DVD review (region 2)
Directed by Dominic Polcino
Starring the voices of Seth MacFarlane, Alex Borstein, Seth Green, Mike Henry
Release date Out now

Ever wondered what Star Wars would have been like had it starred the Griffin family?

As Seth MacFarlane explains on the commentary for Blue Harvest, Fox were getting jittery about the constant Star Wars references littering Family Guy. It prompted the Family Guy creator to go one step further and (with the approval of Lucasfilm) produce an hour-long re-telling of Star Wars starring his cartoon cast. The result is Blue Harvest (which hardcore Star Wars geeks will recognise as the fake working title for Return of the Jedi), a gut-wrenchingly funny meeting of Jedi and Griffin.

The inspired casting includes Stewie as a pint-sized Darth Vader (“I Sithed my pants!”), Peter as Han Solo, Quagmire as C-3PO and, best of all, the ever-creepy Herbert as a lecherous Obi-Wan Kenobi who’s rather partial to young Luke (Chris Griffin).

The episode sticks surprisingly close to the Star Wars plot, which does mean that it loses some of the anarchic feeling that’s always been part of Family Guy’s appeal. However, it more than makes up for this with a guaranteed belly laugh every 30 seconds, whether it’s Tom Baker’s mug appearing as the Millennium Falcon enters hyperspace, Princess Leia/Lois trying to figure out how to programme R2-D2 (“It’s telling me I have to download RealPlayer 7!”) or Danny Elfman being decapitated by a lightsaber. It also contains some classic cameos - including Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo reprising their Griswold roles from the National Lampoon’s Vacation movies!

It comes in a great DVD package too. The long list of extras include a commentary, a feature about the ambitious animation, a 3-D segment, an interview with George Lucas (conducted by Seth MacFarlane) and much more. Best of all, you get the additional Family Guy episode North by North Quahog, which contains a guaranteed belly laugh every three seconds. Matt McAllister

VERDICT: 8/10
Freakin’ hilarious. However, if you’re not a Star Wars fan, then forget about it.

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Click here to buy Family Guy: Blue Harvest at Forbidden Planet (forbiddenplanet.com)