr. Wolfenstein.
• Dumb Muscle: Ma Belle's biggest son qualifies for this. He's very muscular and even admits that he can't count.
• Elephants Are Scared of Mice: When a circus arrived in town, Mayor Bulloney tried to use a mouse to scare an elephant so the resulting distraction would allow Saddlesore and Boothill to steal a diamond.
• Enemy Mine:
  • The episode "Dances With Bulls" has a pretty memorable one between Marshal Moo Montana and Sheriff Terrorbull in order to track down the Gila Hooligans.
  • The episode "Circus Daze" had The Great Bovini's magic stone affect all of the villains save Boothill Buzzard, so he and the C.O.W.-Boys must work together to stop The Great Bovini's plans and free the townsfolk under his mind control.
• Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas:
  • Ma Belle's gang, who are also her children, care a lot about her.
  • The Cacklin' Kid uses this as a means to gain sympathy from the judge to keep the picture he has of his mother, although the real reason he wants to keep it is because the back of it has a treasure map to his stolen loot.
• Everyone Loves Blondes: Moo Montana at least for his first girlfriend Bessy in his hometown, and Lily for Moo back at Cowtown.
• Everything Sounds Sexier in French: This is how Jacques Le Beef is able to win over the ladies of Moo Mesa, although it turns out that he's a con artist and his real name is Barney Finklestein who was just using a fake French accent and a disguise to hide his true identity.
• Evil Counterpart:
  • Sheriff Terrorbull and his deputies Saddle Sore and Boot Hill Buzzard are the criminal equivalents for Moo Montana and his deputies Cowlorado Kid and Dakota Dude.
  • Also Sadie Wowcow for Lily Bovine, since she runs a saloon of her own to try and steal Lily's customers and is very much Lily's opposite in personality, only caring about one-upping her old rival.
• Evil Redhead: Sheriff Terrorbull's hide is red and he conspires with Mayor Bulloney.
• Evil Smells Bad: Five Card Cud has flies circling around him.
• Evolving Credits: The opening for season two has clips of some of the villains introduced in season two spliced in.
• The Faceless: Shock Holiday from "No Face to Hide" has his face hidden by a rag until Moo captures and unmasks him.
• Fanservice with a Smile: Lily Bovine serves sarsaparilla at the Tumbleweed, is very attractive, and tends to wear a fetching blue dress when she works there.
• Family-Friendly Firearms: The guns shoot everything but bullets.
• Fantasy Counterpart Culture: The Buffalo Tribe were this to Native Americans while the rest of the animals are settlers and townsfolk.
• Fat Bastard: Mayor Bulloney, his weight is big as his corruption.
• Feminine Women Can Cook: Very much played straight. The tomboyish Cowlamity Kate is such a lousy cook that others dread her rhubarb pie, while the more feminine Lily Bovine is more skilled in the culinary arts.
• Fiery Redhead:
  • Lily Bovine has had her moments, at one point getting enraged when Moo forgot about their picnic date.
  • Sheriff Terrorbull also counts because his hide is red and he's often very angry.
• First Girl Wins: Averted, as Moo chose to stay with Lily in Cowtown as opposed to staying with his hometown girlfriend Bessy Bluebell.
• A Fool for a Client: Subverted in "Bulls of a Feather". When Sheriff Terrorbull is taken to court for his crimes as the Masked Bull, he doesn't have a lawyer but Judge Bulloney does the cross-examination and shows a good reason to deem the prosecution's witness unreliable.
• Four-Temperament Ensemble: Montana is Choleric, Dakota is Phlegmatic, and Cowlorado is Sanguine.
• Fragile Speedster: Cowlarado Kid and his horse Jezebelle were the fastest of the main heroes, but they also got into the most trouble.
• Freudian Trio: Boy howdy, the C.O.W. Boys! You have Moo Montana the Ego, Dakota Dude the Superego, and Cowlorado Kid the Id.
• Friend to All Children: Lily Bovine loves children as if they were her own, and the children love Lily as if she was their mother.
• Friend to All Living Things: J.R. Highlighted in "Wetware, Whoa", where he gives some water to a snake and helps a tortoise climb a rock.
• Frothy Mugs of Water: Lily's saloon is never said to serve anything other than sarsaparilla, but it sure looks like beer.
• Fun with Acronyms: The C.O.W. in the series title stands for Code Of the West, which is what the heroes live by.
• Furry Confusion: Justified, as the theme song explains that only "the chosen few" were affected by the comet and turned into anthropomorphic creatures.
  • This explains anthropomorphic cows riding non-anthropomorphic horses.
  • Or anthropomorphic cows rustling non-anthropomorphic cows.
• Furry Female Mane: The cow women have hair like human women.
• Genius Bruiser: Moo Montana, Buffalo Bull, and The Masked Bull are intelligent in the battlefield and out.
• The Ghost: In spite of having his own figure in the toyline, Colonel Cudster never appears in the cartoon and is only mentioned in "Wedding Bull Blues", where it is established that Cowlamity Kate is his daughter.
• Greed: Tom Duggery. In fact, it was Tom Duggery's greed and selfishness of his silver mine that got him trapped inside and eventually killed during a cave in, which caused him to return to the living world as Skull Duggery.
• Green-Eyed Monster: Sheriff Terrorbull and Sadie Wowcow are both jealous towards Moo Montana and Lily Bovine respectively for being more popular and well-regarded in their fields of work.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Bessy Bluebell, Moo's old flame is kind as she is beautiful and is blond.
• Halloween Episode: "Skull Duggery Rides Again" has Skull Duggery return the night before Halloween and attempt to destroy Cowtown during the town's Halloween party.
• Happily Adopted: Cody seems to be this since he has no known parents, is looked after by Lily, and is even confirmed to live with her in the second season.
• Hates Baths: In "Boom Town or Bust", Boothill Buzzard gives not wanting to take a bath as his reason for wanting to leave before the flood comes.
• Hero-Worshipper: Cody for Moo to the point he wishes to become a deputy.
• Hidden Elf Village: Moo Mesa itself was created when an irradiated comet struck the late 19th century Western plains, raising it above the clouds (and hiding its surface from human eyes) and anthropomorphizing all the cows and some other animals.
• Hollywood Mirage: Occurred in the episode "Dances with Bulls" when Marshal Moo Montana and Sheriff Terrorbull had to wander the desert while tied to each other, the latter hallucinating a cactus as a water fountain and a street sign as a giant popsicle.
• Hollywood Tone-Deaf: Dakota Dude has a terrible singing voice. Marshal Moo Montana and Cowlorado Kid even complain about it in "Sheepful of Dollars".
• Honest John's Dealership: Major Bulloney does this in "Wetward, Whoa" by selling water to the people of Cowtown and continuously jacking up the price.
• Hot-Blooded: Cowlarado Kid is a lot more impulsive than Marshal Moo Montana and Dakota Dude.
• Humanoid Female Animal: The female cows pretty much look like women with bovine ears and snouts.
• I'm a Doctor, Not a Placeholder: In "Bulls of a Feather", Cowlorado complains about having to guard Puma because he's "a cowboy, not a babysitter".
• Impossibly Cool Weapon: Moo Montana's weapon is a shuriken pistol that shoots tin stars.
• Improbable Aiming Skills: Moo Montana had these as his specialty. No matter what he manages to hit with his pistols, they always manage to stop the bad guys in some way.
• Improbable Weapon User: One of Shock Holiday's cronies uses a rifle that shoots acidic bean paste.
• Incredible Shrinking Man: "How the West Was Shrunk" had the lawcows shrunk by a ray gun powered by a comet fragment.
• Indian Maiden: Tejua, the young bison calf.
• Insistent Terminology: Cowlorado Kid let his friends call him "Cowlorado", but wanted everyone else to call him "Kid".
• Intelligence Equals Isolation: Dr. Wolfenstein from "How the West Was Shrunk" is shown to be a hermit.
• Interspecies Romance: Swifty Buckhorn, a jackalope, attempts to woo Cowlamity Kate's cousin Cowline, a cow.
• Ironic Echo: In "No Face to Hide", when it seems Sheriff Terrorbull won the bet, he tells Marshall Moo Montana "A deal is a deal". Moo repeats these words back to him when Moo becomes the real winner and Terrorbull asks him to forget about the bet.
• Jail Bake:
  • "A Snake in Cow's Clothing" had the women of Cowtown try to free Jacques Le Beef from prison when he's framed for robbing a safe by Mayor Bulloney and his thugs by sending over food that had tools he could use to escape hidden inside. Sheriff Terrorbull, himself secretly the outlaw the Masked Bull, checks all of the food and points out to the women that it is illegal to help criminals escape.
  • Discussed by Bat Blastagun's henchman Sid when Lily tries to sneak in the shrunken C.O.W.-Boys by hiding them in one of her honeycakes in the episode "How the West was Shrunk". Sid warns Bat that there could be a file hidden in the cake.
• Jaw Drop: Lily Bovine has one when Moo attempts to marry Cowlamity Kate in order to save her father's mine from being taken away in "Wedding Bull Blues".
• Jerkass: Sheriff Terrorbull and Mayor Bulloney are both very mean and conniving finks.
• Karma Houdini: The main villains Sheriff Terrorbull, Mayor Bulloney, Saddle Sore, and Boot Hill Buzzard never get any punishment that sticks. While Saddle Sore and Boot Hill Buzzard are more likely to end up in jail, Mayor Bulloney keeps letting them out. In addition, Sheriff Terrorbull is exiled from Cowtown in "No Face to Hide", but simply becomes sheriff in Lonesome Gulch to continue his corrupt ways.
  • No one ever finds out that Terrorbull is the Masked Bull nor just how deep Bulloney's corruption runs.
• Keet: The Cacklin' Kid isn't all that malicious for a criminal, what with always trying to strike a conversation and being so energetic.
• Kid-Appeal Character: Cowlorado Kid is implied to be younger than the other C.O.W.-Boys and Cody is a child. Both of them have the usual fun-loving and reckless aspects of kid-appeal characters.
• Kid Sidekick: Cody and Tejua at times are useful when the heroes bring them along.
• Knight of Cerebus: The undead Skull Duggery, especially in his second appearance "Skull Duggery Rides Again", where he teams up with two other ghosts in a plan to raze Cowtown.
• The Lad-ette: Cowlamity Kate can hold her own like the boys.
• Large and in Charge: Big Bucks from "Boom Town or Bust" is taller than his minions.
• Larynx Dissonance: Michael Greer as Sadie Wowcow.
• Leeroy Jenkins: Cowlarado Kid's plan of attack, is simply to attack.
• Legally Dead: Seven years after Colonel Cudster put his daughter in charge of his gold mine and left Cowtown to look for more gold, Mayor Bulloney tried to invoke an old law to get the Colonel declared dead and seize the mine.
• Lethal Chef: Cowlamity Kate, much to the group's disgust. In "Legend of Skull Duggery", the heroes joked that eating her rhubarb pie is punishment enough.
• Light Feminine and Dark Feminine: Lily Bovine and Sadie Wowcow respectively are a good-natured woman and a manipulative rogue.
• Lightning Bruiser: Shock Holiday, appropriately enough, is a big man and also surprisingly quick.
• Long John Shout-Out: The episode "Cow Pirates of Swampy Cove" featured a pirate named Longhorn Silver as the villain.
• Low Count Gag: Combined with a Running Gag. The Hole in the Ground Gang consists of only two members (both brothers), much to the confusion of those they come across. They eventually justify it by saying the other members are in prison.
• Made of Iron: Dakota Dude can take punishment as much as he can dish out.
• Mad Scientist: Dr. Wolfenstein, who is enlisted by Bat Blastagun to create a shrink ray in "How the West Was Shrunk".
• Magic Meteor: The one that rose the mesa and mutated all the animals.
• The Man Behind the Man: Mayor Bulloney is the reason the Masked Bull commits his crimes and keeps coming back.
• Meaningful Name: Most characters had these. Some of the more notable examples include the skeletal Skull Duggery and the gambler Five Card Cud.
• Meaningless Villain Victory: Sheriff Terrorbull attempts to cheat at the raffle in "Stolen on the River" to win the tickets to the Dixie Trixie, only to find that the boat has been hauled into dry land after the C.O.W.-Boys discovered it to be a front for Five Card Cud's thievery.
• Merchandise-Driven: Like many cartoons at the time, the show had its own toyline.
• Mind-Control Eyes: The episode "Circus Daze" features a stone that the Great Bovini uses to hypnotize people into stealing for him. The stone shrinks the victims' eyes. Boot Hill Buzzard, whose eyes are already that small, isn't affected.
• Miniature Senior Citizens: Ma Belle is relatively small compared to most of her family.
• Monster of the Week: In the second season, most episodes involve a one-shot antagonist.
• Motivation on a Stick: In "How the West was Shrunk", the shrunken C.O.W.-Boys make it to Dr. Wolfenstein's castle by riding on bees, which they control by guiding them with twigs dipped in honey.
• Motor Mouth: The Cacklin' Kid has trouble shutting up whenever he starts talking.
• Ms. Fanservice: Lily Bovine and Sadie Wowcow are quite attractive and even get a scene where they dance in revealing outfits.
• Named After Somebody Famous: Several characters' names reference famous cowboys and outlaws of the Wild West.
  • Cowlamity Kate is named after Calamity Jane.
  • Buffalo Bull is named after Buffalo Bill.
  • Bat Blastagun's name is a play on Bat Masterson.
  • Shock Holliday's name references Doc Holliday.
• The Napoleon:
  • Ma Belle from "The Down Under Gang" is very short, but als orders her larger sons around and is a notorious criminal.
  • Mules Burne from "The Wild Wild Pest" is short in stature, but also kidnaps a bunch of inventors to build a giant robot for him to control and overthrow the governor with.
• Nice Guy: Pretty much everyone other than Mayor Bulloney, Saddle Sore, Boot Hill Buzzard, Sheriff Terrorbull, and the show's other antagonists is a good-natured person always willing to help those in need.
• Nitro Express: "Bang 'Em High" had the villains try to use nitroglycerin in a parade float to kill Moo Montana.
• No Celebrities Were Harmed:
  • Bat Blastagun's voice is a Jack Nicholson impression.
  • Dr. Wolfenstein from "How the West was Shrunk" sounded a lot like Boris Karloff.
• Non-Mammal Mammaries: While cows are mammals, the females in this series have human-like breasts instead of udders.
• Non-Standard Character Design: J.R. and Tejua were both drawn without ears, unlike the rest of the characters.
• Not Now, We're Too Busy Crying Over You: Happens in "Cow Pirates of Swampy Cove", where Dakota Dude thinks that Cody got eaten by a crocodile and continues sobbing over his apparent demise even after Cody appears before the lawcows.
• Not-So-Forgotten Birthday: "Another Fine Mesa" had Dakota Dude, Cowlorado Kid, and Lily Bovine pretend to forget about the tenth anniversary of Moo being marshal, only for Moo to go back to his hometown Miller Glen.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: The Cacklin' Kid, which makes sense considering he's a hyena.
• On One Condition: Cowlamity Kate's father, who left Cowtown seven years ago, once wrote a letter that was declared a will naming Cowlamity and her husband as heirs to his gold mine. However, this will won't be valid unless she has a husband by the time her father dies. Mayor Bulloney once tried to have her father declared dead so he could use the lack of a will to claim the mine for the town.
• Paper-Thin Disguise: In order to discredit Moo Montana's witness when Sheriff Terrorbull was taken to the courts for the Masked Bull's crimes, Saddlesore Scorpion and Boothill Buzzard showed up dressed as the Sheriff to see if the witness could tell which one was the real Sheriff Terrorbull. The witness claimed there were three Sheriff Terrorbulls in the courtroom, thus destroying the prosecution's case.
• Passing the Torch: When Moo returns to Miller Glen, Sheriff T-Bone attempts to do this with him and says his old student Moo Montana would be perfect to take his place as the new sheriff, but Moo respectfully turns the offer down and suggests that he train Bessy's younger brothers Frank and Beans to be the next sheriffs of Miller Glen instead.
• Pie in the Face: Dakota Dude gets hit in the face with a pie in "Circus Daze".
• Pirate: Captain Longhorn Silver and his crew from "Cow Pirates of Swampy Cove", who get the C.O.W.-Boys' attention when they tamper with the mail to steal gold and 25 dollars Cody sent for a new pair of boots.
• Pirate Parrot: Captain Longhorn Silver from "Cow Pirates of Swampy Cove" has a parrot.
• Plucky Girl: Most of the female cast Tejua, Carly, Cowlamity Kate, and even Lily Bovine has her moments of this.
• Polly Wants a Microphone: Captain Longhorn Silver's parrot in "Cow Pirates of Swampy Cove", since Cowlorado Kid successfully interrogates him about Silver and his crew's whereabouts.
• Posthumous Character: Tom Duggery, who died in a cave-in years before the events of the series and is resurrected as Skull Duggery.
• Pride: This was mainly the cause of most of Sheriff Terrorbull's, and by extension, the Masked Bull's defeats by Moo and his deputies. He's too arrogant to even consider the possibility of defeat.
• Pronouncing My Name for You: The Gilla Hooligans constantly remind people that "gilla" is pronounced "hee-la" and not "gee-la".
• Proper Lady: Lily Bovine and Cowlamity Kate's cousin Cowline both tend to dress and act the way women were expected to in the olden days.
• Psycho Electro: Shock Holiday fires lightning from his guns and is very short-tempered.
• Punny Name: The majority of the characters, especially the villains had these. For instance, there's Bessy's brothers Frank and Beans.
• Rapid Aging: Skull Duggery and his men turn several denizens of Cowtown into senior citizens (including Buffalo Bull and Cowlamity Kate) in "Skull Duggery Rides Again".
• Real Women Don't Wear Dresses: Played straight and subverted at the same time with Cowlamity Kate who was much more of an Action Girl than Lily Bovine, but subverted because Lily was able to contribute and hold her own pretty well in sticky situations most of the time.
• Recycled IN SPACE!: The show got an Arcade game which was a clone of Sunset Riders which, in turn, was Contra in the Wild West.
• Red and Black and Evil All Over: The Masked Bull wears red and black to hide his true identity.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning:
  • Bat Blastagun, Shock Holiday, The Cowgoyle, and Skull Duggery are all antagonists with red eyes.
  • Also Dakota, after being defeated by Skull Duggery and his gang, has red eyes to show he is under their control.
• Remember the New Guy?: Shags, Cody's dog, who only appeared in the last episode "The Wild Wild Pest", yet was treated as if he was always around.
• Reptiles Are Abhorrent: Bat Blastagun's friend Gill, The Gilla Hooligans, and The Hole In The Ground Gang are all villainous reptiles. They are respectively a lizard, a gang of Gila monsters, and a pair of snakes.
• Repulsive Ringmaster: In the episode "Circus Daze", the villain was a ringmaster named The Great Bovini.
• Riddle for the Ages: So, is Cowlarado wearing clothes that have his same skin pattern or what?^note If you look at the screenshots he is wearing pants (that are indeed patterned like a cow of his color''s legs would be). You can tell by the shape. No idea on the shirt, though.
• Right-Hand Hottie: Sadie Wowcow takes this role to Mayor Bulloney in her appearance. She is very attractive and aids the mayor in trying to put the Tumbleweed out of business.
• The Rival:
  • Sheriff Terrorbull is often at odds with Moo Montana.
  • Sadie Wowcow starts her own saloon to try and drive Lily Bovine out of business and later tries to prove she is a better showgirl than she is.
  • Swifty Buckhorn and Cowlorado Kid both compete for Cowline's affections in "The Fastest Filly in the West".
• Rule of Cool: In the Arcade Game, the Cowboys can swim up a waterfall.
• Rule of Three: Moo Montana and his deputies, Sheriff Terribull and his deputies, Bat Blastagun and his cronies, Skull Duggery and his cronies, and so on.
• Sand In My Eyes: When Cody points out that Dakota was crying over his assumed death in "Cow Pirates of Swampy Cove", Dakota gives the excuse that he just had swamp dust in his eyes.
• Save the Villain: The C.O.W.-Boys end up having to save Mayor Bulloney, Boothill Buzzard and Saddle Sore from the incoming flood when Mayor Bulloney refuses to leave behind the money he's made by selling overpriced mining tools and his two cohorts unsuccessfully try to pry their boss away to safety.
• Scary Stinging Swarm: Cody gets chased by bees while trying to get honey in "How the West Was Shrunk".
• Schoolmarm: Sara Sheep becomes the schoolmarm of Cowtown in "School Days".
• "Scooby-Doo" Hoax: Happens in "Night of the Cowgoyle", where the titular monster turns out to be a criminal disguising himself as the Cowgoyle to smuggle gold.
• Shadow Archetype: Sadie Wowcow is very much what Lily Bovine would be like if she had less scruples.
• Sharp-Dressed Man: Jacque Le Beef wears a good-looking white suit.
• She Cleans Up Nicely: Most of the female characters would qualify with Cowlamity Kate, who ordinarily avoids wearing dresses, in a wedding dress in "Wedding Bull Blues" as the defining example.
• Ship Tease: A good deal of romantic subtext happens between Dakota Dude and Cowlamity Kate. Notable instances include Kate appreciating Dakota's compliment on her pink dress in "Bulls of a Feather" and the two revealing that while they aren't ready for marriage, the one they'd like to get hitched with is one another in "Wedding Bull Blues".
• Shock and Awe: Shock Holiday appropriately falls under this because his guns shoot lightning bolts.
• Showgirl Skirt: Lily Bovine and Sadie Wowcow wear skirts that don't cover much of their waists in "Thoroughly Moodern Lily".
• Single-Target Sexuality: Moo is attracted only to Lily, despite all of the advances he's had by other women.
• Small Role, Big Impact: Shock Holiday only appears in the first episode of Season 2 but the bet over who catches him is the reason Sheriff Terrorbull is forced to leave Cowtown and stays out for the rest of the series.
• Soap Punishment: Lily mentions that she'd like to wash Sheriff Terrorbull's mouth out with soap in "Another Fine Mesa".
• Stripperific: Lily Bovine and Sadie Wowcow's revealing outfits in "Thoroughly Moodern Lily" bordered on this.
• Suddenly Significant Rule: In "Wedding Bull Blues", Mayor Bulloney tries to seize Colonel Cudster's assets by enforcing a law that says every Cowtown citizen who isn't heard from in 7 years is declared dead and, if the citizen in question didn't leave a will, the citizen's assets go to the town. Colonel Cudster sends his daughter a letter every year but the Mayor sent the Masked Bull to steal them. Marshall Moo Montana finds the mail pigeon with Colonel Cudster's latest letter, preventing him from being declared dead.
• Super-Speed: Cowlarado's horse Jezebelle can ride very fast. Cowline's horse Tornado is even faster.
• Super-Strength: Dakota is a powerful mountain of a man.
• Supreme Chef: Lily Bovine, in contrast to Cowlamity, is actually a good cook.
• Tagalong Kid: Cody and his friends, Carly and Jacob, and Tejua the buffalo calf whether the heroes bring want to or not.
• Teacher/Student Romance: Dakota apparently had a Precocious Crush on his first school marm, according to the episode "School Days". In fact, he seems to have a thing for teachers in general, since he also gets besotted with Boothill Buzzard when he turns up disguised as the new school marm.
• Team Mom: Lily Bovine, and even possibly adopted mother for Cody.
• Terrible Trio: Most of the main villains traveled in teams of three.
• Theme Naming:
  • The three main characters are all named after states.
  • Also Sheriff Terrorbull and his brother Horrorbull, their names being plays on "terrible" and "horrible" respectively.
• Time Master: Skull Duggery and his friends were able to make buildings become dilapidated and to make people rapidly age.
• Tomboy: Cowlamity Kate doesn't usually wear dresses and isn't as feminine as the other women on this show.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: Cowlamity Kate and Lily Bovine respectively. Lily is much more feminine.
• Tomboy with a Girly Streak: Cowlamity Kate is revealed to be this in "Bulls of a Feather" when her parcel turns out to be a pink dress.
• Too Dumb to Fool: Boothill Buzzard is literally so dumb that he is actually immune to the hypnotic effects of Bovini's magic crystal.
• Took a Level in Badass: Cody and Tejua on several occasions managed to help the C.O.W.-Boys in their battles.
• True Blue Femininity: Lily Bovine sometimes wears a blue dress.
• Two Guys and a Girl:
  • The lawcows' horses fall under this. Moo and Dakota had their stallions Cyclone and Rebel, and Cowlarado had his mare Jezebelle.
  • Also Cody, and his friends Carly and Jacob.
• Visual Pun: One-shot antagonist Billy the Kidder is a goat. A Billy goat is a kind of goat, plus young goats are sometimes called kids.
• Weird West: Leave aside that all the characters are mutant farm animals/wild life. One of the antagonistsis an undead prospector.
• We Will Meet Again: Both of Skull Duggery's episodes end with him vowing to get even with the lawcows for besting him.
• Went to the Great X in the Sky:
  • Cowlarado Kid remarks that he's not ready to go to the big mesa in the sky when the Baying Bunch attempt to kill him, Dakota Dude and Marshal Moo Montana in "The Cacklin' Kid".
  • In "Circus Daze", Bovini gets his clown henchman to retrieve his magic crystal by threatening to send him to the big top in the sky.
• Wicked Cultured: The Gilla Hooligans act like classy snobs and taste is important to them when it comes to the valuables they steal.
• Wise Beyond Their Years: Tejua, picks up after her uncle J.R in this regard.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: In 'A Sheepful of Dollars', it seemed that Sally Sue Holstein would become Cowlorado's love interest. After that episode, she was never seen again.
• Would Hit a Girl: Moo and his deputies are forced to engage in combat with a band of female bandits in the episode "No Way To Treat A Lady".
• You Dirty Rat!: Fast Willy and his gang in "The Fastest Filly in the West" happen to be rats.
• You Need a Breath Mint: In "Thoroughly Moodern Lily", Sheriff Terrorbull tells the Cowlarado Kid to watch his mouth. Cowlarado replies by remarking "Brush your teeth".
• You're Insane!: In "The Wild Wild Pest", Buffalo Bull responds to being informed of Mules Bernes' plan by remarking that the villain is madder than a two-headed woodpecker.

---