Ernie
Full name
Ernie the Giant Chicken
Voiced by
Danny Smith
Ernie is a giant chicken with whom Peter Griffin has had a long history of violence. He often shows up in the middle of a scene and interrupts Peter and the two engage in a long, drawn out fight won always by Peter, who then returns to the scene battered and bruised and picks up where he left off, not knowing that Ernie, seemingly dead, awakens and gets up after Peter leaves, foreshadowing another future fight. Each fight also leads to serious destruction of the environment around them and heavy casualties to bystanders.
The whole feud begins with Ernie giving Peter an expired coupon, as revealed in “Da Boom”. However, in “Meet the Quagmires”, Peters meddling in his past allows him to accidentally punch Ernie while dancing at Enchantment Under The Sea.
Peter Griffin’s strange rivalry with an unnamed giant chicken has been a Family Guy joke for a long time. Their epic fights are totally irrational, yet highly entertaining. What’s Peter’s beef with this feathered enemy all about?
It all began in the season 2 episode “Da Boom” when a flashback revealed that the chicken gave Peter an expired coupon. Peter was provoked to attack him leading to an extended brawl that destroyed a whole city block. The chicken appeared to be dead, but opened his eye at the end, foreshadowing future fights.
Their next battle came in season 4’s “Blind Ambition”. They randomly ran into each other again and fought on a train, a cruise ship, and an airport. The chicken looked like he was dead again when a propeller cut off his head, but he was clearly still alive.
In season 5’s “No Chris Left Behind,” the chicken was finally given a name: Ernie. After yet another fight in public, Peter and Ernie forgot why they were going to fight in the first place. After dinner, they agreed to get along, but then they fought over who would pay the bill, which started their fight all over again.
Peter and Ernie have fought many times over the years, all over Quahog and in many different times. Both of them are always hurt and broken at the end of their epic fights, but neither of them ever dies. In “Internal Affairs,” the 10th season, Peter claims victory after Ernie seems to have been burned to death. But in the end, Ernie opens his eye again, letting them know that their never-ending war will go on.
So what is the root cause of Peter and Ernie’s irrational hatred? In season 15’s “Fecal Matters”, Peter admits he actually enjoys their epic brawls and doesn’t want to lose his worthy rival. Their rivalry gives Peter’s life a sense of excitement and purpose.
Peter and Ernie’s battles have become a pop culture phenomenon precisely because their hatred is so random and absurd. There is no good reason for it, yet they are eternally compelled to destroy each other on sight. It satirizes how many real-life conflicts are based on minor disagreements or disrespect that get blown wildly out of proportion.
The giant chicken remains Family Guy’s most iconic nemesis and Peter’s ultimate arch-rival. Whenever their theme music hits, fans know they are in for an epic, no-holds-barred fight scene of sheer mayhem. The joke is that no matter how many times they appear to kill each other, the chicken keeps coming back for more.
In the end, Peter Griffin just can’t seem to rid himself of this feathered foe. As Ernie’s recurring return from apparent death reminds us, an irrational grudge can take on a life of its own. The message seems to be that once conflict reaches a certain point, it becomes almost impossible to stop.
In Internal Affairs[]
Peter has another run-in with Ernie leading to another epic fight, this time because Peter accidentally backs into Ernies car. During their fight, they end up on Stewie’s time pad and have to fight their way through time. They end up in a genetics lab and in space. Crashing back to earth on an oil rig, they continue to fight. Their struggles destroy the oil rig and Ernie is seemingly roasted by the rocket engines. But as Peter struggles to shore, Ernie shows he continues to live.
Significant Appearances[]
Peter no longer accepts coupons from any chickens after “the incident” with Ernie. During a flashback, the chicken gave him a coupon, but it was expired. Peter was therefore provoked to attack him. A prolonged fistfight ensued, taking the two combatants all over a downtown metropolis. It appeared that Peter had ultimately defeated the Chicken by slamming his head into a photocopier repeatedly, though the Chicken then did a sneak attack on Peter, putting him in a half-nelson/chokehold, thus resulting in the both of them falling off the office building with Peter landing on him. He was not actually dead, though, as he opens his eye.
Family Guy: The First Chicken Fight (Clip) | TBS
FAQ
Why did Peter and Chicken fight?
It started when the chicken gave peter a expired chicken shack coupon and peter then finds out dr. hartman made the chicken in a lab experiment and it escaped.
When did Peter start fighting the chicken?
They started fighting when Ernie (maybe accidentally) gave Peter an old coupon, which made Peter attack Ernie and start a huge fight that led to…
Why doesn’t Peter like the chicken?
The Giant Chicken has been Peter Griffin’s greatest rival after he gave him a bad coupon back in Season 2, and the two have had massive fights tearing through town every time they see one another ever since.
What is the meaning of chicken fight?
Chicken fight, also known as shoulder wars, is an informal game, often played in a lake or swimming pool, characterized by one team member sitting on the shoulders of their teammate or riding piggy-back. The object of the game is to knock down or separate an opposing team through team effort.