VICTORY IS MINE
The Review
Issue 4 - 10.06.05

BY JARED MCGUIRE
Managing Editor

Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story! NR, DVD

Every few years, a cartoon debuts and becomes the voice of a generation. Family Guy is no different, achieving the same status as other ground-breaking cartoons like Beavis and Butthead and The Simpsons.

Family Guy is the brainchild of Seth McFarlane, former writer and storyboard artist for several popular but short-lived cartoon series including Cow and Chicken, Johnny Bravo, Dexter's Laboratory and the animated series of Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. Since its debut on the FOX network in 1999, Family Guy garnered criticism for its racy brand of comedy.

FOX dropped the show in 2002, but thanks to reruns on Cartoon Network, the fan-base only grew. When released on DVD, it became one of the largest-selling sets of a television show ever produced. Thanks to these high sales and the popularity gained in reruns and merchandise, Family Guy was resurrected earlier this year for its fourth season. The comedy is as unforgiving as ever and sometimes more inappropriate.

Due to its high popularity after cancellation, McFarlane and his creative team have produced Family Guy's first feature film, entitled Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story! Fans of the show have waited a long time for this and are finally being rewarded for their patience.

In the film, maniacal baby genius Stewie, who often declares "Victory is Mine," sees a man who looks incredibly like him. He becomes convinced that this man must be his real father, because he finds it difficult to believe that he shares genetic material with Peter. Stewie convinces the family dog Brian to travel across the country to find the stranger. What results is something only Family Guy could produce.

Family Guy is infamous for its politically incorrect, cutaway style of humor. The movie is no different, providing entertaining one-liners and just the right mixture of potty and political humor. Unfortunately, the film doesn't seem to provide quite as many laughs as a regular half-hour episode.

It is hilarious, no doubt, but the most avid viewers of the show may find themselves not laughing quite as much as they thought they would. Some of the jokes even seem a little misplaced. Though Family Guy has never been known for making a lot of sense, the plot seems a little weak and not completely thought out.

In fact, it comes across more as a string of one-liners revolving around a menial sub-plot. However, many fans have argued that this is the central theme of the show and the film should not be different. Even first-time viewers will be able to appreciate the humor and walk away still laughing about something.

The tagline for the movie reads "All-New, Outrageous, Uncensored!" but some first-time viewers may find that a few of the more colorful words are bleeped out. Possibly preparing the movie to show on television in the future, the audio is presented with a censored language track and an uncensored version.

The censored English version is the default setting and can be changed in the Language Selection menu. The uncensored language track doesn't seem to add much to the movie, as there is not much that is censored. However, it is personal preference and should be viewed as such.

As usual, the voices are phenomenal. Seth MacFarlane shows off his amazingly versatile voice, playing Stewie, Peter and Brian Griffin, and the ever-promiscuous Quagmire and news reporter Tom Tucker. Alex Borstein, famous for her role as Ms. Swan on MadTV, voices Peter's wife Lois Griffin. Mila Kunis, Jackie on That '70s Show, does the voice for Peter and Lois' oldest and least appreciated child, Meg Griffin. Seth Green, from Without a Paddle, voices Chris Griffin, the well-meaning but ultimately stupid son of Peter and Lois.

Patrick Warburton, previously the voice of The Tick on the cult animation series of the same name, voices the paraplegic hero cop Joe Swanson. Mike Henry plays Peter's slow-talking pal Cleveland. Lori Alan, voice of Pearl Krab on SpongeBob SquarePants, is the voice behind Quahog's female news anchor, Diane Simmons. Adam West plays himself as Quahog's mayor.

Some celebrities lending their voices include Drew Barrymore, Jason Priestley, Tori Spelling and Michael Clarke Duncan. A special voice appearance is made by Noel Blanc, son of the famous voice actor and creator of Bugs Bunny, Mel Blanc.

Don LaFontaine, the king of movie trailers also lends his voice. LaFontaine does the voice-overs for most more trailers and television show previews that are shown in America. Two actors that originally lent their voices to the 1980s cartoon classic Thundercats are also heard. Larry Kenney, the original voice of Lion-O, and Lynne Lipton, voice of Cheetara, reprise their roles in a special flashback scene.

Overall, this movie is freakin' sweet. It is a worthy addition to any fan's collection.

Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story! is not rated, but does feature an uncensored language track that some might find offensive. Though it may vary depending on where it is purchased, the average price is $19.49 on DVD and $20.99 on UMD for PSP.