"Fun with Veal" is the 4th episode of the sixth season of the animated television series ''

South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand the ...

'', and the 83rd episode of the series overall. It is the 4th episode in production order. It originally aired in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...

on March 27, 2002. In the episode, Stan and the boys are horrified when they find what

veal Veal is the meat of Calf (animal), calves, in contrast to the beef from older cattle. Veal can be produced from a calf of either sex and any List of cattle breeds, breed; however, most veal comes from young male calves of Dairy cattle, dairy b ...

is made from, and then kidnap all the baby cows from a local ranch in South Park.

Plot

Ms. Choksondik's fourth grade class goes on a field trip to a farm, where they discover that

is made of baby cows. The boys, apart from

Cartman Eric Theodore Cartman, commonly referred to as just Cartman, is a fictional character in the adult animated sitcom ''South Park'', created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone. He is voiced by Parker, and is one of the series' four main characters, a ...

, are horrified and decide to save the calves from becoming veal. Stan, Kyle, and Butters attempt to convince Cartman to help them rescue the calves and bring them to Stan's house. Cartman is forced to join the others to rescue the calves with his ''

Mission Impossible ''Mission: Impossible'' is an American multimedia franchise based on a fictional secret espionage agency known as the Impossible Missions Force (IMF). The 1966 TV series ran for seven seasons and was revived in 1988 for two seasons. It inspired ...

'' Breaking and Entering play-set. When they are discovered by their parents the next morning, the boys barricade the door until they are promised the calves will be safe.

Sharon Sharon ( 'plain'), also spelled Saron, is a given name as well as a Hebrew name. In Anglosphere, English-speaking areas, Sharon is now predominantly a feminine given name, but historically it was also used as a masculine given name. In Israel, ...

refuses to lie and say they will be safe out of fear of regretting it, and

Randy Randy is a given name, popular in the United States and Canada. It is primarily a masculine name. It was originally derived from the names Randall, Randolph, and Miranda, and may be a short form (hypocorism) of them. '' Randi'' is approximat ...

can not remove the door without destroying the house. The situation quickly escalates into a standoff between the boys, who are declared

terrorists Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

, and the

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

. They live off some food smuggled in by

Liane Cartman Liane Cartman, formerly known as Carol Cartman, is a fictional character in the adult animated television series ''South Park''. She is the single mother of main character Eric, who raises him in the fictional town of South Park, Colorado. Liane is ...

, which contains meat. While most of the group eagerly eats this food, Stan does not, as his reason for doing the deed extends far beyond just protecting the calves, so he becomes a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...

. Cartman makes fun of this, saying "if you don't eat meat, you become a pussy." Later, Stan comes down with a strange illness, and develops sores on his face. An

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

negotiator proves no match for Cartman's powers of manipulation, and he negotiates for guns and

ammunition Ammunition, also known as ammo, is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. The term includes both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines), and the component parts of oth ...

in return for a calf. When the boys get the guns Cartman further manipulates the negotiator for an

ICBM An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range (aeronautics), range greater than , primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more Thermonuclear weapon, thermonuclear warheads). Conven ...

, but unsuccessfully tries to get

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

. He gets the

FDA The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food ...

to change the term for veal to "little tortured baby cow", and negotiates for a cattle truck driven by

Michael Dorn Michael Dorn (born December 9, 1952) is an American actor best known for his role as the Klingon character Worf in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, appearing in all seven seasons of the television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (1987–1 ...

. Furthermore, Dorn is forced into full

Worf Worf, son of Mogh is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, portrayed by actor Michael Dorn. He appears in the television series ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (''TNG''), seasons four through seven of ''Star Trek: Deep Space ...

makeup and must call Cartman 'Captain'. He is to drive everyone to the airport so they can escape to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, despite being reluctant to do so. All of this, without handing over a single calf. The negotiator, due to easily giving in to these ludicrous demands, is eventually fired. The FBI double-crosses the boys and the calves are returned, but are rendered useless, as there is now no market for "little tortured baby cow". Stan has to go to the hospital; it turns out Cartman was correct about the results of not eating meat when Stan's doctor explains that he has

vaginitis Vaginitis, also known as vulvovaginitis, is inflammation of the vagina and vulva. Symptoms may include itching, burning, pain, discharge, and a bad smell. Certain types of vaginitis may result in complications during pregnancy. The three mai ...

, and the sores on his face were actually

vaginas In mammals and other animals, the vagina (: vaginas or vaginae) is the elastic, muscular reproductive organ of the female genital tract. In humans, it extends from the vulval vestibule to the cervix (neck of the uterus). The vaginal introit ...

, which would have turned him into a giant vagina. The episode ends with the boys, with the possible exception of Cartman, getting grounded, but not before going out with their parents for burgers.

Production

In the DVD commentary, the creators said they wanted to balance their message of not eating baby animals, but at the same time not advocating people to abstain from meat consumption altogether. Randy Marsh compares the boys to "little John Walkers." This is meant as a reference to

John Walker Lindh John Philip Walker Lindh (born February 9, 1981) is an American Taliban member who was captured by United States forces as an enemy combatant during the United States' invasion of Afghanistan in November 2001. He was detained at Qala-i-Jangi ...

, an American who fought for the Taliban.

is famous for playing Lieutenant Commander Worf on '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' and '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''. He is portrayed in this episode wearing a sweatshirt which bears the logo of

Pasadena City College Pasadena City College (PCC) is a Public college, public community college in Pasadena, California. It was founded in 1924 as Pasadena Junior College. History Pasadena City College was founded in 1924 as Pasadena Junior College. It originally o ...

, his real-life

alma mater Alma mater (; : almae matres) is an allegorical Latin phrase meaning "nourishing mother". It personifies a school that a person has attended or graduated from. The term is related to ''alumnus'', literally meaning 'nursling', which describes a sc ...

. After the episode was broadcast, Dorn revealed that he is a fan of ''South Park'', and would have provided his own voice for the episode had he been asked. Dorn himself is a

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a ve ...

. The negotiations over the phone, the cattle truck, and most of this episode (such as the part when Cartman was standing outside the front door ordering that the men step back) is a parody of the 1975 film ''

Dog Day Afternoon ''Dog Day Afternoon'' is a 1975 American biographical crime drama film directed by Sidney Lumet and produced by Martin Bregman and Martin Elfand. The film stars Al Pacino, John Cazale, James Broderick and Charles Durning. The screenplay ...

''.

Home media

"Fun with Veal," along with the sixteen other episodes from ''South Park: the Complete Sixth Season'', were released on a three-disc DVD set in the United States on October 11, 2005. The sets include brief audio commentaries by Parker and Stone for each episode. IGN gave the season a rating of 9/10.

References

External links

"Fun With Veal"
Full episode at South Park Studios * {{South Park episodes, 6 Eco-terrorism in fiction Federal Bureau of Investigation in fiction South Park season 6 episodes Veal Vegetarian-related mass media Television episodes about vegetarianism