Animation Blog

Fox Network has just resumed airing three of the most lovable family cartoon animation series: The Simpsons, Family Guy and American Dad. And what better way to pay tribute to last weekend’s Father’s Day than a look at the three heads of the snake, so speak. Thus I present to you a head-to-head-to-head clash between Stan Smith of American Dad, Peter Griffin of Family Guy and Homer Simpson of – well you get the drift.

As far as popularity is concerned, it is a bit difficult to trump the achievement of Homer and the Simpsons for their influence on popular culture and the history of cartoon animation in primetime television. After all, Homer, along with the rest of his family, has already been given a Hollywood star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the year 2000. That’s on top of earning three Primetime Emmy Awards and a special Annie Award. So for Family Guy’s Peter Griffin and American Dad’s Stan Smith to have a chance, maybe it’s fairer to ask:

Just who is the better dad?

Now, this gets a bit tricky – because much of the success of these three cartoon animation series in Fox primetime is attributed to the dysfunctional nature of the heads of its families. But it’s worth a try.

Well for starters, Homer, voiced by Dan Castellaneta, is one lazy father. He is overweight, incompetent and clumsy, spending most of his waking hours in front of the television. That’s not much of an excellent father figure to begin with. Moreover, he never seems to get a permanent job, except his stint inside a nuclear power plant.

He always has a quick temper and easily seethes with each and every Bart Simpson prank. He also usually neglects his parenting duties with two of his children Liza and Maggie. He even has alcoholic issues and a low level intelligence.

But for all of Homer’s flaws, he is a very loving husband and spends quality time with her children – in his own way. He usually goes out on unplanned and bumbling adventures with his son Bart and when he feels he has neglected Liza, he does his best to make amends. He once gave away a chance to be rich just to make Liza attend a pageant. Now that’s a dad there!

Now on to Family Guy’s Peter Griffin: well, truth be told, he seems like a poor man’s Homer Simpson – and I didn’t even think that was possible. Griffin is a clone of Homer, so to speak. Its creator Seth MacFarlane designed Peter Griffin to be also unintelligent, crude and lowbrow. He likes spending time in front of the television and likes to drink with his friends. See the pattern?

On the other hand, unlike Homer, Peter Griffin seems to lack a loving bone in his body. He always gets jealous about his wife Lois other pastimes and neglects his children Chris, Meg and Stewie – so not much competition for Homer here.

An interesting competitor would be another Seth MacFarlane creation, Stan Smith of American Dad. As far as patriotism virtues are concerned Stan stands atop even the most devoted Boy Scout. Now how does that translate to the family? Stan has a wife Francine and two grown-up children Haley and Steve.

Stan’s hyper patriotism can be traced back to his father who also had a military background and has gone missing. This absent relationship with his son who is a nerd plays an interesting plot device for the show because Stan doesn’t want his son to look geeky and like a loser when in fact Stan was a loser himself when he was a kid.

So these three fathers all have loose screws and that’s what makes the shows lovable to watch. It’s a matter of taste who the better dad is but for all his candid and crude love, Homer Simpsons still wins the day for me. Meanwhile here are the guys from Family Guy and American Dad to make your day. Belated Happy Father’s Day everyone!