open/close all folders
The Main Trio
Maggie
"It's time for a little bovine intervention."
Voiced by: Roseanne Barr; Marie Vincent (European French Dub)
A prize-winning Hereford cow who lost her farm to Alameda Slim after he stole all the cattle, except for her. Her owner moves her to "Patch Of Heaven".
- Boisterous Bruiser: She's brash, and if her interactions with Mrs. Calloway are any indication, she's not one for respecting personal boundaries.
- Constantly Lactating Cow: She's introduced as a prize milking cow who has been sold by her owner.
- Gasshole: Maggie burps loudly three times throughout the film; twice after eating food and once in Mrs.. Calloway's face. The first and third time, she remarks, "Ah that was good!"
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Headstrong, aggressive, and a bit vain. You'd be hard-pressed to find a more kind and loyal cow, however.
- The Hecate Sisters: The Mother. Maggie is eccentric, plump, and in a rough way, motherly.
- Male Gaze: Shows off every inch of herself, and she has plenty of inches to show off.
- The McCoy: Maggie is brash and hot-tempered.
- Sarcasm-Blind: In the scene where Maggie proposes her plan to save the farm to Mrs. Calloway, this happens:Maggie: Why don't we go nab that Alameda Slim and use the reward money to save the farm?
Mrs. Calloway: Oh, that is a sensible idea.
Maggie: I knew you'd love it!
Mrs. Calloway: Don't they have sarcasm where you come from?- Ironically, Maggie can completely understand Calloway's sarcasm in almost every other scene.
- Stepford Smiler: She doesn't mention anything about her past until the heroes are walking past the ruins of her old home."We had, like...a family too, you know."
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: She's the tombull to Mrs. Calloway's girly cow. Maggie is boisterous and has a fighting spirit, while Mrs. Calloway is essentially a prim and proper old lady in cow form.
Mrs. Calloway
"Well, there it is, then."
Voiced by: Judi Dench; Martine Meiraghe (European French Dub)
A sophisticated Holstein-Friesian cow living on "Patch of Heaven". She is best friends with Grace and the unofficial leader of the animals.
- Berserk Button: Having her hat ruined turns her into a wild animal.
- Control Freak: She resents Maggie because the latter is chaotic and a threat to her authority. The quest is good for her because it forces her to go outside her comfort zone and learn that the unknown isn't so scary after all.
- Deadpan Snarker: She's prone to sarcastic remarks, such as when she says to Maggie, "Oh, that is a sensible idea!" while meaning the exact opposite.
- The Hecate Sisters: The Crone. Mrs. Calloway is the most intelligent and yet sarcastic of the cows, but also wise and kind.
- Hidden Depths: She's the first to resist going on the quest and the last to give it up. Her reasoning is that they've already done so many things that seemed impossible that it's ridiculous to stop trying just because reaching the climactic auction also looks that way.
- Interspecies Romance: With Junior the Buffalo at the end.
- Married Animals: Her name implies this.
- The Spock: The prim and proper one who's the last to agree to Maggie's plan to capture Slim.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: She's the girly cow to Maggie's tombull. Mrs. Calloway is essentially a nice old lady in cow form, while Maggie is boisterous and has a fighting spirit.
- Younger Than They Look: Everything about her from her voice to her name suggests an older lady, but apparently, she's Grace's age.
Grace
"Nobody messes with Pearl's girls!"
Voiced by: Jennifer Tilly; Claire Keim (European French Dub)
A slightly air-headed but well-meaning Jersey cow living on "Patch of Heaven". She is best friends with Mrs. Calloway.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Nice as she is, she's a force to be reckoned with when her friends are in danger.
- CloudCuckoolander: She's a ditzy lass who even knows kung-fu.
- Dreadful Musician: Grace sings waaaay off-key, much to Maggie's displeasure. Even the herder thinks she sounds terrible. Of course, she's tone-deaf, so it's justified.
- Dumb Blonde: She has such fair colouring, especially compared to the reddish Maggie and dark Mrs. Calloway, that she's the cow equivalent of a blonde. She's also somewhat the Ditz, with things going over her head, her being naive, etc.
- Hollywood Tone-Deaf: She's not on "perfect pitch", so it's a pity for anyone nearby when she tries to sing. It turns out to actually help when Alameda Slim comes along with his hypnotic yodel.
- The Hecate Sisters: The Maiden. Grace is ditzy, energetic, and incredibly optimistic.
- Immune to Mind Control: Because she's tone-deaf, she is the only cow not affected by Alameda Slim's Mind-Control Music, and she manages to snap her friends out so they can stop him.
- The Kirk: She's the one who has to tone down disputes between Maggie and Mrs. Calloway. And even among the other farm animals.
- Nice Girl: Despite Maggie's and Mrs. Calloway's constant bickering, Grace is always nice to both of them. She also expresses concern for Buck's feelings, despite him being antagonistic to them, and suggests he join them.
- No-Sell: She is somehow unaffected by Slim's Mind-Control Music; when asked about such later on, it’s suspected it's because she's not on "perfect pitch" like the rest of the cattle.
- Smarter Than You Look: She may seem ditzy, but she's able to come up with good ideas such as using Lucky Jack's tail fur to create earplugs for her friends.
Allies
Buck
"IT'S HERO TIME!"
Voiced by: Cuba Gooding Jr..; Anthony Kavanaugh (European French Dub)
The sheriff's horse, who wants adventure and to prove himself by capturing bad guys, especially Alameda Slim. Rico is his idol.
- Breakout Character: Disney seemed to be making an assumption for this, as he was the one narrating the trailers and the star of the Game Boy Advance video game.
- Heel–Face Turn: Subverted as he wasn't really evil himself but rather a selfish jerkass who only was unknowingly working for the Big Bad, but once Buck learns that Rico, the guy he idolizes and had been working with is a bad guy, he helps the cows escape after they are captured.
- Hot-Blooded: Grace refers to him as having anger management issues.
- It's All About Me: Wants to capture Slim for all the glory.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Buck is initially annoying and selfish towards the cows, but after it's revealed that Rico's actually a mercenary who was working for Slim all along, he joins their team and helps them escape.
- Punny Name: His name is Buck, as in when a horse "bucks" someone.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Even after Rico abandons him, Buck continues to search for the stolen cattle in order to impress him.
Lucky Jack
Voiced by: Charles Haid; Jean-Michel Farcy (European French Dub)
A "lucky" jackrabbit who lost his home, Echo Mine, when Slim took it over as his headquarters.
- Accessory-Wearing Cartoon Animal: He wears a red bandana around his neck.
- Butt-Monkey: During the opening song, at least.
- Chekhov's Gunman: First appears in the opening song as a particularly unlucky rabbit and later appears to help the cow trio and leads them to where Slim is hiding.
- Ironic Name: He isn't lucky at all. It could be an Ironic Nickname instead.
- Jack of All Trades: Jackrabbit of all trades: shaman, cook, chef, guide.
- Lucky Rabbit's Foot: Jack says people use to come all over to rub his lucky rabbit foot. The foot in question is now a peg-leg.
- Nice Guy: He's a pretty friendly fellow.
- Righteous Rabbit: Again, he's a nice rabbit.
Pearl Gesner
"They can't take my place. I've been here through twisters, blizzards... Sam, this is my home."
Voiced by: Carole Cook
The kind-hearted owner of Patch of Heaven.
- Berserk Button: The animals are the only family that Pearl has, so don't you dare intimate that she should sell any of them, even if the money could help to keep her farm afloat.
- Cool Old Lady: She's managed to run Patch of Heaven completely on her own for who knows how many years, she's won more agricultural awards than you could shake a stick at, and she told off the sheriff for suggesting that she auction off any of the animals.
- Heroic BSoD: When she receives the foreclosure notice, Pearl is forced to admit that while she's been able to squeak by before, she's "plumb out of ideas" this time. The cows' sudden disappearance only makes it worse.
- Nice Girl: Pearl is friendly and good-natured, and she loves the animals of Patch of Heaven as her family, showing genuine concern when Maggie, Grace, and Mrs. Calloway suddenly leave home.
Villains
Alameda Slim
"When you're talkin' revenge, every. Last. Acre. Counts."
Voiced by: Randy Quaid; Jacques Frantz Loa Falkman (Swedish dub)
A very large, yodeling cattle rustler. His plan is to steal all cattle from farms, buy the farms as they go bankrupt, and take control of the area.
- Acrofatic: He's big and he's agile, as shown when dodging Maggie's attacks at the beginning of his Villain Song.
- Arch-Enemy: To Maggie. He rendered her homeless at the beginning of the film and this serves as half the motivation to capture him (the other half being to save Patch of Heaven).
- Bad Boss: Being his nephews doesn't save you from being smacked over the head when you're being stupid and when you press his Berserk Button repeatedly, you better hope he doesn't have a red hot poker to go at you with.
- Badass Boast: At the beginning of his Villain Song.There are crooks in this here West
Who have claimed to be the best
And think they wrote the book on how to rustle
Well, as good as they may be
Not a one's as good as me
An' I barely have to move a single muscle - Badass Longcoat: He wears a long trench coat during the opening verses of his Villain Song, and subsequently ditches it when he starts yodeling.
- Bait-and-Switch: During his Badass Boast, Gill tosses Slim a guitar that's shaped like a rifle silhouette. Slim even holds it like a rifle as if to shoot Maggie as she tries rush him down, before revealing it as a guitar and beginning his Villain Song.
- Beard of Evil: He has a long, thin mustache and a bushy goatee, to visually emphasize his sinister nature.
- Berserk Button: Much like Professor Ratigan does not like being called a "rat", don't call his yodeling "singing". He takes offense to that. Also, don't say no one likes yodeling or make fun of it in general.Alameda Slim: Song birds…sing! Saloon gals…sing! Little bitty snot-nosed children…sing! I yodel! And YODELING IS AN ART!
Bill Willie: Well, maybe they just didn't like your yodeling. [Alameda attacks him and Phil] - Big Bad: His capture is the object of the cows so they can save the farm.
- Card-Carrying Villain: Boasts about being mean and nasty in his Villain Song.They call me mean, boys
Depraved and nasty, too
And they ain't seen, boys
The cruelest thing I do - Clark Kenting: As Yancy O'Del. His nephews can't catch on to the two being one and the same even as Slim puts on the disguise right in front of them. One of them dons the navy blue top hat, blue tuxedo, white gloves, and spectacles and the other two freak out just as they did with Slim.
- Compelling Voice: When he yodels. It only works on cows, which is perfect for a cattle rustler.
- Cut Lex Luthor a Check: Originally, he wanted to be a legitimate ranch hand, but he turned to cattle rustling seeking revenge for the disrepect he received for his use of yodelling to control cattle instead of the traditional roping. Given that Alameda is shown effortlessly turning a 5000-strong herd of cattle into obedient puppets who docilely obey his every command, he clearly could have been an enormous boon to any rancher if they would have only respected his method.
- Evil Is Petty: Wants to run every one in the farms out of business because he was looked down upon. Upon learning the existence of Patch Of Heaven, he decides to by it as well. As noted in his quote;"When you're talkin' revenge, every. Last. Acre. Counts."
- Evil Redhead: He's the Big Bad and has long, mullet-style red hair.
- Fat Bastard: A cattle rustler with an aim to drive every ranch in the West out of business and XXXXL size pantaloons.
- Freudian Excuse: He used to work for other ranchers but felt he was looked down upon. He, therefore, turned to cattle rustling and buying up all their land, effectively running them out of business, to get revenge on them.
- Insistent Terminology: Is insistent that he yodels instead of singing.Alameda Slim: Songbirds sing. Saloon gals sing. Little bitty snot-nosed children sing. I yodel! And yodeling IS AN ART!
- Ironic Name: Alameda Slim... isn't.
- Large and in Charge: He is indeed very large, and in charge.
- Large Ham: Like many other Disney villains. Randy Quaid seems to be one of the few good things critics and fans can find in the film.
- Lightning Bruiser: An Acrofatic Music Meister who can smash mine carts with his bare hands, survive getting hit by trains, and come out swinging from the latter.
- Mind-Control Music: Well, mind-control yodeling, anyway. Beats traditional wrangling any day, as far as he's concerned. However, it has no effect on any cows who are not on "perfect pitch".
- The Music Meister: Slim's hypnotic yodeling makes the cows dance along to his Villain Song/Disney Acid Sequence "Yodel-Adle-Eedle-Idle-Oo
." - Pragmatic Villainy: Alameda Slim's plan is this overall. He’s out for revenge not by killing people, but instead, by driving the people he worked for out of business. He uses his unnatural yodeling to steal a farm's main source of income, cattle, and sells the cattle on the black market. He then waits for the farms to go up for auction and uses the money from the cattle he sold to buy the foreclosed farmland.
- Put on a Prison Bus: The police place Slim in their horse-drawn carriage when they arrest him and ride away from Patch of Heaven at the end of the film.
- Real Men Wear Pink: You wouldn't expect a giant cattle rustler who is extremely good in a fight to be someone who absolutely loves yodeling in a brightly colored rhinestone suit and brags about it being the "sweetest form of rustling yet devised", and yet it's implied his love of the art alienating fellow ranch hands is outright key to his motivation.
- The Rustler: Said to be able to steal five thousand cattle in one night. Mass Hypnosis through yodeling definitely helps in that regard.
- Stout Strength: Shown to be able to smash a mine cart with his bare hands and get all three cows in a headlock.
- Surrounded by Idiots: How he views his three nephews who work for him.
- Vibrant Orange: He changes to an orange cowboy outfit as he yodels to the cows to get them under his control. To his credit, he genuinely enjoys yodeling and is having the time of his life as he dances and yodels.
- Wicked Cultured: Slim has an impressive repertoire of tunes to yodel, like the "William Tell Overture", "Yankee Doodle", "Ode to Joy", "Ride of the Valkyries", and the "1812 Overture".
The Willie Brothers
"Put up yer dukes, Mr. Fancy-Britches!"
Voiced by: Sam Levine; Michel Mella (European French Dub)
Slim's dim-witted nephews who assist him in his cattle rustling.
- Beware the Silly Ones: All three are dim-witted and bumbling, but prove to be effective enough while actually cattle-rustling; they subdue the men guarding the cattle before Slim hypnotizes the cattle and manage to count to 4,997 on their first try (the only reason they didn't count 5,000 cattle as they should have was that the three main cows were unaccounted for).
- Bumbling Sidekick: Of all the sidekicks in the West, Slim had to pick these idiots.
- Color-Coded for Your Convenience: Each has a differently colored bandana and hat band: Phil has red, Gill has green and Bill has blue.
- Dastardly Dapper Derby: All three are outlaws who wear bowler hats.
- The Dividual: They're not only physically identical, but they all have the same personality and the exact same role in the plot.
- Dumb Blonde: Male examples. All three are blond, ditzy guys who are slow on the uptake.
- Even Evil Has Standards: When Slim tells them he plans on buying out "Patch of Heaven", his nephews mention it's only a small dirt farm and question if it is worth it. To Slim, who wants to own everything, it is.
- Eyes Out of Sight: All of them (and their horses) eye obscuring bangs, and there is one exact frame where one of their eyes can be seen.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: The one frame we get to see one of the triplets' eyes, it's Gil's, and it's badly bloodshot.
- Rhyme Theme Naming: All their names end with an "il" sound.
- Servile Snarker: They manage to get two good zingers on Slim during his Villain Song.
- Siblings in Crime: A set of triplets that assist their Uncle Slim in cattle rustling.
- This Is My Chair: Gil just happens to sit in the exact same spot in front of Slim's map that blocks off Patch of Heaven from being seen by Slim."This is my comfy place. What?" [Slim starts throttling him]
- Uncatty Resemblance: The Willie Brothers' horses resemble their riders, with long blond bangs that obscure their eyes.
Rico
"I don't know how you got here, Skittish, but if you stick with me, you may learn to like the other side of the law."
Voiced by: Charles Dennis
A bounty hunter who is hired to capture Alameda Slim. He is Buck's idol. He is really partnered with Slim.
- The Ace: He is known to be one of the best bounty hunters in the area.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Rico appears to be on the side of the law but is working with Alameda Slim.
- Broken Pedestal: To Buck, once he learns his true colors.
- Cleanup Crew: His job under Slim. Whenever Slim does cattle-rustling, Rico sweeps in and removes all the evidence.
- Dark Is Not Evil: He has a gravelly voice and dresses in dark clothing but is after Slim as well. Heavily averted (turning into Dark Is Evil) when he's revealed to be working with Slim the entire time.
- Evil Pays Better: Rico is a respected bounty hunter but is also partnered with Slim to earn more money.
- Evil Sounds Deep: Speaks with a low, gravelly voice.
- The Mole: Rico first appears hunting Alameda Slim but is revealed to have been working with him. Slim mentions Rico has helped throw off his trail to keep him hidden.
- Walking Spoiler: It's almost impossible to talk about him without revealing that he's on Slim's side.
Wesley
"I gave up clown college for this???"
Voiced by: Steve Buscemi
A diminutive man who pays Slim for the cattle he steals. Slim calls him Mr. Weasley.
- Ink-Suit Actor: With his large, baggy eyes, he looks like a caricature of Steve Buscemi.
- Malicious Misnaming: Alameda intentionally calls him "Mr. Weasley" to annoy him.
- Morally Bankrupt Banker: He negotiates payment to Slim for the cattle he steals.
