If you caught the latest episode of Family Guy, ‘Seahorse Sea Shell Party’, you no doubt noticed the mushroom-induced dream sequence Brian went on. This 2 minute segment was a Bosch-style nightmare world, created and directed by Joe Vaux. The episode was held back from it’s May 2011 release due to “national sensitivity”, but finally aired and I am very happy fans of the show and Joe’s work was able to see this. I made the connection earlier to the work of Hieronymus Bosch, and while the two do share the ability to create the stuff night terrors are born from, this segment far creepier and terrifying than any painting by Bosch. Joe is no stranger to the Family Guy series, as he worked as a storyboard revisionist from 2005 – 2007, and also participated in both the Family Guy C.R.A.P Show and the What The Deuce Are You Staring At!?! show that took place in 2006. If you look at the paintings from these shows (below), you can see that some of the characters and elements made their way into the Family Guy segment.
I love the idea that these cartoons (Family Guy, Simpsons, etc) are integrating the art and direction of the artists we spend so much time watching, such as The Simpsons, Banksy directed intro that aired a year ago. Cartoons are still such an amazing medium. One that allows for reality to pushed any which way the animator, writers, and director so choose.
