Family Guy Presents: Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Cast: Featuring the Voices of: Seth MacFarlane, Alex Borstein, Mila Kunis, Seth Green, Mike Henry
Extras: Audio Commentary, Animatic Comparison, Previews
Rating:
Letter writing campaigns and buying up home video releases of your favorite cancelled TV show is nothing out of the ordinary, unless you are a fan of "Family Guy". This example of how fans, who bought a record number of "Family Guy Volume 1" on DVD and showing Fox, which had underestimated the true fan base of this show, helped to resurrect "Family Guy" bringing the series back to network TV.
As an appreciative "thank-you gift" from creator Seth MacFarlane, fans are treated to the straight-to-DVD release of "Family Guy Presents: Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story."
Told in a three-part-style presentation, the main portion of the story centers on Stewie and Brian's cross-country venture, to reveal the true identity of a mysterious man that Stewie notices on TV, who just so happens to bear a striking resemblance of himself, distinctly-shaped head and all! Thinking that feeble-minded Peter couldn't really be his true father, Stewie and Brian hitch a ride with Quagmire in his newly purchased "shag-wagon" motor home and head out to California, in search of the curious fellow that could quite possibly be Stewie's real father. Along the way, Stewie and Brian are lead to discoveries far bigger than they could have ever imagined, possibly changing the course of Stewie's life. Loaded with laugh-out-loud moments and odd circumstances, with some jokes that might just miss the mark a bit with some viewers, this all-new outrageously entertaining addition to the "Family Guy" world is sure to impress fans of the series.
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment delivers "Family Guy Presents: Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story" to DVD in an awesome looking transfer, which is presented in the series consistent 1.33:1 full frame aspect ratio. I thought there might be a chance that we would see this DVD available in at least a 1.85:1 anamorphic presentation, but keeping with the theme of the show, this new addition manages to compliment quite well. The video quality issues evident in the previous releases of both "Family Guy Volume 1 & 2" thankfully were not repeated with this current release, making for a much improved exhibition overall. Color saturation was spot on and really helped to bring characters and storylines to life. Black levels were also impressive, reproduced rich and deep to greatly enhance all details of the provided transfer.
The soundtrack is provided in a Dolby Digital 5.1 presentation, available with the option of a "censored" or "uncensored" track. Sound reproduction was good and displayed nice separation and balance, with vocals tracks appearing quite natural overall.
Value added materials include; a full-length audio commentary from creator Seth MacFarlane and feature various cast and writer participation. A neat feature titled "Animatic Comparison" which allows the viewer to watch two pre-selected scenes, utilizing the "angle" button on their remote, to toggle between rough drafts and completed scene presentations. Rounding out the special features are short clips promoting the upcoming "Family Guy Volume 3" and "American Dad" DVD releases.
