Oh come on, you knew this was going to happen eventually, right? Family Guy is one of the most popular entertainment phenomena since HBO realized you can show nipples late at night. The show’s been cancelled twice, and was the first show to ever be brought back based on DVD sales. So of course, Seth MacFarlane is talking about bringing it to the big screen. Via HuffPo:
The 39-year-old entertainer urged the aspiring filmmakers and show-runners in the class to make a “commercially viable student film” before leaving school, adding that Family Guy was based on his own student film. And MacFarlane said Family Guy could once again become a film. He said he’s already come up with a concept for a feature-length movie and promised “it will happen at some point.”
Okay, I’ll admit, I have mixed feelings on this one. On one hand, Seth is a legitimately talented performer, he’s hilarious, and he’ll commit 100% to any project you give him. On the other hand … I won’t say that the quality of Family Guy has gone downhill, because I think they still hit it right out of the park any time they focus on a specific genre, and I adore the show when it gets experimental. My problem with the show in its current format is that it’s stopped caring about its characters. No one ever grows on the show, and everyone is basically stuck in this pit of misanthropy. Meg is kind of the prime example here: Every time she’s given even the slightest glimpse of hope or respect, the writers yank it back in favor of the status quo. I’m just saying, it’s hard to care for these characters when the writers don’t. If they can find a good balance between dark humor and emotionally investing in the characters (“Brian Wallows and Peter’s Swallows” is a prime example of this balance at its best) then I would go see a Family Guy movie.