Larry shorts
Encyclopedia
The Life of Larry and Larry & Steve are two animated short films
created by Seth MacFarlane
in the 1990s that eventually led to the development of the animated sitcom
Family Guy
. MacFarlane originally created The Life of Larry as a thesis film in 1995, while studying at the Rhode Island School of Design
. His professor at RISD submitted MacFarlane's cartoon to Hanna-Barbera
, where he was hired a year later. Later that year, MacFarlane created a sequel to The Life of Larry called Larry and Steve, which featured the main character of his first film, the middle-aged Larry, and an intellectual dog named Steve. The short was broadcast as one of Cartoon Network
's World Premiere Toons
.
Executives at Fox
saw both Larry shorts and contracted MacFarlane to create a series based on the characters, to be called Family Guy. Peter Griffin
, the main character in Family Guy, was largely based on Larry. In addition, Steve would be the main inspiration behind the Griffin family dog, Brian
. Fox proposed MacFarlane complete a 15-minute short, giving him a budget of $50,000. MacFarlane stated that the pilot for Family Guy took half a year to create and produce. Recalling the experience in an interview with The New York Times
, MacFarlane stated, "I spent about six months with no sleep and no life, just drawing like crazy in my kitchen and doing this pilot." Upon completion of the pilot, the series went on the air. The network executives were impressed with the pilot and ordered thirteen episodes, seven of which aired during the first season
of Family Guy. MacFarlane was offered a $2 million per-season contract.
. The short features a middle-aged slob named Larry Cummings
, his cynical talking dog, Steve
, supportive wife Lois
, and pudgy teenage son Milt
. The film also features live-action segments shot at MacFarlane's home in Kent, Connecticut where he comically describes the film and its characters in the form of a pitch to a television network. During the live action segments, MacFarlane is being served cheesecake by his Asian servant, Wang, played by fellow student Chang S. Han.
The Life of Larry was created as MacFarlane's thesis film during 1994 and 1995, while he was studying at the Rhode Island School of Design. The animated film was created almost entirely by MacFarlane alone. The exception being the live action sequence, which was filmed by classmates Sean Leahy and Greg Scalzo.
Many of the jokes and cutaway gags used in The Life of Larry were later used in many of the first season Family Guy episodes.
, and Bigbc studios working on shows such as Johnny Bravo
, Dexter's Laboratory
, I Am Weasel
, and Cow and Chicken
, he made a sequel of sorts, to The Life of Larry, which Cartoon Network broadcasted in 1997 as part of their World Premiere Toons series. The short featured notably better animation than most of MacFarlane's other projects.
The plot of Larry & Steve is that Larry adopts Steve from the dog pound, after noticing that he was the only talking dog (although to everybody else throughout the cartoon, Steve is just barking) and the two have a fast-paced, slapstick
-filled day trying to buy furniture and appliances for Larry's apartment. There is also an airline pilot in this cartoon whose voice and appearance is very similar to the Family Guy character Glenn Quagmire
who is also a commercial airline pilot in Family Guy. Larry mentions a furniture store called "Stewie's", a name that will later be used for the character of Peter Griffin's infant son
.
".
Animated cartoon
An animated cartoon is a short, hand-drawn film for the cinema, television or computer screen, featuring some kind of story or plot...
created by Seth MacFarlane
Seth MacFarlane
Seth Woodbury MacFarlane is an American animator, writer, comedian, producer, actor, singer, voice actor, and director best known for creating the animated sitcoms Family Guy, American Dad! and The Cleveland Show, for which he also voices many of the shows' various characters.A native of Kent,...
in the 1990s that eventually led to the development of the animated sitcom
Animated cartoon
An animated cartoon is a short, hand-drawn film for the cinema, television or computer screen, featuring some kind of story or plot...
Family Guy
Family Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
. MacFarlane originally created The Life of Larry as a thesis film in 1995, while studying at the Rhode Island School of Design
Rhode Island School of Design
Rhode Island School of Design is a fine arts and design college located in Providence, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1877. Located at the base of College Hill, the RISD campus is contiguous with the Brown University campus. The two institutions share social, academic, and community resources and...
. His professor at RISD submitted MacFarlane's cartoon to Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...
, where he was hired a year later. Later that year, MacFarlane created a sequel to The Life of Larry called Larry and Steve, which featured the main character of his first film, the middle-aged Larry, and an intellectual dog named Steve. The short was broadcast as one of Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
's World Premiere Toons
The Cartoon Cartoon Show
What a Cartoon! , is an American animation showcase project created by Fred Seibert for Hanna-Barbera Cartoons to be run on Cartoon Network...
.
Executives at Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
saw both Larry shorts and contracted MacFarlane to create a series based on the characters, to be called Family Guy. Peter Griffin
Peter Griffin
Peter Griffin is a fictional character and the protagonist of the animated comedy series Family Guy and the patriarch of the Griffin family. He is voiced by cartoonist Seth MacFarlane and first appeared on television, along with the rest of the family in the 15-minute short on December 20, 1998....
, the main character in Family Guy, was largely based on Larry. In addition, Steve would be the main inspiration behind the Griffin family dog, Brian
Brian Griffin
Brian Griffin is a character from the animated television series Family Guy. He is voiced by Seth MacFarlane and first appeared on television, along with the rest of the family, in a 15-minute short on December 20, 1998. Brian was created and designed by MacFarlane himself...
. Fox proposed MacFarlane complete a 15-minute short, giving him a budget of $50,000. MacFarlane stated that the pilot for Family Guy took half a year to create and produce. Recalling the experience in an interview with The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, MacFarlane stated, "I spent about six months with no sleep and no life, just drawing like crazy in my kitchen and doing this pilot." Upon completion of the pilot, the series went on the air. The network executives were impressed with the pilot and ordered thirteen episodes, seven of which aired during the first season
Family Guy (season 1)
The first season of the animated comedy series Family Guy aired on Fox from January 31, 1999, to May 16, 1999, and consisted of seven episodes. The series follows the dysfunctional Griffin family—father Peter, mother Lois, daughter Meg, son Chris, baby Stewie and their anthropomorphic dog Brian,...
of Family Guy. MacFarlane was offered a $2 million per-season contract.
The Life of Larry (1995)
The Life of Larry is a 1995 animated film. The film was directed by Seth MacFarlane, and stars MacFarlane as the majority of the characters, as well as a brief appearance from American politician Newt GingrichNewt Gingrich
Newton Leroy "Newt" Gingrich is a U.S. Republican Party politician who served as the House Minority Whip from 1989 to 1995 and as the 58th Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999....
. The short features a middle-aged slob named Larry Cummings
Peter Griffin
Peter Griffin is a fictional character and the protagonist of the animated comedy series Family Guy and the patriarch of the Griffin family. He is voiced by cartoonist Seth MacFarlane and first appeared on television, along with the rest of the family in the 15-minute short on December 20, 1998....
, his cynical talking dog, Steve
Brian Griffin
Brian Griffin is a character from the animated television series Family Guy. He is voiced by Seth MacFarlane and first appeared on television, along with the rest of the family, in a 15-minute short on December 20, 1998. Brian was created and designed by MacFarlane himself...
, supportive wife Lois
Lois Griffin
Lois Griffin is a character from the animated television series Family Guy. She is voiced by writer Alex Borstein and first appeared on television, along with the rest of the family in the 15-minute short on December 20, 1998. Lois was created and designed by series creator Seth MacFarlane...
, and pudgy teenage son Milt
Chris Griffin
Chris Griffin is a character from the animated television series Family Guy. He is the son and middle child of Peter and Lois Griffin, brother of Stewie and Meg Griffin. Chris is voiced by Seth Green.-Personality:...
. The film also features live-action segments shot at MacFarlane's home in Kent, Connecticut where he comically describes the film and its characters in the form of a pitch to a television network. During the live action segments, MacFarlane is being served cheesecake by his Asian servant, Wang, played by fellow student Chang S. Han.
The Life of Larry was created as MacFarlane's thesis film during 1994 and 1995, while he was studying at the Rhode Island School of Design. The animated film was created almost entirely by MacFarlane alone. The exception being the live action sequence, which was filmed by classmates Sean Leahy and Greg Scalzo.
Many of the jokes and cutaway gags used in The Life of Larry were later used in many of the first season Family Guy episodes.
Larry & Steve (1997)
While MacFarlane was working for Hanna-Barbara StudiosHanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...
, and Bigbc studios working on shows such as Johnny Bravo
Johnny Bravo
Johnny Bravo is an American animated television series created by Van Partible for Cartoon Network. The series stars a muscular beefcake young man named Johnny Bravo who dons a pompadour hairstyle and an Elvis Presley-like voice and has a forward, woman-chasing personality...
, Dexter's Laboratory
Dexter's Laboratory
Dexter's Laboratory is an American animated television series created by Genndy Tartakovsky and produced by Cartoon Network Studios . The show is about a boy named Dexter who has an enormous secret laboratory filled with an endless collection of his inventions...
, I Am Weasel
I Am Weasel
I Am Weasel is an American animated television series produced by Cartoon Network Studios in co-production with Hanna-Barbera, created by David Feiss, and broadcast on Cartoon Network....
, and Cow and Chicken
Cow and Chicken
Cow and Chicken is an American animated series, created by David Feiss. The series shows the surreal adventures of a cow, named Cow, and her chicken brother, named Chicken. They are often antagonized by "The Red Guy", who poses as various characters to scam or hurt them...
, he made a sequel of sorts, to The Life of Larry, which Cartoon Network broadcasted in 1997 as part of their World Premiere Toons series. The short featured notably better animation than most of MacFarlane's other projects.
The plot of Larry & Steve is that Larry adopts Steve from the dog pound, after noticing that he was the only talking dog (although to everybody else throughout the cartoon, Steve is just barking) and the two have a fast-paced, slapstick
Slapstick
Slapstick is a type of comedy involving exaggerated violence and activities which may exceed the boundaries of common sense.- Origins :The phrase comes from the batacchio or bataccio — called the 'slap stick' in English — a club-like object composed of two wooden slats used in Commedia dell'arte...
-filled day trying to buy furniture and appliances for Larry's apartment. There is also an airline pilot in this cartoon whose voice and appearance is very similar to the Family Guy character Glenn Quagmire
Glenn Quagmire
Glenn Quagmire, often referred to as just Quagmire, is a character from the animated television series Family Guy. Quagmire is a neighbor and friend of the Griffin family. He is best known for his hypersexuality...
who is also a commercial airline pilot in Family Guy. Larry mentions a furniture store called "Stewie's", a name that will later be used for the character of Peter Griffin's infant son
Stewie Griffin
Stewie Griffin is a fictional character from the animated television series Family Guy. Once obsessed with world domination and matricide, Stewie is the youngest child of Peter and Lois Griffin, and the brother of Chris and Meg....
.
Relationship with Family Guy
In basic form, The Life Of Larry is very similar in format to Family Guy. Peter's character was largely based on Larry, and Steve would be the main inspiration behind Brian. MacFarlane based Peter's voice, which was identical to Larry's, on the voice of a security guard he once overheard talking, while he was attending the RISD. Larry and Peter's wives share the same name and Milt, Larry's son, is almost identical to Peter's son Chris. A bit character from both films, Shelley Boothbishop, made his way into the Family Guy episode "Long John PeterLong John Peter
"Long John Peter" is the twelfth episode and the season finale of the sixth season of the animated series Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on May 4, 2008...
".
See also
- Family GuyFamily GuyFamily Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
- What-A-Cartoon!The Cartoon Cartoon ShowWhat a Cartoon! , is an American animation showcase project created by Fred Seibert for Hanna-Barbera Cartoons to be run on Cartoon Network...