Groening and McFarlane
As has been noted elsewhere on this blog, and in the 451 Network, there’ s been an ongoing feud between The Family Guy and The Simpsons. Quite often, this comes in the form of pointed barbs that make it onto the show. In one Treehouse of Horror episode, for example, there’s veritable sea of Homer clones, and in the middle of all of them, the writers and animators stuck Peter. Of course, The Family Guy has had it’s share of references too. On the surface, it might appear that creators Matt Groening and Seth McFarlane have it in for each other. However, if one is looking for a hip-hop style “beef” feud, one will likely be disappointed. Sure, the two and their creative teams quite often rib each other, but it’s not much different than they way that friendly comedians like to publicly poke each other – as in Comedy Central’s Roasts, for example.
So, it’s no surprise that when Groening and McFarlane show up to a Television Critics Association function, the verbal jabs fly, but beneath it, there’s a sense of mutual respect. Care of the Vancouver Sun:
“Wow,” Groening said, with a straight face. “Wow. You know, we love Seth. If we weren’t so rich, we would be very depressed.”
“Matt and I get along very well,” MacFarlane said. “People want us to hate each other. We get along extremely well. He’s a wonderful guy. Seriously.”
“Seth and me, on the other hand,” Jean quipped, “not so much.”
The mutual admiration is genuine: MacFarlane is quick to cite The Simpsons as an early inspiration for Family Guy.
“I wouldn’t be sitting here if it wasn’t for The Simpsons,” MacFarlane said.
“It’s so rare that something comes along that completely catches you off-guard. When you think back, The Flintstones was the last really big successful prime time animated show. And then The Simpsons came along and single-handedly reopened that door. I was instantly taken with that show, and still am. It doesn’t hold a candle to any live-action comedy that’s on the air - or is it the reverse?”
“Wait a minute,” Groening dove in. “You just snuck that in there. What he’s saying, that’s how I felt about Huckleberry Hound.”
Even if McFarlane wasn’t being genuine, he’d still have to concede to the pioneering history of The Simpsons. I would also throw in South Park, which wasn’t mentioned. South Park has brought fierce, daring satire to cable television, going much farther then The Simpsons ever would. The Family Guy has benefited from that predecessor too. Sometimes, Peter strikes me as a mixture between equal parts Homer and equal parts Cartman.
The Simpsons, The Family Guy, South Park, Cartman, Matt Groening, Seth McFarlane, Homer, Homer Simpson, Cartoons, Animation
July 31st, 2008 at 7:35 am
Thanks for the link.
In defense of “The Simpsons” vs. “South Park”, being on a broadcast network they’ve never enjoyed the creative freedom that “South Park” has being on cable. Take this episode for example:
http://www.southparkstudios.com/guide/1102/
It is damn funny, but can you imagine the Parents Television Council if this had aired on FOX? I think we’re at the point where the PTC conveniently forgets that “South Park” even exists, because there is nothing they can do about it.
Also, (I’m not sure if you’ve seen any of these, so I’ll just link to them), Parker and Stone had plenty to say about “Family Guy” (among other things) in a two-episode story arc called “Cartoon Wars”. Really, really funny stuff.
Part I: http://www.southparkstudios.com/guide/1003/
Part II:
http://www.southparkstudios.com/guide/1004/
July 31st, 2008 at 2:40 pm
You know, you’re absolutely right. I mean, James Brooks was able to sheild The Simpsons from studio notes. But even then, you can only go so far, and if you don’t retain a somewhat large audience, network TV will boot you off in an instant, rather than let a smaller show grow season to season and find it’s audience. (Which as we both know, is exactly what happened to The Family Guy in the first place).
September 5th, 2008 at 10:47 am
[...] the competition between the two shows, Groening holds nothing personal against McFarlane and actually respects the guy. The following comes from The Wall Street [...]