Seth MacFarlane Answers the Age-Old Question, ‘Who Can Hear Stewie?’

[Brian Damage]

“Mum mum mum mum mummy mummy mummy mummy Lois… Hi”

Stewie Griffin has some of the most memorable lines in Seth MacFarlane’s animated television series “Family Guy.” While usually making some homicidal comment to his parents or remarking on a situation he shouldn’t be experiencing, Stewie Griffin is cartoons’ favorite two year-old smart-ass.

But most two year-olds can hardly complete a full sentence. So it’s only fair that fans have wondered, “Who can really hear what Stewie’s saying?” since the start of the series back in 1998. With lines that refer to sex, drugs and murder and little to no response from the people in Stewie’s presence, the line between who can and cannot hear his comments is blurry.

Finally at the 2011 Comic Con someone asked Seth MacFarlane that troubling question during the “Family Guy” panel.

After comparing Stewie to Bugs Bunny and not really giving a straightforward answer, MacFarlane offers up a circuitous explanation by saying, “it’s whatever’s funny at the time.”

He comes up with rules: Brian “obviously understands it” while most of the other members of the Griffin family don’t. Depending on the story and what makes the situation the funniest, strangers and people outside of the house can sometimes understand and react to Stewie.

Age is another aspect. Peter, Lois, and Meg are expected to be older, wiser, and unable to relate to Stewie while Chris, the younger stupid brother, has recently begun to interact with Stewie “in a real way.”

Seth MacFarlane and the creators of the stories pretty much agree that Stewie is a character who can be heard or not heard, interacted with or ignored. Whatever makes the story the funniest is what goes. Who can hear Stewie? Whoever MacFarlane wants.

http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/1229...n-hear-stewie/