Fictional characters within The Simpsons
|
|
Although The Simpsons is itself a fictional show of fictional characters, there are also several characters within the show's universe who are fictional to the Simpsons characters themselves (see show-within-a-show).
These include characters from TV and movies, as well as characters who appear on Simpsons halloween episodes, which do not follow the show's continuity.
| Contents |
Duff Man
See Duff Man from the list of recurring characters article
Duff man is the advertising mascot and spokesman for the Duff Beer company. Likely inspired by the Anheuser-Busch Budweiser mascot Budman, a character introduced by the company in 1969 and reintroduced in 1989.
Happy Little Elves
The Happy Little Elves were an animated cartoon within the fictional Simpsons universe. They were crudely animated green elves in simplistic plots aimed at very young children. They starred in several straight-to-video movies. Baby Maggie Simpson was a fan, to the disgust of her older brother Bart. They were referenced in the early seasons of the show but dropped in later seasons.
- The Return of the Happy Little Elves — The Tracey Ullman Show short
- The Happy Little Elves Meet the Curious Bear Cub — "Some Enchanted Evening" (May 13, 1990)
- The Happy Little Elves in Tinkly-Winkly Town — "Saturdays of Thunder" (November 14, 1991)
- The Happy Little Elves Meet Fuzzy Snuggleduck — "Homer Alone" (February 6, 1992)
Hugo
In the "Treehouse of Horror VII" episode of The Simpsons (airdate November 27, 1996). (Halloween episodes are not part of series' continuity, such as it is), Bart discovers he was separated at birth from a conjoined twin by Dr. Hibbert. His evil twin, Hugo, has been consigned to living in the attic of the Simpson home, but escapes to plot revenge. Ultimately, it turns out that Bart was actually the evil twin, and Hugo had been isolated injustly - the episode ends with the Simpsons enjoying dinner at one table along with Hugo, while Bart asks for some food through the venting grille - where Hugo had previously been imprisoned. Marge tells Bart to eat his fish-heads out of a bucket - Hugo's involuntary standard diet for the preceding years.
Itchy & Scratchy
See main article The Itchy & Scratchy Show.
Itchy and Scratchy are a super-violent cartoon cat and mouse duo in the style of Tom and Jerry featured on the Krusty the Klown show. A cartoon dog named Poochie featured briefly, and Bart Simpson refers in one episode to several characters from "the short-lived Itchy & Scratchy and Friends Hour": Uncle Ant, Disgruntled Goat, and Ku Klux Klam. In yet another episode, Itchy and Scratchy were substituted with "Eastern Europe's favorite cat and mouse team, Worker and Parasite." Itchy and Scratchy were originally intended only to parody Tom and Jerry but the cartoon shorts on the Simpsons became popular and became a regular part of the show when an episode was too long.
Poochie
Unsuccessful new character on The Itchy and Scratchy Show. Was voiced by Homer.
Kang and Kodos
Kang and Kodos are two green, seven-foot tall, continually drooling octopus-like cyclopian aliens from Rigel 4 who claim to be brother and sister. Their primary appearances are in the various "Treehouse of Horror" episodes, but they (or others of their race) have several cameos. Their overall appearance is most likely derived from the aliens appearing in the 1959 B-Movie The Atomic Submarine, which are almost identical in every major way to the cartoon characters.
Kang is voiced by Harry Shearer, while Kodos is voiced by Dan Castellaneta. Another Rigelian, Serak the Preparer, was voiced by James Earl Jones.
Kang and Kodos are named after two characters from Star Trek; Kang was a Klingon captain, and Kodos the Executioner was a human villain.
Kang and Kodos do not speak English but actually speak Rigellian which is the exact same language as English.
Malibu Stacy
Malibu Stacy is a doll for young girls, comparable to a Barbie doll. On the show, Waylon Smithers of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant owns the largest collection of Malibu Stacy dolls in the world.
The doll was originally designed to be edible: "Kids didn't much like the taste of dried onion meal, but they _loved_ the doll. A second, plastic Malibu Stacy took America by storm." Older Malibu Stacy dolls had large (and pointy) enough breasts to poke children's eyes out, and have been recalled.
Talking Malibu Stacy dolls exist; when pushing a button in the back, the doll speaks a typically vapid catchphrase (e.g. "Don't ask me, I'm just a girl, hee hee hee"). An attempt was made to market a less sexist stereotypical doll, called Lisa Lionheart, but its sales were disappointingly low because of the simultaneously released Malibu Stacy With A New Hat.
In one episode, Waylon Smithers takes a leave of absence from the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant to produce and star in a musical based on Malibu Stacy, featuring the song "Sold Separately."
McBain
See main article Rainier Wolfcastle.
McBain is a movie action hero played by Rainier Wolfcastle, himself a parody of Arnold Schwarzenegger.
McGarnagle
A parody of Dirty Harry.
Menthol Moose
Menthol Moose is the cartoon mascot for Laramie Cigarettes, a parody of Joe Camel.
Radioactive Man
See main article Radioactive Man.
Radioactive Man is a comic book superhero of whom Bart and Milhouse are particular fans.
The Seven Duffs
The Seven Duffs are characters at the Simpsons theme park Duff Gardens, referring to Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs even though Duff Gardens is an obvious parody of Busch Gardens. the seven duffs are named—Tipsy, Queasy, Surly, Sleazy, Edgy, Dizzy and Remorseful—and only one speaks: "Hey, Surly only looks out for one guy...Surly!"