Udder confusion

Some posters on various blogs – particularly the ever-entertaining Hot Blog – have expressed puzzlement (if not repulsion) while pondering the seeming contradiction posed by The Barnyard. Specifically: How can the lead character’s father (voiced by Sam Elliott, lately so wonderful in Thank You for Smoking) be a cow? (Complete with udders, no less.) Well, truth to tell, Elliott himself seemed equally befuddled when I interviewed him for the latest issue of Cowboys & Indians magazine (now available at fine newsstands everywhere). The money quote: “I’m still trying to figure that out. I mean, I’m doing the voice for this cartoon character in Barnyard. But it isn’t a bull – it’s a cow named Ben. And I’m still curious about that. Know what I mean? Every time I queried anybody about it, all I’d get was this quizzical look. Or they’d say, 'Yes, a cow named Ben.' And I’m thinking, ‘Hmmmm. It smacks of Brokeback Barnyard or something.’ But let’s not go there.”