Mutant Reviewers from Hell do
"I Sithed my pants."

2007 NR / Animated Parody Directed by: Dominic Polcino Starring: Seth MacFarlane, Alex Borstein, Seth Green

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Summary Capsule

Mix Star Wars: A New Hope with Family Guy and the meta-geek references are gonna fly.

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Amazon.com: DVD

Justin's Rating: YE-HAW!
Justin's Review: Like many of you, I have had an on-again, off-again blood feud with Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane. It started when MacFarlane made a show that was, save for a lesser quality of writing and animation, a carbon copy of The Simpsons - which was a fine enough thing, mind you, until MacFarlane started verbally bashing the very show he was ripping off. From then on, it was on: I peed in his coffee cup, he took an ad out in Variety stating how I was sexually attracted to hedgehogs, I convinced Canada and Puerto Rico to file a warrant for his arrest and execution, he kidnapped me and placed me in a Truman Show-type bubble where everyone else was actors and I was being filmed 24-7, I forced him to watch The Doom Generation twenty-six times, and so on.

"Rejoice: there's no Greedo shooting first here!"

Perhaps it is time to call a public truce to this feud, lest it get out of hand. For all of the annoying attributes this squinty frat boy may exhibit, he and I do share a passionate love for pop culture references dating back to the 80's and earlier. How can I be angry at a guy who not only tosses Star Wars references into his show on a weekly basis, but actually convinced LucasFilms to let him craft an hour-long animated parody of Star Wars: A New Hope?

Granted, this is not the first time we've seen a Star Wars-inspired parody, nor is it about the hundredth time. From 1977's Hardware Wars to 1987's Spaceballs to 2007's Robot Chicken: Star Wars special, George Lucas' fanatically-followed film has compelled far greater men than Seth MacFarlane to mimic and mock. Far greater men, yes, but perhaps nobody as slavishly devoted to the minutia of the Star Wars phenomenon.

From its insider-joke title (referring to the code name that Return of the Jedi filmed under), Family Guy: Blue Harvest takes the most ardent Star Wars fans in the galaxy on a ride unlike they've ever imagined. Well, wait. Considering that Blue Harvest contains dozens of small moments where the characters stop and discuss the oft-nitpicked moments (such as Luke berating Han about not believing in the Force, even though Luke only learned about it a few hours before) just like any obsessive Star Wars fan has done, this is exactly the kind of ride you might imagine.

Substituting Family Guy characters for Luke, Han, Leia and so on, Blue Harvest wings its way through A New Hope with eerily spot-on imitations, gut-busting hilarious jokes and gags, numerous non sequiturs referring to other classic films (like… Dirty Dancing?) and the genuine fun that Star Wars is known for. Because it's Family Guy, however, there is an emphasis on lowbrow gutter humor.

It seems too perfect how the Family Guy characters fit here, from Baby Stewie as a half-foot Darth Vader to the creepy pedophile as Obi-Wan Kenobi. Not that I'm complaining.

Actually, I was pretty stunned to see very well-done animation, some of it of movie-quality, and to hear John Williams' classic score used throughout. Not to mention that MacFarlane is such a Star Wars geek that he used the original Star Wars cut - NOT the special edition - to parody. Rejoice: there's no Greedo shooting first here!

However, due to the 48-minute condensed runtime, Blue Harvest unfortunately skipped over a number of the more insidery Star Wars moments, such as Luke's "Tashi Station" whinefest or the stormtrooper knocking his noggin against a blast door. This is more of a backhanded compliment, however; for all of the parts of A New Hope they did well, I only wanted them to do even more.

Sure, while many of the jokes will simply shoot way over the heads of anyone who hasn't analyzed Star Wars second-by-second (quick quiz: who is Jek Porkins, and what was his fate?), if you're even passingly familiar with the movie, you'll find a treasure trove of laughs here.

It's twice the incest, actually There's got to be a load limit on that belt, there, Han "Did you go over my helmet? Darn, that's already been done?"

Didja Notice? [some sources: IMDb]

• The overly awesome opening scroll (75% of which is dedicated to Angelina Jolie)
• Han Solo shoots first! Finally!
• Doctor Who in hyperspace
• The pimped-out Tie Fighter
• ASTEROIDS
• Dirty Dancing… that got a look from my wife
• The Breakfast Club "bull by the horns" reference
• National Lampoon's Vacation! And Chevy Chase actually cameo'd the part!
• Porkins… I love that guy!
• The meta-joke between Family Guy and Robot Chicken at the end (Seth Green is involved with both shows)
• Muzak version of "The Imperial March" in the elevator
• The Wilhelm scream
• Bender from Futurama in the cantina
• The Airplane! references
• Stormtrooper church?

Is It Worth Staying Through End Credits?

Naw.

Intermission! [some sources: IMDb]

This episode drew 10.7 million viewers on its first showing, and earned the highest Nielsen rating of any Family Guy episode since the show returned to air in 2005.

The episode was officially endorsed by Lucasfilm, who, MacFarlane said, were extremely helpful when the Family Guy crew wanted to parody their works.

Groovy Quotes

Title card/crawl: A long time ago, but somehow in the future... It is a period of civil war and renegade paragraphs floating through space. There's cool space battles, and the bad guy is the good guy's dad. But you don't find that out 'til the next episode. And the hot chick is really the sister of the good guy, but they don't know it and they kiss. Which is kind of messed up. I mean, what if they had done it instead of just kissed? Angelina Jolie kissed her brother. Yeah, she did. You know it, I know it, and her dad knows it. That's why they hardly ever talk anymore. You can run away to Africa, but you can't run away from the truth. Oh, by the way, here's a tip for you: when this is over, go out and rent the movie "Gia." She's way naked in it, and makes out with another chick and everything. It's awesome. I stumbled across it late night on HBO after I had just got back from hockey, and I almost fainted. But I digest... Princess Leia was coming back from buying space groceries when this happened...

Han Solo: Great kid, don't get penisy!

Scott: [grunts and pushes Chris]
Pignose: He doesn't like you.
Luke Skywalker: Sorry.
Pignose: I don't like you either!
Luke Skywalker: You don't even know me!
Pignose: You know what? That's fair. I'm Pignose and this is my brother-in-law Scott. He's visiting from Hoth.
Scott: I don't know why they call it Hoth, they should call it "Coldth".
Pignose: Okay settle down.
Scott: I'm up after the band.

Han Solo: [about the Millenium Falcon] Well, what do you think?
Luke Skywalker: What a piece of junk!
Han Solo: Thank you, this was my brother's, he died of leukemia. How do you feel now?

Princess Leia: Aren't you a little fat to be a stormtrooper?
Luke Skywalker: Well, stay here and rot, you stuck-up bitch!

Luke Skywalker: Well, I guess I'll go bullseye some womp rats in my T-16.
C-3PO: My God! You shoot small animals for fun? That's the first indicator of a serial killer, you freak!
Luke Skywalker: There's two suns and no women. What the hell am I supposed to do?

Luke Skywalker: Is it a fast ship?
Han Solo: Are you kidding? It's the ship that made the Kessel run in less than 12 parsecs.
Luke Skywalker: Um, isn't a parsec a unit of distance, not time?

Luke Skywalker: Oh, what the Phantom Menace is that guy's problem?

Han Solo: Great idea, Princess! Diving into a pile of garbage! Hey, maybe when we get out of here, you can show us around your home planet of Alderaan. Ohhhhhhhhh, too soon?

Darth Vader: I Sithed my pants.

Dr. Rumack: [appears behind Han] I just want to tell you both, good luck! We're all counting on you.

DVD Review

This 2-disc set isn't remarkable past the main show itself; most of the extras include heavy-breathing fan adoration of Lucas and whatnot. However, I happened to buy the limited edition set for some reason, and opened it to find some goodies like a t-shirt and 3-D glasses (?).

Soundtrack Review

Well, it's John Williams. Does that answer your question?

If you liked this movie, try these:

• Star Wars: A New Hope
• Spaceballs
• Robot Chicken's Star Wars Special