Matt Stone and Trey Parker often criticize Family Guy, but its creator explains how the show differs from South Park.
Although he’s had a long-running feud with fellow animation creators, Seth MacFarlane praised South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker during Thursday’s episode of The Town podcast. He called their show’s ongoing relevance and their hands-on approach “incredible.”
Speaking with Puck podcast host Matt Belloni, the Family Guy creator’s comments came just a week after South Park Season 27 debuted with a viral episode mocking President Donald Trump in near real-time.
I would never trade our animation team for anything on ‘Family Guy,’ but their production cycle of, what is it, like, two weeks? It’s kind of amazing.
he said
MacFarlane went on to point out key production differences between Family Guy and South Park, especially when it comes to how long each episode takes to make.
It’s pretty incredible that it’s — yeah, any show that lasts that long is pretty astounding, Our shows take about 10 months to a year to produce each episode, so we have to really kind of guess what the world is going to look like, which obviously gets harder and harder.
he said
The rivalry between the two animated series dates back to 2006, when South Park aired its “Cartoon Wars” episode. In it, the Family Guy writing team was portrayed as manatees randomly choosing idea-filled beach balls to create storylines. Family Guy responded in 2009 with its episode “Spies Reminiscent of Us,” where Peter and Quagmire attend an improv show. Peter’s jokes—more in line with Family Guy’s style—were a hit, while Quagmire’s South Park-like humor received only lukewarm reactions.
I just want to say for the record right now, we’ve seen Family Guy … we do hate it,
Parker once said
In a 2012 Rolling Stone interview, MacFarlane admitted he didn’t quite understand the “venom” from the South Park creators.
“It’d be interesting to know where it comes from because I don’t know them,” he said at the time. However, in a later conversation with Howard Stern, he explained that the tension mostly stemmed from “differences in taste.”
The Season 27 premiere of South Park quickly went viral, taking aim at both Trump and Paramount – the studio behind the show – in a bold new way. Trump was animated in the same style they once used for Saddam Hussein and shown in a toxic, abusive relationship with Satan.
Meanwhile, MacFarlane’s latest film project, The Naked Gun, which he produced, is now playing in theaters.
Source: TheWrap