Writer: Alex Sulkin
Director: Dominic Polcino
Voices: Mike Henry (Cleveland/R2-D2, Herbert/Obi-Wan Kenobi, Performance Artist, Greedo, Greased-Up Deaf Guy, various), Seth Green (Chris/Luke Skywalker, various), Seth MacFarlane (Peter/Han Solo, Stewie/Darth Vader, Brian/Chewbacca, Quagmire/C-3PO, Tom Tucker, various), Alex Borstein (Lois/Princess Leia, various), Mila Kunis (Meg/Dianoga), Adam West (Adam West/Grand Moff Tarkin), Johnny Brennan (Various), Danny Smith (Various), Ralph Garman (Various), Phil LaMarr (Various), Mark Hentemann (Various), Alec Sulkin (Various), John Viener (Various), Wally Wingert (Various), Kirker Butler (Various), Steve Callaghan (Various), Chevy Chase (Clark Griswold), Beverly D'Angelo (Ellen Griswold), Mick Hucknall (Himself), Rush Limbaugh (Himself), Helen Reddy (Herself) & Alex Thomas (Various)
Director: Dominic Polcino
Voices: Mike Henry (Cleveland/R2-D2, Herbert/Obi-Wan Kenobi, Performance Artist, Greedo, Greased-Up Deaf Guy, various), Seth Green (Chris/Luke Skywalker, various), Seth MacFarlane (Peter/Han Solo, Stewie/Darth Vader, Brian/Chewbacca, Quagmire/C-3PO, Tom Tucker, various), Alex Borstein (Lois/Princess Leia, various), Mila Kunis (Meg/Dianoga), Adam West (Adam West/Grand Moff Tarkin), Johnny Brennan (Various), Danny Smith (Various), Ralph Garman (Various), Phil LaMarr (Various), Mark Hentemann (Various), Alec Sulkin (Various), John Viener (Various), Wally Wingert (Various), Kirker Butler (Various), Steve Callaghan (Various), Chevy Chase (Clark Griswold), Beverly D'Angelo (Ellen Griswold), Mick Hucknall (Himself), Rush Limbaugh (Himself), Helen Reddy (Herself) & Alex Thomas (Various)
"I have you now, young Skywalker. And with today'sgas prices, not a moment too soon!"
-- Darth Vader/Stewie (Seth MacFarlane)
Star Wars spoofs are ten-a-penny these days, which begs the question: is there really anything left to poke fun at? George Lucas' 1977 original has left an indelible mark on film history and a generation of fans, and it seems we still enjoy seeing it parodied for the umpteenth time.
Airing on US television in September 2007, this episode of comedy animation Family Guy acted as an extended season 6 premiere, but has now been repackaged as spoof movie Family Guy Presents Blue Harvest (the codename Lucas assigned to Star Wars' 80s sequels.)
After an electrical blackout one evening, the Griffins debate how to pass the time without their cherished TV, so dumb patriarch Peter (Seth MacFarlane) regales his family with the story of Star Wars – and we experience a 45-minute reprise of the movie, re-enacted by characters from the Family Guy cast.
The main things that stick in your mind about Blue Harvest are: 1, how the hand-drawn animations are sometimes indistinguishable from the real film's effects (indeed, some shots animated over real scenes); 2, the angle-perfect reproduction of key scenes; and 3, the expensive use of John Williams' wonderful music, which raises the excitement levels even in a TV-budgeted cartoon.
Beyond that, it's great fun to see which Family Guy character will play which Star Wars character – from the obvious (Chris as Luke Skywalker, Peter as Han Solo), to the amusing (Brian as Chewbacca, Stewie as a pint-sized Darth Vader), and the bizarre (Herbert as a perverted Obi-Wan Kenobi, Cleveland as a R2-D2 with an afro).
As with every Family Guy episode, there are lulls and moments that fall flat (like basketball star Magic Johnson's instructional video on how to destroy the Death Star), but it's otherwise a spirited and fun spoof. If anything, it reminds you how entertaining a well-constructed and intelligent parody can be -- in an era where crud like Epic Movie and Date Movie are stinking up cinemas. Blue Harvest even pays respect to legendary spoof Airplane! with a few reprisals of their jokes. Watch out for Leslie Nielsen.
It may be three decades "late" to the Star Wars spoofing party (Spaceballs was criticized for missing the bandwagon, and that was released in 1987!), but the guys behind Family Guy manage to squeeze fresh ideas and inspired gags from a supposedly empty well. I particularly laughed at the misplaced rambling about Angelina Jolie in the opening crawl!
For every moment of crudity and blandness, there's something to genuinely makes you giggle. It also helps that the brisk running time actually improves on the laborious slog of Lucas' source film, as it thunders through the set-pieces we all know so well. The 45-minutes seem more like 25.
It's not the laugh-a-minute experience it could have been, but Alex Sulkin's script pokes fun constantly and delivers an affectionate and beautifully-realized cartoon parody. Family Guy is well known for its abundance of pop-culture gags, but its non sequiters can be tiresome, so it's a relief that Blue Harvest forces the show to stick to a story without much diversion – beyond a Dirty Dancing musical sequence with Luke/Obi-Wan that should have been cut!
How can you hate a Star Wars spoof that unearths so many fresh nitpicks about the film, whilst clearing having fun and showing respect while it does it? A discussion about the Death Star's .1% vulnerability makes this worth watching just on its own, and how can you not chuckle over a cameo from the vacationing Griswold family!
A funny, entertaining and energetic merger of the Star Wars universe and the Family Guy cast. Blue Harvest should appeal to both sets of fans... but it helps if you have a passing familiarity with Family Guy's characters, for true geek nirvana. Ultimately, while it doesn't justify a self-contained DVD release, I can't wait for the upcoming Empire Strikes Back spoof sequel: Something, Something, Something, Dark Side.
* The DVD release includes several restored scenes, not shown when this episode aired on television.
