Family Guy incorporates Simpsons theme song in playful jab at Disney/Fox

The latest episode of Family Guy surprised us all with a playful jab at Disney/Fox now that their merger is complete. Find out more within.

Being that “You Can’t Handle The Booth” was the first episode of Family Guy to air after Disney finalized its’ merger with Fox, we kind of expected it to reference the deal in some form. Although, none of us were prepared for the outrageous shoutout of The Simpsons at the same time.

In this particular episode of Family Guy, the Griffin family take a break from their usual routine to provide commentary on an episode of their show—sort of like a DVD extras section. Peter, Lois, Meg, Chris, Stewie, and Brian all lend their voices from behind the scenes as actors on the fictitious cartoon.

Rather than having the Griffins live in blissful ignorance of their imaginary reality, Seth MacFarlane opted to make them full-fledged actors in this special event. Peter and Lois’ roles are highlighted here since they’re the two biggest actors on the show in general.

An aside from Lois emphasizes how she’s become somewhat of a diva in response to the Family Guy fame—that is until she learns how much more Peter makes per episode.

When the Griffins’ intern arrives with their paychecks, Lois receives Peter’s check by mistake. She’s immediately outraged by the huge difference in rates and wants to speak with the people who manage payroll. Lois proceeds to call up the owners of their show—Fox or Disney.

Yes, Lois literally asks for ” Fox or Disney” when she calls to find out why Peter makes so much more than her. The operator who answers Lois’ call puts her on hold and a theme song begins to play while she waits—the Simpsons’ theme song to be precise.

The placement of this theme song shouldn’t seem like a big deal but Family Guy incorporating it into a skit about Disney/Fox’s merger makes a huge difference. The reason is that the reference implies Disney bought out 20th Century Fox just for the rights to The Simpsons.

While the claims have only amounted to rumors thus far, word has it that Disney bought out Fox primarily for licensing rights to The Simpsons. The X-Men were a major component in those negotiations too but it appears as if Fox’s longest-running animated comedy was the main target of their acquisition.

Rumors notwithstanding, the idea of Disney purchasing Fox for The Simpsons makes sense. The show has established a massive following in its twenty plus years on the air, making it a hot-ticket item that no one could get their hands on.

Seth MacFarlane and the Family Guy writing staff simply put that reality into perspective for viewers by pointing out how much Disney is associating itself with The Simpsons now. Their reference was obviously an exaggeration but the message was driven across quite well.

Do you think Disney was eyeing Fox just for rights to The Simpsons? Let us know in the comments section below.

Family Guy airs Sundays on Fox. Episodes are uploaded to Hulu the following day. For more on these Fox shows, follow us on the Hulu Watcher Twitter Account @HuluWatcherFS or on the Hulu Watcher Facebook Page.