Chris Griffin
This article describes a work or element of fiction in a primarily in-universe style. (February 2017) |
Chris Griffin | |
---|---|
Dutch-born American | |
Age | 15 |
Christopher Cross Griffin
Chris Griffin was created and designed by the series' creator, Seth MacFarlane, who was asked to pitch a pilot to the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series' pilot episode was based on The Life of Larry and Larry & Steve, two shorts made by MacFarlane which featured a middle-aged man named Larry and an intellectual dog, Steve. Chris was based on Milt, the teenage son character in The Life of Larry. Chris is an overweight adult boy with long, shaggy blond hair and medium skin. He wears a blue t-shirt, black sweatpants, white sneakers with red stripes, and an orange baseball cap with black on the back. His face looks similar to his father's, having the same kind of eyes, nose and chin. In the first three seasons, he wore golden hoop earrings.
Originally designed as a somewhat gregarious, yet unintelligent teenager, Chris has become more awkward and idiotic over the course of the show. Running gags in the series involving Chris include the existence of an 'Evil Monkey' in his closet (though it is later revealed that the monkey is not evil), his frequent masturbation, and his perverted admirer, the elderly Herbert who lusts after and repeatedly tries to prey on him throughout the show's run.
Character origins
The character of Chris Griffin resembles that of Milt's, the son of the main character Larry Cummings in
Seth Green has stated that his main inspiration for Chris' voice came from envisioning how the
Personality
Similar to his older sister
Chris is seemingly willing to take drastic measures to meet his academic needs, especially to address his below-average grades. In one episode, he thinks he got a bad grade on his geometry test when he tickled his brain with a plastic army man's rifle inserted into his nose, accidentally puncturing a lobe.
Despite frequently displaying Peter's characteristic stupidity, Chris is usually portrayed as a faster learner than Peter, and has a variety of talents, such as
He also shares his father's cartoonish lack of common sense, tends to be absent-minded, gets confused easily, and appears to be extremely naïve; in "
Although Meg is often humiliated or embarrassed by his actions like she is with Peter's actions, Chris usually loves and cares for her deeply, and the two are frequently shown to get along very well.
As the series progresses and Meg is seen more often with her group of friends, Chris's social status is greatly reduced to the point of being unpopular and virtually friendless at James Woods Regional High School. While just as socially looked down upon as Meg (though to a lesser extent of being bullied), he is outwardly confident and spirited, mostly when dealing with the ups and downs of being a teenager, such as running for Homecoming King,[4] standing up to bullies,[5][6] lashing out against his date,[7] and frequently acting out against Peter's hurtful ways.[8][9]
In "
In "
Evil Monkey
As a
The simian explains his frightening mannerisms as a result of various conditions and unintended actions. Chris introduces him to his friends, they hang out with each other in "fun" places, and the monkey helps Chris in his studies in school, which Peter does not do. This, however, causes a rift between Chris and Peter when the former realizes that the monkey cares more for him than his father. Eventually, the Evil Monkey helps the two characters to patch things up, especially after Peter saves the monkey from Miley Cyrus (who is depicted as an android) who had kidnapped him à la King Kong. After that, the monkey happily moves out of Chris' closet to live in the closet of Tom Tucker's son, Jake, where the cycle will start in anew, as Jake himself experiences difficulty with his father.
In a 2003 interview, Seth MacFarlane stated that the writers thought it would be funny to give Chris a childhood fear that is actually real, since he has "a childlike mind".[10] The monkey's trademark grimace and pointing was the idea of writer Mike Barker.[10]
Identification with Seth Green
Another running gag, which began in the
When Peter (
In the final Star Wars parody, "
These taunts give Chris (in character as Skywalker) the conviction to retaliate against Stewie/
In the closing scenes of the episode's framing device, an irritated Chris asks his father Peter about his negative perception of Seth Green, to which Peter retorts by claiming he finds Green to be a "douche". An agitated Chris thus pokes fun at MacFarlane's career: going so far as to suggest that Family Guy is a rip-off of The Simpsons; MacFarlane is then defended by the characters whom he voices (Peter, Brian and Stewie): who refer to MacFarlane as handsome and talented.
Outside of the Star Wars-themed episodes, "Road to the Multiverse" plays on the running gag, but with Stewie provoking the Robot Chicken universe counterpart of Chris by asking "How does it feel to be on a major network for thirty seconds?", which prompts Chris to scream "Fuck you!"
Chris' birthday is February 8, which also happens to be the same day as Seth Green.[11]
References
- ^ "Brian the Bachelor". Family Guy. Season 4. Episode 7. June 26, 2005.
- ^ Green, Seth (September 27, 2005). Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story: Audio Commentary (DVD).
- ^ Lethal Weapons. Season 3, Episode 7.
- ^ "Run, Joe Swanson, Run". Family Guy. Season 14. Episode 19. May 15, 2016. Fox Broadcasting Company.
- ^ "Secondhand Spoke". Family Guy. Season 12. Episode 15. March 30, 2014. Fox Broadcasting Company.
- ^ "The Tan Aquatic with Steve Zissou". Family Guy. Season 5. Episode 11. February 18, 2007. Fox Broadcasting Company.
- ^ "Extra Large Medium". Family Guy. Season 8. Episode 12. February 14, 2010. Fox Broadcasting Company.
- ^ "Space Cadet (Family Guy)". Family Guy. Season 11. Episode 9. January 6, 2013. Fox Broadcasting Company.
- ^ "Hannah Banana". Family Guy. Season 8. Episode 5. November 8, 2009. Fox Broadcasting Company.
- ^ a b "Seth MacFarlane Interview". TVShowsOnDVD.com. April 21, 2003. Archived from the original on August 24, 2007. Retrieved December 18, 2009.
- ^ "German Guy". Family Guy. Season 9. Episode 11. February 20, 2011. Fox.
External links
- Chris Griffin at Fox.com