Seth MacFarlane is most well-known for creating (and voice performing in) crass comedy cartoons like “Household Man” and “American Dad.” His love for animation was sparked by primetime TV’s first cartoon sitcom, “The Flintstones,” however animation just isn’t MacFarlane’s solely ardour — he additionally loves present tunes and musicals.
Certainly, MacFarlane’s all-time favourite film is “The Sound of Music,” Robert Clever’s 1965 musical epic starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. As he put it to Wired when revealing his favourite movie, “Are you able to imagine that? Who would’ve thought? ‘The Sound of motherf***ing Music.'”
“The Sound of Music” tailored the 1959 stage musical of the identical identify, which itself was primarily based on the true story of the Austrian Von Trapp household, a household of singers who escaped their Nazi-conquered homeland in 1938. Andrews performs the long run Mrs. Von Trapp, Maria. Initially a free-spirited nun despatched to be a governess to Captain Georg Von Trapp’s (Plummer) seven youngsters, she and the Captain finally fall in love and marry. The movie was a serious success in its day, grossing $286 million worldwide towards an eight million greenback funds. It additionally received 5 Oscars: Finest Image, Finest Director, Finest Movie Modifying, Finest Sound, and Finest Scoring of Music – Adaptation or Remedy.
“Household Man” is rarely shy about blatant popular culture references, and unsurprisingly, there are many homages to “The Sound of Music” within the present. All the best way again within the pilot, “Dying Has A Shadow,” Peter Griffin loses a expertise present to the Von Trapp household. Later, within the “Household Man” season 3 episode “Mr. Saturday Knight,” the Griffin youngsters carry out “So Lengthy, Farewell,” full with applicable Austrian costumes. In season 4’s “You Could Now Kiss The… Uh… Man Who Receives,” Stewie and Brian watch “The Sound of Music” — however on this model, the nuns do not simply sabotage the Nazis’ automobiles on the movie’s climax, they minimize off the top of Rolf, the Nazi boy who betrays the Von Trapp household to the Third Reich. (“I did not begin this struggle, however it’s on!”)
The listing goes on, as do the musical moments in “Household Man.”
Household Man typically reveals off Seth MacFarlane’s love of musicals
Say what you’ll in regards to the writing of “Household Man,” however Seth MacFarlane is a gifted voice actor and singer. From Stewie Griffin on “Household Man” to Roger the alien on “American Dad” to Johann Krauss (a ghost in a helmeted go well with) in “Hellboy II,” he is bought a large vocal vary. It is particularly spectacular how he can attain and preserve his vocal timbre at excessive, Paul Lynde-esque tones when his pure voice (used for speaking canine Brian Griffin) is fairly deep.
On high of being a musical lover, he is additionally a Trekkie. MacFarlane is the person who created “The Orville” to meet his dream of being a “Star Trek” captain. Stunning nobody, he managed to make a musical episode of that present, and his animated collection typically additionally contrive causes for his characters to sing. It is amusing that “Household Man,” which has at all times been in style with edgy teenage boys, has such vibrant theater child power. Even the title sequence is staged because the Griffin household performing a track collectively. And “American Dad” theme track “Good Morning U.S.A.” can be diegetically sung by collection lead Stan Smith (voiced by, after all, MacFarlane).
My private favourite “Household Man” track is from season 4’s “PTV,” one of many present’s most basic episodes. Peter creates his personal TV community filled with raunchy programming, however Lois notifies the Federal Communications Fee. In a bit that feels impressed by the run-ins “Household Man” has had with censorious oversight, Peter, Brian, and Stewie inform them off with “The Freakin’ FCC” — a trio track the place all three voices belong to MacFarlane.
However as an alternative of making new music, typically “Household Man” will simply recreate moments from classical musicals. The Season 2 episode “The King Is Lifeless” follows Lois attempting to stage a neighborhood manufacturing of Broadway basic “The King and I.” On the climax of season 4 episode “Patriot Video games,” Peter performs “Shipoopi” from “The Music Man.” In season 9’s “Buddies of Peter G,” the Quahog Alcoholics Nameless group performs a canopy of “Mr. Booze” from “Robin and the 7 Hoods,” a movie starring mid-Twentieth century America’s most well-known singers: Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis Jr. And bringing all of it the best way again to “The Sound of Music,” within the direct-to-DVD film “Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story,” a cutaway gag cuts to Stewie dressed as Maria as she heads to the Von Trapp household dwelling for the primary time and options Stewie singing a portion of the track “I Have Confidence.”
On the floor, “Household Man” doesn’t counsel a creator who’s in love with musical theater, however listen and you will discover the present has a loud track in its coronary heart.