The Biggest (And Worst) Change Fox's Disney Buyout Made To Family Guy
In March 2019, Disney completed their purchase of Fox, effectively enacting one of the largest studio mergers in Hollywood history. This came after Disney had already made a major purchase from Marvel Comics a decade earlier, as well as the buyout of Lucasfilm in 2012. As of this writing, Disney sits on top of what might be the largest film library in Hollywood. Disney has used their massive library to milk as much IP as possible, returning to old franchises that have been successful in the past. Frustratingly, they haven't opened up their massive archive to the public via one of their streaming services; much of the old Fox catalog remains under lock and key.
Through the Fox purchase, Disney inherited many TV shows and feature films that don't quite fit in with their populist, family-friendly brand. Disney owns the "Alien" movies, for instance, as well as "Die Hard." It's mind-boggling to think that Dr. Frank-N-Furter from "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" is a Disney Princess. Disney also owns the notoriously crass animated sitcom "Family Guy," a long-running series that banks on immature frat boy humor, violent nonsense, and kooky pop culture references. It's a parody of TV, skewering old-world tropes that are part of Gen-X's blood.
When Disney took over ownership of "Family Guy," however, some major changes needed to be made. Not necessarily in terms of its ribald writing, but more in the way it handled its pop culture references. Because Disney owned so much, it was a little harder for "Family Guy" to skewer its properties without an extra layer of corporate scrutiny. Showrunner Rich Appel talked about the shift in a 2022 interview with the Hollywood Reporter.
Disnification
Prior to the Disney purchase, "Family Guy" felt free to mock or at least refer to just about any pop property they wanted. The series would frequently see the main characters enacting scenes from "Stand By Me," "Lord of the Rings," "American Beauty," "The Music Man," "Rocky IV," "Transformers," and literally hundreds of others. If there was no organic reason to fold in a pop culture reference, the writers of "Family Guy" would merely conceive a miniature artificial "aside," wherein the action would cut to a satirical vignette of, say, "Back to the Future." Fans of the series also likely know about the three extended TV specials wherein the "Family Guy" characters merely re-enacted three "Star Wars" movies with a comedic twist.
The "Star Wars" TV specials may not have been possible under the auspices of Disney. Appel noted that Disney was a lot more brand-sensitive than Fox, their old network, leading to a few "headbutt sessions" with Disney executives asking "Family Guy" to tone down the harshness on certain properties. All of a sudden, "Family Guy" was way more corporate. Appel admitted:
"Here's the honest difference, and I say this without fear. Well, I say it with fear and no favor: The difference is, Disney owns so many properties that I will find myself making legal arguments that I know are winners about parody and why we can get away with certain things. And then the question becomes, 'Well that may be, Rich, but Marvel doesn't want to see its character portrayed in this light.' And I've sometimes said, 'Well, what if we just air it and see what happens?' 'No, that's not how we work.'"
Given the fast-and-furious nature of the references, Appel must have to deal with this sort of thing a lot.
Uncle Mickey
Of course, Disney either knew what they were getting into when they purchased the studio that owned a hit show like "Family Guy," or they mistakenly assumed they could tamp down the references. "Family Guy" dunked on Disney all the time, often animating Walt's old characters in a shocking light. Indeed, that shock humor was "Family Guy's" bread and butter. This was a show that depicted Walt Disney himself sexually harassing Minnie Mouse.
In another episode, Mickey Mouse, smoking a cigarette, assassinated Fievel from "An American Tale" using a car bomb. Mickey then mutters to himself that he did it for antisemitic reasons. Goofy was also painted as antisemitic in a scene of the lovable klutz talking to the Devil in Hell. It seems Goofy helped orchestrate 9/11.
Most of the latter "shock value" jokes were based on long-lasting rumors that Walt Disney himself was antisemitic. There was even a scene in "Family Guy" wherein Peter (Seth MacFarlane) and Lois (Alex Borstein) visit Auschwitz. Peter complains that Loid promised a vacation to see a place that Walt Disney built. Lois corrects him, saying she promised to visit a place Disney only supported. These rumors have been refuted, and many hold that the worst one might say about Walt Disney was that he was a mean boss and a stern taskmaster. "Family Guy," however, finds more humor in perpetuating the rumors.
Yeah, I think Disney, the corporation, felt they could rein in their new kid. Only fans of the show's more recent episodes will be able to say for sure if it's happening.