''Laugh It Up, Fuzzball: The Family Guy Trilogy'' consists of three episodes of the American animated sitcom ''

Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show centers around the Griffin family, Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter Griff ...

''. The episodes are a

crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Albums and songs * ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album) * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album) * ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album) * ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...

and

parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its subj ...

retelling of the original ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...

trilogy A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games, and are less common in other art forms. Three-part wor ...

'' (1977), '' The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980), and '' Return of the Jedi'' (1983). The first episode, "

Blue Harvest "Blue Harvest" is the hour-long premiere of the sixth season of the American animated television series ''Family Guy'' and the first part of the series' '' Laugh It Up, Fuzzball'' trilogy. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on Sep ...

" (2007), was released to commemorate the original film's 30th anniversary. Due to its success, it was followed by two

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...

sequels: "

Something, Something, Something, Dark Side "Something, Something, Something, Dark Side" is a direct-to-video special of the animated series ''Family Guy'' which later served as the 20th episode of the show's eighth season and is the second part of the series' ''Star Wars'' parody trilogy ...

" (2010) and "

It's a Trap! "It's a Trap!" is a direct-to-video special of the animated series '' Family Guy'' which later served as the double-episode season finale of the ninth season and is the final part of the series' '' Star Wars'' parody trilogy '' Laugh It Up, Fuzz ...

" (2011), which were subsequently aired on television in edited versions, omitting most

profanity Profanity, also known as cursing, cussing, swearing, bad language, foul language, obscenities, expletives or vulgarism, is a socially offensive use of language. Accordingly, profanity is language use that is sometimes deemed impolite, rud ...

and sexual references. The trilogy was released on

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

and

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

on December 21, 2010. Its title comes from a phrase

Han Solo Han Solo is a fictional character in the '' Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. The character first appeared in the 1977 film '' Star Wars'' portrayed by Harrison Ford, who reprised his role in ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980) an ...

said to

Chewbacca Chewbacca ( ), nicknamed "Chewie", is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He is a Wookiee, a tall, hirsute, bipedal, intelligent species originating from the fictional planet of Kashyyyk. Chewbacca is the loyal friend and firs ...

in ''The Empire Strikes Back'' as the latter was laughing at the former.

Plot

During power outages,

Peter Griffin Peter Löwenbräu Griffin, born Justin Peter Griffin, is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the American animated sitcom ''Family Guy''. He is voiced by the series' creator, Seth MacFarlane, and first appeared on television, alon ...

tells his family the stories of the original ''Star Wars'' trilogy films, with characters from ''Family Guy'', ''

The Cleveland Show ''The Cleveland Show'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane, Richard Appel, and Mike Henry for the Fox Broadcasting Company. A spin-off of ''Family Guy'', the series centers on Cleveland Brown, his new wife Donna Tubbs, a ...

'', and ''

American Dad! ''American Dad!'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane, Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman for the Fox Broadcasting Company. Since 2014, the series has been airing new episodes on TBS. ''American Dad!'' is the first television ...

'' playing the ''Star Wars'' roles. A running joke at the end of the first two episodes deals with Chris Griffin (voiced by

Seth Green Seth Benjamin Green ( ''né'' Gesshel-Green; born February 8, 1974) is an American actor, producer, and writer. Green's film debut came with a role in the comedy-drama film ''The Hotel New Hampshire'' (1984), and he went on to have supporting ...

) criticizing Peter's take on ''Star Wars'' as a ripoff of '' Robot Chicken: Star Wars''. In the third episode, Peter and Chris initially argue about

then move on to arguing about

Seth MacFarlane Seth Woodbury MacFarlane (; born October 26, 1973) is an American actor, animator, filmmaker, comedian, and singer. He is the creator and star of the television series ''Family Guy'' (since 1999) and ''The Orville'' (since 2017), and co-creator ...

, which is when the rest of the family joins in and the characters voiced by Seth MacFarlane (Brian, Peter, and Stewie) quarrel with those who are not.

Cast

;

Brian Griffin H. Brian Griffinas shown in Brian Griffin's House of Payne is a fictional character from the American animated television series ''Family Guy''. An anthropomorphic white labrador retriever voiced by Seth MacFarlane, he is one of the show's mai ...

Stewie Griffin Stewart "Stewie" Gilligan Griffin is a fictional character from the animated television series ''Family Guy''. He was born in 1998 and is voiced by the series creator Seth MacFarlane and first appeared on television, along with the rest of the Gr ...

as Darth Vader *

Glenn Quagmire Glenn Quagmire, often referred to by just his surname, is a fictional character from the American adult animated series ''Family Guy''. He is a neighbor and friend of the Griffin family and is best known for his hypersexuality and his catchphra ...

as C-3PO *

Carter Pewterschmidt ''Family Guy'' is an American animated comedy series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. Characters are only listed once, normally under the first applicable subsection in the list; very minor characters are listed with ...

Owen Lars This incomplete list of characters from the '' Star Wars'' franchise contains only those which are considered part of the official ''Star Wars'' canon, as of the changes made by Lucasfilm in April 2014. Following its acquisition by The Walt D ...

/ Emperor Palpatine *

Roger Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ( ...

Moff Jerjerrod This incomplete list of characters from the ''Star Wars'' franchise contains only those which are considered part of the official ''Star Wars'' canon, as of the changes made by Lucasfilm in April 2014. Following its acquisition by The Walt Dis ...

Tim the Bear ''Family Guy (franchise), Family Guy'' is an American animated comedy multimedia franchise originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company, primarily based on the animated series ''Family Guy'' (1999–presen ...

Wicket In cricket, the term wicket has several meanings: * It is one of the two sets of three stumps and two bails at either end of the pitch. The fielding team's players can hit the wicket with the ball in a number of ways to get a batsman out. ...

* Tom Tucker as Death Star News Anchorman ;

Alex Borstein Alexandrea Borstein (born February 15, 1971) is an American actress, comedian, writer and producer. Borstein voices Lois Griffin on the animated comedy television series '' Family Guy'' (1999–present), and won a Primetime Emmy Award for the rol ...

Lois Griffin Lois Patrice Griffin (''née'' Pewterschmidt) is a fictional character from the animated television series ''Family Guy''. She is voiced by Alex Borstein and first appeared on television, along with the rest of the Griffin family, in a 15-minu ...

Princess Leia Princess Leia Organa is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists in the ''Star Wars'' franchise, portrayed in films by Carrie Fisher. Introduced in the Star Wars (film), original ''Star Wars'' film in 1977, Leia is princess of th ...

Barbara Pewterschmidt ''Family Guy'' is an American animated comedy series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. Characters are only listed once, normally under the first applicable subsection in the list; very minor characters are listed with ...

Beru Lars This incomplete list of characters from the ''Star Wars'' franchise contains only those which are considered part of the official ''Star Wars'' canon, as of the changes made by Lucasfilm in April 2014. Following its acquisition by The Walt Dis ...

;

* Chris Griffin as Luke Skywalker ; Mila Kunis *

Meg Griffin Meg Griffin is a fictional character in the animated television series ''Family Guy''. Meg is the eldest child of Peter Griffin, Peter and Lois Griffin and older sister of Stewie Griffin, Stewie and Chris Griffin, Chris, but is also the family ...

as the Dianoga / the

Exogorth This is a list of creatures in the fictional universe of ''Star Wars'', a space opera media franchise. The types of creatures in this list are listed by category and then in alphabetical order. Humans and humanoid sentient species Humans Human ...

/ the

Sarlacc The sarlacc (plural sarlacci) is a fictional creature in George Lucas's sci-fi action saga ''Star Wars''. It first appeared in the film ''Return of the Jedi'' (1983) as a multi-tentacled alien beast whose immense, gaping maw is lined with sever ...

; Mike Henry *

Cleveland Brown Cleveland Orenthal Brown Sr. is a fictional character from the animated television series ''Family Guy'', and its spin-off series ''The Cleveland Show''. He is a neighbor and friend of the Griffin family and is best known for his mild-mannered ...

as R2-D2 *

Herbert Herbert may refer to: People Individuals * Herbert (musician), a pseudonym of Matthew Herbert Name * Herbert (given name) * Herbert (surname) Places Antarctica * Herbert Mountains, Coats Land * Herbert Sound, Graham Land Australia * Herbert, ...

Obi-Wan Kenobi Obi-Wan Kenobi () is a fictional Character (arts), character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. Within the Star Wars original trilogy, original trilogy, Obi-Wan is a Jedi Master as a supporting character and is portrayed by English actor Alec Guinn ...

Bruce The English language name Bruce arrived in Scotland with the Normans, from the place name Brix, Manche in Normandy, France, meaning "the willowlands". Initially promulgated via the descendants of king Robert the Bruce (1274−1329), it has been a ...

as Greedo / Captain Piett *

Rallo Tubbs ''Family Guy (franchise), Family Guy'' is an American animated comedy multimedia franchise originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company, primarily based on the animated series ''Family Guy'' (1999–presen ...

Nien Nunb Nien Nunb is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. Introduced in the 1983 film ''Return of the Jedi'', he was brought to life both as a puppet and a costumed actor during the film. Nunb was puppeteered by Mike Quinn and was port ...

* Consuela as Darth Vader's maid (herself) / Jabba's doorguard ; Adam West * Adam West as

Grand Moff Tarkin Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise, introduced as the main antagonist of the original 1977 ''Star Wars'' film (played by Peter Cushing). In the film, Tarkin is depicted as a high-ranking officer of ...

; Patrick Warburton * Joe Swanson as

Biggs Darklighter Rogue Squadron is a fictional Military spacecraft in fiction, starfighter squadron (aviation), squadron in the Star Wars, ''Star Wars'' franchise. Many surviving members of Red Squadron, the Rebel Alliance, Rebel attack force that Luke Skywalk ...

/ the

probe droid In the ''Star Wars'' space opera franchise, a droid is a fictional robot possessing some degree of artificial intelligence''.'' The term is a Apheresis (linguistics), clipped form of "android (robot), android", a word originally reserved for rob ...

/ Jabba the Hutt ;

Johnny Brennan Johnny Brennan (born December 1) is an American actor, voice actor, comedian, and writer, known as the creator of the Jerky Boys, which released a series of prank phone call CDs, between 1993 and 1999. He appears as himself as a member of the J ...

Mort Goldman ''Mort'' is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett. Published in 1987, it is the fourth ''Discworld'' novel and the first to focus on the character Death, who only appeared as a side character in the previous novels. The title is the ...

as a Jawa / Lando Calrissian ;

H. Jon Benjamin Harry Jon Benjamin (born May 23, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer and musician. Benjamin is primarily known for his voice roles in adult animated series, such as Sterling Archer in ''Archer'', Bob Belcher in ''Bob's Burgers ...

Carl Carl may refer to: *Carl, Georgia, city in USA *Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community * Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name *Carl², a TV series * "Carl", an episode of te ...

as Yoda ; Danny Smith *

Ernie the Giant Chicken ''Family Guy (franchise), Family Guy'' is an American animated comedy multimedia franchise originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company, primarily based on the animated series ''Family Guy'' (1999–presen ...

Boba Fett Boba Fett ( ) is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. First appearing in the ''Star Wars Holiday Special'' (1978), where he was voiced by Don Francks, he is an armored bounty hunter featured in both the original and prequel fi ...

;

Dee Bradley Baker Dee Bradley Baker (born August 31, 1962) is an American voice actor. Much of Baker's work features vocalizations of animals and monsters. Baker's roles include animated series such as ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'', ''Codename: Kids Next Door'', ...

* Klaus Heissler as Admiral Ackbar ; Carrie Fisher *

Angela Angela may refer to: Places * Angela, Montana * Angela Lake, in Volusia County, Florida * Lake Angela, in Lyon Township, Oakland County, Michigan * Lake Angela, the reservoir impounded by the source dam of the South Yuba River Fiction * Angel ...

Mon Mothma Mon Mothma is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise, primarily portrayed by actress Genevieve O'Reilly. Introduced as the leader of the Rebel Alliance in '' Star Wars: Return of the Jedi'' (1983), portrayed by Caroline Blakiston, M ...

;''Blue Harvest'' *

Chevy Chase Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase (; born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, actor and writer. He became a key cast member in the first season of ''Saturday Night Live'', where his recurring ''Weekend Update'' segment became a staple of the ...

Clark Griswold ''National Lampoon's Vacation'' film series is a comedy film series initially based on John Hughes' short story "Vacation '58" that was originally published by '' National Lampoon'' magazine. The series is distributed by Warner Bros. and consists ...

Beverly D'Angelo Beverly Heather D'Angelo (born November 15, 1951) is an American actress who starred as Ellen Griswold in the ''National Lampoon's Vacation'' films (1983–2015). She has appeared in over 60 films and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for h ...

as Ellen Griswold * Rush Limbaugh as Himself / Red 6 *

Helen Reddy Helen Maxine Reddy (25 October 194129 September 2020) was an Australian-American singer, actress, television host, and activist. Born in Melbourne to a showbusiness family, Reddy started her career as an entertainer at age four. She sang on rad ...

as Herself * Mick Hucknall as Himself * Alex Thomas as Himself * Judd Nelson as John Bender ;''Something, Something, Something, Dark Side'' * James Woods as

Himself A reflexive pronoun is a pronoun that refers to another noun or pronoun (its antecedent) within the same sentence. In the English language specifically, a reflexive pronoun will end in ''-self'' or ''-selves'', and refer to a previously n ...

General Veers This incomplete list of characters from the '' Star Wars'' franchise contains only those which are considered part of the official ''Star Wars'' canon, as of the changes made by Lucasfilm in April 2014. Following its acquisition by The Walt D ...

* John Bunnell as Himself * Elizabeth Banks as Herself * Dolph Lundgren as Captain Ivan Drago (live-action footage from '' Rocky IV'') * Brigitte Nielsen as Ludmilla Vobet Drago (live-action footage from ''Rocky IV'') *

Michael Pataki Michael Pataki (January 16, 1938 – April 15, 2010) was an American actor. Early life Pataki was born in Youngstown, Ohio. His parents were Hungarians. He was the youngest of three children - one older brother and one older sister. He atten ...

as Nicoli Koloff (live-action footage from ''Rocky IV'') *

Tom Selleck Thomas William Selleck (; born January 29, 1945) is an American actor. His breakout role was playing private investigator Thomas Magnum in the television series ''Magnum, P.I.'' (1980–1988), for which he received five Emmy Award nominations f ...

as Himself (live-action footage from ''

Her Alibi ''Her Alibi'' is a 1989 American romantic comedy film directed by Bruce Beresford, written by Charlie Peters and starring Tom Selleck, Paulina Porizkova, William Daniels, and James Farentino. Plot Phil Blackwood (Selleck) is an American mystery ...

'') * James Caan as Himself *

Joe Flaherty Joseph Flaherty (born June 21, 1941) is an American actor, writer, and comedian. He is best known for his work on the Canadian sketch comedy '' SCTV'' from 1976 to 1984 (on which he also served as a writer), and as Harold Weir on ''Freaks and G ...

Western Union The Western Union Company is an American multinational financial services company, headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1851 as the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company in Rochester, New York, the company chang ...

worker from '' Back to the Future Part II'' ;''It's a Trap!'' * Rush Limbaugh as the

Rancor This is a list of creatures in the fictional universe of ''Star Wars'', a space opera media franchise. The types of creatures in this list are listed by category and then in alphabetical order. Humans and humanoid sentient species Humans Human ...

* Ted Knight as Judge Smails (live-action footage from '' Caddyshack'') * Anne Hathaway as Hot Blonde * Bruce McGill as

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who wa ...

Mary Hart Mary Hart (born Mary Johanna Harum; November 8, 1950) is an American television personality and actress. She was the long-running host (1982–2011) of the syndicated gossip and entertainment round-up television program ''Entertainment Tonight'' ...

as Herself *

Conway Twitty Harold Lloyd Jenkins (September 1, 1933 – June 5, 1993), better known by his stage name Conway Twitty, was an American singer and songwriter. Initially a part of the 1950s rockabilly scene, Twitty was best known as a country music performer. ...

as Himself ( archive footage) * Patrick Stewart as Captain

Jean-Luc Picard Jean-Luc Picard is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, most often seen as the captain of the Federation starship . Played by Patrick Stewart, Picard has appeared in the television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (''T ...

* Michael Dorn as Lieutenant

Worf Worf, son of Mogh is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' franchise. He appears in the television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (''TNG'') and seasons four through seven of '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (''DS9'') as well as t ...

Production

"Blue Harvest"

At the 2007

Comic Con A comic book convention or comic-con is an event with a primary focus on comic books and comic book culture, in which comic book fans gather to meet creators, experts, and each other. Commonly, comic conventions are multi-day events hosted at con ...

, a series of clips were shown at a panel for ''Family Guy'' from the season premiere episode, showing the ''Family Guy'' characters as ''Star Wars'' characters. The episode aired on September 23, 2007, with some slight changes from the clips shown at Comic Con. Parts of this episode were shown at ''Star Wars'' Celebration IV, at which ''Family Guy'' creator

, a ''Star Wars'' fan since childhood, was a special guest, and again at

Comic-Con International San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is c ...

2007. The episode was officially endorsed by

Lucasfilm Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC is an American film and television production company and a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is a business segment of The Walt Disney Company. The studio is best known for creating and producing the ''Star Wars'' and ' ...

, especially

George Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairm ...

, who revealed in his conversation with MacFarlane that he has TiVoed every episode of ''Family Guy'' without having to buy the

s and, in addition to '' Jackass'', it is the only show he watches. MacFarlane said they were extremely helpful when the ''Family Guy'' crew wanted to parody their works.

"Something, Something, Something, Dark Side"

The episode was written by series regular

Kirker Butler Kirker Butler is an American writer, who has written and produced shows such as ''Family Guy'', ''The Cleveland Show'', ''The Neighbors (2012 TV series)'', ''Galavant'', and ''Life in Pieces''. Career Butler joined ''Family Guy'' in 2004, and h ...

, before the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, and before his leave from the series in order to become co-executive producer of the ''Family Guy'' spinoff series ''

''. Butler wrote the first draft of the episode in four weeks, under the guidance of series creator

. The episode was directed by Dominic Polcino, who had previously directed "

". This was the last episode in the series to use hand-drawn

animatics A storyboard is a graphic organizer that consists of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence. The storyboarding process, i ...

, before transitioning to computer-designed animatics.

"It's a Trap!"

It was announced in March 2009 that the cast of the show had read through an early draft of the script under the working title, "Episode VI: The Great Muppet Caper". The second working title, "We Have a Bad Feeling About This," was a reference to the recurring catchphrase used in the ''Star Wars'' films. The settled-upon title is a reference to the line by Admiral Ackbar in the film.

Future spoofs

When asked about the possibility of a ''Family Guy'' retelling of the other ''Star Wars'' trilogies,

Alec Sulkin Alexander Matthew Sulkin (born February 14, 1973) is an American screenwriter, producer, and voice actor known for his work on ''Family Guy'' and ''The Cleveland Show''. Career Sulkin began as a writer for ''The Late Late Show (CBS TV series)#C ...

stated that a spoof of the ''Star Wars'' prequel and sequel trilogies were unlikely to happen due to the difficulty and struggle of spoofing ''The Empire Strikes Back'' and the 2012

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

acquisition of

being the primary reasons. Sulkin stated, "We like the first three but by the time we were done with the third one I think we were about ready to kill ourselves. The new regime at Star Wars / Disney is a little more difficult to deal with. Before we were just dealing with Lucasfilm and Seth had a good relationship with them... I just think that isney'sa little more rigid". Series creator

also commented on the situation via

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

stating "Disney keeps a tighter hold on it, so it's unlikely", though this could change following the buyout of 21st Century Fox's entertainment assets by Disney. A spoof of the ''Indiana Jones'' series was also considered for development, but has not received any updates concerning its production.

References

External links

* * * {{20th Century Animation Family Guy episodes Fox Television Animation films Parody television series based on Star Wars 2010s English-language films