Family Guy Moving From Star Wars Spoofs To... Indiana Jones, Back To The Future And Star Trek?
Something, Something, Something Darkside is the Family Guy spoof of The Empire Strikes Back, a sequel to their first Star Wars parody Blue Harvest. It hits DVD and Blu-ray next week and, of course, that means there's been some launch parties and promo events and all that kind of PR silliness. Stopped on the red carpet of one event, Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane was asked if his tribute toons would extend to funny-business versions of the prequel trilogy. It seems like even he could smell the badness on Clones and Menace:
I'm not as well-versed on the newer movies as much as I am on the old ones. I was a kid when the old ones came out, so they hold a special place in my heart.
So, what would follow on from the Star Wars spoofs? How about Back to the Future, Star Trek or Indiana Jones?
At least, those are the films that MacFarlane named to The LA Times as potential victims. Some of them may be more likely than others, however:
The difference [with Star Wars] is that Lucas gave us the rights. Lucas agreed to let us do this, and that's a rare thing. Most legal departments are much more overprotective.
He's not wrong. Michel Gondry wanted to swede Back to the Future for a crucial scene in Be Kind Rewind but was refused the rights, and was even apparently told such use could impede the success of a touted stage musical spin-off of the franchise. Star Trek is anybody's guess – do Paramount normally play along with these things? But Indiana Jones... well, that's Lucas again. So that's where I, and the LA Times before me, will stack chips. Looks like Family Guy is the new Lego.
This video will demonstrate just one reason why I hate Seth MacFarlane's output. You'll see only the moving parts of the frame with everything else blacked out. It comes from his Cartoon Cavalcade, but the same standards have been applied to his TV shows.