Customer Reviews

Family Guy Presents Stewie Griffin - The Untold Story

5 star:		(134)
4 star:		(44)
3 star:		(46)
2 star:		(33)
1 star:		(20)

 

 

****The movie only is censored if you don't go into the language selection menu and select the uncensored option.****

The classic animated series "Family Guy", follows up the success of its return to the Prime Time lineup, with a DVD movie, "Stewie Griffin, the Untold Story". The film is a three part story wrapped around and intro and wrap up that parodies a Hollywood premiere and party.
The jokes fly fast and bawdy and pull no punches. Every pop culture reference no matter how obscure and some of the more controversial issues of the day are tossed in, and for the most part, work.
The story follows the evil genius Stewie, who after a near death experience decides to change his ways as Hell does not hold much appeal for him. After the family gets Tivo, Stewie spots a person on television that is a spitting image of him. Convinced that the man is his real father, Stewie and the family dog Brian, join the hormonally driven Quagmire on a cross country trek.
When Stewie reaches the coast he is shocked to discover the true identity of the man which will propel the remained of the story.
While the show has a few misfires, it is mostly filled with one effective joke after another. The laughs were constant and I found myself enjoying every moment of the film. The laughs are very good, and if you are a fan of the show and do not mind some biting, and crude humor, this is a great escape.
Fans of the show will love the usual interplay of the characters and the familiar style and pacing as the film plays out like a regular episode of the show, as it was initiated as a three part episode. The inclusion of segments that would not have likely made it past the networks Standards and Practices department only ads to the enjoyment of the show as it is nice to see a shown known for pushing the envelope taking steps that it would not otherwise be able to take.
4 stars out of 5.
Gareth Von Kallenbach

I was a little shocked to actually hear the F word come out of the characters mouths- I was expecting a decent amount of bleeps- but was pleasently suprised when there were no bleeps to be heard- no blurs or black boxes (except for one- but I feel it needed to be done)- and I almost peed my pants at the sight of Sgt Scrotes, and the line "......anything with an amputee" (you'll have to see it to understand). As with any Family Guy episode there are the occassional groaner, but for the most part it stays true to the TV series.

After a near death experience, Stewie tries to be a better person as to not end up in hell (his glimpse into his possible eternity of damnation left him frightened for his soul) After giving up on being nice, Stewie happens to catch a glimpse of a man on Television who has an uncanny resemblence to him- so he sets out, with Brian, to find the man who he believes is his REAL father.

The movie gives a glimpse into a possible future for the Griffin family, and, as in the TV series, Meg's future is the most interesting, and as it always is in the show, the meanest (what do they have against Meg anyway?)

For the Hardcore Family Guy fan (those that felt that it's first cancellation was a crime to TV, and rushed out to grab a copy of the the first season when they heard it was being released and missed many nights of sleep waiting for the day- yep - like me)- this is a must see, for casual fans of the show- eh- maybe- if you hate the show- just avoid it. Sure, it's not a pinnacle in animation- far from it (rememeber, this is a show that pushes the envelope on good taste, it's no Beauty and the Beast) I do think it would've been fun as a musical (which could've used a ton of Disney/Classic Musical movie parodies- but still funny)

It's difficult to ride the kind of success that a show like Family Guy is enjoying right now. This is a show that was cancelled because it was too provocative, which subsequently earned it a cult status that grew to such infamy that Fox had little recourse but to bring it back. Now it's back and everyone is paying very close attention to when Family Guy is going to fail. Sadly for you haters that is not going to happen a) because Seth Macfarlane created the crappy American Dad to divert our attention from any of Family Guy's shortcomings and b) because Family Guy is just too good. Even a mediocre episode is going to guarantee at least one laugh-out-loud scene that will leave you on a good note before out-of-ideas Simpsons comes on.

This movie embodies all that Family Guy has achieved in its comeback. Yes, some of the jokes and characters are getting a little tired (the novelty of greased-up deaf guy has worn off) and yes, some of the creators' humor is slightly too left of center for everyone to get in on the joke; but for every belly-aching laugh-out-loud-till-you-start-crying scene that there is in this film (and there are plenty) you will not be dissapointed.

I know it's unfair to compare Family Guy and The Simpsons because any show that runs for more than a decade is going to run short of ideas but this must be said: when I heard the Simpsons were going to the big screen I though "yawn"... whereas when I heard about this straight-to-DVD Family Guy movie I was foaming at the mouth. The story is quite ludicrous (Stewie thinks he saw his real father on TV so he goes off looking for him with Brian) but allows for endless possibilities of hilarious scenes and quotables. Despite having used this idea twice before Brian and Stewie on another road trip is actually not a tired formula - the two make a great comic pair.

If you are a huge fan of Family Guy then I highly recommend this. Think of it as owning three additional episodes in your pre-existing collection. The humour doesn't deviate from classic Family Guy gags, complete with political subtleties (Tom Tucker: "Actually Peter we've been looking for something to replace our 'Focus On The Middle East' segment"), blatant sexual inuendo (Lois: "Ok Chris, so we've talked about kissing and cuddling, now we're going to learn how to eat out... at a fancy restaurant") and hilarious slapstick. Unlike in most other series or cartoons where at least one character is always unbearable and unfunny (Lisa Simpson) every character in this feature is priceless, even Meg. You're guaranteed Seth MacFarlane's quirky pop culture references (including a hilarious scene involving the classic Thundercats cartoon) that may either catch you off guard or not even catch you at all but that, in my opinion, is another beauty about this program: it forces you to pay attention.

I was lucky enough to see a freakin' sweet premiere of this dvd movie at the Just for Laughs festival in Montreal. It was insane!!!! I could not believe that they were able to keep the same rhythm and pace of the tv show with back-to-back non-stop jokes in an hour and a half movie. It was non-stop laughs! There is nothing funnier than seeing Peter and even Stewie swearing!!!! I won't give away the plot, but I will say this: You know what really grinds my gears? That I have to wait until the end of September to see this movie again.

This is rather simple. If you enjoy the television series, you'll probably like the movie. If you dislike the series, you'll hate the movie. If you are a fanatic, and remember just about every gag the show has ever done, you are going to enter heaven.

The story here for me is ideal, because it focuses on Stewie. I am a huge fan of stories that do not revolve around Peter, because he needs to be able to be on screen sporadically and be funny every time. And this is Peter at his friggin best! I won't give away plot details, because the premise given on the box only scratches the surface about what the movie is.

The bonus features are lacking, but the ability to take off the bleeping is nice. It feels like this was definetely created before the show was to return to the air, because many of the jokes before and after the movie revolve around what the cast did while they were gone. The humor is spot on (Bugs Bunny, Thundercats, and the Chicago Cubs cutaways are great, as is Peter and Meg trying to push Brian in the pool).

Its pretty much all a Family Guy fan could ask for...GET THIS!

I LOVE "Family Guy", so i had really high expectations for this dvd. I was disappointed. The story line was weak and the jokes were repeatetive and most of the time not that funny. Although there were some jems in there, most of the time it seems that the writters tried to hard to be witty and risque. Not a dvd that can be watched over and over.

Let me just start by saying that I thought this DVD, upon hearing about it as rumors way back last year, was going to be a piece of garbage. Allow me to explain. I assumed that the producers of Family Guy were going to slap together three episodes and call it a movie, with no flow, and use it to make cash. I also thought that this movie wouldn't be funny, as it would have been slapped together while the show was being brought back into production, therefore diminishing its quality.

Gladly, I was proved very wrong.

In fact, I believe this DVD is actually better than most of the episodes from the brand new season of Family Guy. The three episodes are linked together quite nicely, with "commercial" skips used to separate the individual parts instead. Book-ending the parts are two little segments: The Red Carpet, where we see the Griffins go to the premier of the movie, and The Party, where the Griffins go to a wrap-party after the premier, and enjoy some Pawtucket Patriot Ale, as well as talking about what they have done in the time between Seasons 3 & 4. Truly amusing.

On to the movie itself: the movie attacks pop culture, per usual, and does it in themost tasteless way possible....yay! The complaint I have had about Season 4 was the WAY too many asides, where they say "this is like the time where..." and go off on a dead end. Thankfully, the movie has some of that, but isn't packed to the brim with it like in Season 4- in other words, its more in the style of old-school Family Guy, and, as fans know, thats a good thing. The movie isn't totally dedicated to Stewie and Brian either, something I feared as I think Peter is the best character and that Brian and Stewie are overrated, and would therefore get an unfair share of screen time. Fortunately, the screen time is evenly distributed, and makes for double the fun as you see two separate stories unwinding, with Stewie's naturally being at the forefront.

SPOILERS FROM HERE ON:

The thing I especially dug about this movie, aside from the usual goodies of Family Guy, was the way they talked about really dark subject matter. We get a look at Stewie's dull future, talk about Brian dying, and see Chris abused by his cursing-wife, and Peter and Lois moving into an old-folks home. Meg has a sex change, but that is actually not as much dark as it is funny and disturbingly expected. I especially liked the twist ending, and was not expecting what happened. A+ for movie content.

Now, for the special features. The commentary, unlike the TV-DVDs ones, is actually informing. Sure, we get the clever banter we all know and love, but we actually get some hardcore information in this commentary, and have our questions answered. A+ for that, its a great time.

As for the sneak peeks, they really aren't sneak peaks as much as they are clips from the show interspersed with an announcer talking about how silly the characters are. I was disappointed here, as I had hoped to see maybe a look at the DVDs, or maybe a look at episodes that were coming up. Alas, you can't win em all.

The animatics are like those on Volume 2, and are interesting as always.

The things to watch: UNCENSORED audio track, then play it with commentary to enjoy fully.

5/5, quite a great DVD. Can't wait for Season 4 to be released.

and it should have because their is a bunch of extra, extremely not funny stuff. Sure there is a ton of funny parts, definitely more than not funny, but, and this is coming from a true family guy fan, it is not that good at all. I would not recommend buying this yet. Instead, i would wait until it goes around $10. Then, it will be worth it.

It seemed to me that this movie had 2/3 funny parts, and 1/3 filler to make it longer. This movie could have been 60-75 minutes, still have been a feature film, and would have been a solid "5-Star", but unfortunately, it was not made like that.

Buy this if you are a fan of family guy. If not, but your thinking about buying it anyway, do buy it, but wait until the price is lowered.

Like my title says. If you liked the Family Guy episodes, this DVD is for you. It is crude and brash, but well written(contrary to what a few people said here) and a lot of fun to watch.