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| ==Personality== | ==Personality== | ||
| Stewie has a sophisticated style of both attitude and mannerism, but they sometimes interfere with childish interests which seems to be a conflict of his age and intelligence. He enjoys literature such as ] and cites pop-culture references that date much farther back than his age would permit, but has also shown an affinity for children's singer ] and, like many children in the real world his age, had a brief, hypnotic attraction to the ]. |
Stewie has a sophisticated style of both attitude and mannerism, but they sometimes interfere with childish interests which seems to be a conflict of his age and intelligence. He enjoys literature such as ] and cites pop-culture references that date much farther back than his age would permit, but has also shown an affinity for children's singer ] and, like many children in the real world his age, had a brief, hypnotic attraction to the ]. | ||
| Stewie is also a brilliant genius level intellect who can design |
Stewie is also a brilliant genius level intellect who can design sophisticated technology. | ||
| His 'personality' ] often compared to that of a psychopath though MacFarlane has stated that it is more based upon the notion of the general helplessness of an infant through the eyes of an adult. In MacFarlane's eyes, Stewie's actions and desires to conquer the world is his reaction to being a helpless baby who is totally dependant on adults (and his mom in particular) for everything and that his longing to conquer the world is based upon his desire for control over his own life. | |||
| Other elements in regards to Stewie's personality is that of British actor ], who MacFarlane used as his inspiration when he created Stewie's voice. MacFarlane, who is a fan of musical films, has stated that "My Fair Lady" (which starred Rex Harrison) heavily influenced his portrayal of Stewie. During a recent interview on '']'', Seth described Stewie as "Rex Harrison in an infant's body" when describing the character. | Other elements in regards to Stewie's personality is that of British actor ], who MacFarlane used as his inspiration when he created Stewie's voice. MacFarlane, who is a fan of musical films, has stated that "My Fair Lady" (which starred Rex Harrison) heavily influenced his portrayal of Stewie. During a recent interview on '']'', Seth described Stewie as "Rex Harrison in an infant's body" when describing the character. | ||
| Seth MacFarlane has included several "tributes" to this fact in "Family Guy", most notably the episode "]". The episode features a B-Storyline where Stewie bets Brian that he can train a ] girl to act and behave like a proper lady, a plot lifted directly from the film "My Fair Lady". Another tribute was in the episode "]", which has Stewie sing the Rex Harrison song "I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face" when he misses his mother due to her running for an opening on the local school board. |
Seth MacFarlane has included several "tributes" to this fact in "Family Guy", most notably the episode "]". The episode features a B-Storyline where Stewie bets Brian that he can train a ] girl to act and behave like a proper lady, a plot lifted directly from the film "My Fair Lady". Another tribute was in the episode "]", which has Stewie sing the Rex Harrison song "I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face" when he misses his mother due to her running for an opening on the local school board. | ||
| ==Head shape== | ==Head shape== | ||
Revision as of 15:38, 2 December 2005
Stewart 'Stewie' Gilligan Griffin, voiced by Seth MacFarlane, is a fictitious character in the animated television series Family Guy. With Machiavellian tendencies and a wicked British accent, the toddler is the youngest of three children of Peter and Lois Griffin.
With his super-genius level IQ, Freudian hatred for his mother, and a desire for world domination, Stewie quickly became the break-out character on "Family Guy". Originally, Stewie was a "pompous little antichrist" whose only concerns were world domination and killing his mother. But as the show progressed and the character became more and more popular, Stewie's personality was expanded as he developed a close friendship with family dog Brian and began indulging in an assortment of sexually ambiguous activities.
Personality
Stewie has a sophisticated style of both attitude and mannerism, but they sometimes interfere with childish interests which seems to be a conflict of his age and intelligence. He enjoys literature such as Faust and cites pop-culture references that date much farther back than his age would permit, but has also shown an affinity for children's singer Raffi and, like many children in the real world his age, had a brief, hypnotic attraction to the Teletubbies.
Stewie is also a brilliant genius level intellect who can design sophisticated technology.
His 'personality' is often compared to that of a psychopath though MacFarlane has stated that it is more based upon the notion of the general helplessness of an infant through the eyes of an adult. In MacFarlane's eyes, Stewie's actions and desires to conquer the world is his reaction to being a helpless baby who is totally dependant on adults (and his mom in particular) for everything and that his longing to conquer the world is based upon his desire for control over his own life.
Other elements in regards to Stewie's personality is that of British actor Rex Harrison, who MacFarlane used as his inspiration when he created Stewie's voice. MacFarlane, who is a fan of musical films, has stated that "My Fair Lady" (which starred Rex Harrison) heavily influenced his portrayal of Stewie. During a recent interview on The Late Show with David Letterman, Seth described Stewie as "Rex Harrison in an infant's body" when describing the character.
Seth MacFarlane has included several "tributes" to this fact in "Family Guy", most notably the episode "One If By Clam, Two If By Sea". The episode features a B-Storyline where Stewie bets Brian that he can train a Cockney girl to act and behave like a proper lady, a plot lifted directly from the film "My Fair Lady". Another tribute was in the episode "Running Mates", which has Stewie sing the Rex Harrison song "I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face" when he misses his mother due to her running for an opening on the local school board.
Head shape
An unusual aspect of Stewie's character design is his football-shaped head. An explanation is given for this in a flashback ("Stuck Together, Torn Apart"). Brian was babysitting him (he had a normal head at this point), and he was jumping on the bed. Brian tells him to stop at which point Stewie yells, "Shut up, you aren't my mother!" and jumps especially high, promptly smashing his head into the ceiling and flattening it into the football shape. This contradicts season one's flashback of Stewie's birth, when he was born with a football-shaped head. Regarding the size and shape of his own head, Stewie suggests he was either a C-section or Lois is Wonder Woman and has remarked that he's just not a hat person ("When You Wish Upon a Weinstein").
Also unusual is his nose, drawn as a forward-pointing triangle, like that of his mother and sister. This is unusual because males in the series are very rarely drawn with such noses.
Communication controversy
Most episodes imply that no one understands Stewie's speech except for the family pet, Brian and a few other children, leading to the humorous setting where everyone understands the talking dog while not understanding the child. In the DVD audio commentary for the episode "E Peterbus Unum", MacFarlane states that adults can understand Stewie but don't take him seriously, "sort of like...if a four-year-old who talk told you to 'fuck off'".
In at least one episode, however, Lois shows signs that she understands his threats but dismisses them with a warning. It could be argued that Lois selectively understands Stewie. In the episode "Chitty Chitty Death Bang", at his birthday, he declares "Victory is mine!" to which Lois responds "Yes, and this cake is yours too". In the episode "Running Mates", when Stewie learns that Lois is running for public office, he exhorts Lois to get to work on it and lists things a candidate should be doing, such as "kissing babies". Lois then kisses Stewie, who complains, "Not this baby". In the episode "Brian in Love", Stewie keeps asking Lois for kisses in order to make Brian jealous, and Lois remarks that Stewie is feeling "very affectionate" that night.
Non-recurring adults often clearly understand the content of Stewie's talk. In the episode "Peter Peter Caviar Eater", while at Cherrywood, Stewie summons three servants, orders one to fetch him the Wall Street Journal and the remaining two to fight to the death, which they do. In another, he and Lois have to hide a man they believe Chris had killed (he didn't), and encounter the problem of a passing police officer. Stewie proceeds to slip into the dead body's shirt, hiding the head of the deceased behind his own, then proceeds to engage in a mutual chat with the cop.
In the ending of the episode "E. Peterbus Unum", there is a self-referential joke relating to the widespread confusion among fans surrounding this issue. In it, a group of students, watching a video of events from the episode presented to them in class asks "So... Can the family understand the baby or what?".
The Road To Rhode Island episode also states this, when a man with braces in the airport comes up to Stewie, asking "Hey, aren't you a litte young to fly by yourself?". Stewie responds by saying "Aren't you a little too old to be wearing braces???!!!" The man then covers his mouth in embarassment, starts to cry as he runs away. Stewie later talks to a motel clerk and causes a drug deal occurring in the room next to him and Brian to errupt in gunfire when Stewie yells that one of the participants is wearing a wire.
Chris seems to understand Stewie, especally in "North to North by Quahog", when he has an argument with him and when Stewie gives Chris a spanking. In another episode, Chris responds to Stewie's question as to who Meg was, when Stewie mockingly told Meg that he didn't know who she was.
MacFarlane has asserted that he and his staff will never take a definite stand on the issue. Whether the other characters understand him is left to the writers, who can decide which possibility is most appropriate for a given situation.
Stewie calls Lois "Lois" and often refers to Peter as "The Fat Man" and "Peter". When he addresses them, they often look at him as if reacting to his call.
In the movie, other characters can understand him including Stu.
It would be reasonable to assume that the family (excluding Brian) understands the gist and emotive content of Stewie's speech while missing or dismissing the actual words - a scenario which makes perfect sense for a toddler of barely vocal age.
In "The Courtship of Stewie's Father" however, Peter suprisingly seems to understand Stewie fairly well throughout the episode. For instance, Peter responds to Stewie when Stewie asks Peter to pull his finger to make a fart noise. They also torture and humiliate Lois together. Later, Stewie asked Peter if Michael Eisner was dead after Peter punched him off a cliff at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. In return, Peter said that he would be back on his feet in no time. He then asked Stewie if he was ok.
Stewie's ambiguous sexuality
When the writers began to flesh out Stewie beyond being a generic evil genius in season two, Seth MacFarlane and the writers began to explore infant's sexuality with a series of one-off gags which painted Stewie as gay/bisexual.
The shift began in the episode "Fifteen Minutes of Shame", when Stewie gives the following video camera confessional:
- There's always been a lot of tension between me and Lois. It's not that I want to kill her, it's just that I want her...not to be alive anymore. I sometimes wonder if all women are like this, and then I think to myself: My God, wouldn't it be marvelous if I turned out to be a homosexual?
In "Screwed the Pooch", Stewie says his place for relaxation is an all-male club where everyone dances with their shirts off. In "The Thin White Line", the family is talking about a cruise. After interrupting Lois, Stewie says he's always wanted to sail the seven seas. A cutaway ensues, and Stewie is in a sailor outfit, surrounded by sailors. They begin singing and dancing a parody of "My Gallant Crew" from the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta HMS Pinafore:
- Stewie: I'm the greatest captain of the Queen's navy
- Crew: And your record will stand as proof
- Stewie: Be it galleon or freighter
- I'm an expert navigator
- Crew: And you're also a world class poof
- Stewie: My manner quite effete
- Is mistaken on the street
- For a sailor who can pirouette on cue
- Well, despite your point of view
- I can thrill a girl or two
- But I'd rather get it on with you
- Crew: Ha ha ha
In the season four episode "Jungle Love" Stewie says that he is not worried about being a freshman and that worst case scenario he would become the popular girls' effeminate friend. In the scenario, he is shown with an earring and fashionable clothing, and invites the girls to a party with wine coolers. He says he obtained those wine coolers by doing "something in the parking lot" for a guy and then asks for mouthwash. In the episode The Fat Guy Strangler Stewie offers to find fat men's penises for a dollar. In that episode he is also outright accused by Brian of being a homo.
Series creator Seth MacFarlane planned for Stewie to have the series's third season end with Stewie coming out of the closet after a near death experience. But the show's abrupt cancellation caused Seth to abort these plans. Since then, MacFarlane has opted to have Stewie portrayed as sexually ambiguous since in Seth's eyes, having Stewie's sexual preference be flexible allows for much more freedom in terms of writing for the character. The episode where Stewie would come out of the closet would later be used (with Stewie being gay changing to Stewie renouncing his evil ways) as the opening act in the direct-to-video Family Guy movie.
It should be noted, however, that Stewie has had many liaisons and attractions to women as well. In "Dammit Janet", Stewie falls in love with a day-care moocher named Janet, who only wanted his cookies. In "8 Simple Rules for Buying My Teenage Daughter", Stewie falls for his babysitter, Liddane, and possibly even murders (though unintentionally) a rival suitor for her affections. However, after his love goes unrequited, he exacts a nasty revenge by making her look like a drug addict and alcoholic and getting her fired. In other episodes, he discusses which girls he would "do" and cavorts with a "bevy of coeds" and had his first errection while secretly watching a group of cheerleaders change clothing. Stewie is also fond of throwing all-female (besides himself and James Caan) "sexy parties" and daydreams about being Hugh Hefner and making a group of barely legal Playboy Playmates play "Red Light, Green Light" with with the first loser having to have sex with Rob Schneider as punishment.
Comparisons to other characters
Stewie, due to his large head and megalomaniacal tendencies, is often compared—and frequently unfavorably—to The Brain of Pinky and the Brain, another animated television series, a character who also strives for world domination. Some Internet fanfiction takes advantage of this, frequently pitting the two diminutive geniuses against each another. Stewie has also been likened, though less often, to Brain's nemesis, Snowball, who also had a British accent and large head.
Stewie also has a remarkable likeness to Sideshow Bob from The Simpsons. Both seem like parodies of Rex Harrison and both have sung their respective versions of "I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face" from My Fair Lady, though Bob's version changed the song to "I've Grown Accustomed To His Face" due to the song being sung to Bart Simpson. Both have sung selections from Gilbert and Sullivan, though Stewie's was a parody. They also both are maniacal geniuses who have attempted to take over different locations (for Stewie, the world, and for Sideshow Bob, Springfield) and attempt to murder unassuming residents of their cities.
There are also a number of similarites to Dexter of Dexter's Laboratory namely Stewie's hatred for a female family member and his scientific genius. Oddly enough Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane did some writing for Dexter's Laboratory
Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story!
On September 27, 2005, 20th Century Fox released a direct to video movie featuring Stewie as the main character, called Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story!. The movie follows Stewie's cross-country adventures as he searches for a man he believes to be his real father after seeing him on a television news segment. The movie was leaked two months prior to the official release date, and has been downloaded from many peer to peer networks.
The plot revolves around Stewie, after a failed attempt to kill a rival swimmer in his swim class nearly kills him instead, renouncing his evil genius ways and becoming a "good boy". After attempting to use liquor to curb his evil tendencies, Stewie goes to California to find a man he sees on TV who he thinks is his real biological father. But the man Stewie thinks is his dad is really his future self, who has taken a time travel vacation to the year 2005.
In the future of the timeline shown, Stewie (now known as "Stu") appears to grow up to be heterosexual, though one that is a virgin and who has no clue whatsoever about sex. At his future workplace, the adult Stewie has formed a friendship with a female employee, a friendship that the younger Stewie (horrified that he'll be a virgin at age 35) forces his future self to make into a sexual relationship. Future Stu and his co-worker have sex for several seconds, before Stewie freaks out and cries for nearly an hour. His co-worker turns against him and has Stu fired, by telling her manager that Stu asked her out on a date, which was not allowed where they work.
In this future, Stewie's adult self has lost his aspirations for world domination and the elimination of his mother, Lois, even refering to her as "mom". He tells his past self that his near death experience led to this, so Stewie goes back to stop the accident. But in a twist of fate, Stewie is killed immediately after he saves his past self, negating the events of the story from ever happening as a result.