Seth Macfarlane Wanted To Work For Disney Animation Until The Simpsons Happened

Seth MacFarlane Wanted To Work For Disney Animation, Until The Simpsons Happened

By Michael Boyle/June 29, 2022 3:31 pm EST

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This created a bit of a conflict for MacFarlane. Although his best chance of making a career in animation at the time was working on the strictly PG movies from Disney, he was also trying to make it as a stand-up comedian. And as “Ted” fans can probably guess, a lot of MacFarlane’s jokes tend to skew in an R-rated direction. “I was really loving doing standup,” he said, “but obviously it wasn’t the kind of comedy I’d be doing if I worked for Disney.”

 “Suddenly I’m watching a cartoon that actually is making me laugh. It’s for me, as an adult. This changes the game; the kind of humor that makes me laugh and the stuff that I was doing in my standup routines could now maybe meld with animation.”

The Simpsons’ mass cultural influence

MacFarlane has never been all that shy about how much “Family Guy” owes its success to Matt Groening’s hit series. The MacFarlane-voiced characters would often poke fun at their own show for being derivative of “The Simpsons,” with the show always seeming painfully aware of how much more respect their predecessor received. “We act like we didn’t take a lot from The Simpsons,” a drunken Peter muses in one episode, completely unprovoked, “but we took a lot from The Simpsons.'”

But to be fair, most adult-oriented animated sitcoms may not have been made if not for “The Simpsons” proving there was an audience for this type of show. MacFarlane pointed to shows like “South Park,” “King of the Hill,” and “Bob’s Burgers” as being in a similar boat. “All those shows owe their existence … their stylistic paradigm to ‘The Simpsons,’” he said. Each of these shows has managed to find a life of its own. “Family Guy” found its voice as a much raunchier and faster-paced show. Whereas “The Simpsons” could be watched with older members of the whole family, “Family Guy” was more clearly written for a strictly adult audience. (Although to be clear: the show was always very popular with middle school boys, even if they weren’t technically supposed to watch it.) There was also the specificity of the show’s setting: whereas the town of Springfield could conceivably exist in nearly any state in America, the town of Quahog is explicitly in Rhode Island, and Peter Griffin speaks with a strong Rhode Island accent. 

But to be fair, most adult-oriented animated sitcoms may not have been made if not for “The Simpsons” proving there was an audience for this type of show. MacFarlane pointed to shows like “South Park,” “King of the Hill,” and “Bob’s Burgers” as being in a similar boat. “All those shows owe their existence … their stylistic paradigm to ‘The Simpsons,’” he said.

Each of these shows has managed to find a life of its own. “Family Guy” found its voice as a much raunchier and faster-paced show. Whereas “The Simpsons” could be watched with older members of the whole family, “Family Guy” was more clearly written for a strictly adult audience. (Although to be clear: the show was always very popular with middle school boys, even if they weren’t technically supposed to watch it.) There was also the specificity of the show’s setting: whereas the town of Springfield could conceivably exist in nearly any state in America, the town of Quahog is explicitly in Rhode Island, and Peter Griffin speaks with a strong Rhode Island accent. 

The Simpsons’ early controversies

Another notable controversial “Simpsons” moment was the episode “A Streetcar Named Marge” which featured a musical number that sort of insulted the people of New Orleans — leading to an apology from the show in its opening theme where Bart wrote “I will not defame New Orleans” on the chalkboard. The show’s many jokes poking fun of the Christian church also didn’t help the show’s standing with the religious right. In 1992, President George H. W. Bush famously said in a campaign speech that he would try “to make American families a lot more like the Waltons and a lot less like the Simpsons.” Unfortunately for Bush, the Simpson family is still beloved, whereas few people today even remember who the Waltons were.

In the end, Disney conquers all

These days, however, MacFarlane doesn’t write for “Family Guy,” nor does he have any involvement with the show’s current animation. He still voices the characters, but his attention is now focused on his “Star Trek”-inspired project “The Orville.” The show’s third season is currently airing on Hulu, every Thursday.