Bart Simpson
Encyclopedia
Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons
and part of the Simpson family
. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright
and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show
short "Good Night
" on April 19, 1987. Bart was created and designed by cartoonist Matt Groening
while he was waiting in the lobby of James L. Brooks
' office. Groening had been called to pitch a series of shorts based on Life in Hell
but instead decided to create a new set of characters. While the rest of the characters were named after Groening's family members, Bart's name was an anagram of the word brat. After appearing on The Tracey Ullman Show for three years, the Simpson family received their own series on Fox
, which debuted December 17, 1989.
At ten years old, Bart is the eldest child and only son of Homer
and Marge
, and the brother of Lisa
and Maggie
. Bart's most prominent character traits are his mischievousness, rebelliousness and disrespect for authority. He has appeared in other media relating to The Simpsons, including video games
, The Simpsons Movie
, The Simpsons Ride
, commercials, and comic books; he has also inspired an entire line of merchandise. In casting, Nancy Cartwright originally planned to audition for the role of Lisa, while Yeardley Smith
tried out for Bart. Smith's voice was too high for a boy, so she was given the role of Lisa. Cartwright found that Lisa was not interesting at the time, so instead auditioned for Bart, which she thought was a better role. Hallmarks of the character include his chalkboard gags in the opening sequence; his prank calls to Moe
the bartender; and his catchphrases "Eat my shorts", "¡Ay, caramba!
", and "Don't have a cow, man!"
During the first two seasons of The Simpsons (1989–1991), Bart was the show's breakout character and "Bartmania" ensued. Bart Simpson T-shirts sporting various slogans and catchphrases became popular, selling at a rate of a million per day at their peak. The song "Do the Bartman
" became a number one charting single and the seventh best-selling song of 1991 in the United Kingdom. Bart's rebellious attitude and pride at underachieving caused many parents and educators to cast him as a bad role model for children. A T-shirt reading "I'm Bart Simpson. Who the hell are you?" was banned in several public schools. Around the third season
, the series started to focus more on the family as a group, although Bart remains one of the most prominent characters on the series. Time
named Bart one of the 100 most important people of the 20th century
, and he was named "entertainer of the year" in 1990 by Entertainment Weekly
. Nancy Cartwright has won several awards for voicing Bart, including a Primetime Emmy Award
in 1992 and an Annie Award
in 1995. In 2000, Bart, along with the rest of his family, was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
.
in which the characters do not age, and as such the show is always assumed to be set in the current year. In several episodes, events have been linked to specific times, though sometimes this timeline has been contradicted in subsequent episodes. Bart's year of birth was stated in "I Married Marge
" (season three
, 1991) as being in the early 1980s. He lived with his parents in the Lower East of Springfield until the Simpsons bought their first house
. When Lisa was born, Bart was at first jealous of the attention she received, but he soon warmed to her when he discovered that "Bart" was her first word. Bart's first day of school was in the early 1990s. His initial enthusiasm was crushed by an uncaring teacher and Marge became worried that something was truly wrong with Bart. One day during recess, Bart met Milhouse
and started entertaining him and other students with various gestures and rude words. Principal Skinner
told him "you've just started school, and the path you choose now may be the one you follow for the rest of your life! Now, what do you say?" In his moment of truth, Bart responded, "eat my shorts". The episode "That '90s Show" (season nineteen
, 2008) contradicted much of the backstory's time frame; for example, it was revealed that Homer and Marge were childless in the early 1990s.
Bart's hobbies include skateboard
ing, watching television (especially The Krusty the Clown Show which includes The Itchy & Scratchy Show
), reading comic books (especially Radioactive Man), playing video games and generally causing mischief. His favorite movies are Jaws
and the Star Wars
Trilogy. For the duration of the series, Bart has attended Springfield Elementary School and has been in Edna Krabappel
's fourth grade class. While he is too young to hold a full-time job, he has had occasional part time jobs. He works as a bartender
at Fat Tony
's social club in "Bart the Murderer
" (season three
, 1991); as Krusty the Clown's assistant in "Bart Gets Famous
" (season five
, 1994); as a doorman in Springfield's burlesque house, the Maison Derrière in "Bart After Dark
" (season eight
, 1996); and briefly owns his own factory in "Homer's Enemy
". (season eight
, 1997)
first conceived of Bart and the rest of the Simpson family in 1986, while waiting in the lobby of producer James L. Brooks
' office. Groening had been called in to pitch a series of animated shorts for The Tracey Ullman Show, and had intended to present an adaptation of his Life in Hell comic strip. When he realized that animating Life in Hell would require him to rescind publication rights, Groening decided to go in another direction. He hurriedly sketched out his version of a dysfunctional family
, naming the characters after members of his own family. For the rebellious son, he substituted "Bart", an anagram of the word brat, for his own name, as he decided it would have been too obvious for him to have named the character 'Matt'. Bart's middle initial J is a "tribute" to animated characters such as Bullwinkle J. Moose
and Rocket J. Squirrel
from The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show
, who received their middle initial from Jay Ward
. According to the book Bart Simpson's Guide to Life
, Bart's full middle name is "JoJo".
Bart had originally been envisioned as "a much milder, troubled youth given to existential angst who talks to himself", but the character was changed based on Cartwright's voice acting. Groening has credited several different figures with providing inspiration for Bart: Matt Groening's older brother Mark provided much of the motivation for Bart's attitude. Bart was conceived as an extreme version of the typical misbehaving child character, merging all of the extreme traits of characters such as Tom Sawyer
and Huckleberry Finn
into one person. Groening describes Bart as "what would happen if Eddie Haskell
[from Leave it to Beaver
] got his own show". Groening has also said that he found the premise of Dennis the Menace disappointing and was inspired to create a character who was actually a menace.
Bart made his debut with the rest of the Simpson family on April 19, 1987 in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night
". In 1989, the shorts were adapted into The Simpsons, a half-hour series airing on the Fox Broadcasting Company
. Bart and the Simpson family remained the main characters on this new show.
The entire Simpson family was designed so that they would be recognizable in silhouette
. The family was crudely drawn, because Groening had submitted basic sketches to the animators, assuming they would clean them up; instead, they just traced over his drawings. Bart's original design, which appeared in the first shorts, had spikier hair, and the spikes were of different lengths. The number was later limited to nine spikes, all of the same size. At the time Groening was primarily drawing in black and "not thinking that [Bart] would eventually be drawn in color" gave him spikes which appear to be an extension of his head. The features of Bart's character design are generally not used in other characters; for example, no other characters in current episodes have Bart's spiky hairline, although several background characters in the first few seasons shared the trait.
The basic rectangular shape of Bart's head is described by director Mark Kirkland
as a coffee can. Homer's head is also rectangular (with a dome on top), while spheres are used for Marge, Lisa, and Maggie. Different animators have different methods of drawing Bart. Former director Jeffrey Lynch
starts off with a box, then adds the eyes, then the mouth, then the hair spikes, ear, and then the rest of the body. Matt Groening normally starts with the eyes, then the nose, and the rest of the outline of Bart's head. Many of the animators have trouble drawing Bart's spikes evenly; one trick they use is to draw one on the right, one on the left, one in the middle, then continue to add one in the middle of the blank space until there are nine. Originally, whenever Bart was to be drawn from an angle looking down so the top of his head was seen, Groening wanted there to be spikes along the outline of his head, and in the middle as well. Instead, Wes Archer
and David Silverman
drew him so that there was an outline of the spikes, then just a smooth patch in the middle because "it worked graphically." In "The Blue and the Gray
", Bart (along with Lisa and Maggie) finally questions why his hair has no visible border to separate head from hair.
In the season seven
(1995) episode "Treehouse of Horror VI
", Bart (along with Homer) was computer animated into a three dimensional
character for the first time for the "Homer3" segment of the episode. The computer animation directors was provided by Pacific Data Images
. While designing the 3D model of the character, the animators did not know how they would show Bart's hair. They realized that there were vinyl Bart dolls in production and purchased one to use as a model.
Bart's voice is provided by Nancy Cartwright
, who voices several other child characters on The Simpsons, including Nelson Muntz
, Ralph Wiggum
, Todd Flanders, and Kearney. While the roles of Homer and Marge were given to Dan Castellaneta
and Julie Kavner
because they were already a part of The Tracey Ullman Show cast, the producers decided to hold casting for the roles of Bart and Lisa. Yeardley Smith
had initially been asked to audition for the role of Bart, but casting director Bonita Pietila believed her voice was too high. Smith later recalled, "I always sounded too much like a girl. I read two lines as Bart and they said, 'Thanks for coming!'" Smith was given the role of Lisa instead. On March 13, 1987, Nancy Cartwright went in to audition for the role of Lisa. After arriving at the audition, she found that Lisa was simply described as the "middle child" and at the time did not have much personality. Cartwright became more interested in the role of Bart, who was described as "devious, underachieving, school-hating, irreverent, [and] clever". Matt Groening let her try out for the part instead, and upon hearing her read, gave her the job on the spot. Cartwright is the only one of the six main Simpsons cast members who had been professionally trained in voice acting prior to working on the show.
Cartwright's normal speaking voice is said to have "no obvious traces of Bart". The voice came naturally to Cartwright; prior to The Tracey Ullman Show, she had used elements of it in shows such as My Little Pony
, Snorks, and Pound Puppies
. Cartwright describes Bart's voice as easy to perform, saying, "Some characters take a little bit more effort, upper respiratory control, whatever it is technically. But Bart is easy to do. I can just slip into that without difficulty." She traditionally does five or six readings of every line in order to give the producers more to work with. In flashforward
episodes, Cartwright still provides the voice of Bart. For "Lisa's Wedding
", (season six
, 1995) Bart's voice was electronically lowered.
Despite Bart's fame, Cartwright is rarely recognized in public. On occasions when she is recognized on the street and asked to perform Bart's voice in front of children, Cartwright will refuse because it "freaks [them] out". During the first season of The Simpsons, the Fox Network did not allow Cartwright to give interviews because they did not want to publicize that Bart was voiced by a woman.
Until 1998, Cartwright was paid $30,000 per episode. During a pay dispute in 1998, Fox threatened to replace the six main voice actors with new actors, going as far as preparing for casting of new voices. The dispute was resolved and Cartwright received $125,000 per episode until 2004, when the voice actors demanded that they be paid $360,000 an episode. The dispute was resolved a month later, and Cartwright's pay rose to $250,000 per episode. After salary re-negotiations in 2008, the voice actors receive approximately $400,000 per episode.
of many Simpsons episodes, the camera zooms in on Springfield Elementary School, where Bart can be seen writing a message on the chalkboard. This message, which changes from episode to episode, has become known as the "chalkboard gag". Chalkboard messages may involve political humor such as "The First Amendment does not cover burping", pop culture
references such as "I can't see dead people
", and meta-reference
s such as "I am not a 32 year old woman" and "Nobody reads these anymore". The animators are able to produce the chalkboard gags quickly and in some cases have changed them to fit current events. For example, the chalkboard gag for "Homer the Heretic
" (season four
, 1992) read, "I will not defame New Orleans." The gag had been written as an apology to the city for a controversial song in the previous week's episode
, which called the city a "home of pirates, drunks and whores". Many episodes do not feature a chalkboard gag because a shorter opening title sequence, where the chalkboard gags are cut, is used to make more room for story and plot development.
One of Bart's early hallmark
s were his prank calls to Moe's Tavern owner Moe Szyslak
in which Bart calls Moe and asks for a gag name
. Moe tries to find that person in the bar, but rapidly realizes it is a prank call and angrily threatens Bart. These calls were based on a series of prank calls known as the Tube Bar recordings
. Moe was based partly on Tube Bar owner Louis "Red" Deutsch, whose often profane responses inspired Moe's violent side. The prank calls debuted in "Homer's Odyssey", (season one
, 1990) the third episode to air, but were included in "Some Enchanted Evening
", the first episode of the series that was produced. As the series progressed, it became more difficult for the writers to come up with a fake name and to write Moe's angry response, so the pranks were dropped as a regular joke during the fourth season. They have occasionally resurfaced on the show, the most recent being the season 20 episode "Lost Verizon
" (2008), although in that case Bart called various bartenders around the world and not Moe.
The catchphrase "Eat My Shorts" was an ad-lib by Cartwright in one of the original table readings, harking back to an incident when she was in high school. Cartwright was in the marching band at Fairmont High School
, and one day while performing, the band chanted "Eat my shorts" rather than the usual "Fairmont West! Fairmont West!" Bart's other catchphrases, "¡Ay, caramba!" and "Don't have a cow, man!", were featured on t-shirts manufactured during the production of the early seasons of The Simpsons. "Cowabunga" is also commonly associated with Bart, although it was mostly used on the show after it had been used as a slogan on the T-shirts. The use of catchphrase-based humor was mocked in the episode "Bart Gets Famous
" (season five
, 1994) in which Bart lands a popular role on Krusty the Clown's show for saying the line "I didn't do it." The writers chose the phrase "I didn't do it" because they wanted a "lousy" phrase "to point out how really crummy things can become really popular".
Bart commonly appears nude in the show, although in every case only his buttocks are visible. In The Simpsons Movie
(2007), Bart appears in a sequence where he is skateboarding while fully nude; several different items cover his genitalia
, but for a brief moment his penis
can be seen. The scene was one of the first worked on for the film, but the producers were very nervous about the segment because they thought it would earn the movie an R rating. The film was rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America
and PG by the British Board of Film Classification
. The scene was later included by Entertainment Weekly
in their list of "30 Unforgettable Nude Scenes."
and Huckleberry Finn, rolled into one. In his book Planet Simpson
, Chris Turner
describes Bart as a nihilist
, a philosophical
position that argues that existence
is without objective meaning, purpose, or intrinsic value
.
Bart's rebellious attitude has made him a disruptive student at Springfield Elementary School, where Bart is an underachiever and proud of it. He is constantly at odds with his teacher Ms. Krabappel
, Principal Skinner
, and occasionally Groundskeeper Willie
. Bart does poorly in school and is well aware of it, having once declared, "I am dumb, okay? Dumb as a post! Think I'm happy about it?" On one occasion, Lisa successfully proves that Bart is dumber than a hamster
. In "Separate Vocations
" (season three
, 1992) Bart becomes hall monitor and his grades go up, suggesting that he struggles mainly because he does not pay attention, not because he is stupid. This idea is reinforced in "Brother's Little Helper
", (season eleven
, 1999) in which it is revealed that Bart suffers from Attention Deficit Disorder
. His lack of smarts can also be attributed to the hereditary "Simpson Gene", which affects the intelligence
of most male members of the Simpson family. Although he gets into endless trouble and can be sadistic, shallow and selfish, Bart also exhibits many qualities of high integrity
. He has, on a few occasions, helped Principal Skinner and Mrs. Krabappel: In "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song
" (season five
, 1994), Bart accidentally got Skinner fired and befriended him outside of the school environment. Bart missed having Skinner as an adversary and got him rehired, knowing that this would mean that the two could no longer be friends.
Due to Bart's mischievousness and Homer's often uncaring and incompetent behavior, the two have a turbulent relationship. Bart will often address Homer by his given name
instead of "Dad", while Homer in turn often refers to him as "the boy". Homer has a short temper and when enraged by Bart will strangle him on impulse in a cartoonish manner. One of the original ideas for the show was that Homer would be "very angry" and oppressive toward Bart, but these characteristics were toned down somewhat as their characters were explored. Marge is a much more caring, understanding and nurturing parent than Homer, but she also refers to Bart as "a handful" and is often embarrassed by his antics. In "Marge Be Not Proud
", (season seven
, 1995) she felt she was mothering Bart too much and began acting more distant towards him after he was caught shoplifting. At the beginning of the episode, Bart protested at her over-mothering but as her attitude changed, he felt bad and made it up to her. Despite his attitude, Bart is sometimes willing to experience humiliation if it means pleasing his mom. Marge has expressed an understanding for her "special little guy" and has defended him on many occasions. She once said "I know Bart can be a handful, but I also know what he's like inside. He's got a spark. It's not a bad thing... Of course, it makes him do bad things."
Bart shares a sibling rivalry with his younger sister, Lisa, but has a buddy-like relationship with his youngest sister Maggie, due to her infant state. While Bart has often hurt Lisa, and even fought her physically, the two are often very close. Bart cares for Lisa as deeply and has always apologized for going too far. He also believes Lisa to be his superior when it comes to solving problems and frequently goes to her for advice. Bart is also highly protective of Lisa: When a bully destroys her box of cupcakes in "Bart the General
", (season one
, 1990), Bart immediately stands up for her.
Bart is best friends with Milhouse Van Houten
, although Bart has at times shown embarrassment about their friendship. Bart is a bad influence on Milhouse, and the two have been involved in a lot of mischief together. Because of this behavior, Milhouse's mother forbids Milhouse from playing with Bart in "Homer Defined
" (season three
, 1991). While at first he pretended that he did not care, Bart eventually realizes that he needs Milhouse, and Marge manages to convince Mrs. Van Houten to reconsider. While Bart is portrayed as a popular cool boy, he and Milhouse are frequent targets for bullies, including Dolph, Jimbo, Kearney, and Nelson Muntz. Milhouse describes their social standing as "Three and a half. We get beat up, but we get an explanation." While Bart and Nelson have been adversaries in the past, with Bart once declaring war on him, they have also been close friends at times.
Bart is one of the biggest fans of children's television host Krusty the Clown. He once declared, "I've based my whole life on Krusty's teachings," and sleeps in a room filled with Krusty merchandise. He has helped the clown on many occasions, for example, foiling Sideshow Bob
's attempt to frame Krusty for armed robbery in "Krusty Gets Busted
" (season one
, 1990), reuniting Krusty with his estranged father in "Like Father, Like Clown
". and helping Krusty return to the air with a comeback special and reignite his career in "Krusty Gets Kancelled
". For his part, Krusty has remained largely ignorant of Bart's help and treats Bart with disinterest. One summer, Bart enthusiastically attended Kamp Krusty, which turned out to be a disaster, with Krusty nowhere to be seen. Bart keeps his hopes up by believing that Krusty would show up, but is soon pushed over the edge, and finally decides that he is sick of Krusty's shoddy merchandise and takes over the camp. Krusty immediately visits the camp in hopes of ending the conflict and manages to appease Bart. One of the original ideas for the series was that Bart worshiped a television clown but had no respect for his father, although this was never directly explored. Because of this original plan, Krusty's design is basically Homer in clown make-up. When Bart foiled Sideshow Bob's plans in "Krusty Gets Busted", it sparked a long-standing feud between the two. The writers decided to have Bob repeatedly return to get revenge on Bart. They took the idea of the Coyote chasing the Road Runner
and depicted Bob an intelligent person obsessed with catching a bratty boy. Bob has appeared in eleven episodes, generally plotting various evil schemes, but is always foiled in the end.
s. In the early 1990s, millions of T-shirts featuring Bart were sold; as many as one million were sold on some days. Believing Bart to be a bad role model, several American public schools banned T-shirts featuring Bart next to captions such as "I'm Bart Simpson. Who the hell are you?" and "Underachiever ('And proud of it, man!')". The Simpsons merchandise sold well and generated $
2 billion in revenue during the first 14 months of sales. The success of Bart Simpson merchandise inspired an entire line of black market counterfeit
items, especially T-shirts. Some featured Bart announcing various slogans, others depicted redesigns of the character, including "Teenage Mutant Ninja Bart, Air Simpson Bart, [and] RastaBart". Matt Groening generally did not object to bootleg merchandise, but took exception to a series of "Nazi
Bart" shirts which depicted Bart in Nazi uniform or as a white power skinhead. 20th Century Fox sued the creator of the shirts, who eventually agreed to stop making them.
Due to the show's success, over the summer of 1990 the Fox Network
decided to switch The Simpsons' timeslot so that it would move from 8:00 p.m. EST
on Sunday night to the same time on Thursday, where it would compete with The Cosby Show
on NBC
, the number one show at the time. Through the summer, several news outlets published stories about the supposed "Bill vs. Bart" rivalry. The August 31, 1990 issue of Entertainment Weekly
featured a picture of Bill Cosby
wearing a Bart Simpson T-shirt. "Bart Gets an F
" (season two
, 1990) was the first episode to air against The Cosby Show, and it received a lower Nielsen rating
, tying for eighth behind The Cosby Show, which had an 18.5 rating. The rating is based on the number of household televisions that were tuned into the show, but Nielsen Media Research
estimated that 33.6 million viewers watched the episode, making it the number one show in terms of actual viewers that week. At the time, it was the most watched episode in the history of the Fox Network, and it is still the highest rated episode in the history of The Simpsons. Because of his popularity, Bart was often the most promoted member of the Simpson family in advertisements for the show, even for episodes in which he was not involved in the main plot.
Bart was described as "television's king of 1990", "television's brightest new star" and an "undiminished smash". Entertainment Weekly named Bart the "entertainer of the year" for 1990, writing that "Bart has proved to be a rebel who's also a good kid, a terror who's easily terrorized, and a flake who astonishes us, and himself, with serious displays of fortitude." In the United States congressional, senatorial
and gubernatorial
elections of 1990, Bart was one of the most popular write-in candidates, and in many areas was second only to Mickey Mouse
amongst fictional characters. In the 1990 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
, Bart made his debut as one of the giant helium-filled balloons for which the parade is known. The Bart Simpson balloon has appeared at every parade since. This was referenced in The Simpsons in the episode "Bart vs. Thanksgiving
", which aired the same day as the parade, where Homer tells Bart, "If you start building a balloon for every flash-in-the-pan cartoon character, you turn the parade into a farce!" Meanwhile, behind and unbeknownst to him, the television briefly shows a Bart Simpson balloon.
The album The Simpsons Sing the Blues
was released in September 1990 and was a success, peaking at #3 on the Billboard 200
and becoming certified 2x platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America
. The first single from the album was the pop rap song "Do the Bartman
", performed by Nancy Cartwright and released on November 20, 1990. The song was written by Michael Jackson
, although he did not receive any credit. Jackson was a fan of The Simpsons, especially Bart, and had called the producers one night offering to write Bart a number one single and do a guest spot on the show. Jackson eventually guest starred in the episode "Stark Raving Dad
" (season three
, 1991) under the pseudonym John Jay Smith. While the song was never officially released as a single in the United States, it was successful in the United Kingdom. In 1991 it was the number one song in the UK for three weeks from February 16 to March 9 and was the seventh best-selling song of the year. It sold half a million copies and was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry
on February 1, 1991.
to characterize him as a poor role model
for children. Robert Bianco of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
wrote that "[Bart] outwits his parents and outtalks his teachers; in short, he's the child we wish we'd been, and fear our children will become." In schools, educators claimed that Bart was a "threat to learning" because of his "underachiever and proud of it" attitude and negative attitude regarding his education. Others described him as "egotistical, aggressive and mean-spirited". In response to the criticism, James L. Brooks
said, "I'm very wary of television where everybody is supposed to be a role model, you don't run across that many role models in real life. Why should television be full of them?" Elizabeth Thoman, executive director of the Center for Media and Values in Los Angeles, commented, "If kids look up to Bart Simpson, we need to ask why we use television for all the role models in our society, a much larger issue. As long as we perpetuate the idea of television as a place where you get all your role models, we're allowing television to become a school system."
In 1990 William Bennett
, who at the time was drug czar
of the United States, visited a drug treatment centre in Pittsburgh and upon noticing a poster of Bart remarked, "You guys aren’t watching The Simpsons, are you? That’s not going to help you any." When a backlash over the comment ensued, Bennett apologized, claiming he "was just kidding" and saying "I'll sit down with the little spike head. We'll straighten this thing out." In a 1991 interview, Bill Cosby
described Bart as a bad role model for children, calling him "angry, confused, frustrated". In response, Matt Groening
said, "That sums up Bart, all right. Most people are in a struggle to be normal he thinks normal is very boring, and does things that others just wished they dare do." On January 27, 1992, then-President George H. W. Bush
said, "We are going to keep on trying to strengthen the American family, to make American families a lot more like the Waltons
and a lot less like the Simpsons." The writers rushed out a tongue-in-cheek reply in the form of a short segment which aired three days later before a rerun of "Stark Raving Dad
" in which Bart replied, "Hey, we're just like the Waltons. We're praying for an end to the Depression, too."
Although there were many critics of the character, favorable comments came from several quarters. Peggy Charren
, president of Action for Children's Television
, a grassroots organization dedicated to improving the quality of television programming offered to children, commented that "the Simpson family is one of the few thoughtful cartoons on commercial television. How can you teach the Constitution if you ban Tshirts?" Columnist Erma Bombeck
wrote, "Kids need to know that somewhere in this world is a contemporary who can pull off all the things they can only fantasize about, someone who can stick it to their parents once in a while and still be permitted to live." In 2003, Bart placed first in a poll of parents in the United Kingdom who were asked "which made-up character had the most influence" on children under 12 years old.
In 1998, Time
named Bart one of the 100 most important people of the 20th century. He was the only fictional character to make the list. He had previously appeared on the cover of the December 31, 1990 edition. He was also ranked #48 in TV Guide
s "50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time" in 1996 and both he and Lisa ranked #11 in TV Guide
's "Top 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time" in 2002.
At the 44th Primetime Emmy Awards
in 1992, Cartwright won a Primetime Emmy Award
for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance
for voicing Bart in the season three
episode "Separate Vocations
". She shared the award with five other voice-actors from The Simpsons. Various episodes in which Bart is strongly featured have been nominated for Emmy Awards for Outstanding Animated Program
, including "Radio Bart
" in 1992, "Future-Drama
" in 2005, "The Haw-Hawed Couple
" in 2006 and "Homer's Phobia
", which won the award in 1997. In 1995, Cartwright won an Annie Award
for "Voice Acting in the Field of Animation" for her portrayal of Bart in an episode. In 2000, Bart and the rest of the Simpson family were awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
located at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard.
s, baseball cap
s, bumper sticker
s, cardboard standups, refrigerator magnet
s, key rings, button
s, dolls, poster
s, figurines, clock
s, soapstone
carvings, Chia Pet
s, bowling ball
s and boxer shorts
. The Bart Book, a book about Bart's personality and attributes, was released in 2004. Other books include Bart Simpson's Guide to Life
. The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer
, which is not an official publication, includes a chapter analyzing Bart's character and comparing him to the "Nietzschean
ideal".
Bart has appeared in other media relating to The Simpsons. He has appeared in every one of The Simpsons video games
, including Bart vs. the World
, Bart Simpson's Escape from Camp Deadly
, Bart vs. the Space Mutants
, Bart's House of Weirdness
, Bart vs. The Juggernauts
, Bartman Meets Radioactive Man
, Bart's Nightmare
, Bart & the Beanstalk and The Simpsons Game
, released in 2007. Alongside the television series, Bart regularly appears in issues of Simpsons Comics, which were first published on November 29, 1993 and are still issued monthly, and also has his own series called Bart Simpson Comics which have been released since 2000. Bart also plays a role in The Simpsons Ride
, launched in 2008 at Universal Studios Florida
and Hollywood
.
Bart, and other The Simpsons characters, have appeared in numerous television commercials for Nestlé
's Butterfinger
candy bars from 1990 to 2001, with the slogan "Nobody better lay a finger on my Butterfinger!" Lisa would occasionally advertise it too. Matt Groening would later say that the Butterfinger advertising campaign was a large part of the reason why Fox decided to pick up the half-hour show. The campaign was discontinued in 2001, much to the disappointment of Cartwright. Bart has also appeared in commercials for Burger King
, C.C. Lemon
, Church's Chicken
, Domino's Pizza
, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Ramada Inn, Ritz Crackers
and Subway
. In 2001, Kellogg's launched a brand of cereal called "Bart Simpson Peanut Butter Chocolate Crunch", which was available for a limited time. Before the half-hour series went on the air, Matt Groening pitched Bart as a spokesperson for Jell-O
. He wanted Bart to sing "J-E-L-L-O", then burp the letter O. His belief was that kids would try to do it the next day, but he was rejected.
On April 9, 2009, the United States Postal Service
unveiled a series of five 44 cent stamps featuring Bart and the four other members of the Simpson family. They are the first characters from a television series to receive this recognition while the show is still in production. The stamps, designed by Matt Groening, were made available for purchase on May 7, 2009.
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
and part of the Simpson family
Simpson family
The Simpson family is a family of fictional characters featured in the animated television series The Simpsons. The Simpsons are a nuclear family consisting of the married couple Homer and Marge and their three children Bart, Lisa and Maggie. They live at 742 Evergreen Terrace in the fictional town...
. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright
Nancy Cartwright
Nancy Campbell Cartwright is an American film and television actress, comedian and voice artist. She is best known for her long-running role as Bart Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons...
and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show
The Tracey Ullman Show
The Tracey Ullman Show was an American television variety show, hosted by British comedian and onetime pop singer Tracey Ullman. It debuted on April 5, 1987 as the Fox network's second primetime series after Married... with Children, and ran until May 26, 1990. The show blended sketch comedy shorts...
short "Good Night
Good Night (The Simpsons short)
"Good Night" is the first Simpsons short that appeared on The Tracey Ullman Show. It originally aired April 19, 1987, during the third episode of The Tracey Ullman Show and was the first appearance of the Simpson family on television. After three seasons on Tracey Ullman, the shorts would be...
" on April 19, 1987. Bart was created and designed by cartoonist Matt Groening
Matt Groening
Matthew Abram "Matt" Groening is an American cartoonist, screenwriter, and producer. He is the creator of the comic strip Life in Hell as well as two successful television series, The Simpsons and Futurama....
while he was waiting in the lobby of James L. Brooks
James L. Brooks
James Lawrence Brooks is an American director, producer and screenwriter. Growing up in North Bergen, New Jersey, Brooks endured a fractured family life and passed the time by reading and writing. After dropping out of New York University, he got a job as an usher at CBS, going on to write for the...
' office. Groening had been called to pitch a series of shorts based on Life in Hell
Life in Hell
Life in Hell is a weekly comic strip by Matt Groening. The strip features anthropomorphic rabbits and a pair of gay lovers. Groening uses these characters to explore a wide range of topics about love, sex, work, and death...
but instead decided to create a new set of characters. While the rest of the characters were named after Groening's family members, Bart's name was an anagram of the word brat. After appearing on The Tracey Ullman Show for three years, the Simpson family received their own series on Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
, which debuted December 17, 1989.
At ten years old, Bart is the eldest child and only son of Homer
Homer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
and Marge
Marge Simpson
Marjorie "Marge" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the eponymous family. She is voiced by actress Julie Kavner and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
, and the brother of Lisa
Lisa Simpson
Lisa Marie Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She is the middle child of the Simpson family. Voiced by Yeardley Smith, Lisa first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Cartoonist Matt Groening...
and Maggie
Maggie Simpson
Margaret "Maggie" Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She first appeared on television in the Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Maggie was created and designed by cartoonist Matt Groening while he was waiting in the lobby of James...
. Bart's most prominent character traits are his mischievousness, rebelliousness and disrespect for authority. He has appeared in other media relating to The Simpsons, including video games
The Simpsons video games
The Simpsons video games are a line of official video games that use the characters from the animated television show The Simpsons. The popularity of The Simpsons motivated the video game industry to turn to the characters and world of Springfield...
, The Simpsons Movie
The Simpsons Movie
The Simpsons Movie is a 2007 American animated comedy film based on the animated television series The Simpsons. The film was directed by David Silverman, and stars the regular television cast of Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer, Tress...
, The Simpsons Ride
The Simpsons Ride
The Simpsons Ride is a simulator ride featured at the Universal Studios Florida and Universal Studios Hollywood theme parks. The ride is based on the animated television series The Simpsons. It was first announced in 2007 and replaced the Back to the Future: The Ride at both locations...
, commercials, and comic books; he has also inspired an entire line of merchandise. In casting, Nancy Cartwright originally planned to audition for the role of Lisa, while Yeardley Smith
Yeardley Smith
Yeardley Smith is a French-born American actress, voice actress, writer and painter. She is best known for her long-running role as Lisa Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons....
tried out for Bart. Smith's voice was too high for a boy, so she was given the role of Lisa. Cartwright found that Lisa was not interesting at the time, so instead auditioned for Bart, which she thought was a better role. Hallmarks of the character include his chalkboard gags in the opening sequence; his prank calls to Moe
Moe Szyslak
Momar / Morris "Moe" Szyslak is a fictional character in the American animated television series, The Simpsons. He is voiced by Hank Azaria and first appeared in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire"...
the bartender; and his catchphrases "Eat my shorts", "¡Ay, caramba!
¡Ay, caramba!
¡Ay, caramba! comes from the Spanish interjection ¡ay! and caramba ,; which is an exclamation used in the Spanish of Spain to denote surprise...
", and "Don't have a cow, man!"
During the first two seasons of The Simpsons (1989–1991), Bart was the show's breakout character and "Bartmania" ensued. Bart Simpson T-shirts sporting various slogans and catchphrases became popular, selling at a rate of a million per day at their peak. The song "Do the Bartman
Do the Bartman
"Do the Bartman" is a pop rap song from the 1990 Simpsons album The Simpsons Sing the Blues. It was performed by The Simpsons cast member Nancy Cartwright and was released as a promotional single from the album on November 20, 1990. The song was written and produced by American recording artist...
" became a number one charting single and the seventh best-selling song of 1991 in the United Kingdom. Bart's rebellious attitude and pride at underachieving caused many parents and educators to cast him as a bad role model for children. A T-shirt reading "I'm Bart Simpson. Who the hell are you?" was banned in several public schools. Around the third season
The Simpsons (season 3)
The Simpsons third season originally aired on the Fox network between September 19, 1991 and May 7, 1992. The show runners for the third production season were Al Jean and Mike Reiss who executive produced 22 episodes the season, while two other episodes were produced by James L. Brooks, Matt...
, the series started to focus more on the family as a group, although Bart remains one of the most prominent characters on the series. Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
named Bart one of the 100 most important people of the 20th century
Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century
Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century is a compilation of the 20th century's 100 most influential people, published in Time magazine in 1999....
, and he was named "entertainer of the year" in 1990 by Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
. Nancy Cartwright has won several awards for voicing Bart, including a Primetime Emmy Award
Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming...
in 1992 and an Annie Award
Annie Award
The Annie Awards have been presented by the Los Angeles, California branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood since 1972...
in 1995. In 2000, Bart, along with the rest of his family, was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
.
Role in The Simpsons
The Simpsons uses a floating timelineFloating timeline
A Floating timeline is a device used in fiction, particularly in comics and animation, to explain why characters age little or not at all over a period of time - despite real-world markers like notable events, people and technology appearing in the works and correlating with the real world.A...
in which the characters do not age, and as such the show is always assumed to be set in the current year. In several episodes, events have been linked to specific times, though sometimes this timeline has been contradicted in subsequent episodes. Bart's year of birth was stated in "I Married Marge
I Married Marge
"I Married Marge" is the twelfth episode of The Simpsons third season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 26, 1991. In the episode, Marge worries that she may yet again be pregnant and drives to Dr. Hibbert's office...
" (season three
The Simpsons (season 3)
The Simpsons third season originally aired on the Fox network between September 19, 1991 and May 7, 1992. The show runners for the third production season were Al Jean and Mike Reiss who executive produced 22 episodes the season, while two other episodes were produced by James L. Brooks, Matt...
, 1991) as being in the early 1980s. He lived with his parents in the Lower East of Springfield until the Simpsons bought their first house
742 Evergreen Terrace
742 Evergreen Terrace is the fictional street address in Springfield of the Simpson family home in the animated television series, The Simpsons and in the feature film The Simpsons Movie. In the series the house is currently owned by Homer Simpson...
. When Lisa was born, Bart was at first jealous of the attention she received, but he soon warmed to her when he discovered that "Bart" was her first word. Bart's first day of school was in the early 1990s. His initial enthusiasm was crushed by an uncaring teacher and Marge became worried that something was truly wrong with Bart. One day during recess, Bart met Milhouse
Milhouse Van Houten
Milhouse Mussolini Van Houten is a fictional character featured in the animated television series The Simpsons, voiced by Pamela Hayden. He is Bart Simpson's best friend in Mrs. Krabappel's fourth grade class at Springfield Elementary School....
and started entertaining him and other students with various gestures and rude words. Principal Skinner
Seymour Skinner
Principal W. Seymour Skinner is a fictional character in the American animated sitcom The Simpsons. He is voiced by Harry Shearer. Born in Capitol City, he is the principal of Springfield Elementary School...
told him "you've just started school, and the path you choose now may be the one you follow for the rest of your life! Now, what do you say?" In his moment of truth, Bart responded, "eat my shorts". The episode "That '90s Show" (season nineteen
The Simpsons (season 19)
The Simpsons nineteenth season originally aired on the Fox network between September 23, 2007 and May 18, 2008.-Production:The nineteenth season of The Simpsons is the first one produced after the movie and contained seven hold-over episodes from season 18's JABF production line...
, 2008) contradicted much of the backstory's time frame; for example, it was revealed that Homer and Marge were childless in the early 1990s.
Bart's hobbies include skateboard
Skateboard
A skateboard is typically a specially designed plywood board combined with a polyurethane coating used for making smoother slides and stronger durability, used primarily for the activity of skateboarding. The first skateboards to reach public notice came out of the surfing craze of the early 1960s,...
ing, watching television (especially The Krusty the Clown Show which includes The Itchy & Scratchy Show
The Itchy & Scratchy Show
The Itchy & Scratchy Show is a show within a show in the animated television series The Simpsons. It usually appears as a part of The Krusty the Clown Show, watched regularly by Bart and Lisa Simpson...
), reading comic books (especially Radioactive Man), playing video games and generally causing mischief. His favorite movies are Jaws
Jaws (film)
Jaws is a 1975 American horror-thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Peter Benchley's novel of the same name. In the story, the police chief of Amity Island, a fictional summer resort town, tries to protect beachgoers from a giant man-eating great white shark by closing the beach,...
and the Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
Trilogy. For the duration of the series, Bart has attended Springfield Elementary School and has been in Edna Krabappel
Edna Krabappel
Edna Krabappel is a fictional character from the animated TV series The Simpsons, voiced by Marcia Wallace. She is a 4th grade teacher at Springfield Elementary School. Krabappel is the only character Wallace voices on a regular basis.- Profile :...
's fourth grade class. While he is too young to hold a full-time job, he has had occasional part time jobs. He works as a bartender
Bartender
A bartender is a person who serves beverages behind a counter in a bar, pub, tavern, or similar establishment. A bartender, in short, "tends the bar". The term barkeeper may carry a connotation of being the bar's owner...
at Fat Tony
Fat Tony
Marion Anthony "Fat Tony" D'Amico is a recurring character in the animated sitcom The Simpsons. He is voiced by Joe Mantegna and first appeared in the third season episode "Bart the Murderer"...
's social club in "Bart the Murderer
Bart the Murderer
"Bart the Murderer" is the fourth episode of The Simpsons third season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 10, 1991. In the episode, Bart stumbles upon the Mafia bar, Legitimate Businessman's Social Club, after having a terrible day at school. The owner of the...
" (season three
The Simpsons (season 3)
The Simpsons third season originally aired on the Fox network between September 19, 1991 and May 7, 1992. The show runners for the third production season were Al Jean and Mike Reiss who executive produced 22 episodes the season, while two other episodes were produced by James L. Brooks, Matt...
, 1991); as Krusty the Clown's assistant in "Bart Gets Famous
Bart Gets Famous
"Bart Gets Famous" is the twelfth episode of The Simpsons fifth season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 3, 1994. In the episode, Bart gets a job as Krusty the Clown's production assistant. However, he soon becomes sick of the job and comes close to quitting....
" (season five
The Simpsons (season 5)
The Simpsons fifth season originally aired on the Fox network between September 30, 1993 and May 19, 1994. The show runner for the fifth production season was David Mirkin who executive produced 20 episodes. Al Jean and Mike Reiss executive produced the remaining two, which were both hold overs...
, 1994); as a doorman in Springfield's burlesque house, the Maison Derrière in "Bart After Dark
Bart After Dark
"Bart After Dark" is the fifth episode of The Simpsons eighth season, first aired by the Fox network on November 24, 1996. After accidentally breaking a stone gargoyle at a local house, Bart is forced to work there as punishment. He assumes it will be boring work, but is pleasantly surprised when...
" (season eight
The Simpsons (season 8)
The Simpsons eighth season originally aired between October 27, 1996 and May 18, 1997, beginning with "Treehouse of Horror VII". The show runners for the eighth production season were Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein. The aired season contained two episodes which were hold-over episodes from season...
, 1996); and briefly owns his own factory in "Homer's Enemy
Homer's Enemy
"Homer's Enemy" is the twenty-third episode of the eighth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It was first broadcast on the Fox network in the United States on May 4, 1997. The episode's plot centers on the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant's hiring a new employee named...
". (season eight
The Simpsons (season 8)
The Simpsons eighth season originally aired between October 27, 1996 and May 18, 1997, beginning with "Treehouse of Horror VII". The show runners for the eighth production season were Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein. The aired season contained two episodes which were hold-over episodes from season...
, 1997)
Creation
Matt GroeningMatt Groening
Matthew Abram "Matt" Groening is an American cartoonist, screenwriter, and producer. He is the creator of the comic strip Life in Hell as well as two successful television series, The Simpsons and Futurama....
first conceived of Bart and the rest of the Simpson family in 1986, while waiting in the lobby of producer James L. Brooks
James L. Brooks
James Lawrence Brooks is an American director, producer and screenwriter. Growing up in North Bergen, New Jersey, Brooks endured a fractured family life and passed the time by reading and writing. After dropping out of New York University, he got a job as an usher at CBS, going on to write for the...
' office. Groening had been called in to pitch a series of animated shorts for The Tracey Ullman Show, and had intended to present an adaptation of his Life in Hell comic strip. When he realized that animating Life in Hell would require him to rescind publication rights, Groening decided to go in another direction. He hurriedly sketched out his version of a dysfunctional family
Dysfunctional family
A dysfunctional family is a family in which conflict, misbehavior, and often abuse on the part of individual members occur continually and regularly, leading other members to accommodate such actions. Children sometimes grow up in such families with the understanding that such an arrangement is...
, naming the characters after members of his own family. For the rebellious son, he substituted "Bart", an anagram of the word brat, for his own name, as he decided it would have been too obvious for him to have named the character 'Matt'. Bart's middle initial J is a "tribute" to animated characters such as Bullwinkle J. Moose
Bullwinkle J. Moose
Bullwinkle J. Moose is a fictional character in the 1959–1964 animated television series Rocky and His Friends and The Bullwinkle Show, often collectively referred to as Rocky and Bullwinkle, produced by Jay Ward and Bill Scott...
and Rocket J. Squirrel
Rocky the Flying Squirrel
Rocket J. Squirrel, usually called by the nickname "Rocky", is the name of the flying squirrel protagonist of the 1959-1964 animated television series Rocky and His Friends and The Bullwinkle Show , produced by Jay Ward. Rocky's sidekick is the cartoon moose, Bullwinkle...
from The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show
The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show
The Rocky & Bullwinkle Show is an American animated television series that originally aired from November 19, 1959 to June 28, 1964 on the ABC and NBC television networks...
, who received their middle initial from Jay Ward
Jay Ward
J Troplong "Jay" Ward was an American creator and producer of animated television cartoons. He produced animated series based on such characters as Crusader Rabbit, Rocky & Bullwinkle, Dudley Do-Right, Peabody and Sherman, Hoppity Hooper, George of the Jungle, Tom Slick, and Super Chicken...
. According to the book Bart Simpson's Guide to Life
Bart Simpson's Guide to Life
Bart Simpson's Guide to Life is a humorous book published in the United States in 1993 by HarperCollins. It includes advice from the Simpsons character Bart Simpson on how to deal with life. The book was written by several authors, and was helped into print by Matt Groening. It has received...
, Bart's full middle name is "JoJo".
Bart had originally been envisioned as "a much milder, troubled youth given to existential angst who talks to himself", but the character was changed based on Cartwright's voice acting. Groening has credited several different figures with providing inspiration for Bart: Matt Groening's older brother Mark provided much of the motivation for Bart's attitude. Bart was conceived as an extreme version of the typical misbehaving child character, merging all of the extreme traits of characters such as Tom Sawyer
Tom Sawyer
Thomas "Tom" Sawyer is the title character of the Mark Twain novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer . He appears in three other novels by Twain: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn , Tom Sawyer Abroad , and Tom Sawyer, Detective .Sawyer also appears in at least three unfinished Twain works, Huck and Tom...
and Huckleberry Finn
Huckleberry Finn (character)
Huckleberry "Huck" Finn is a fictional character created by Mark Twain, who first appeared in the book The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and is the protagonist and narrator of its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. He is 12 or 13 years old during the former and a year older at the time of the latter...
into one person. Groening describes Bart as "what would happen if Eddie Haskell
Eddie Haskell
Edward Clark "Eddie" Haskell is a fictional character on the Leave It to Beaver television situation comedy, which ran on CBS from October 4, 1957 to 1958 and then on ABC from 1958 to June 20, 1963...
[from Leave it to Beaver
Leave It to Beaver
Leave It to Beaver is an American television situation comedy about an inquisitive but often naïve boy named Theodore "The Beaver" Cleaver and his adventures at home, in school, and around his suburban neighborhood...
] got his own show". Groening has also said that he found the premise of Dennis the Menace disappointing and was inspired to create a character who was actually a menace.
Bart made his debut with the rest of the Simpson family on April 19, 1987 in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night
Good Night (The Simpsons short)
"Good Night" is the first Simpsons short that appeared on The Tracey Ullman Show. It originally aired April 19, 1987, during the third episode of The Tracey Ullman Show and was the first appearance of the Simpson family on television. After three seasons on Tracey Ullman, the shorts would be...
". In 1989, the shorts were adapted into The Simpsons, a half-hour series airing on the Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
. Bart and the Simpson family remained the main characters on this new show.
Design
Silhouette
A silhouette is the image of a person, an object or scene consisting of the outline and a basically featureless interior, with the silhouetted object usually being black. Although the art form has been popular since the mid-18th century, the term “silhouette” was seldom used until the early decades...
. The family was crudely drawn, because Groening had submitted basic sketches to the animators, assuming they would clean them up; instead, they just traced over his drawings. Bart's original design, which appeared in the first shorts, had spikier hair, and the spikes were of different lengths. The number was later limited to nine spikes, all of the same size. At the time Groening was primarily drawing in black and "not thinking that [Bart] would eventually be drawn in color" gave him spikes which appear to be an extension of his head. The features of Bart's character design are generally not used in other characters; for example, no other characters in current episodes have Bart's spiky hairline, although several background characters in the first few seasons shared the trait.
The basic rectangular shape of Bart's head is described by director Mark Kirkland
Mark Kirkland
Mark Kirkland is an American director. He has directed 69 episodes, from 1990-present, of The Simpsons, more than any other person.-Career:...
as a coffee can. Homer's head is also rectangular (with a dome on top), while spheres are used for Marge, Lisa, and Maggie. Different animators have different methods of drawing Bart. Former director Jeffrey Lynch
Jeffrey Lynch
Jeffrey Lynch is an American animator and graphic artist. He has worked as an animation director on The Simpsons and Futurama, and as an assistant director on Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, Spider-Man 3 and The Iron Giant....
starts off with a box, then adds the eyes, then the mouth, then the hair spikes, ear, and then the rest of the body. Matt Groening normally starts with the eyes, then the nose, and the rest of the outline of Bart's head. Many of the animators have trouble drawing Bart's spikes evenly; one trick they use is to draw one on the right, one on the left, one in the middle, then continue to add one in the middle of the blank space until there are nine. Originally, whenever Bart was to be drawn from an angle looking down so the top of his head was seen, Groening wanted there to be spikes along the outline of his head, and in the middle as well. Instead, Wes Archer
Wes Archer
Wesley Meyer Archer is a television animation director. He was one of the original three animators on The Simpsons' Tracey Ullman shorts and subsequently directed a number of The Simpsons episodes before becoming supervising director at King of the Hill. A...
and David Silverman
David Silverman
David Silverman is an animator best known for directing numerous episodes of the animated TV series The Simpsons, as well as The Simpsons Movie...
drew him so that there was an outline of the spikes, then just a smooth patch in the middle because "it worked graphically." In "The Blue and the Gray
The Blue and the Gray (The Simpsons)
"The Blue and the Gray" is the thirteenth episode of the twenty-second season of the animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 13, 2011.-Plot:...
", Bart (along with Lisa and Maggie) finally questions why his hair has no visible border to separate head from hair.
In the season seven
The Simpsons (season 7)
The Simpsons seventh season originally aired on the Fox network between September 17, 1995 and May 19, 1996. The show runners for the seventh production season were Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein who would executive produce 21 episodes this season. David Mirkin executive produced the remaining...
(1995) episode "Treehouse of Horror VI
Treehouse of Horror VI
"Treehouse of Horror VI" is the sixth episode of The Simpsons seventh season and the sixth episode in the Treehouse of Horror series. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 29, 1995, and contains three self-contained segments...
", Bart (along with Homer) was computer animated into a three dimensional
3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
character for the first time for the "Homer3" segment of the episode. The computer animation directors was provided by Pacific Data Images
Pacific Data Images
Pacific Data Images is a computer animation production company that was bought by DreamWorks SKG. The company is now known as PDI/DreamWorks and is half of DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc., the public company formed by merging PDI and the feature animation division of DreamWorks.-History:PDI was...
. While designing the 3D model of the character, the animators did not know how they would show Bart's hair. They realized that there were vinyl Bart dolls in production and purchased one to use as a model.
Voice
Nancy Cartwright
Nancy Campbell Cartwright is an American film and television actress, comedian and voice artist. She is best known for her long-running role as Bart Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons...
, who voices several other child characters on The Simpsons, including Nelson Muntz
Nelson Muntz
Nelson Mandela Muntz is a fictional character and bully from the animated TV series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Nancy Cartwright. Nelson was introduced in Season 1's "Bart the General" as a bully but later turned into a friend of Bart Simpson, who is best identified by his signature laugh .-Role...
, Ralph Wiggum
Ralph Wiggum
Ralph Wiggum is a recurring fictional character on the animated series The Simpsons, voiced by Nancy Cartwright. The son of Police Chief Wiggum and a classmate of Lisa Simpson, Ralph is best known as the show's resident oddball, and is noted for his non sequiturs and erratic behavior...
, Todd Flanders, and Kearney. While the roles of Homer and Marge were given to Dan Castellaneta
Dan Castellaneta
Daniel Louis "Dan" Castellaneta is an American actor, voice actor, comedian, singer and screenwriter. Noted for his long-running role as Homer Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons, he voices many other characters on The Simpsons, including Abraham "Grampa" Simpson, Barney Gumble,...
and Julie Kavner
Julie Kavner
Julie Deborah Kavner is an American film and television actress, comedian and voice artist. Noted for her role as Marge Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons, she also voices other characters for the show, including Jacqueline Bouvier, and Patty and Selma Bouvier.Born in Los...
because they were already a part of The Tracey Ullman Show cast, the producers decided to hold casting for the roles of Bart and Lisa. Yeardley Smith
Yeardley Smith
Yeardley Smith is a French-born American actress, voice actress, writer and painter. She is best known for her long-running role as Lisa Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons....
had initially been asked to audition for the role of Bart, but casting director Bonita Pietila believed her voice was too high. Smith later recalled, "I always sounded too much like a girl. I read two lines as Bart and they said, 'Thanks for coming!'" Smith was given the role of Lisa instead. On March 13, 1987, Nancy Cartwright went in to audition for the role of Lisa. After arriving at the audition, she found that Lisa was simply described as the "middle child" and at the time did not have much personality. Cartwright became more interested in the role of Bart, who was described as "devious, underachieving, school-hating, irreverent, [and] clever". Matt Groening let her try out for the part instead, and upon hearing her read, gave her the job on the spot. Cartwright is the only one of the six main Simpsons cast members who had been professionally trained in voice acting prior to working on the show.
Cartwright's normal speaking voice is said to have "no obvious traces of Bart". The voice came naturally to Cartwright; prior to The Tracey Ullman Show, she had used elements of it in shows such as My Little Pony
My Little Pony (TV series)
My Little Pony is an American animated television series based on the My Little Pony toys released by Hasbro. The series featured as the first segment of a program called My Little Pony 'n Friends. The second segment would be an unrelated cartoon based on another Hasbro franchise - either Glo...
, Snorks, and Pound Puppies
Pound Puppies
Pound Puppies is a toyline sold by Tonka in the 1980s. It later inspired an animated TV special, an animated TV series, and a feature film. Shipments of the toys over five years generated sales of $300 million in 35 countries....
. Cartwright describes Bart's voice as easy to perform, saying, "Some characters take a little bit more effort, upper respiratory control, whatever it is technically. But Bart is easy to do. I can just slip into that without difficulty." She traditionally does five or six readings of every line in order to give the producers more to work with. In flashforward
Flashforward
A flashforward is an interjected scene that takes the narrative forward in time from the current point of the story in literature, film, television and other media. Flashforwards are often used to represent events expected, projected, or imagined to occur in the future...
episodes, Cartwright still provides the voice of Bart. For "Lisa's Wedding
Lisa's Wedding
"Lisa's Wedding" is the 19th episode of The Simpsons sixth season, which originally aired March 19, 1995. The plot focuses around Lisa visiting a carnival fortune teller and learning about her future love. It was written by Greg Daniels and directed by Jim Reardon. Mandy Patinkin guest stars as...
", (season six
The Simpsons (season 6)
The Simpsons sixth season originally aired on the Fox network between September 4, 1994 and May 21, 1995 and consists of 25 episodes. The Simpsons is an animated series about a working class family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie...
, 1995) Bart's voice was electronically lowered.
Despite Bart's fame, Cartwright is rarely recognized in public. On occasions when she is recognized on the street and asked to perform Bart's voice in front of children, Cartwright will refuse because it "freaks [them] out". During the first season of The Simpsons, the Fox Network did not allow Cartwright to give interviews because they did not want to publicize that Bart was voiced by a woman.
Until 1998, Cartwright was paid $30,000 per episode. During a pay dispute in 1998, Fox threatened to replace the six main voice actors with new actors, going as far as preparing for casting of new voices. The dispute was resolved and Cartwright received $125,000 per episode until 2004, when the voice actors demanded that they be paid $360,000 an episode. The dispute was resolved a month later, and Cartwright's pay rose to $250,000 per episode. After salary re-negotiations in 2008, the voice actors receive approximately $400,000 per episode.
Hallmarks
In the opening sequenceThe Simpsons opening sequence
The Simpsons opening sequence is an element that begins almost every episode of the American animated television series The Simpsons. Starting with the season 20 episode "Take My Life, Please", the opening sequence was redone to go with the high-definition format of the show, and replaced the...
of many Simpsons episodes, the camera zooms in on Springfield Elementary School, where Bart can be seen writing a message on the chalkboard. This message, which changes from episode to episode, has become known as the "chalkboard gag". Chalkboard messages may involve political humor such as "The First Amendment does not cover burping", pop culture
Popular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
references such as "I can't see dead people
The Sixth Sense
The Sixth Sense is a 1999 American psychological thriller film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. The film tells the story of Cole Sear , a troubled, isolated boy who is able to see and talk to the dead, and an equally troubled child psychologist who tries to help him...
", and meta-reference
Meta-reference
Metareference, a metafiction technique, is a situation in a work of fiction whereby characters display an awareness that they are in such a work, such as a film, television show or book. Sometimes it may even just be a form of editing or film-making technique that comments on the...
s such as "I am not a 32 year old woman" and "Nobody reads these anymore". The animators are able to produce the chalkboard gags quickly and in some cases have changed them to fit current events. For example, the chalkboard gag for "Homer the Heretic
Homer the Heretic
"Homer the Heretic" is the third episode of The Simpsons fourth season, which originally aired on FOX in the United States on October 8, 1992. In the episode, Homer decides to forgo going to church and has an excellent time staying home. His behavior quickly attracts the wrath of God, who visits...
" (season four
The Simpsons (season 4)
The Simpsons fourth season originally aired on the Fox network between September 24, 1992 and May 13, 1993, beginning with "Kamp Krusty." The show runners for the fourth production season were Al Jean and Mike Reiss. The aired season contained two episodes which were hold-over episodes from season...
, 1992) read, "I will not defame New Orleans." The gag had been written as an apology to the city for a controversial song in the previous week's episode
A Streetcar Named Marge
"A Streetcar Named Marge" is the second episode of The Simpsons fourth season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 1, 1992. In the episode, Marge wins the role of Blanche DuBois in a musical version of Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire...
, which called the city a "home of pirates, drunks and whores". Many episodes do not feature a chalkboard gag because a shorter opening title sequence, where the chalkboard gags are cut, is used to make more room for story and plot development.
One of Bart's early hallmark
Hallmark
A hallmark is an official mark or series of marks struck on items made of precious metals — platinum, gold, silver and in some nations, palladium...
s were his prank calls to Moe's Tavern owner Moe Szyslak
Moe Szyslak
Momar / Morris "Moe" Szyslak is a fictional character in the American animated television series, The Simpsons. He is voiced by Hank Azaria and first appeared in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire"...
in which Bart calls Moe and asks for a gag name
Gag name
A gag name is a false name used to elicit humor through its simultaneous resemblance to a real name on the one hand, and to a term or phrase that is funny, strange, or vulgar on the other hand. The source of the humor is the pun and double entendre; frequently, the humor arises when an unknowing...
. Moe tries to find that person in the bar, but rapidly realizes it is a prank call and angrily threatens Bart. These calls were based on a series of prank calls known as the Tube Bar recordings
Tube Bar prank calls
The Tube Bar prank calls are a legendary series of prank calls. Performed in the mid-1970s, John Elmo and Jim Davidson made a number of phone calls to the Tube Bar in Jersey City, asking the proprietor if they could speak to a named customer. The given names were homophones for other, often...
. Moe was based partly on Tube Bar owner Louis "Red" Deutsch, whose often profane responses inspired Moe's violent side. The prank calls debuted in "Homer's Odyssey", (season one
The Simpsons (season 1)
The Simpsons first season originally aired between December 17, 1989 and May 13, 1990, beginning with the Christmas special "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". The show runners for the first production season were Matt Groening, James L...
, 1990) the third episode to air, but were included in "Some Enchanted Evening
Some Enchanted Evening (The Simpsons)
"Some Enchanted Evening" is the thirteenth, final aired, and first produced episode of The Simpsons first season and originally aired on the Fox network on May 13, 1990. Although it was the first episode produced, it aired as the season finale due to significant animation problems. The episode...
", the first episode of the series that was produced. As the series progressed, it became more difficult for the writers to come up with a fake name and to write Moe's angry response, so the pranks were dropped as a regular joke during the fourth season. They have occasionally resurfaced on the show, the most recent being the season 20 episode "Lost Verizon
Lost Verizon
"Lost Verizon" is the second episode of The Simpsons twentieth season, and first aired October 5, 2008. Bart becomes jealous of his friends and their cell phones. Working at a golf course, Bart takes the cell phone of Denis Leary after the star comedian throws it away in anger...
" (2008), although in that case Bart called various bartenders around the world and not Moe.
Fairmont High School (Ohio)
Kettering Fairmont High School is located in Kettering, Ohio, United States. It is the only public high school in the Kettering City School District and is home to approximately 2,500 students, making it the 9th largest high school in Ohio.-History:...
, and one day while performing, the band chanted "Eat my shorts" rather than the usual "Fairmont West! Fairmont West!" Bart's other catchphrases, "¡Ay, caramba!" and "Don't have a cow, man!", were featured on t-shirts manufactured during the production of the early seasons of The Simpsons. "Cowabunga" is also commonly associated with Bart, although it was mostly used on the show after it had been used as a slogan on the T-shirts. The use of catchphrase-based humor was mocked in the episode "Bart Gets Famous
Bart Gets Famous
"Bart Gets Famous" is the twelfth episode of The Simpsons fifth season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 3, 1994. In the episode, Bart gets a job as Krusty the Clown's production assistant. However, he soon becomes sick of the job and comes close to quitting....
" (season five
The Simpsons (season 5)
The Simpsons fifth season originally aired on the Fox network between September 30, 1993 and May 19, 1994. The show runner for the fifth production season was David Mirkin who executive produced 20 episodes. Al Jean and Mike Reiss executive produced the remaining two, which were both hold overs...
, 1994) in which Bart lands a popular role on Krusty the Clown's show for saying the line "I didn't do it." The writers chose the phrase "I didn't do it" because they wanted a "lousy" phrase "to point out how really crummy things can become really popular".
Bart commonly appears nude in the show, although in every case only his buttocks are visible. In The Simpsons Movie
The Simpsons Movie
The Simpsons Movie is a 2007 American animated comedy film based on the animated television series The Simpsons. The film was directed by David Silverman, and stars the regular television cast of Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer, Tress...
(2007), Bart appears in a sequence where he is skateboarding while fully nude; several different items cover his genitalia
Sex organ
A sex organ, or primary sexual characteristic, as narrowly defined, is any of the anatomical parts of the body which are involved in sexual reproduction and constitute the reproductive system in a complex organism; flowers are the reproductive organs of flowering plants, cones are the reproductive...
, but for a brief moment his penis
Penis
The penis is a biological feature of male animals including both vertebrates and invertebrates...
can be seen. The scene was one of the first worked on for the film, but the producers were very nervous about the segment because they thought it would earn the movie an R rating. The film was rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America
Motion Picture Association of America
The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. , originally the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America , was founded in 1922 and is designed to advance the business interests of its members...
and PG by the British Board of Film Classification
British Board of Film Classification
The British Board of Film Classification , originally British Board of Film Censors, is a non-governmental organisation, funded by the film industry and responsible for the national classification of films within the United Kingdom...
. The scene was later included by Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
in their list of "30 Unforgettable Nude Scenes."
Personality
Bart's character traits of rebelliousness and disrespect for authority have been compared to that of America's founding fathers, and he has been described as an updated version of Tom SawyerTom Sawyer
Thomas "Tom" Sawyer is the title character of the Mark Twain novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer . He appears in three other novels by Twain: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn , Tom Sawyer Abroad , and Tom Sawyer, Detective .Sawyer also appears in at least three unfinished Twain works, Huck and Tom...
and Huckleberry Finn, rolled into one. In his book Planet Simpson
Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation
Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation is a non-fiction book about The Simpsons, written by Chris Turner and originally published on 12 October 2004 by Random House...
, Chris Turner
Chris Turner (author)
Chris Turner is a Canadian author. He is the author of Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation, published in 2004...
describes Bart as a nihilist
Nihilism
Nihilism is the philosophical doctrine suggesting the negation of one or more putatively meaningful aspects of life. Most commonly, nihilism is presented in the form of existential nihilism which argues that life is without objective meaning, purpose, or intrinsic value...
, a philosophical
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
position that argues that existence
Existence
In common usage, existence is the world we are aware of through our senses, and that persists independently without them. In academic philosophy the word has a more specialized meaning, being contrasted with essence, which specifies different forms of existence as well as different identity...
is without objective meaning, purpose, or intrinsic value
Intrinsic value (ethics)
Intrinsic value is an ethical and philosophic property. It is the ethical or philosophic value that an object has "in itself" or "for its own sake", as an intrinsic property...
.
Bart's rebellious attitude has made him a disruptive student at Springfield Elementary School, where Bart is an underachiever and proud of it. He is constantly at odds with his teacher Ms. Krabappel
Edna Krabappel
Edna Krabappel is a fictional character from the animated TV series The Simpsons, voiced by Marcia Wallace. She is a 4th grade teacher at Springfield Elementary School. Krabappel is the only character Wallace voices on a regular basis.- Profile :...
, Principal Skinner
Seymour Skinner
Principal W. Seymour Skinner is a fictional character in the American animated sitcom The Simpsons. He is voiced by Harry Shearer. Born in Capitol City, he is the principal of Springfield Elementary School...
, and occasionally Groundskeeper Willie
Groundskeeper Willie
William McDougal, usually referred to as Groundskeeper Willie, is a recurring character on The Simpsons, voiced by Dan Castellaneta. He is head groundskeeper at Springfield Elementary School. Willie is a Scottish immigrant, almost feral in nature and immensely proud of his homeland...
. Bart does poorly in school and is well aware of it, having once declared, "I am dumb, okay? Dumb as a post! Think I'm happy about it?" On one occasion, Lisa successfully proves that Bart is dumber than a hamster
Hamster
Hamsters are rodents belonging to the subfamily Cricetinae. The subfamily contains about 25 species, classified in six or seven genera....
. In "Separate Vocations
Separate Vocations
"Separate Vocations" is the eighteenth episode of The Simpsons third season. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on February 27, 1992. In the episode, the Springfield Elementary School makes the students take career aptitude tests...
" (season three
The Simpsons (season 3)
The Simpsons third season originally aired on the Fox network between September 19, 1991 and May 7, 1992. The show runners for the third production season were Al Jean and Mike Reiss who executive produced 22 episodes the season, while two other episodes were produced by James L. Brooks, Matt...
, 1992) Bart becomes hall monitor and his grades go up, suggesting that he struggles mainly because he does not pay attention, not because he is stupid. This idea is reinforced in "Brother's Little Helper
Brother's Little Helper
"Brother's Little Helper" is the second episode of The Simpsons 11th season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 3, 1999. In the episode, Bart floods the school gymnasium, which prompts the school's principal Seymour Skinner to diagnose Bart with ADD...
", (season eleven
The Simpsons (season 11)
The Simpsons 11th season originally aired between September 1999 and May 2000, beginning on Sunday, September 26, 1999, with "Beyond Blunderdome". The show runner for the 11th production season was Mike Scully...
, 1999) in which it is revealed that Bart suffers from Attention Deficit Disorder
Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is a developmental disorder. It is primarily characterized by "the co-existence of attentional problems and hyperactivity, with each behavior occurring infrequently alone" and symptoms starting before seven years of age.ADHD is the most commonly studied and...
. His lack of smarts can also be attributed to the hereditary "Simpson Gene", which affects the intelligence
Intelligence
Intelligence has been defined in different ways, including the abilities for abstract thought, understanding, communication, reasoning, learning, planning, emotional intelligence and problem solving....
of most male members of the Simpson family. Although he gets into endless trouble and can be sadistic, shallow and selfish, Bart also exhibits many qualities of high integrity
Integrity
Integrity is a concept of consistency of actions, values, methods, measures, principles, expectations, and outcomes. In ethics, integrity is regarded as the honesty and truthfulness or accuracy of one's actions...
. He has, on a few occasions, helped Principal Skinner and Mrs. Krabappel: In "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song
Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song
"Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song" is the 19th episode of The Simpsons fifth season, and the 100th episode overall. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 28, 1994. In the episode, Superintendent Chalmers fires Principal Seymour Skinner after a disaster at the...
" (season five
The Simpsons (season 5)
The Simpsons fifth season originally aired on the Fox network between September 30, 1993 and May 19, 1994. The show runner for the fifth production season was David Mirkin who executive produced 20 episodes. Al Jean and Mike Reiss executive produced the remaining two, which were both hold overs...
, 1994), Bart accidentally got Skinner fired and befriended him outside of the school environment. Bart missed having Skinner as an adversary and got him rehired, knowing that this would mean that the two could no longer be friends.
Due to Bart's mischievousness and Homer's often uncaring and incompetent behavior, the two have a turbulent relationship. Bart will often address Homer by his given name
Given name
A given name, in Western contexts often referred to as a first name, is a personal name that specifies and differentiates between members of a group of individuals, especially in a family, all of whose members usually share the same family name...
instead of "Dad", while Homer in turn often refers to him as "the boy". Homer has a short temper and when enraged by Bart will strangle him on impulse in a cartoonish manner. One of the original ideas for the show was that Homer would be "very angry" and oppressive toward Bart, but these characteristics were toned down somewhat as their characters were explored. Marge is a much more caring, understanding and nurturing parent than Homer, but she also refers to Bart as "a handful" and is often embarrassed by his antics. In "Marge Be Not Proud
Marge Be Not Proud
"Marge Be Not Proud" is the eleventh episode of The Simpsons seventh season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 17, 1995. In the episode, Marge refuses to buy Bart the new video game Bonestorm, so he steals it from a local discount store...
", (season seven
The Simpsons (season 7)
The Simpsons seventh season originally aired on the Fox network between September 17, 1995 and May 19, 1996. The show runners for the seventh production season were Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein who would executive produce 21 episodes this season. David Mirkin executive produced the remaining...
, 1995) she felt she was mothering Bart too much and began acting more distant towards him after he was caught shoplifting. At the beginning of the episode, Bart protested at her over-mothering but as her attitude changed, he felt bad and made it up to her. Despite his attitude, Bart is sometimes willing to experience humiliation if it means pleasing his mom. Marge has expressed an understanding for her "special little guy" and has defended him on many occasions. She once said "I know Bart can be a handful, but I also know what he's like inside. He's got a spark. It's not a bad thing... Of course, it makes him do bad things."
Bart shares a sibling rivalry with his younger sister, Lisa, but has a buddy-like relationship with his youngest sister Maggie, due to her infant state. While Bart has often hurt Lisa, and even fought her physically, the two are often very close. Bart cares for Lisa as deeply and has always apologized for going too far. He also believes Lisa to be his superior when it comes to solving problems and frequently goes to her for advice. Bart is also highly protective of Lisa: When a bully destroys her box of cupcakes in "Bart the General
Bart the General
"Bart the General" is the fifth episode of The Simpsons first season, which premiered on the Fox network on February 4, 1990. The episode deals with Bart's troubles with the bully, Nelson Muntz. Bart chooses to go to war with Nelson uniting the neighborhood children against him...
", (season one
The Simpsons (season 1)
The Simpsons first season originally aired between December 17, 1989 and May 13, 1990, beginning with the Christmas special "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". The show runners for the first production season were Matt Groening, James L...
, 1990), Bart immediately stands up for her.
Bart is best friends with Milhouse Van Houten
Milhouse Van Houten
Milhouse Mussolini Van Houten is a fictional character featured in the animated television series The Simpsons, voiced by Pamela Hayden. He is Bart Simpson's best friend in Mrs. Krabappel's fourth grade class at Springfield Elementary School....
, although Bart has at times shown embarrassment about their friendship. Bart is a bad influence on Milhouse, and the two have been involved in a lot of mischief together. Because of this behavior, Milhouse's mother forbids Milhouse from playing with Bart in "Homer Defined
Homer Defined
"Homer Defined" is the fifth episode of The Simpsons third season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 17, 1991. In the episode, Homer accidentally saves the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant from meltdown by choosing a button to a counting rhyme...
" (season three
The Simpsons (season 3)
The Simpsons third season originally aired on the Fox network between September 19, 1991 and May 7, 1992. The show runners for the third production season were Al Jean and Mike Reiss who executive produced 22 episodes the season, while two other episodes were produced by James L. Brooks, Matt...
, 1991). While at first he pretended that he did not care, Bart eventually realizes that he needs Milhouse, and Marge manages to convince Mrs. Van Houten to reconsider. While Bart is portrayed as a popular cool boy, he and Milhouse are frequent targets for bullies, including Dolph, Jimbo, Kearney, and Nelson Muntz. Milhouse describes their social standing as "Three and a half. We get beat up, but we get an explanation." While Bart and Nelson have been adversaries in the past, with Bart once declaring war on him, they have also been close friends at times.
Bart is one of the biggest fans of children's television host Krusty the Clown. He once declared, "I've based my whole life on Krusty's teachings," and sleeps in a room filled with Krusty merchandise. He has helped the clown on many occasions, for example, foiling Sideshow Bob
Sideshow Bob
Robert Underdunk Terwilliger, better known as Sideshow Bob, is a recurring character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Kelsey Grammer and first appeared briefly in the episode "The Telltale Head". Bob is a self-proclaimed genius who is a graduate of Yale, a member of...
's attempt to frame Krusty for armed robbery in "Krusty Gets Busted
Krusty Gets Busted
"Krusty Gets Busted" is the twelfth episode of The Simpsons first season, and originally aired on April 29, 1990. The episode was written by Jay Kogen and Wallace Wolodarsky, and directed by Brad Bird. In the episode, Krusty the Clown, a famous TV comedian, is convicted of the armed robbery of the...
" (season one
The Simpsons (season 1)
The Simpsons first season originally aired between December 17, 1989 and May 13, 1990, beginning with the Christmas special "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". The show runners for the first production season were Matt Groening, James L...
, 1990), reuniting Krusty with his estranged father in "Like Father, Like Clown
Like Father, Like Clown
"Like Father, Like Clown" is the sixth episode of The Simpsons third season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 24, 1991. In the episode, Krusty the Clown reveals to the Simpson family that he is of Jewish heritage, and that his father, Rabbi Hyman Krustofski,...
". and helping Krusty return to the air with a comeback special and reignite his career in "Krusty Gets Kancelled
Krusty Gets Kancelled
"Krusty Gets Kancelled" is the twenty-second and final episode of The Simpsons fourth season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 13, 1993. In the episode, a new show featuring a puppet named Gabbo premieres in Springfield and competes with Krusty the Clown's show...
". For his part, Krusty has remained largely ignorant of Bart's help and treats Bart with disinterest. One summer, Bart enthusiastically attended Kamp Krusty, which turned out to be a disaster, with Krusty nowhere to be seen. Bart keeps his hopes up by believing that Krusty would show up, but is soon pushed over the edge, and finally decides that he is sick of Krusty's shoddy merchandise and takes over the camp. Krusty immediately visits the camp in hopes of ending the conflict and manages to appease Bart. One of the original ideas for the series was that Bart worshiped a television clown but had no respect for his father, although this was never directly explored. Because of this original plan, Krusty's design is basically Homer in clown make-up. When Bart foiled Sideshow Bob's plans in "Krusty Gets Busted", it sparked a long-standing feud between the two. The writers decided to have Bob repeatedly return to get revenge on Bart. They took the idea of the Coyote chasing the Road Runner
Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner
Wile E. Coyote and The Road Runner are a duo of cartoon characters from a series of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons. The characters were created by animation director Chuck Jones in 1948 for Warner Bros., while the template for their adventures was the work of writer Michael Maltese...
and depicted Bob an intelligent person obsessed with catching a bratty boy. Bob has appeared in eleven episodes, generally plotting various evil schemes, but is always foiled in the end.
Bartmania
While later seasons would focus on Homer, Bart was the lead character in most of the first three seasons. In 1990, Bart quickly became one of the most popular characters on television in what was termed "Bartmania". He became the most prevalent Simpsons character on memorabilia, such as T-shirtT-shirt
A T-shirt is a style of shirt. A T-shirt is buttonless and collarless, with short sleeves and frequently a round neck line....
s. In the early 1990s, millions of T-shirts featuring Bart were sold; as many as one million were sold on some days. Believing Bart to be a bad role model, several American public schools banned T-shirts featuring Bart next to captions such as "I'm Bart Simpson. Who the hell are you?" and "Underachiever ('And proud of it, man!')". The Simpsons merchandise sold well and generated $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
2 billion in revenue during the first 14 months of sales. The success of Bart Simpson merchandise inspired an entire line of black market counterfeit
Counterfeit
To counterfeit means to illegally imitate something. Counterfeit products are often produced with the intent to take advantage of the superior value of the imitated product...
items, especially T-shirts. Some featured Bart announcing various slogans, others depicted redesigns of the character, including "Teenage Mutant Ninja Bart, Air Simpson Bart, [and] RastaBart". Matt Groening generally did not object to bootleg merchandise, but took exception to a series of "Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
Bart" shirts which depicted Bart in Nazi uniform or as a white power skinhead. 20th Century Fox sued the creator of the shirts, who eventually agreed to stop making them.
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
decided to switch The Simpsons
Eastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
on Sunday night to the same time on Thursday, where it would compete with The Cosby Show
The Cosby Show
The Cosby Show is an American television situation comedy starring Bill Cosby, which aired for eight seasons on NBC from September 20, 1984 until April 30, 1992...
on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
, the number one show at the time. Through the summer, several news outlets published stories about the supposed "Bill vs. Bart" rivalry. The August 31, 1990 issue of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
featured a picture of Bill Cosby
Bill Cosby
William Henry "Bill" Cosby, Jr. is an American comedian, actor, author, television producer, educator, musician and activist. A veteran stand-up performer, he got his start at various clubs, then landed a starring role in the 1960s action show, I Spy. He later starred in his own series, the...
wearing a Bart Simpson T-shirt. "Bart Gets an F
Bart Gets an F
"Bart Gets an F" is the first episode of The Simpsons second season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 11, 1990. In the episode, Bart fails four consecutive history exams and the school psychiatrist recommends that Bart repeat the fourth grade...
" (season two
The Simpsons (season 2)
The Simpsons second season originally aired between October 11, 1990 and May 9, 1991, and contained 22 episodes, beginning with "Bart Gets an F". Another episode, "Blood Feud" aired during the summer after the official season finale. The show runners for the second production season were Matt...
, 1990) was the first episode to air against The Cosby Show, and it received a lower Nielsen rating
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
, tying for eighth behind The Cosby Show, which had an 18.5 rating. The rating is based on the number of household televisions that were tuned into the show, but Nielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre films and newspapers...
estimated that 33.6 million viewers watched the episode, making it the number one show in terms of actual viewers that week. At the time, it was the most watched episode in the history of the Fox Network, and it is still the highest rated episode in the history of The Simpsons. Because of his popularity, Bart was often the most promoted member of the Simpson family in advertisements for the show, even for episodes in which he was not involved in the main plot.
Bart was described as "television's king of 1990", "television's brightest new star" and an "undiminished smash". Entertainment Weekly named Bart the "entertainer of the year" for 1990, writing that "Bart has proved to be a rebel who's also a good kid, a terror who's easily terrorized, and a flake who astonishes us, and himself, with serious displays of fortitude." In the United States congressional, senatorial
United States Senate elections, 1990
Elections to one-third of the seats in the United States Senate were held on Tuesday, November 6, 1990. The Democratic Party increased its majority with a net gain of one seat from the Republicans. This was in keeping with the trend that the party of the President often loses seats in a midterm...
and gubernatorial
United States gubernatorial elections, 1990
The 1990 United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 6, 1990 in 36 states. Most elected in these elections would serve for a four-year term, while those in New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont would serve for a two-year term....
elections of 1990, Bart was one of the most popular write-in candidates, and in many areas was second only to Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse is a cartoon character created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks at The Walt Disney Studio. Mickey is an anthropomorphic black mouse and typically wears red shorts, large yellow shoes, and white gloves...
amongst fictional characters. In the 1990 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, often shortened to Macy's Day Parade, is an annual parade presented by Macy's. The tradition started in 1924, tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States along with America's Thanksgiving Parade in Detroit, and four years younger than...
, Bart made his debut as one of the giant helium-filled balloons for which the parade is known. The Bart Simpson balloon has appeared at every parade since. This was referenced in The Simpsons in the episode "Bart vs. Thanksgiving
Bart vs. Thanksgiving
"Bart vs. Thanksgiving" is the seventh episode of The Simpsons second season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 22, 1990. In the episode, Lisa makes a table centerpiece for the Thanksgiving dinner, which Bart destroys. After he is sent to his room by his...
", which aired the same day as the parade, where Homer tells Bart, "If you start building a balloon for every flash-in-the-pan cartoon character, you turn the parade into a farce!" Meanwhile, behind and unbeknownst to him, the television briefly shows a Bart Simpson balloon.
The album The Simpsons Sing the Blues
The Simpsons Sing the Blues
The Simpsons Sing the Blues is the first album released as an offshoot of The Simpsons. The album contains originally recorded music not featured in the series save for the first verse of the track "Moaning Lisa Blues" which was first featured in the episode "Moaning Lisa", aired February 11, 1990...
was released in September 1990 and was a success, peaking at #3 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
and becoming certified 2x platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
. The first single from the album was the pop rap song "Do the Bartman
Do the Bartman
"Do the Bartman" is a pop rap song from the 1990 Simpsons album The Simpsons Sing the Blues. It was performed by The Simpsons cast member Nancy Cartwright and was released as a promotional single from the album on November 20, 1990. The song was written and produced by American recording artist...
", performed by Nancy Cartwright and released on November 20, 1990. The song was written by Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
, although he did not receive any credit. Jackson was a fan of The Simpsons, especially Bart, and had called the producers one night offering to write Bart a number one single and do a guest spot on the show. Jackson eventually guest starred in the episode "Stark Raving Dad
Stark Raving Dad
"Stark Raving Dad" is the first episode of the third season of American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on September 19, 1991...
" (season three
The Simpsons (season 3)
The Simpsons third season originally aired on the Fox network between September 19, 1991 and May 7, 1992. The show runners for the third production season were Al Jean and Mike Reiss who executive produced 22 episodes the season, while two other episodes were produced by James L. Brooks, Matt...
, 1991) under the pseudonym John Jay Smith. While the song was never officially released as a single in the United States, it was successful in the United Kingdom. In 1991 it was the number one song in the UK for three weeks from February 16 to March 9 and was the seventh best-selling song of the year. It sold half a million copies and was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry
British Phonographic Industry
The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies...
on February 1, 1991.
Bart as a role model
Bart's rebellious nature, which frequently resulted in no punishment for his misbehavior, led some parents and conservativesConservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
to characterize him as a poor role model
Role model
The term role model generally means any "person who serves as an example, whose behaviour is emulated by others".The term first appeared in Robert K. Merton's socialization research of medical students...
for children. Robert Bianco of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, also known simply as the "PG," is the largest daily newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.-Early history:...
wrote that "[Bart] outwits his parents and outtalks his teachers; in short, he's the child we wish we'd been, and fear our children will become." In schools, educators claimed that Bart was a "threat to learning" because of his "underachiever and proud of it" attitude and negative attitude regarding his education. Others described him as "egotistical, aggressive and mean-spirited". In response to the criticism, James L. Brooks
James L. Brooks
James Lawrence Brooks is an American director, producer and screenwriter. Growing up in North Bergen, New Jersey, Brooks endured a fractured family life and passed the time by reading and writing. After dropping out of New York University, he got a job as an usher at CBS, going on to write for the...
said, "I'm very wary of television where everybody is supposed to be a role model, you don't run across that many role models in real life. Why should television be full of them?" Elizabeth Thoman, executive director of the Center for Media and Values in Los Angeles, commented, "If kids look up to Bart Simpson, we need to ask why we use television for all the role models in our society, a much larger issue. As long as we perpetuate the idea of television as a place where you get all your role models, we're allowing television to become a school system."
In 1990 William Bennett
William Bennett
William John "Bill" Bennett is an American conservative pundit, politician, and political theorist. He served as United States Secretary of Education from 1985 to 1988. He also held the post of Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy under George H. W...
, who at the time was drug czar
Office of National Drug Control Policy
The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy , a former cabinet level component of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, was established in 1989 by the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988...
of the United States, visited a drug treatment centre in Pittsburgh and upon noticing a poster of Bart remarked, "You guys aren’t watching The Simpsons, are you? That’s not going to help you any." When a backlash over the comment ensued, Bennett apologized, claiming he "was just kidding" and saying "I'll sit down with the little spike head. We'll straighten this thing out." In a 1991 interview, Bill Cosby
Bill Cosby
William Henry "Bill" Cosby, Jr. is an American comedian, actor, author, television producer, educator, musician and activist. A veteran stand-up performer, he got his start at various clubs, then landed a starring role in the 1960s action show, I Spy. He later starred in his own series, the...
described Bart as a bad role model for children, calling him "angry, confused, frustrated". In response, Matt Groening
Matt Groening
Matthew Abram "Matt" Groening is an American cartoonist, screenwriter, and producer. He is the creator of the comic strip Life in Hell as well as two successful television series, The Simpsons and Futurama....
said, "That sums up Bart, all right. Most people are in a struggle to be normal he thinks normal is very boring, and does things that others just wished they dare do." On January 27, 1992, then-President George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
said, "We are going to keep on trying to strengthen the American family, to make American families a lot more like the Waltons
The Waltons
The Waltons is an American television series created by Earl Hamner, Jr., based on his book Spencer's Mountain, and a 1963 film of the same name. The show centered on a family growing up in a rural Virginia community during the Great Depression and World War II. The series pilot was a television...
and a lot less like the Simpsons." The writers rushed out a tongue-in-cheek reply in the form of a short segment which aired three days later before a rerun of "Stark Raving Dad
Stark Raving Dad
"Stark Raving Dad" is the first episode of the third season of American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on September 19, 1991...
" in which Bart replied, "Hey, we're just like the Waltons. We're praying for an end to the Depression, too."
Although there were many critics of the character, favorable comments came from several quarters. Peggy Charren
Peggy Charren
Peggy Charren founded Action for Children's Television , a national child advocacy organization, in 1968, in an effort to encourage program diversity and eliminate commercial abuses in children's television programming....
, president of Action for Children's Television
Action for Children's Television
Action for Children's Television was founded by Peggy Charren and Judy Chalfen in Newton, Massachusetts in 1968 as a grassroots organization dedicated to improving the quality of television programming offered to children...
, a grassroots organization dedicated to improving the quality of television programming offered to children, commented that "the Simpson family is one of the few thoughtful cartoons on commercial television. How can you teach the Constitution if you ban Tshirts?" Columnist Erma Bombeck
Erma Bombeck
Erma Louise Bombeck was an American humorist who achieved great popularity for her newspaper column that described suburban home life from the mid-1960s until the late 1990s...
wrote, "Kids need to know that somewhere in this world is a contemporary who can pull off all the things they can only fantasize about, someone who can stick it to their parents once in a while and still be permitted to live." In 2003, Bart placed first in a poll of parents in the United Kingdom who were asked "which made-up character had the most influence" on children under 12 years old.
Commendations
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
named Bart one of the 100 most important people of the 20th century. He was the only fictional character to make the list. He had previously appeared on the cover of the December 31, 1990 edition. He was also ranked #48 in TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
s "50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time" in 1996 and both he and Lisa ranked #11 in TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
's "Top 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time" in 2002.
At the 44th Primetime Emmy Awards
44th Primetime Emmy Awards
The 44th Primetime Emmy Awards were held on August 30, 1992. The ceremony was broadcast on Fox, from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, Pasadena, California. It was hosted by Tim Allen, Kirstie Alley, and Dennis Miller, and directed by Walter C. Miller. Presenters included Roseanne Barr, Tom Arnold,...
in 1992, Cartwright won a Primetime Emmy Award
Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming...
for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance is a creative arts Emmy Award given out by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. It is awarded to a performer for an outstanding "continuing or single voice-over performance in a series or a special." Prior to 1992, voice-actors...
for voicing Bart in the season three
The Simpsons (season 3)
The Simpsons third season originally aired on the Fox network between September 19, 1991 and May 7, 1992. The show runners for the third production season were Al Jean and Mike Reiss who executive produced 22 episodes the season, while two other episodes were produced by James L. Brooks, Matt...
episode "Separate Vocations
Separate Vocations
"Separate Vocations" is the eighteenth episode of The Simpsons third season. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on February 27, 1992. In the episode, the Springfield Elementary School makes the students take career aptitude tests...
". She shared the award with five other voice-actors from The Simpsons. Various episodes in which Bart is strongly featured have been nominated for Emmy Awards for Outstanding Animated Program
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming less than One Hour)
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program is a Creative Arts Emmy Award which is given annually to an animated series which is judged to have been the best...
, including "Radio Bart
Radio Bart
"Radio Bart" is the thirteenth episode of The Simpsons third season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 9, 1992. In the episode, Bart receives a microphone that transmits sound to nearby AM radios...
" in 1992, "Future-Drama
Future-Drama
"Future-Drama" is the fifteenth episode of The Simpsons sixteenth season, the 350th episode overall, and originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 17, 2005. In the episode, Bart and Lisa stumble into Professor Frink's basement, and he gives them a look into their future as...
" in 2005, "The Haw-Hawed Couple
The Haw-Hawed Couple
"The Haw-Hawed Couple" is the eighth episode of The Simpsons eighteenth season and first aired December 10, 2006. In the episode, Bart becomes Nelson's new best friend and under Nelson's protection no one dares to mess with Bart. It was written by Matt Selman and directed by Chris Clements. In its...
" in 2006 and "Homer's Phobia
Homer's Phobia
"Homer's Phobia" is the fifteenth episode of the eighth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 16, 1997. In the episode, Homer dissociates himself from new family friend John after discovering that John is gay...
", which won the award in 1997. In 1995, Cartwright won an Annie Award
Annie Award
The Annie Awards have been presented by the Los Angeles, California branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood since 1972...
for "Voice Acting in the Field of Animation" for her portrayal of Bart in an episode. In 2000, Bart and the rest of the Simpson family were awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
located at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard.
Merchandising
Alongside t-shirts, Bart has been included in various other The Simpsons-related merchandise, including air freshenerLittle Trees
Little Trees are disposable air fresheners in the shape of a stylized evergreen tree, marketed for use in cars. They are made of a material very similar to beer coasters and are produced in a variety of colours and scents...
s, baseball cap
Baseball cap
A baseball cap is a type of soft cap with a rounded stiff brim. The front of the cap typically contains designs or logos of sports teams ,...
s, bumper sticker
Bumper sticker
A bumper sticker is an adhesive label or sticker with a message, intended to be attached to the bumper of an automobile and to be read by the occupants of other vehicles - although they are often stuck onto other objects...
s, cardboard standups, refrigerator magnet
Refrigerator magnet
A refrigerator magnet is an ornament, often whimsical, attached to a small magnet which is used to post items such as shopping lists or report cards on a refrigerator door, or which simply serves as decoration. Refrigerator magnets come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, including but not...
s, key rings, button
Button
In modern clothing and fashion design, a button is a small fastener, most commonly made of plastic, but also frequently of seashell, which secures two pieces of fabric together. In archaeology, a button can be a significant artifact. In the applied arts and in craft, a button can be an example of...
s, dolls, poster
Poster
A poster is any piece of printed paper designed to be attached to a wall or vertical surface. Typically posters include both textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or wholly text. Posters are designed to be both eye-catching and informative. Posters may be...
s, figurines, clock
Clock
A clock is an instrument used to indicate, keep, and co-ordinate time. The word clock is derived ultimately from the Celtic words clagan and clocca meaning "bell". A silent instrument missing such a mechanism has traditionally been known as a timepiece...
s, soapstone
Soapstone
Soapstone is a metamorphic rock, a talc-schist. It is largely composed of the mineral talc and is thus rich in magnesium. It is produced by dynamothermal metamorphism and metasomatism, which occurs in the areas where tectonic plates are subducted, changing rocks by heat and pressure, with influx...
carvings, Chia Pet
Chia Pet
Chia Pets are American styled animal-shaped terracotta figurines used to sprout chia, where the chia sprouts grow within a couple of weeks to resemble the animal's fur or hair...
s, bowling ball
Bowling ball
A bowling ball is a spherical ball made from plastic, reactive resin, urethane or a combination of these materials which is used in the sport of bowling. Ten-pin bowling balls generally have a set of three holes drilled in them, one each for the ring and middle finger, and one for the thumb;...
s and boxer shorts
Boxer shorts
Boxer shorts are a type of undergarment worn by men. The term has been used in English since 1944 for all-around-elastic shorts, so named after the shorts worn by boxers, for whom unhindered leg movement is very important.Reasons for a preference for boxers can be attributed to their variety of...
. The Bart Book, a book about Bart's personality and attributes, was released in 2004. Other books include Bart Simpson's Guide to Life
Bart Simpson's Guide to Life
Bart Simpson's Guide to Life is a humorous book published in the United States in 1993 by HarperCollins. It includes advice from the Simpsons character Bart Simpson on how to deal with life. The book was written by several authors, and was helped into print by Matt Groening. It has received...
. The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer
The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer
The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer is a non-fiction book analyzing the philosophy and popular culture effects of the American animated sitcom, The Simpsons, published by Open Court. The book is edited by William Irwin, Mark T. Conard and Aeon J...
, which is not an official publication, includes a chapter analyzing Bart's character and comparing him to the "Nietzschean
Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a 19th-century German philosopher, poet, composer and classical philologist...
ideal".
Bart has appeared in other media relating to The Simpsons. He has appeared in every one of The Simpsons video games
The Simpsons video games
The Simpsons video games are a line of official video games that use the characters from the animated television show The Simpsons. The popularity of The Simpsons motivated the video game industry to turn to the characters and world of Springfield...
, including Bart vs. the World
The Simpsons: Bart vs. the World
The Simpsons: Bart vs. the World is a side-scrolling platform game based on the Simpsons franchise and features many aspects from the television series. It was released in 1991 for the Nintendo Entertainment System, and then in 1993 for Amiga, Atari ST, Game Gear, and Sega Master System...
, Bart Simpson's Escape from Camp Deadly
Bart Simpson's Escape from Camp Deadly
Bart Simpson's Escape from Camp Deadly is a 2D platform game for the Game Boy hand-held gaming console. Developed by Imagineering, it was published by Acclaim in North America in 1991. The game was released in Europe in 1992 and Japan in 1993...
, Bart vs. the Space Mutants
The Simpsons: Bart vs. the Space Mutants
The Simpsons: Bart vs. the Space Mutants is the title of the first video game based on the animated television series The Simpsons. It was released in 1991 for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Master System, Atari ST, Amiga, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, and Amstrad CPC, and in 1992 for Mega...
, Bart's House of Weirdness
Bart's House of Weirdness
Bart's House of Weirdness is a platform game published by Konami in 1992 for DOS. Developed by Distinctive Software, it is based on the Simpsons franchise and features many aspects from the series. In the game, the player controls Bart as he escapes from the Simpsons' house after being grounded by...
, Bart vs. The Juggernauts
Bart vs. the Juggernauts
The Simpsons: Bart vs. the Juggernauts is an action video game released in 1992 for the Game Boy. It was developed by Imagineering and published by Acclaim. The plot stars Bart from The Simpsons in a game show based on American Gladiators, in which he has to compete in challenges to earn money....
, Bartman Meets Radioactive Man
Bartman Meets Radioactive Man
The Simpsons: Bartman Meets Radioactive Man is a platform game published by Acclaim in 1992 for the Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Game Gear. Developed by Imagineering, the side-scrolling game features Bart Simpson on a comic book quest to rescue his kidnapped idol, superhero Radioactive Man...
, Bart's Nightmare
Bart's Nightmare
Bart's Nightmare is a 1992 video game developed by American company Sculptured Software based on the television show The Simpsons. It was released to the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.-Plot:...
, Bart & the Beanstalk and The Simpsons Game
The Simpsons Game
The Simpsons Game is an action/platformer video game based on the animated television series The Simpsons, made for the Wii, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS, and PlayStation Portable. The game was developed, published, and distributed by Electronic Arts. It was released in North...
, released in 2007. Alongside the television series, Bart regularly appears in issues of Simpsons Comics, which were first published on November 29, 1993 and are still issued monthly, and also has his own series called Bart Simpson Comics which have been released since 2000. Bart also plays a role in The Simpsons Ride
The Simpsons Ride
The Simpsons Ride is a simulator ride featured at the Universal Studios Florida and Universal Studios Hollywood theme parks. The ride is based on the animated television series The Simpsons. It was first announced in 2007 and replaced the Back to the Future: The Ride at both locations...
, launched in 2008 at Universal Studios Florida
Universal Studios Florida
Universal Studios Florida is an American theme park located in Orlando, Florida. Opened on June 7, 1990, the park's theme is the entertainment industry, in particular movies and television. Universal Studios Florida inspires its guests to "ride the movies," and it features numerous attractions and...
and Hollywood
Universal Studios Hollywood
Universal Studios Hollywood is a movie studio and theme park in the unincorporated Universal City community of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is one of the oldest and most famous Hollywood movie studios still in use...
.
Bart, and other The Simpsons characters, have appeared in numerous television commercials for Nestlé
Nestlé
Nestlé S.A. is the world's largest food and nutrition company. Founded and headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, Nestlé originated in a 1905 merger of the Anglo-Swiss Milk Company, established in 1867 by brothers George Page and Charles Page, and Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé, founded in 1866 by Henri...
's Butterfinger
Butterfinger
Butterfinger is a candy bar made by Nestlé.The bar consists of a flaky, orange-colored center—somewhat similar texture to crisp caramel, with a taste similar to peanut butter—that is coated in compound chocolate.- History :...
candy bars from 1990 to 2001, with the slogan "Nobody better lay a finger on my Butterfinger!" Lisa would occasionally advertise it too. Matt Groening would later say that the Butterfinger advertising campaign was a large part of the reason why Fox decided to pick up the half-hour show. The campaign was discontinued in 2001, much to the disappointment of Cartwright. Bart has also appeared in commercials for Burger King
Burger King
Burger King, often abbreviated as BK, is a global chain of hamburger fast food restaurants headquartered in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The company began in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida-based restaurant chain...
, C.C. Lemon
C.C. Lemon
C.C. Lemon is a Japanese soft drink created by Suntory. It is known for its lemon flavor and for its advertisements featuring characters from the popular American cartoon The Simpsons.-Sizes:...
, Church's Chicken
Church's Chicken
Church's Chicken is a US-based chain of fast food restaurants specializing in fried chicken, also trading outside North America as Texas Chicken. The chain was founded as Church's Fried Chicken To Go by George W. Church, Sr., on April 17, 1952, in San Antonio, across the street from The Alamo...
, Domino's Pizza
Domino's Pizza
Domino's Pizza, Inc. is an international pizza delivery corporation headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America. Founded in 1960, Domino's is the second-largest pizza chain in the United States and has over 9,000 corporate and franchised stores in 60 countries and all 50 U.S....
, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Ramada Inn, Ritz Crackers
Ritz Crackers
Ritz Crackers are a brand of snack cracker introduced by Nabisco in 1934. Outside of the United States, the Ritz Cracker brand is made by a subsidiary of Kraft Foods. They are circular in shape, salted lightly on one side, and have a small scalloped edge...
and Subway
Subway (restaurant)
Subway is an American restaurant franchise that primarily sells submarine sandwiches and salads. It is owned and operated by Doctor's Associates, Inc. . Subway is one of the fastest growing franchises in the world with 35,519 restaurants in 98 countries and territories as of October 25th, 2011...
. In 2001, Kellogg's launched a brand of cereal called "Bart Simpson Peanut Butter Chocolate Crunch", which was available for a limited time. Before the half-hour series went on the air, Matt Groening pitched Bart as a spokesperson for Jell-O
Jell-O
Jell-O is a brand name belonging to U.S.-based Kraft Foods for a number of gelatin desserts, including fruit gels, puddings and no-bake cream pies. The brand's popularity has led to it being used as a generic term for gelatin dessert across the U.S. and Canada....
. He wanted Bart to sing "J-E-L-L-O", then burp the letter O. His belief was that kids would try to do it the next day, but he was rejected.
On April 9, 2009, the United States Postal Service
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
unveiled a series of five 44 cent stamps featuring Bart and the four other members of the Simpson family. They are the first characters from a television series to receive this recognition while the show is still in production. The stamps, designed by Matt Groening, were made available for purchase on May 7, 2009.
External links
- Bart Simpson at The Simpsons.com