Family Guy: It’s A Trap Blu-ray Review

• 4th Jan 2011

This is (as should be fairly self explanatory), the third in the series of Family Guy Star Wars parodies and, as expected, follows the same playbook as the previous two instalments.

We basically get a condensed version of an entire Star Wars movie (in this case Episode VI: Return of the Jedi), with the principal Family Guy characters assuming the Star Wars roles and plenty of Quahog style fun ensuing in the process.

As with the first two episodes, the comedy is derived in two main ways: firstly by transplanting the established traits and mannerisms of the Family Guy characters directly onto their assumed Star Wars roles, while simultaneously maintaining the correct relationships between the Star Wars characters I.e. Peter Griffin (playing Han Solo) is not married to Lois Griffin (playing Princess Leia). Similarly Stewie Griffin plays a diminutive Darth Vader, while Chris Griffin is Luke Skywalker. Naturally in the Family Guy universe they are brothers, yet the Vader/Skywalker father/son relationship is preserved here in the parody.

The second vein of comedic fuel is the pointing out and lampooning of plot flaws or contrivances in the original movies. It’s all done with a very obvious affection for the source material of course and these bits make for some of the funniest moments in all three of these specials. My favourite being the one from the original Episode IV parody (Blue Harvest) where ‘Luke’ condescendingly delivers a line from the original movie:

“You don’t believe in the force do you?” and Han retorts:

“Oh, you mean that thing you just learned about three hours ago, and am now judging me for not believing in?” Very funny and betrays a true affection for, and understanding of, some of the sillier points in the original movies.

As a massive Star Wars fan and an avid viewer of the regular Family Guy show; I would assume that it’s safe to say It’s a Trap! was tailor made for me and others of a similar disposition. It is regrettable then that I have to admit that I think this one falls a little short of the best that Family Guy can offer and is possibly the weakest of the three Star Wars parodies overall (although it is by far the best looking). Interesting that many consider Return of the Jedi the weakest of the three original movies also. Some weird symbiosis between original and parody perhaps?

There are some very funny moments to be sure, but the ‘hit’ rate seems a little on the lean side and I found myself wanting so badly for it to be funnier than it actually was. Family Guy is one of the few shows that can actually make my ribs hurt with laughter, not just amusement, I’m talking uncontrollable hysterics, and It’s a Trap delivered very few of those particular moments.

Strangely enough, the opening ‘text’ crawl makes a big joke about it being a throwaway, lacklustre instalment that they were obliged to complete only under contractual pressure from the TV network. After watching it, I was left wondering if that ‘joke’ in the opening crawl had simply backfired a little, or if there was some factual sincerity to it. Either way, one is left with a certain inescapable feeling of mild disappointment once it’s over, even though it’s perfectly entertaining throughout. The one hour running time could be a factor I guess, as regular Family Guy is so much shorter and more direct.

In fact the most satisfying and impressive (cue Vader impression “most impressive”) aspect of the whole thing is the incredible attention to detail and accuracy in reproducing shot for shot many of the key FX sequences from the original movie. In particular, the various Tie Fighters, X-Wings and Star Destroyers engaged in battle. These are all lovingly and painstakingly rendered and gives the whole thing a very high quality feel throughout.

Ironically, it seems from listening to the commentary that all these FX shots were farmed out to a CGI house in the Far East to complete, with little or no input from the Family Guy folks after a certain point. I guess that’s to be expected, but even so, it’s seems unfortunate.

Speaking of the commentary, and in reference to my earlier comments regarding the artistic commitment of the makers, Family Guy creator and primary voice artist Seth McFarlane actually leaves the commentary recording session two thirds the way through. He obviously had somewhere better to be, which I felt was bad form. Again seemingly this behaviour reinforces the ‘joke’ in the opening crawl, but who knows?

The end of the episode brings the customary exchange between Peter (voiced by McFarlane) and Chris (voiced by Seth Green) about the Robot Chicken Star Wars editions. These are always funny because Seth Green is a co-creator of the Robot Chicken series and McFarlane unrepentantly pokes fun at it while in character.

As this is Blu-ray Hi-Def the picture and sound quality is awesome throughout and its fair to say that It’s a Trap! looks amazing, no doubt about it. The CG space scenes in particular jump out and ‘pop’ with that lovely HD density we’ve come to know and love.

This release is presented in 2 disc Triple Play format; which is a growing trend with Blu-ray releases, and one that Iwelcome, for the most part. Anyone unfamiliar with this, you basically get (in addition to the Blu-ray disc), a standard def DVD dupe of the movie, which you can play on an ordinary DVD player (perhaps in the car). This disc (and sometimes yet another third disc) can be placed in your PC or Mac and used as a ‘key’ to download a digital copy of the movie to your iTunes (or similar) account and then onto your portable device.

This arrangement works very well although it’s a shame the downloaded file itself is not full HD quality. I also think it should really become a standard feature, rather than sold to us as a kind of bonus. This is especially pertinent when considering the other bonus features included on a release, which are sometimes a little thinner on the ground than they might be if the triple play idea was absent. In this instance, the additional bonus features on It’s a Trap! are adequate and interesting without being scintillatingly comprehensive.

Gladly it seems McFarlane and crew are not planning to do Family Guy versions of the Star Wars prequel trilogy. However, I have a feeling we’ve not seen the last of them in ‘parody’ mode quite yet. Peter Griffin may turn up as Indiana Jones or James Bond perhaps. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see!

Ben Pegley