Seth MacFarlane Movies
Animation pioneer
Seth MacFarlane followed in the footsteps of
Matt Groening,
Trey Parker, and
Matt Stone, and others by creating (at age 25!) one of the top-tiered animated series on national television.
Family Guy, which debuted in 1999, preserved the sitcom-family premise of
The Simpsons but upped the irreverence quotient tenfold (defying many who regarded such an accomplishment as impossible), meanwhile tossing in dozens upon dozens of off-the-cuff (and frequently risqué) references to pop culture -- citing everything from
Oz to
The Wizard of Oz, The $25,000 Pyramid to songs by
a-ha, and thus seizing upon instant identification with Gen-X and Gen-Y viewers. Episodes, which began mundanely enough, could immediately segue, without advance notice, into music video-style montages, game-show sequences, multi-character musical production numbers, mock historical sequences, etc. The basic premise revolved around the nutty Griffin clan of Quahog, Rhode Island: obese toy manufacturer dad Peter; neurotic housewife Lois; ne'er-do-well, dim-bulb 13-year-old son Chris; the angst-ridden 16-year-old daughter Meg, and -- what really made the series bizarre and original -- Stewie, a one-year-old infant with a massive head, a genius IQ, and the verbal erudition of
Rex Harrison.
Family Guy found a sizeable audience and lasted for many seasons, yet reportedly suffered from a tumultuous history at Fox, where it endured repeat cancellations, numerous rerun episodes, and reemergence on different networks and in different time slots, meanwhile becoming a cult hit on DVD. In the interim,
MacFarlane branched out into another animated sitcom,
American Dad (2005). Family Guy eventually gained extremly solid ground, however, and soon spawned a spin-off, The Cleveland Show. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

- 2014
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Seth MacFarlane plays a hapless farmhand in the Old West who loses his girl (Amanda Seyfried) when he ducks out of a fight, only to be taught to shoot by the wife (Charlize Theron) of a gunfighter (Liam Neeson) in this Media Rights Capitol western comedy. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi
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- 2012
- R
- Add Ted to Queue
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A man wrestles with the lingering consequences of a childhood wish in this live-action comedy from Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane. As a young boy, John Bennett wanted nothing more than for his beloved teddy bear Ted (voice of MacFarlane) to come to life. Incredibly, that wish was granted. But now that John (Mark Wahlberg) is all grown up, his boyhood dream has become a nightmare nuisance. Mila Kunis, Joel McHale, and Giovanni Ribisi co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Mark Wahlberg, Seth MacFarlane, (more)

- 2010
- PG
- Add Tooth Fairy to Queue
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20th Century Fox presents this family comedy following a star hockey player's (Dwayne Johnson) temporary transformation into a full-fledged tooth fairy as penalty for discouraging a young fan. Director Michael Lembeck (The Santa Clause 2 and 3) helms the family comedy, based on a screenplay by veteran comedic writers Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel, with additional writing provided by Joshua Sternin and Jeffrey Ventimilia. Ashley Judd and Julie Andrews co-star in the Blumhouse and Mayhem Pictures production. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Dwayne Johnson, Ashley Judd, (more)

- 2009
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This Family Guy spinoff follows Cleveland Brown, who has moved from Quahog, R.I., to Stoolbend, Va., where he becomes a family guy himself -- settling down with his high-school flame and her unruly kids, as well as his own teenage son, Cleveland Jr. ~ Paul Droesch, Rovi
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- 2009
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- Add Family Guy: Something, Something, Something Darkside to Queue
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With the fate of the galaxy resting in their hands, Luke (Chris), Leia (Lois), Han Solo (Peter) and Chewbacca (Brian) seek refuge from the evil Lord Vader (Stewie) and the Imperial Starfleet on the ice planet Hoth. There, young Skywalker follows the advice of his late, lusty master Obi-Wan Kenobi (Herbert), and begins harnessing the power of the "farce" under the tutelage of the wise and powerful Jedi Master Yoda (Carl). The powers of the "farce" now strong within him, Skywalker races to aid the rebellion in defeating the dark side once and for all. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
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- 2009
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- 2008
- PG13
- Add Hellboy II: The Golden Army to Queue
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Ron Perlman returns to the role of the big red BPRD agent in this sequel to 2004's Hellboy, directed once again by Guillermo del Toro and scripted as before in collaboration with original Hellboy creator Mike Mignola. For centuries, an ancient truce has kept the naïve citizens of the human race safe from the horrors of the invisible realm -- but that's all about to change, and fast. A ruthless leader has emerged in the invisible realm, a tyrant just as comfortable walking the surface realm as he is living in the land of fantasy. When this power-mad ruler defies his bloodline to assemble an unstoppable army of fantastical creatures that he will use to wage a supernatural war on humanity, it begins to appear that humankind's days are numbered. But Hellboy (Perlman) isn't about to stand idly by as the planet is purged by a demonic despot, and with a little help from his team at the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, he may just be able to send our otherworldly overlords packing. Of course, Hellboy's pyrokinetic girlfriend, Liz (Selma Blair), is always willing to conjure up an inferno or two when things get desperate, aquatic Abe (Doug Jones) is prepared to dive headlong into any battle, and protoplasmic mystic Johann (voice of Thomas Kretschmann) proves an invaluable companion in times of inter-dimensional conflict. Now, as the creatures who inhabit the spiritual realm gear up for an all-out attack on the human plane, the only one capable of saving the Earth is a tough-talking hellspawn rejected by both worlds. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, (more)

- 2008
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- 2008
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The Griffins and other denizens of Quahog continue their no-holds-barred animated satire in the seventh season, which boasts the two-part Star Wars spoof, Blue Harvest. Other highlights: Griffin patriarch Peter (voice of Seth MacFarlane) is accused of murdering wife Lois (Alex Borstein), becomes paralyzed after eating too much fast food, and decides to become a pirate. And not to be outdone, Brian shacks up with Jillian (Drew Barrymore), Joe (Patrick Warburton) has a leg transplant, and Meg (Mila Kunis) gets serious with a cute hospital intern. Notable Season 7 voice cameos include Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson, Chace Crawford, Amanda Bynes, James Woods, Barry Manilow, Harvey Fierstein, and Ricardo Montalban. ~ Kathy LeSage, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Seth MacFarlane, Alex Borstein, (more)

- 2008
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- 2007
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- 2007
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- 2007
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Created by Seth MacFarlane of Family Guy and American Dad fame, the weekly Fox comedy series The Winner was a remake of the 2002 movie Becoming Glen. The TV version was essentially extended flashback, recalled in "the present" by 43-year-old Buffalo resident Glen Abbott (played by former Daily Show contributor Rob Corddry). The action took place in 1994, when Glen was a 32-year-old virgin hypochondriac, still living at home with his parents Irene (Linda Hart) and Ron (Lenny Clarke). Most of the stories revolved around Glen's relationship with former girl-next-door Alison (Erinn Hayes), who'd returned to Buffalo a single mom with her 12-year-old son Keir (Josh Miller)--who, curiously, looked and behaved just like Glen--in tow. Throughout the series, the viewer was forearmed with the knowledge that, twelve years or so later, Glen Abbott would be a billionaire enterpreneur. . .though precious few clues were given as to how this metamorphosis would come about! The Winner debuted March 4, 2007, as a companion piece for Seth MacFarlane's animated Sunday-night offerings. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Rob Corddry, Keir Gilchrist, (more)

- 2006
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- 2006
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- 2005
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Created by Seth MacFarlane of Family Guy fame, the weekly Fox animated sitcom American Dad! peered into the home life of a dedicated but thickheaded secret agent. Jut-jawed protagonist Stan Smith was a troubleshooter for the CIA who, by his own declaration, would "stop at nothing" to protect his country -- and in proving this he invariably brought down a great deal of pain and embarrassment to his family. In an all too typical example, Stan had a cute habit of shooting first and asking questions later, which wreaked havoc on faulty household appliances and the like. The Smith family included wife Francine, who had a tough time hiding her drug-addicted past from her straight-arrow husband; daughter Hayley, a community-college coed who'd gone over to extreme left-wing liberalism just to spite her dad; and dorky son Steve, who went to great and pathetic lengths to "be cool." Also members of the household were Roger, a squid-like, Paul Lynde-sounding space alien who'd been hiding out in the family's home ever since Steve rescued him from Area 51; and Klaus the goldfish, who as a result of a misfired mutation experiment spoke in a sinister Peter Lorre-ish German accent. The first cartoon series to truly reflect the singular paranoia of the post-9/11 era, American Dad! premiered February 6, 2005, right after Fox's telecast of the Super Bowl (the same route previously traveled by MacFarlane's Family Guy). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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- 2005
-
- Add Family Guy: Season 04 to Queue
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Although poor ratings had compelled the Fox network to cancel its iconoclastic, cutting-edge cartoon series Family Guy at the end of its third season in 2002, the series' astonishing popularity in rerun form on cable's Cartoon Network coupled with the spectacular sales posted by the property's initial DVD release in 2003, prompted Fox to revive the show, with brand new episodes beginning in the spring of 2005. The first of the 14 comeback adventures of the supremely dysfunctional Griffin family is "North By North Quahog," which, in addition to its expected Hitchcockian undertones, manages to find time to skewer Mel Gibson's controversial The Passion of the Christ. In later episodes, the Griffin's family dog, Brian, ends up as a substitute teacher for high-risk kids; dad Peter Griffin swallows a bunch of nickels, goes blind, and accidentally becomes a hero in a story that somehow also accommodates a guest voice appearance by Judd Hirsch; nebbishy neighbor Cleveland goes into "worm turns" mode when he is told that his wife, Loretta, has been fooling around with the libidinous Glen Quagmire; Peter takes an intelligence test and winds up losing custody of his kids (and his wife); Brian shows up as a contestant on "The Bachelorette," while son Chris Griffin is afflicted with a demonic talking pimple. Later, to pay his pharmacy bill, Peter sells daughter Meg to the druggist's son; mom Lois' kleptomania forces the family to take refuge in "Asian Town"; and Lois earns "real money" as a model in her spare time ("And so can you!"); after spending several months marooned on a desert island, Peter finds that he is even more expendable than Tom Hanks; and actor James Woods becomes Peter's very best friend -- and refuses to leave the house. Taking all this into consideration, the season finale, in which Peter and Lois go the Laverne & Shirley route at their local brewery, is as traditionalist as an episode of The Waltons. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Seth MacFarlane, Alex Borstein, (more)

- 2005
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- 2005
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- 2005
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- 2005
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Producer Seth MacFarlane wastes no time biting the hand that feeds him in this first episode Family Guy's fourth season. Mocking the fact that the series had been cancelled by Fox in 2002, only to be brought back by public demand, the season opener finds Peter Griffin casually rattling off a list of titles of unsuccessful TV series which Fox had inflicted on the public during that two-year hiatus. The episode itself was inspired by the brouhaha over Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ, though in form and content it looks more like a Hitchcock thriller. While on their second honeymoon, Peter and Lois sneak a peak at the sequel to Gibson's "Jesus" film, The Passion of the Christ II: Crucify This. The couple ends up destroying the film, thus incurring the wrath of two movie-loving priests. Meanwhile back in Quahog, it is up to Brian and Stewie to dole out punishment when Chris is caught with booze at the high school dance. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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- 2003
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Meeting Sookie's old friend Joe (Joe Fria) at a business seminar, Lorelei (Lauren Graham) is frightened off by Joe's incessant shop talk -- and the very married Sookie (Melissa McCarthy) is suddenly stuck with an unwanted suitor. Later, Lorelei is called as a character witness when her mother Emily (Kelly Bishop) is sued by her former maid Gerta, who finds it unfair that she was fired for walking too loud. And elsewhere, Rory is caught in the crossfire as Paris (Liza Weil) and Francie (Emily Bergl) bicker over the particulars of the Chilton Senior Prom. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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- 2002
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This episode features three short segments based on viewer suggestions. In "No Bones About It," a genie comes out of Peter's (voice of Seth MacFarlane) beer bottle and grants him three wishes. His first wish is to see what Kelly Ripa (who does her own voice) is like off the set. He wishes that he had his own theme music. This wish leads to trouble. While Peter enjoys the "traveling music" that plays as he rides the bus, another passenger takes offense, and threatens to "break every bone" in his body. So Peter makes his third wish -- "I wish I had no bones." The Griffin family is so unhappy with Peter's transformation into an amorphous blob that he tries to kill himself by letting himself down the drain. In "Super Griffins," the family is exposed to toxic waste and develops strange abilities. Stewie (MacFarlane) has telekinetic powers, Chris (voice of Seth Green) can conjure fire, Brian (MacFarlane) has super speed, Lois (voice of Alex Borstein) has super strength, Peter can shape shift, and hapless Meg (voice of Mila Kunis) can grow her fingernails really long in an instant. Despite Lois' call to use their powers responsibly, the Griffins soon run afoul of the authorities, and Mayor Adam West (voice of Adam West) exposes himself to toxic waste in order to do battle with them. In "Little Griffins," the characters are all bigheaded children, in some kind of godforsaken amalgam of Muppet Babies and The Little Rascals. Peter and Quagmire (MacFarlane) spend the night in a haunted house to prove to Lois that each is braver than the other. This episode features the voices of professional wrestler Goldberg, Adam Carolla, Michael Winslow, and Regis Philbin. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi
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