Family Guy voice artists

[Xerus]

XERUS’S VOICE ARTIST FOCUS:

Today’s V/A focus is that popular prime time cartoon, Family Guy. Seth MacFarlane, who is the creator of this funny series, also provides voices for half the cast and lots of additional characters.

SETH MacFARLANE: Peter Griffin, Brian Griffin, Stewie Griffin, Glenn Quagmire, Tom Tucker, Jake Tucker, Carter Pewderschmidt, Dr. Hartman, Vaudeville Vern, Cousin Jasper, Captain Seamus, Kool Aid Man, Ernie the Giant Chicken(speaking), Kevin Swanson(second voice), God, Jesus, additional voices
ALEX BORSTEIN: Lois Griffin, Barbara Pewterschmidt, Tricia Takanawa, Loretta Brown, Lisa(second voice)
SETH GREEN: Chris Griffin, Neil Goldman
LACY CHABERT: Meg Griffin(first voice)(uncredited)
MILA KUNIS: Meg Griffin(second voice)
MIKE HENRY: Cleveland Brown, Cleveland Brown Jr, Greased Up Deaf Guy, Herbert, Jesse, Bruce the Performance Artist
PATRICK WARBURTON: Joe Swanson
JENNIFER TILLY: Bonnie Swanson
JON CRYER: Kevin Swanson(first voice)
JOHN G. BRENNAN: Mort Goldman, Horace
NICOLE SULLIVAN: Muriel Goldman, Lisa(first voice)
LORI ALAN: Diane Simmons
PHIL LAMARR: Ollie Williams, The Judge
ADAM WEST: Mayor Adam West
DANNY SMITH: The Evil Monkey, Ernie the Giant Chicken(chicken noises)
CHARLES DURNING: Francis Griffin
FLORENCE STANLEY: Thelma Griffin(first voice)
PHYLLIS DILLER: Thelma Griffin(second voice)
GARY COLE: Principal Shepard
FAIRUZA BALK: Connie DiMico(first voice)
LISA WILHOIT: Connie DiMico(second voice)
NORM MacDONALD: Death(first voice)
ADAM CAROLLA: Death(second voice)
CARRIE FISHER: Angela
D. RANDALL: Opie
BUTCH HARTMAN: Mr. Weed(first voice)
CARLOS ALAZRAQUI: Mr. Weed(second voice)
WALLACE SHAWN: Bertram
RACHAEL MacFARLANE: Olivia
DREW BARRYMORE: Jillian
FRANK WELKER: Kermit the Frog

 

[D'Snowth]

MIKE HENRY

Mike Henry as in the Mike Henry who played Donald Penobscott (Margaret's husband) on an episode of M*A*S*H?

Anyway, Family Guy, is INCREDIBLY OVER-RATED!

 

[Xerus]

Mike Henry as in the Mike Henry who played Donald Penobscott (Margaret's husband) on an episode of M*A*S*H?

Anyway, Family Guy, is INCREDIBLY OVER-RATED!

No, this is a different Mike Henry.

And I think Mike does the funniest voices on Family Guy. I really love hearing all of his characters. Especially the Greased Up Deaf Guy.

"You're never gonna catch me! You're wasting your time! Forget about it! See you next year!"

 

[armslength]

I would actually consider Family Guy UNDERrated - yes, it's thankfully built up success and a good following over the years but it's always fought a bad rep as a Simpsons knock-off (and in many ways the Simpsons opened the doors for it) or a rep for just being an adult-humor grossfest but the truth is it has lots of multilayered humor (not as sophistacated intellectualism as Simpsons but still multilayered in its own right) with lots of absurdist non-sequiter wit. It took me a long time to actually watch and appreciate it but once i did i was pleasantly surprised with how good it really was.

 

[MrsPepper]

Yeah I agree with armslength. Once I caught on I became a huge fan! I love how it's just jokes for the sake of having funny jokes. Sometimes it's really fun.

I'm actually starting to appreciate South Park too, because they manage to poke fun at alot of the same things while maintaining a cohesive (although ridiculous) storyline.

 

[D'Snowth]

Yeah I agree with armslength. Once I caught on I became a huge fan! I love how it's just jokes for the sake of having funny jokes. Sometimes it's really fun.

I'm actually starting to appreciate South Park too, because they manage to poke fun at alot of the same things while maintaining a cohesive (although ridiculous) storyline.

And I remembre you telling me that kind of humor turned you off, lol.

But then again, that WAS several years ago.

 

[Xerus]

When I saw the very first episode of Family Guy after the Superbowl, I thought this is a really funny show. With it's fast paced timing and jokes on classic TV shows, cartoons, and pop culture.

 

[Drtooth]

Personally, as a big fan of Family Guy, I liked it much better in its earlier years. Even the first 2 years after it was cancelled it was good. Lately it's been hit or miss. I do want to say it is the cutscenes.... problem with them is that the writers use them to get them out of scenes they just can't seem to end. I think the reason why they've become so bad is that they really set them up poorly in later episodes... and they often go to something unfunny and nonsequitor, like Sneakers O'Toole, Uncle Sam's Nipples, or (the worst this year)"Mexicans need our jobs like my Cousin Peter Pig needs houses.

Personally, I like the cutscenes, but they really need to make less of them, and set them up much better.

Another problem lately is the Flanderization of characters. Flanderizarion is a term that means when a small fragment of a character's personality gets blown out of proportion, and it eventually becomes the only thing that the character's about (and guess why it's named after Ned Flanders). Stewie and Lois got it the worst. Stewie's effeminism became the character's central theme, and Lois's deep hidden wild women has come out and never went back in. Seems the character just keeps talking about sex.

Plus, I wouldn't so much say Family Guy is overrated as much as American Dad is underrated. I think AD has a lot more structure and just has a stronger style than its predicessor. But it's highly underrated. I think someone who did storyboards for AD posted here about how the AD team even gets crappier staff gifts than the FG people (or something like that).

But back to the Voice actor bit...

Often times, a pop culture reference or cartoon character would be voiced by Seth and Co... but a lot of the times, they get the original actors and voice artists to reprise their roles.

For example, in the "movie" Lion-O and Cheetara of Thundercats were voiced by their original actors. Seth had to play Snarf, according to the commentary, because the original voice actor for Snarf passed away years earlier.

 

[Super Scooter]

Plus, I wouldn't so much say Family Guy is overrated as much as American Dad is underrated. I think AD has a lot more structure and just has a stronger style than its predicessor. But it's highly underrated. I think someone who did storyboards for AD posted here about how the AD team even gets crappier staff gifts than the FG people (or something like that).

I actually really like American Dad. It's better than Family Guy, at least I like it better than Family Guy. I actually don't like Family Guy so much anymore. And I REALLY didn't like the Star Wars episode. It could have been so good, but it just wasn't funny to me.

Often times, a pop culture reference or cartoon character would be voiced by Seth and Co... but a lot of the times, they get the original actors and voice artists to reprise their roles.

Seth MacFarlane voiced Bugs Bunny in one episode, didn't he? The one where Elmer kills him?

 

[Drtooth]

Seth MacFarlane voiced Bugs Bunny in one episode, didn't he? The one where Elmer kills him?

And Noel Blanc did the voice of Elmer... at least he was credited at the end of the movie/episode.