Chris Griffin
Encyclopedia
Chris Griffin is a character from the animated television series 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...

. He is the son and middle child of Peter
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....

 and Lois Griffin
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...

, brother of Stewie
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....

 and Meg Griffin
Meg Griffin
Meg Griffin is a character from the animated television series Family Guy. She is the eldest child of Lois and Peter and elder sister of Chris and Stewie. Meg is considered as the black sheep of the series due to the lack of attention she receives....

. Chris is voiced by Seth Green
Seth Green
Seth Benjamin Green is an American actor, comedian, voice actor, and television producer. He is well known for his role as Daniel "Oz" Osbourne in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as Dr. Evil's son Scott in the Austin Powers series of comedy films, Mitch Miller in That '70s Show, and the voice of Chris...

.

Personality

Chris deals with the problems that most pubescent boys face: acne
Acne
Acne is a general term used for acneiform eruptions. It is usually used as a synonym for acne vulgaris, but may also refer to:*Acne aestivalis*Acne conglobata*Acne cosmetica*Acne fulminans*Acne keloidalis nuchae*Acne mechanica...

, girls, and school
School
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...

. Chris has been known to feel self-conscious about himself, especially his weight. In fact, on the Volume 1 DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....

 Boxset TV guides special Family Guy edition, it stated that Chris "wouldn't hurt a fly, unless it landed on his hot dog". Due to Chris' weight, he was referred to as an "Elephant Child" when he was born. Chris is also willing to do something as drastic as to convert to Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...

 in order to do better in school, specifically math. He once believed his low grades in mathematics were caused when he tickled his brain by sticking an army man's rifle into his nose and (presumably) accidentally puncturing a lobe. Chris enjoys drawing and once almost became a famous artist in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

.

Chris also has an apparent physical attraction to his mother, Lois, which was noted in the commentary of Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story
Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story
Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story is a 2005 direct-to-DVD animated comedy film set in the Family Guy fictional universe. Released on September 27, 2005, the film's main plot point concerns Stewie Griffin trying to find his real father...

, near the end of the movie Peter comments about "The incest
Incest
Incest is sexual intercourse between close relatives that is usually illegal in the jurisdiction where it takes place and/or is conventionally considered a taboo. The term may apply to sexual activities between: individuals of close "blood relationship"; members of the same household; step...

 episode". It is also seen in "E. Peterbus Unum" (where he hands Meg a note that reads "I think Mrs. Griffin is hot") and in "Model Misbehavior" (where he says that he will masturbate to pictures of her). In one episode, Chris punched Lois Griffin
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...

 in the face. Chris, like his father, is obese
Obesity
Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems...

, has a low IQ and no common sense. While Chris' low intelligence level is often viewed as a heredity commonality with his father, it is mentioned in the episode "Peter's Daughter
Peter's Daughter
"Peter's Daughter" is the seventh episode of the sixth season of Family Guy and originally aired November 25, 2007 and ended the first half of the season. When a flood hits Quahog, Meg winds up in the hospital in a coma, and an over-protective Peter vows he will take extra care of her from then on...

," that it is due to Lois abusing alcohol and smoking while pregnant with Chris and "chickening out half-way through" a clandestine abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...

. Also, various storylines portrayed Chris as being well-endowed, upsetting Peter and has given him autistic savant talents, such as artistic ability, and detailed knowledge of film and TV actors. Both he and Peter have also demonstrated profiency in the use of American Sign Language
American Sign Language
American Sign Language, or ASL, for a time also called Ameslan, is the dominant sign language of Deaf Americans, including deaf communities in the United States, in the English-speaking parts of Canada, and in some regions of Mexico...

. Occasionally he exhibits unexpected, uncharacteristic insights, such as when he gives Peter and Lois a detailed and articulate lecture on the effects and disadvantages of marijuana. He has also demonstrated an ability to quickly adapt to new cultural surroundings. For example, when the family moved to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 in "Patriot Games
Patriot Games (Family Guy)
"Patriot Games" is the twentieth episode of the fourth season of the animated television series Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox on January 29, 2006, around the time of Super Bowl XL, which fit the sports theme of the episode. In it, Peter goes to his high school reunion and meets Tom Brady...

", Chris was the only member of the family who was able to quickly learn and speak cockney English.

Chris is usually depicted as naive to the point of blamelessness. However, when Peter and Lois were having a fist fight, Chris cheered for Peter
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....

, telling him to "kick her ass!"; earlier in the episode, after Chris breaks something and Lois tells Peter to punish Chris, Peter tells Chris to "punish himself" and subsequently spanks
Corporal punishment
Corporal punishment is a form of physical punishment that involves the deliberate infliction of pain as retribution for an offence, or for the purpose of disciplining or reforming a wrongdoer, or to deter attitudes or behaviour deemed unacceptable...

 himself. Also, in Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story, when Lois and Peter are trying to make out, the children mistake it for a fight and Chris says, "I don't know what they're fighting about, but I think Dad's winning. Go Dad!" In the episode "Trading Places
Trading Places (Family Guy)
"Trading Places" is the thirteenth episode of the ninth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on March 20, 2011...

", after Chris accidentally damages Peter's dirt bike, Peter "punishes" Chris by making him start smoking
Tobacco smoking
Tobacco smoking is the practice where tobacco is burned and the resulting smoke is inhaled. The practice may have begun as early as 5000–3000 BCE. Tobacco was introduced to Eurasia in the late 16th century where it followed common trade routes...

.

Seth Green described Chris as "completely socially awkward", "very easily satisfied and highly distractible [...] a simple, strong boy."

Evil Monkey

In a running gag
Running gag
A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling....

, starting in the episode "Dammit Janet!," Chris is regularly tormented by an evil monkey who lives in his closet, though whenever he complains about it to anyone, they don't believe him (a reference to the iconic tale of the Boy Who Cried Wolf) and often laugh him off instead, after which the monkey appears with a malevolent grimace and points at Chris in a threatening manner. However, in "Hannah Banana
Hannah Banana
"Hannah Banana" is the fifth episode of the eighth season of the animated series Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on November 8, 2009. The episode follows baby Stewie after he sneaks backstage at a Miley Cyrus concert in Quahog, eventually discovering that she is actually...

", Chris finally manages to prove the monkey's part in the show to the family, and even ends up becoming friends with him after the monkey (who appears not to be evil at all, but just a poor creature who was depressed after his wife cheated with another monkey) helps him write out a book report and pass. The simian explains his frightening mannerisms as a result of various conditions and unintended actions. 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, caused a rift between Chris and Peter when Chris realized that the monkey cares more for him than his father. Eventually the monkey helped the two patch things up, especially after Peter saved the monkey from Miley Cyrus
Miley Cyrus
Miley Ray Cyrus is an American actress and pop singer-songwriter. She achieved wide fame for her role as Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel sitcom Hannah Montana....

 (who is depicted as an android) who had kidnapped him à la King Kong
King Kong (2005 film)
King Kong is a 2005 fantasy adventure film directed by Peter Jackson. It is a remake of the 1933 film of the same name and stars Naomi Watts, Jack Black and Adrien Brody. Andy Serkis, through performance capture, portrays Kong....

. After that, the monkey happily moved out of Chris' closet to live in the closet of Tom Tucker's son Jake, where the cycle will start in a new beginning, 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 child-like mind". The monkey's trademark grimace and pointing was the idea of writer Mike Barker.

Identification with Seth Green

Another running gag
Running gag
A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling....

, starting in the Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...

remake episode "Blue Harvest
Blue Harvest (Family Guy)
"Blue Harvest" is the hour-long premiere to the sixth season of the FOX series Family Guy and the first part of the series' trilogy Laugh It Up, Fuzzball. It originally aired on September 23, 2007. The episode is a retelling and parody of the 1977 blockbuster film, Star Wars Episode IV: A New...

", has Chris defending Robot Chicken
Robot Chicken
Robot Chicken is an American stop motion animated television series created and executive produced by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich along with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root. Green provides many voices for the show...

, a show created by portrayer Seth Green which is broadcast on the Adult Swim
Adult Swim
Adult Swim is an adult-oriented Cable network that shares channel space with Cartoon Network from 9:00 pm until 6:00 am ET/PT in the United States, and broadcasts in countries such as Australia and New Zealand...

 block on the 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....

 cable network. When Peter (Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane) denigrates that show in "Blue Harvest", Chris loses his temper and storms off. Carried on in "Something, Something, Something, Dark Side
Something, Something, Something, Dark Side
"Something, Something, Something, Dark Side" is the season finale of the eighth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy and part of the series's trilogy Laugh It Up, Fuzzball. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on May 23, 2010...

", though Chris attempts to keep a cool head, he storms off again when Peter offers to tell the story of Without a Paddle
Without A Paddle
Without a Paddle is a 2004 comedy film about three reunited childhood friends going on a trip up a remote river in order to search for the body of a long lost thief and his loot...

, a critically panned film that features Seth Green. Both these scenes happen in the framing device
Framing device
The term framing device refers to the usage of the same single action, scene, event, setting, or any element of significance at both the beginning and end of an artistic, musical, or literary work. The repeated element thus creates a ‘frame’ within which the main body of work can develop.The...

 of the episode and not in the interior Star Wars narrative, in which Green portrays Chris as Star Wars hero Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the original film trilogy of the Star Wars franchise, where he is portrayed by Mark Hamill. He is introduced in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, in which he is forced to leave home, and finds himself apprenticed to the Jedi master...

. The gag continued in "It's a Trap," the series' parody of "Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand and written by George Lucas and Lawrence Kasdan. It is the third film released in the Star Wars saga, and the sixth in terms of the series' internal chronology...

," as Stewie, an analogue for Darth Vader
Darth Vader
Darth Vader is a central character in the Star Wars saga, appearing as one of the main antagonists in the original trilogy and as the main protagonist in the prequel trilogy....

, seduces Chris, the analogue for Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the original film trilogy of the Star Wars franchise, where he is portrayed by Mark Hamill. He is introduced in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, in which he is forced to leave home, and finds himself apprenticed to the Jedi master...

, into a lightsaber duel by mocking Green's career, or lack thereof.

Outside of the Star Wars-themed episodes, "Road to the Multiverse
Road to the Multiverse
"Road to the Multiverse" is the first episode of the eighth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy. Directed by Greg Colton and written by Wellesley Wild, the episode originally aired on Fox in the United States on September 27, 2009...

" plays on the running gag, but with Stewie (MacFarlane once more) provoking the Robot Chicken Universe counterpart of Chris by asking "How does it feel to be on a major network for thirty seconds?" In the final Star Wars remake, "It's a Trap!", mocking Green's career provokes further anger in Chris; Chris tries to defend Green by citing Buffy the Vampire Slayer as an example of a success in Green's career, but Stewie suggests that Buffys contemporary popularity had been largely over-stated by Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...

and other commentators. These taunts give Chris — in character as Skywalker — the conviction to fight back against Stewie/Darth Vader
Darth Vader
Darth Vader is a central character in the Star Wars saga, appearing as one of the main antagonists in the original trilogy and as the main protagonist in the prequel trilogy....

 and Carter/Darth Sidious (both played by MacFarlane). In the closing scenes of the episode's framing device, Chris gets to reverse the joke by poking fun at Seth MacFarlane's career, going so far as to suggest that Family Guy is a rip-off of The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...

; MacFarlane is, however, defended by the characters whom he voices (Peter, Brian and Stewie).

Character origins

Chris' character resembles Milt, the son of the main character Larry Cummings in The Life of Larry
Larry shorts
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...

, one of the animated short films 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,...

 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...

 in 1995 that led to the development of Family Guy.

Chris was originally given a "punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

" image, according to creator 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,...

's DVD commentary tracks. He wore earrings, and his painful awkwardness was not as emphasized as it is later in the series.

Chris' voice was based on Ted Levine
Ted Levine
Frank Theodore "Ted" Levine is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Buffalo Bill in The Silence of the Lambs and Captain Leland Stottlemeyer in the television series Monk.-Early life and career:...

's performance as Jame "Buffalo Bill" Gumb in The Silence of the Lambs. Green admittedly did an impression of the character during his audition for the role of Chris. His main inspiration for Chris' voice came from envisioning how "Buffalo Bill" would sound if he were speaking through a PA system at a McDonalds.
In the episode "Stew-Roids", Chris re-enacts a scene from the movie where Buffalo Bill dances in front of a mirror.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK