Seth MacFarlane’s Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy is released on DVD today. I hadn’t sought them out on YouTube, where many of these short cartoons first appeared. But, always seeking a way to learn to enjoy the MacFarlane industry — after all, EW did name MacFarlane the smartest person in television, right? — I dug into this collection. Here, the creative freedom of the DVD format allows you see them in their “uncensored” versions.
Alas, I don’t know which of MacFarlane’s creations I laughed at less. Was it the lame one with the horse whose face is compared to Sarah Jessica Parker’s? Was it the game-show parody “Name That Animal Penis”? No, I think the one I found least funny was “AIDS Patient Zero,” in which a “gay Canadian flight attendant” picks up a monkey, they have sex, and… well, it’s pretty despicable, aside from being not-funny. Here’s one of the less not-funny:
It’s okay, but not roaringly hilarious, is it?
The bare-bones DVD extras consist primarily of footage from a Cavalcade launch party in which guests are asked what “cavalcade” means, and most of them haven’t a clue.
As for MacFarlane’s regular source of income, Family Guy, it wraps up its season this Sunday with an episode in which a psychic tells Peter Griffin that he’s either the reincarnation or ancestor of the 17th-century founder of Quahog, Griffin Peterson. At one point, Peterson tells someone he has the day off because “it’s Martin Luther Day.” He then says, “Yes, that’s a very smart joke.”
Wow: telling your audience that making a joke that intentionally confuses two historical figures is “smart.” Does that mean MacFarlane believes his audience is so stupid it needs to be told, or just that he thinks his all-too-obvious joke is funny?
Me, I side with the South Park guys: MacFarlane’s endless use of repetition, unsurprising non sequiturs, and random pop-culture references don’t cohere as much of a comic viewpoint.
But maybe you disagree with us? Or agree?
Wow Ken Tucker could you come off as any more of a dick?
Ken Tucker reviewing Seth MacFarlane is like having your grandmother review a comic book. Ken is obviously a sourpuss who refuses to acknowledge that the majority of people find MacFarlane’s stuff to be hilarious (hence it’s enormous success). Ken, it’s okay to laugh at something stupid once in a while, it doesn’t mean that you’re less of a person.
Yeah, MacFarlane’s stuff really isn’t funny anymore. Family Guy has turned into a parody of itself.
Tucker is 100% right. Family Guy completely lacks the smarts of South Park or the best years of The Simpsons.
Family Guy is “comedy” that asks nothing of you.
Ken, you must have forgot that the South Park guys already decided about 5 years ago that AIDS is, in fact, funny; since it had been 20 years.
Thanks, Ken! MacFarlane’s stuff just isn’t funny to me. And I don’t mean that in a “Oh, he’s offensive, how mean!” kind of way, because I love South Park and, yes, Drawn Together. MacFarlane’s stuff is just lazy and lame. The South Park episode that ripped on Family Guy sums up my feelings perfectly.
The problem with MacFarlane’s humor is that when it fails, it fails hard. I watched a couple of the early cavalcades and thought to myself “so this is what the rejected Family Guy material looks like”.
That being said, I do enjoy Family Guy, especially the run of the last few episodes. After the atrocious “Juice is Loose”, you have humorous episodes riffing on Fox “News”, pot legalization as a stand in for general political activism, the Star Trek episode (maybe you have to be a fan for that one) and a surprisingly funny Brian episode that was good enough to get major elements immediately recycled into an American Dad episode (the smart one in the relationship thinking they’re too good, dumping the old partner, finding someone else, new partner ends up being smarter than them, experiences life as the dumb partner, learning valuable life lesson in We Love You Conrad -> Daddy Queerest).
South Park’s jab at Family Guy is accurate, but the absurdist nature of the show allows for it.
Some things can just be funny, even when lame. Even with no hidden message or deeper meaning. Funny is agreat thing. Laughter in it’s self is a wonderful thing. Seth is a master at making you laugh.
Thank you for keeping to your guns on this, Ken. Can you convince the rest of the magazine to feel this way too, so that any mention of Family Guy can be in a negative light? If I have to read another B review of a Family Guy episode I might yack–F’s all the way, baby.
Worst. Ever.
Family Guy occassionaly cracks me up, but I much prefer biting satire (The Simspons cira 1992 through 1993 is a prime example)
I love family guy, but it does seem to have become a parody of itself. The show has less and less of a plot and is trying to shock its audience more and more. The criticism of the show’s format, however, is something I never understood. Just because it does not follow the same traditional structure as the Simpsons or South Park does not make it any less “smart.” In fact, two of the funniest live action shows of the past decade, 30 rock and Arrested Development, have sometimes used the cut away joke format, so does that mean their audiences are “stupid?”
Thanks. I’ve spent pretty much all of my college life hearing my friends extol the comic genius of Family Guy and, after watching an episode, seriously had no clue what was so great about it. Glad to know I’m not the only one.
as someone from Rhode Island, and someone who can spell, it’s “Quahog” not “Qhahog”
both are equally funny at times, sometimes one does better than the otehr.
and then sometimes they both just suck.
so yeah they are both fun but they are not both perfect
I like Family Guy, but I agree that it isn’t nearly as intelligent as South Park and these sketches aren’t funny. I didn’t even like American Dad. But I always enjoy Family Guy. Sometimes South Park is a bit too crude, hilarious, but crude nonetheless. I like each for what they are and don’t ever find myself comparing the merits of one over the other.