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Stewie Griffin

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Family Guy character
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Stewart Gilligan Griffin
Hometown: Quahog, Rhode Island
Species: Human
Gender: Male
Height: 1'6"
Known Relatives: Peter Griffin Father, Lois Griffin Mother, Megan Griffin Sister (possibly Half-sister), Chris Griffin Brother, Bertram Griffin Half-brother.
Weight: 29 lbs.
Pets: Brian Dog-really a caregiver.
Age: 1 ("Chitty Chitty Death Bang")
Religion: Christian
Political Leaning: Totalitarian
Heritage: Irish, German and African
First Episode Appearance: "Death Has a Shadow"
Voice Actor: Seth MacFarlane

Stewart Gilligan Griffin is a fictional character in the animated television series Family Guy. He is the youngest and, as hinted by several episodes, only biological child of Peter and Lois Griffin and the brother of Meg and Chris. He is voiced by the creator of the show, Seth MacFarlane.

[Spoiler warningSpoiler warning]: Plot and/or ending details follow.
For reasons the show has yet to address, Stewie has a super-genius I.Q. and speaks with an English accent reminiscent of an evil Rex Harrison. Since he is American, his accent may suggest evil cunning. See Ethnic stereotypes in American media — British.

His Machiavellian ambitions not only include world domination, but matricide. In the commentary of one episode, show creator Seth MacFarlane reveals that Stewie's evil personality is a result of Lois smoking marijuana while pregnant with him. Lois also mentions this to Stewie in a dream of hers in "Mr. Griffin Goes to Washington."

He has a complicated relationship with his mother. Even as he grudgingly acknowledges his dependence upon her, matricide, Stewie reasons, will free him of his present circumstances, which he finds intolerable. He often fantasizes of a world without Lois (in "Emission Impossible", he imagines her as a floor rug.) Because he is a toddler, he knows he would never be suspected should she meet with an untimely end. However, it is because he is a toddler, adults don't take his plots seriously, and, to his eternal vexation, Lois remains blissfully dismissive of his repeated attempts on her life. Stewie fails to realize that, if he did indeed kill Lois, he would remain in Peter's custody, although this is doubtful: in "Petarded", it is revealed that the only reason the children can still live with Peter is because of Lois's presence.

Contents

Personality

Stewie has sophisticated style, attitude and mannerisms, juxtaposed with typical childish interests. He enjoys literature such as Marlowe's Faust and cites pop culture references that date much farther back than his age would permit, also reading Machiavelli and Sun-Tzu for advice on world domination. However, he has also shown an affinity for children's singer Raffi and has a hypnotic attraction to the Teletubbies. Stewie also succumbs to other failings of children his age: in "Emission Impossible", Lois subdues Stewie by blowing on his stomach. In a more recent episode, Peter convinces Stewie that he has vanished into thin air by playing peek-a-boo with him. Stewie has gradually shifted from a general madman persona (in his earliest appearances) to that of a socialite. The two personalities are strikingly different, though both play off Stewie's general discomfort and confusion with day-to-day life.

Stewie also has some knowledge of an infant: On his first birthday, he thought the occasion would mean that the man in white who delivered him from his mother would put him back in the womb. In "To Live and Die in Dixie", he is easily amazed by a person playing the banjo, describing it as "a magical device" that produces "dulcet tones" that are "the music of angels". He was also very excited after touching Cleveland Brown's hair, describing it as "like a sheep".

He has a love/hate relationship with the family dog, Brian; while he often jeers at him and seeks to undermine and mock him at every turn, he seems to find a grudging affinity with him, possibly because he is the only other intellectual in the family. The two even sometimes go on Hope-Crosby-like adventures, complete with musical numbers. Stewie almost never calls Peter and Lois "Mommy" or "Daddy", preferring to use the terms "Lois" and "The Fat Man". For some reason, he became enraged when he realized his future self called their parents "Mommy" and "Daddy", insisting that "Lois" and "The Fat Man" be used at all times. His relationships with his parents are very odd. He's always trying to kill Lois although he's never shown trying to kill Peter. At one point Stewie calls Peter "The Lesser of Two Evils" showing that he thinks of Peter as a threat but not as much as Lois. In the episode 'The Courtship of Stewie's Father', the boys bond but it seems unknown whether that bond will hold. All this may be because Peter once saved Stewie from being hypnotised by the Teletubbies in one episode. Stewie responded by saying that when the world was his, Peter's death would be "quick and painless".

Stewie has concocted a time machine.
Enlarge
Stewie has concocted a time machine.

Stewie may suffer from an antisocial personality disorder, though it should be noted that this is realistically impossible, as diagnosis of such disorders requires that the subject be an adult. He may also have megalomania and acute paranoia. MacFarlane has stated that Stewie is meant to represent the general helplessness of an infant through the eyes of an adult. Consequently, his longing to conquer the world is based upon his desire for control over his own life.

Many elements of Stewie's personality come from British actor Rex Harrison. MacFarlane has stated that My Fair Lady (starring Harrison) heavily influenced his portrayal of Stewie. During a recent interview on The Late Show with David Letterman, he described Stewie as "Rex Harrison in an infant's body," and has included several tributes to My Fair Lady in Family Guy, most notably in "One If By Clam, Two If By Sea". The episode features a subplot in which Stewie bets Brian that he can train a female Cockney-speaking toddler to act like a proper lady, echoing the plot of My Fair Lady. Another tribute was in the episode "Running Mates", where Stewie sings "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face" when he misses his mother. Stewie apparently has recurring dreams in which he is in a restaurant: in one episode, he is seen asleep in his cot ordering coffee cake from an imaginary waiter, and in Ready, Willing, and Disabled, Stewie mutters in his sleep that he has only ordered soup and does not wish to split the restaurant bill evenly between him and his friends.

Stewie has a slightly neurotic one-sided relationship with his teddy bear, Rupert. He treats Rupert as a sentient and intelligent creature; he often talks to the bear and carries on the conversation as though the bear were replying. He occasionally asks Rupert to perform odd tasks (telephoning a Lockheed engineer, obtaining Valium, etc.). In "Emission Impossible", Rupert acts as Stewie's psychologist. He even leaves Rupert to guard his and Brian's luggage in an airport departure lounge while he goes to find Brian, who is drinking in the airport lounge/bar. Stewie is also an Apple Macintosh user (see episode "Peterotica").

Stewie is a scientific genius, apparently able to master physics and mechanical engineering, as well as construct a bewildering variety of machines including lasers, mind control devices, weather-control devices, time machines, robots, and even advanced fighter-jets. He frequently uses these devices to cope with the stresses of infant life (such as the pain from teething and his hatred of broccoli), to kill Lois, or for other purposes, such as destroying all of the sperm in Peter's body so he will not have to compete with another baby.

In an apparent gaffe, Stewie is shown to have a full set of teeth throughout most of the show, despite being shown to have only two (an incisor and a bicuspid) in the episode "Mind Over Murder."

Head shape

Stewie, with a normal head. This contradicts other episodes, where he is shown born with his current head.
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Stewie, with a normal head. This contradicts other episodes, where he is shown born with his current head.

An unusual aspect of Stewie's physique is his American football-shaped head, which is like that of the titular character of either the Nicktoon Hey Arnold! or the Fox Saturday morning cartoon Bobby's World. An explanation for this is given in "Stuck Together, Torn Apart": during a flashback, Brian is babysitting Stewie, whose head is shaped like that of a normal child, and urges him to stop jumping on the bed. "Shut up, you're not my mother!" is Stewie's response, and, jumping especially high and smashing into the ceiling, Stewie's head is flattened into the familiar football shape. This contradicts season one's flashback of Stewie's birth, when he was born with a football-shaped head and shown as an evil genius while still in the womb (or as he described it, "for nine months... imprisoned in that uterine gulag.") It should be noted however that many of the Family Guy flashbacks that occur are not always considered canonical to the greater Family Guy universe.

Additionally, in "Emission Impossible", the pilots of Peter's sperm cells also exhibit football-shaped heads, further indicating that Stewie's skull shape is the result of genetic influences (specifically Peter's genes), rather than accidental. Also Stewie's half brother, Bertram has what appears to be a football head, but it is rounder then Stewie's. Either way, Stewie claims that he's "just not a hat person" ("When You Wish Upon a Weinstein").

Lois once left Stewie unsupervised with a plastic bag, and to teach her a lesson, he tried to suffocate himself with it: "Here I go, just like that boy from INXS!" His big head, of course, prevented him from doing it. "Good Lord, Lois, either I was a C-section or you're Wonder Woman!" It is debatable whether Lois knew he couldn't suffocate himself.

Unlike the other male characters, his nose is drawn as a forward-pointing triangle, similar to that of his mother and sister. Few male characters are drawn this way. He has obviously inherited some traits from his mother.

Communication with adults

MacFarlane has asserted that he and his staff will never take a definite stand on whether Stewie can converse with adults. Whether the other characters understand him or not is left to the writers, who can decide which possibility is most appropriate for a given situation. 
Brian is the only character whose ability to understand Stewie is unambiguous--the two generally converse "normally." In one instance, they are apparently able to hear each other's thoughts.
Despite this, in the DVD audio commentary for "E. Peterbus Unum" MacFarlane states that adults can understand Stewie, but don't take him seriously, "sort of like... if a 4-year-old who [could] talk told you to fuck off." This concept is supported by the other characters often looking at him as he speaks to them, as if to acknowledge him, although paying no mind his often-ungracious addresses, such as calling Lois by her first name (although a few times over the course of the series he has referred to her as "mother"), referring to Peter as "the fat man", Brian as "dog" or on occasion "Dogbert", and Chris and Meg as simply "you there". The other characters also seem to have blocked out Stewie's odd behavior.

Situations in which he has been clearly understood by others appear in the following episodes:

Stewie instructing Lois to bend down, after which he hits her with a glove.
At the dinner table, Lois turns her head as Stewie calls her. After being picked up by her and kissed on the cheek, Stewie requests for more kisses to further pique Brian's jealousy and is duly obliged. He then unhooks her bra to really bother Brian.
Also in this episode, during which Stewie undergoes toilet training, Peter suggests that the whole process would be easier if Stewie drank a couple of cans of beer, as they'd "go right through him." Stewie sarcastically responds, "wonderful, and while we're at it we could light up a doobie and watch porn," to which Peter responds in all seriousness and confusion, "y...yeah?"
Also in this episode, Stewie asks Peter if Michael Eisner was dead after Peter punched him off a cliff at the Walt Disney World Resort. Peter responds that he would be back on his feet in no time.
Non-recurring adults often clearly understand the content of Stewie's speech:

Also in this episode, Stewie talks to a motel clerk and, while in his room, causes a drug deal taking place in the adjacent room to erupt in gunfire after he yells out that one of the participants is wearing a wire.
Additionally, at the end of the episode "E. Peterbus Unum", there is a self-referential joke relating to this issue. The scene features a class watching a video of events from the episode presented to them and a student asking, "So... can the family understand the baby or what's the deal with that?"

In , other characters, including "Stu", can understand him. Once he asked Lois what she was doing to which she replied "Strapping you in so you won't be hurt." He also screamed "Lets have sex!" to which Fran agreed.

Stewie's ambiguous sexuality

When the writers began to flesh out Stewie beyond being a generic evil genius in season two, Seth MacFarlane and the writers began to explore the infant's sexuality with a series of one-off gags which hinted that Stewie could be gay. On the commentary of Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story, the writers describe how they were going to make Stewie discover he was gay, but decided to go "another way." His personality, which is often rather theatrical and effeminate, and the fact his voice could be interpreted as a Quivering Lisp, easily lent itself to such speculation.

The shift began in the episode "Fifteen Minutes of Shame", when Stewie gives the following video camera confessional, parodying MTV's The Real World show:

There's always been a lot of tension between me and Lois. It's not that I want to kill her, it's just that I want her... not to be alive anymore. I sometimes wonder if all women are like this, and then I think to myself: My God, wouldn't it be marvelous if I turned out to be a homosexual?
In "Screwed the Pooch", Stewie imagines his ideal place for relaxation as a loud nightclub populated only with muscular, dancing shirtless men.

In "Emission Impossible", Stewie tries to prevent Peter and Lois from having another baby. He decides he must make Lois think Peter is being unfaithful. Stewie then puts lipstick and perfume on himself and rolls around in one of Peter's shirts. However, he notices himself in the mirror and starts admiring himself, only to be caught by Lois and Brian:

Stewie: "Well! Look at you there! Oh, you're a filthy girl, aren't you? Yees, yees, you're looking for a bad time, that's what you're after! Oh, you're a dirty flirt. You want it bad and you don't care who you get it from because you have no self-respect, and that gets you off, doesn't it? Aruff!"
Lois: "Stewie! Bad boy! That's Mommy's make-up. Oh, and you got it all over your father's favourite shirt. Now go to your room!"
Brian: "Wow. The evidence is really piling up."
Stewie: "Make any joke you want. You know I look good."
In "Patriot Games", Stewie's parachute, which was packed by Brian, reads "I'M A HOMO". Stewie also expresses pleasure in viewing a nude Tom Brady.

In "Lethal Weapons", when the various family members are acting out like the members that anger them, Brian refers to Stewie's future involving "falling in with a rough trick named Jim."

In "Peterotica", when Carter starts living with the Griffins he comes into breakfast wearing only underwear, Lois smells something and asks him if he went to the bathroom, Carter says yes and says he was wondering if one of them could clean him up, everyone refuses except Stewie.

Stewie: "I'll do it!"
It is also worth noting in this episode that Stewie is practicing gymnastics but he is doing women's events: the balance beam and floor exercise with music and choreography.

In "The Thin White Line", with the family talking about a cruise, Stewie mentions that he's always wanted to sail the seven seas. A cutaway ensues, featuring Stewie in a sailor outfit surrounded by other sailors. They begin singing and dancing a parody of "My Gallant Crew" from the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta HMS Pinafore:

Stewie: I'm the greatest captain of the Queen's navy*
Crew: And your record will stand as proof
Stewie: Be it galleon or freighter
:I'm an expert navigator
Crew: And you're also a world class poof
Stewie: My manner quite effete
:Is mistaken on the street
:For a sailor who can pirouette on cue
:Well, despite your point of view
:I can thrill a girl or two
:But I'd rather get it on with you
Crew: Ha ha ha
* Note that the first line is NOT the same as from the Stewie Griffin Movie. The song in the movie is from the opera HMS Pinafore.

In "Road to Europe", Brian and Stewie sing a song with the following lyrics:

Brian: I'd bet money, you'll marry a honey, who's pretty and funny and her name will be Ted.
Stewie: Oh a gay joke.
Brian: Eh, I just work with what you give me.
In the season four episode "Jungle Love", Stewie says that he is not worried about being a freshman and that in the worst-case scenario he would become the popular girls' effeminate friend. In the flash-forward, he is shown with an earring and fashionable clothing, and invites the girls to a party with wine coolers. He says he obtained the wine coolers by doing "something in the parking lot for a guy" and then asks for mouthwash. Also in this episode Brian films Stewie talking about the tribesmen, where Brian's final line in that scene is "Cut, print, gay." In the episode "The Fat Guy Strangler", Stewie is outright accused by Brian of being a homosexual. And in the episode "Deep Throats", Stewie and Brian go undercover to spy on Mayor Adam West and Meg. Brian dresses in a tuxedo, while Stewie, who has access to a similar disguise, prefers wearing a blonde wig and a dress instead. By itself this might have only been evidence of gender dysphoria instead of homo- or bisexuality, but Stewie initiated a kiss with Brian a few minutes later to keep West and Meg from seeing their faces. After a sufficient time Brian broke off the kiss, but Stewie was still sitting there with his eyes closed and lips puckered, seemingly entranced. After Brian got his attention and asked if everything was all right, Stewie responded with, "Hey listen. Freakin' shot in the dark. You wanna do something sometime?"

Series creator Seth MacFarlane planned for the series' third season to end with Stewie coming out of the closet after a near death experience. However, the show's abrupt cancellation caused MacFarlane to abort these plans. Since that point, MacFarlane has opted to have Stewie portrayed as sexually ambiguous since, in his eyes, the flexibility of Stewie's sexuality allows for much more freedom in terms of writing for the character (however it seems that this carried over to the alien, Roger, from American Dad).

It should be noted, however, that Stewie has had many liaisons and attractions to women as well. In "Dammit Janet", Stewie falls in love with a day-care moocher named Janet, who only wanted his cookies. After being flung into a female infant's stroller in "Lethal Weapons", Stewie notes, "I smell a dirty diaper!", after which he remarks, "God, why does that turn me on?". In "Mr. Saturday Knight", at Mr. Weed's funeral, Stewie looks at some of the baby girls and points at them and says, "I'd do her, her, her, oh, who hasn't done her. I'd do her. Lose the pigtails and we'll talk." In "8 Simple Rules for Buying My Teenage Daughter", Stewie falls for his babysitter, Liddane, and possibly even murders (though unintentionally) a rival suitor for her affections. However, after his love goes unrequited, he exacts a nasty revenge by making her look like a drug addict and alcoholic and getting her fired. A few of his cut aways (that revolve around his future) show him being married.

In other various episodes, he discusses which girls he would "do," cavorts with a bevy of coeds, and apparently achieves his first erection while secretly watching a group of cheerleaders change clothing ("Good heavens, it appears my wee-wee has been stricken with rigor mortis," he exclaims). Stewie is also fond of throwing all-female (besides himself and James Caan) "sexy parties" and daydreams about being Hugh Hefner and making a group of barely legal Playboy Playmates play "Red Light, Green Light" with the first loser having to have sex with Rob Schneider as punishment. He also has shown disgust when the family has to move to Asiantown ("Breaking Out Is Hard to Do") and there are no girl babies, complaining that it is a complete "sausage fest." In the movie , he beats up a man and tells him he will check out his wife and introduces himself to two beautiful women.

Comparisons to other characters

Stewie, due to his large head and megalomaniacal tendencies, is often compared—and frequently unfavorably—to The Brain of the animated Pinky and the Brain, a character who also strives for world domination. Stewie has also been likened, though less often, to Brain's nemesis, Snowball, who also had an English accent and large head. However, there is a sharp and obvious contrast between their respective personalities; Stewie's ambitions and plans appear more malevolent, whereas Brain wants to rule the world to "make it a better place".

Stewie has a remarkable likeness to Sideshow Bob of The Simpsons. Both seem like parodies of Rex Harrison and both have sung their respective versions of "I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face" from My Fair Lady, though Bob's version, sung to Bart Simpson, changed the song to "I've Grown Accustomed to His Face". Both have sung selections from Gilbert and Sullivan, though Stewie's was a parody. Also, they both are maniacal geniuses who have designs on taking over different locations (for Stewie, the world; for Sideshow Bob, Springfield) and both have attempted to murder unassuming residents of their respective cities.

Stewie's voice and mannerisms also resemble that of classic English actor Eric Blore [link]. Blore often played snobby English servants with nasty dispositions.

Stewie possesses a number of similarities to Dexter of Dexter's Laboratory, namely his hatred for a female family member, his scientific genius, and an accent that isn't shared by any of his relatives. Coincidentally, MacFarlane did some writing for Dexter's Laboratory.

Stewie has been compared to the young Jimmy Corrigan from Chris Ware's comic Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth. As well as displaying a similarly advanced level of intelligence and independence, the baby Jimmy Corrigan's head is almost exactly the same shape as Stewie's.

There are also some similarities between Stewie and Hannibal Lecter. Like Lecter, Stewie has a slick, menacing appearance with what hair he does have slicked back. His Machiaviellian genius, as well as his refined tastes and total lack of conscience, also are reminiscent of Lecter.

Another Character Stewie has some similarity to is Die Hard villain Hans Gruber in his impeccable taste and sense of social refinement.

Stewie also bears similarities with video game anti-hero Kain from the Legacy of Kain series, in his megalomanical tendecies, and deadpan, often violent humour all while keeping up sophistacated mannerisms.

The character also gives off a strong impression of British actor Rik Mayall. His sadistic tendencies also resemble many of Mayall's characters.

Stewie could also be compared to Tim Burton's version of Mike Teavee in the 2005 version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Both are incredibly smart for their ages, both are bratty, both are on the short side, both symbolize one of the seven sins, Wrath, and both are very violent.

Stewie could be compared to Lex Luthor. Both are bald and both strive for world domination.

Stewie can be compared to Dogbert,who also has a thirst for world domination and the brains to do so.

Stewie is also similar to Cartman from South Park. Both of them are capable of murder, are bratty, violent, are psychopaths and sociopaths, pick a lot of fights, are narcissts and sadists, are ego-centric, are die-hard Republicans (despite the fact that Stewie refers to Bill O'Reilly as a lying bastard), and have very sarcastic personalities.

Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story

On September 27, 2005, 20th Century Fox released a direct-to-video movie featuring Stewie as the main character, titled . The movie follows Stewie's cross-country adventures as he searches for a man he believes to be his real father after seeing him on a television news segment. The movie was leaked two months prior to the official release date and has been downloaded from many peer to peer networks. This has become an initial consequence of sending some movies directly to DVD, where the ability to copy and send media through the web creates the risk of video piracy.

The plot revolves around Stewie. After a failed attempt to kill a rival nearly cost him his own life, Stewie renounces his plans for world domination and becomes a "good boy." Following an attempt at drinking to curb his evil genius, Stewie goes to California to find a man he sees on television who he thinks may be his biological father. However, the man Stewie thinks to be his father turns out to be his future self, who has taken a time traveling vacation to the year 2005.

In the future of the timeline shown, Stewie (now known as "Stu") appears to grow up to be a heterosexual, albeit a virgin who's clueless about sex. Stewie is horrified to find that Stu reads Parade, works in retail, lives alone with Rupert, and has long since abandoned his plans to kill his mother or take over the world. Stu has formed a friendship with a female coworker, a friendship that Stewie, horrified that he'll still be a virgin at age 35, forces his future self to turn into a sexual relationship. He succeeds, albeit utterly disastrously; Stu and his co-worker have sex for about eight seconds, after which he cries for 40 minutes and offers to pay for the sex. His co-worker turns against Stu and has him fired by telling their manager that he asked her out on a date, which was not allowed where they work.

He tells his infant self that the near-death experience apparently traumatized him, making him reluctant to ever take any risks. They both realize that this could be the direct cause for Stu's failure at life, and Stewie goes back to 2005 to stop the accident. Ironically, however, Stewie is vaporized by his past (i.e. present day) self immediately after preventing the accident, negating nearly all of the events of the story as a result; although, at the end, Meg asks a man she was talking to his name. He responds: "Ron", which is the name that Meg took after successfully becoming a transsexual. Her approval of Ron's name hints at the possibility of the future in the movie coming to fruition.

The movie was re-edited into 3 half-hour segments and shown as the season finale on May 21, 2006.

Countdown with Keith Olbermann

Quotes

Chris:A pony?

Stewie: Dead Lois?

Stewie: Yeah, I'll get hurt right onto a Wheaties Box. Brian: I seriously doubt that happening. Stewie: Who cares what you think? You're a dog; which means you cant see colors; which means you can't see the colors of the American Flag. Commie.

External links

Family Guy
Characters
Griffin family: Peter Griffin | Lois Griffin | Meg Griffin | Chris Griffin | Stewie Griffin | Brian Griffin
Griffin family relatives: Francis Griffin | Rose Griffin
Brown family: Cleveland Brown | Loretta Brown | Cleveland Brown, Jr.
Other families: Pewterschmidt family | Swanson family
Other individuals: Glenn Quagmire | Joe Swanson | Mort Goldman | Neil Goldman | Jonathan Weed | Adam West
Media
List of Family Guy episodes | Family Guy DVDs | | |
Other
Criticism of Family Guy | List of songs from Family Guy

References

 

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