Katana VentraIP

The Simpsons (franchise)

The Simpsons is an American animated comedy franchise whose eponymous family consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. The Simpsons were created by cartoonist Matt Groening for a series of animated shorts that debuted on The Tracey Ullman Show on Fox on April 19, 1987. After a three-season run, the sketch was developed into The Simpsons, a half-hour prime time show that was an early hit for Fox, becoming the first Fox series to land in the Top 30 ratings in a season (1989–1990). The popularity of The Simpsons has made it a billion-dollar merchandising and media franchise. Alongside the television series, the characters of the show have been featured in a variety of media, including books, comic books, a magazine, musical releases, and video games.

This article is about the media franchise. For the television show, see The Simpsons. For other uses, see The Simpsons (disambiguation).

The Simpsons

Matt Groening

The Simpsons shorts from The Tracey Ullman Show

20th Century Studios

1987–present

List of books

List of comics

Simpsons Illustrated

The Simpsons Movie

The Simpsons shorts (1987–1989)

Simpsons Jeopardy!

List of video games

Discography

The Simpsons Theme

World of Springfield
Lego The Simpsons

The Simpsons Ride
Kang & Kodos' Twirl 'n' Hurl

The Simpsons Movie, a feature-length film, was released in 2007 and was the eighth highest-grossing film of that year. A variety of merchandise, including T-shirts, DVDs, board games, and action figures have been released. The Simpsons merchandise has sold well, generating $2 billion in revenue during the first 14 months of sales. In 2003, about 500 companies around the world were licensed to use The Simpsons characters in their advertising. In 2008, $750 million worth of The Simpsons merchandise was purchased worldwide. Peter Byrne, Fox executive vice-president of licensing and merchandising, called The Simpsons "without doubt the biggest licensing entity that Fox has had, full stop, I would say from either TV or film."[1]


In 2002, the property was valued at $5 billion to $6 billion according to Fox.[2]

, voiced by Dan Castellaneta, is the father of the Simpson family. He embodies several American working class stereotypes: he is crude, overweight, incompetent, clumsy, thoughtless and a borderline alcoholic.[14] His voice started out as an impression of Walter Matthau but eventually evolved into a more robust voice during the second and third season of the half-hour show, allowing Homer to cover a fuller range of emotions.[15] Homer has since become one of the most influential fictional characters.[16] He has inspired an entire line of merchandise and his catchphrase, the annoyed grunt "D'oh!", has been included in the Oxford English Dictionary.[17]

Homer Simpson

, voiced by Julie Kavner, is the well-meaning and extremely patient wife of Homer and mother of Bart, Lisa and Maggie.[18] Her most notable physical feature is her distinctive beehive hairstyle which was inspired by Bride of Frankenstein and the style that Matt Groening's mother wore during the 1960s, although her hair was never blue.[19][20]

Marge Simpson

, voiced by Nancy Cartwright, is the eldest child in the family—at age 10. Bart's most prominent character traits are his mischievousness, rebelliousness, disrespect for authority and sharp wit. During the first two seasons of The Simpsons, Bart was the show's main character. The name "Bart" is an anagram of the word "brat".[21] In 1998, Time magazine selected Bart as 46th of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century, and the only fictional character to make the list.[22] He had previously appeared on the cover the December 31, 1990 edition.[23] During the early episodes, Bart was rebellious and frequently escaped without punishment, which led some parents' groups and conservative spokespeople to believe he provided a poor role model for children. This prompted George H. W. Bush to rally, "We're going to keep trying to strengthen the American family. To make them more like the Waltons and less like the Simpsons."[24]

Bart Simpson

, voiced by Yeardley Smith, is the elder daughter and middle child of the family. She is an extremely intelligent eight-year-old girl, one of the most intelligent characters on the show. Lisa's political convictions are generally socially liberal.[25] In the Tracey Ullman Show shorts, Lisa was more of a "female Bart" and was equally mischievous. As the series progressed, Lisa began to develop into a more intelligent and more emotional character.[26] In 2001, Lisa received a special "Board of Directors Ongoing Commitment Award" at the Environmental Media Awards.[27] "Lisa the Vegetarian", an episode from the seventh season, won both an Environmental Media Award for "Best Television Episodic Comedy"[28] and a Genesis Award for "Best Television Comedy Series, Ongoing Commitment".[29]

Lisa Simpson

, is the youngest of the five main family members and is almost always seen as a baby. She was quite prominent in the Tracey Ullman Show shorts, often being featured alongside Bart and Lisa but has since become the least seen and heard of the five main Simpsons.[30] Maggie rarely speaks, but has been voiced by several actors including Elizabeth Taylor,[30] James Earl Jones,[31] Harry Shearer, who used Kang's voice, Jodie Foster,[32] Yeardley Smith,[33] and Nancy Cartwright.[34]

Maggie Simpson

Official website