Stewie Griffin

Template:Family Guy character Stewart Gilligan Griffin, known as Stewie, voiced by Seth MacFarlane, is a character in the animated television series Family Guy. A one-year-old baby with an attitude of a cross between Adolf Hitler and Caligula, Machiavellian tendencies, and the wicked English accent reminiscent of an evil Rex Harrison. The toddler is the youngest of three children (Meg and Chris being the others) of Peter and Lois Griffin.

With his incredible intelligence, matricidal inclinations and desire for world domination, Stewie quickly became the break-out character on Family Guy. Originally, Stewie was a "pompous little antichrist" whose main concerns were world domination and killing his mother. However, as the show progressed and the character became very popular, Stewie's personality developed beyond the one-dimensional characterization evident in season one. He has since formed a love/hate relationship with the family dog, Brian (also voiced by MacFarlane) and has pursued love interests on numerous occasions.

Character

Stewie has sophisticated style, attitude and mannerisms, juxtaposed with typical childish interests. He enjoys literature such as Faust and cites pop culture references that date much further 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, is susceptible to a hypnotic attraction to the Teletubbies. Stewie also seems to succumb to other failings of children his age. For example, in the episode "Emission Impossible", Lois subdues Stewie by blowing on his stomach. Further, in a more recent episode, Peter convinces Stewie that he has vanished into thin air by playing peek-a-boo with him.

Stewie, an infant evil genius, has concocted yet another diabolical machine.

Stewie likely has antisocial personality disorder among other disorders, including megalomania and acute paranoia. Stewie has a genius-level intellect, and has designed sophisticated technology. MacFarlane says that Stewie's character is meant to represent the general helplessness of an infant through the eyes of an adult. Consequently, his longing to conquer the world is based upon his desire for control over his own life.

Many elements of Stewie's personality come from British actor Rex Harrison, who MacFarlane used as inspiration when creating Stewie's voice. MacFarlane, who is a fan of musical films, has also stated that My Fair Lady (starring Harrison) heavily influenced his portrayal of Stewie. During a recent interview on The Late Show with David Letterman, MacFarlane described Stewie as "Rex Harrison in an infant's body."

MacFarlane has included several tributes to My Fair Lady in Family Guy, most notably in "One If By Clam, Two If By Sea". The episode features a subplot in which Stewie bets Brian that he can train a female Cockney-speaking toddler to act like a proper lady, echoing the plot of My Fair Lady. Another tribute was in the episode "Running Mates", where Stewie sings the Rex Harrison song "I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face" when he misses his mother.

Head shape

An unusual aspect of Stewie's physique is his American football-shaped head, which is not unlike that of the titular characters of either the Nicktoon Hey Arnold! or the Fox Saturday morning cartoon Bobby's World. An explanation for this is given in the episode "Stuck Together, Torn Apart": during a flashback, Brian is babysitting Stewie, whose head is shaped like that of a normal child, and urges him to stop jumping on the bed. "Shut up, you aren't my mother!" was Stewie's response, and, jumping especially high and smashing into the ceiling, Stewie's head is flattened into the familiar football shape, and possibly damaging his brain so he becomes an evil genius. This contradicts season one's flashback of Stewie's birth, when he was born with a football-shaped head and shown as an evil genius while still in the womb (or as he described it, "for nine months... imprisoned in that uterine gulag.")

Additionally, in the episode "Emission Impossible", the pilots of Peter's sperm cells also exhibit football-shaped heads, further indicating that Stewie's skull shape is the result of genetic influences (specifically Peter's genes), rather than accidental. Either way, Stewie claims that he's "just not a hat person" ("When You Wish Upon a Weinstein").

Lois once left a plastic bag alone with Stewie, and to teach her a lesson, he tried to suffocate himself with it "Here I go, just like that boy from INXS!". His big head, of course, prevented him from doing it. "Good lord Lois, either I was a C-Section or you're Wonder Woman!". It is debatable whether Lois knew he couldn't suffocate himself, or not.

Also of note is Stewie's nose. Unlike other male characters in the show, Stewie's nose is drawn as a forward-pointing triangle, similar to that of his mother and sister. He has obviously inherited some points from his mother.

Communication with adults

MacFarlane has asserted that he and his staff will never take a definite stand on whether Stewie can converse with adults. Whether the other characters understand him or not is left to the writers, who can decide which possibility is most appropriate for a given situation. Brian is the only character that always understands what Stewie says.

File:Family Guy Freakin' Sweet Collection.jpg

Stewie with Brian, one of the family members who take him seriously.

Despite this, 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 4-year-old who [can] talk told you to 'fuck off'." This concept is supported by the other characters often looking at him as he speaks to them, as if to acknowledge him, although paying no mind his often-ungracious addresses, such as calling Lois by her first name (although a few times over the course of the series he has referred to her as "mother") and referring to Peter as "The Fat Man" or "Peter". The other characters also seem to have blocked out Stewie's odd behavior.

Situations in which he has been clearly understood by others appear in the following episodes:

• "Chitty Chitty Death Bang": During his birthday party, Stewie declares, "victory is mine!" Lois responds to this with, "yes, and this cake is yours too."

• "Brian: Portrait of a Dog": After Meg walks in the front door, Stewie mockingly asks what they call "that one." Chris tells him, "That's Meg, dude. You knew that." In the same episode, when Brian is missing, Stewie says, "Let's get a kitty!" Peter responds by saying, "See, Stewie's got the right idea."

• "Brian in Love": At the dinner table, Lois turns her head as Stewie calls her. After being picked up by her and kissed on the cheek, Stewie requests for more kisses to further pique Brian's jealousy and is duly obliged.

• "Running Mates": Learning of Lois' campaign for school board election, Stewie exhorts her to get to work and lists some things that a candidate should be doing, such as kissing babies. Lois then kisses Stewie, who complains, "not this baby."

Also in this episode, during which Stewie undergoes toilet training, Peter suggests that the whole process would be easier if Stewie drank a couple of cans of beer, as they'd "go right through him." Stewie sarcastically responds, "wonderful, and while we're at it we could light up a doobie and watch porn," to which Peter responds in all seriousness and confusion, "y...yeah?"

• "North by North Quahog": Stewie gets into an argument with Chris while driving, prompting him to pull over and administer a spanking.

• "The Courtship of Stewie's Father": Stewie asks Peter to pull his finger, to which he obliges.

Also in this episode, Stewie asks Peter if Michael Eisner was dead after Peter punched him off a cliff at the Walt Disney World Resort. Peter responds that he would be back on his feet in no time.

Non-recurring adults often clearly understand the content of Stewie's talk:

• "Peter Peter Caviar Eater": While at Cherrywood, Stewie summons three servants, one of which is to fetch him the Wall Street Journal while the other two fight to the death. They oblige.

• "Road to Rhode Island": Left alone at the airport gate while Brian runs a quick errand, Stewie is approached by a man who asks, "aren't you a little young to fly by yourself?" Stewie retorts, "aren't you a little too old to be wearing braces?" The man covers his mouth in embarrassment and begins crying as he runs away.

Also in this episode, Stewie talks to a motel clerk and, while in his room, causes a drug deal taking place in the adjacent room to erupt in gunfire after he yells out that one of the participants is wearing a wire.

• "Fast Times at Buddy Cianci Jr. High": When Stewie and Lois have to dispose of a man they mistakenly suspect Chris of killing, they 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, and engages in a mutual chat with the cop.

Additionally, at the end of the episode "E. Peterbus Unum", there is a self-referential joke relating to this issue. The scene features a class watching a video of events from the episode presented to them and a student asking, "so... can the family understand the baby or what?"

In the movie, other characters, including "Stu", can understand him.

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 the infant's sexuality with a series of one-off gags which hinted that Stewie could be gay. His personality, which is often rather theatrical and effiminate, easily lent itself to such speculation.

The shift began in the episode "Fifteen Minutes of Shame", when Stewie gives the following video camera confessional, parodying MTV's The Real World show:

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 imagines his ideal place for relaxation as a loud nightclub populated only with muscular, dancing shirtless men.

In "Emission Impossible", Stewie tries to prevent his parents from having another baby. He decides he must make Lois think Peter is being unfaithful. Stewie then puts lipstick and perfume on himself and rolls around in one of Peter's shirts. However, he notices himself in the mirror and starts admiring himself, only to be caught by Lois and Brian:

Stewie: "Well! Look at you there! Oh, you're a filthy girl, aren't you? Yees, yees, you're looking for a bad time, that's what you're after! Oh, you're a dirty flirt. You want it bad and you don't care who you get it from because you have no self-respect, and that gets you off, doesn't it? Aruff!"

Lois: "Stewie! Bad boy! That's Mommy's make-up. Oh, and you got it all over your father's favourite shirt. Now go to your room!"

Brian: "Wow. The evidence is really piling up."

Stewie: "Make any joke you want. You know I look good."

In "Patriot Games", Stewie's parachute, which was packed by Brian, reads "I'M A HOMO". Stewie also expresses pleasure in viewing a nude Tom Brady.

In "The Thin White Line", with the family talking about a cruise, Stewie mentions that he's always wanted to sail the seven seas. A cutaway ensues, featuring Stewie in a sailor outfit surrounded by other 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

* Note that the first line is NOT the same as from the Stewie Griffin Movie. The song in the movie is from the opera HMS Pinafore.

In the season four episode "Jungle Love", Stewie says that he is not worried about being a freshman and that in the worst-case scenario he would become the popular girls' effeminate friend. In the flash-forward, he is shown with an earring and fashionable clothing, and invites the girls to a party with wine coolers. He says he obtained the wine coolers by doing "something in the parking lot for a guy" and then asks for mouthwash. Also in this episode Brian films Stewie talking about the tribesmen, Brian's final line in that scene is "Cut, print, gay." In the episode "The Fat Guy Strangler", Stewie is outright accused by Brian of being a homosexual.

Series creator Seth MacFarlane planned for the series' third season to end with Stewie coming out of the closet after a near death experience. However, the show's abrupt cancellation caused MacFarlane to abort these plans. Since that point, MacFarlane has opted to have Stewie portrayed as sexually ambiguous since, in his eyes, the flexibility of Stewie's sexuality allows for much more freedom in terms of writing for the character.

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. After being flung into a female infant's stroller in "Lethal Weapons", Stewie notes, "I smell a dirty diaper!", after which he remarks, "God, why does that turn me on?". In Mr. Saturday Knight at Mr. Weed's funeral, Stewie looks at some of the baby girls and points at them and says, "I'd do her, her, her, oh, who hasn't done her. I'd do her. Lose the pigtails and we'll talk." 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 various episodes, he discusses which girls he would "do," cavorts with a bevy of coeds, and apparently achieves his first erection while secretly watching a group of cheerleaders change clothing ("good heavens, it appears my wee-wee has been stricken with rigor mortis," he exclaimed). 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 the first loser having to have sex with Rob Schneider as punishment. He also has shown disgust when the family had to move to Asiantown ("Breaking Out is Hard to Do") and there were no girl babies, complaining that it was a complete "sausage fest."

Comparisons to other characters

Stewie, due to his large head and megalomaniacal tendencies, is often compared—and frequently unfavorably—to The Brain of the animated Pinky and the Brain, a character who also strives for world domination. Some internet fan fiction takes advantage of this, frequently pitting the two diminutive geniuses against one another. Stewie has also been likened, though less often, to Brain's nemesis, Snowball, who also had an English accent and large head.

Stewie has a remarkable likeness to Sideshow Bob of 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, sung to Bart Simpson, changed the song to "I've Grown Accustomed To His Face". Both have sung selections from Gilbert and Sullivan, though Stewie's was a parody. Also, they both are maniacal geniuses who have designs on taking over different locations (for Stewie, the world; for Sideshow Bob, Springfield) and both have attempted to murder unassuming residents of their respective cities.

Stewie's voice and mannerisms are more like classic English actor Eric Blore [1] than Rex Harrison. Blore often played snobby English servants with nasty dispositions.

Stewie possesses a number of similarities to Dexter of Dexter's Laboratory, namely his hatred for a female family member, his scientific genius, and an accent that isn't shared by any of his relatives. Oddly enough, Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane did some writing for Dexter's Laboratory.

Stewie has been compared to the young Jimmy Corrigan from Chris Ware's famous comic. As well as displaying a similarly advanced level of intelligence and independence, the baby Jimmy Corrigan's head is almost exactly the same shape as Stewie's.

There are also some similarities between Stewie and Hannibal Lecter. Like Lecter, Stewie has a somewhat slick, menacing appearance with what hair he does have slicked back. His Machiaviellian attitude, as well as his refined tastes and destructive desires, also are reminiscent of Lecter.

Stewie's Talk Show

The character Stewie will be the virtual host of a talk show being developed strictly for the Internet later this year (2005).

Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story!

Template:Spoiler On September 27, 2005, 20th Century Fox released a direct-to-video movie featuring Stewie as the main character, titled 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. This has become an initial consequence of sending some movies directly to DVD, where the ability to copy and send media through the web creates the risk of video piracy.

The plot revolves around Stewie. After a failed attempt to kill a rival nearly cost him his own life, Stewie renounces his evil genius ways and becomes a "good boy". Following an attempt at using liquor to curb his evil tendencies, Stewie goes to California to find a man he sees on television who he thinks may be his biological father. However, the man Stewie thinks to be his father turns out to be his future self, who has taken a time traveling vacation to the year 2005.

In the future of the timeline shown, Stewie (now known as "Stu") appears to grow up to be a heterosexual, though one that is a virgin and clueless about sex. In addition to this, Stewie is horrified to find that Stu reads Parade magazine, works in retail, lives alone with his old teddy bear, and has completely long since abandoned his plans to kill his mother or take over the world. At his future workplace, Stu has formed a friendship with a female employee, a friendship that Stewie (horrified that he'll still be a virgin at age 35) forces his future self to turn into a sexual relationship, at which he succeeds, albeit utterly disastrously. Stu and his co-worker manage to have sex for about eight seconds before Stu finishes and cries for forty minutes, then offers to pay for the sex. His co-worker turns against Stu and has him fired by telling their manager that he asked her out on a date, which was not allowed where they work.

In this future, Stewie's adult self has also lost his aspirations for world domination as well as for murdering his mother, Lois. He tells his infant self that the near death experience apparently traumatized him, making him reluctant to ever take any risks. They both realize that this could be the direct cause for Stu's mediocre lifestyle. Stewie goes back to 2005 to stop the accident. Ironically, Stewie is killed by his past (i.e. present day) self immediately after preventing the accident, negating nearly all of the events of the story as a result.

External links

• Family Guy at IMDb
• Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story! at IMDb