Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie

Last updated

"Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie"
The Simpsons episode
Episode no.Season 4
Episode 6
Directed by Rich Moore
Written by John Swartzwelder
Production code9F03
Original air dateNovember 3, 1992 (1992-11-03)
Episode features
Chalkboard gag (first) Bart writes "I will not bury the new kid"/(second) Marge writes "I will try to raise a better child" [1]
Couch gag The couch deflates after the family sits on it. [2]
Commentary Matt Groening
Al Jean
Mike Reiss
Rich Moore
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Treehouse of Horror III"		Next →
"Marge Gets a Job"
The Simpsons season 4
List of episodes

"Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie" is the sixth episode of the fourth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons . It originally aired on Fox in the United States on November 3, 1992. The plot follows Bart continually getting in trouble, and how Homer is unable to give him any suitable punishment. Marge gets Homer to agree to make a punishment stick, and he forbids Bart to see the new Itchy & Scratchy movie for not watching Maggie.

Contents

The episode was written by John Swartzwelder and directed by Rich Moore. [2]

Plot

Marge and Homer attend a parent-teacher conference at Springfield Elementary School. Although Miss Hoover tells Homer that Lisa is doing well, Mrs. Krabappel tells Marge that Bart is continually causing trouble. She urges Homer and Marge to enforce stronger discipline and suggests that Bart could grow up to become a Supreme Court Justice if his behavior improves. Marge and Homer return home to find that Bart has stolen and broken Grampa's dentures. As punishment, Marge sends Bart to bed without dinner; however, Homer later brings Bart a slice of pizza and makes Bart promise to behave. However, Bart continues to get in trouble, always managing to distract Homer from punishing him. Eventually, Homer vows to give Bart an effective penalty.

Bart buys himself a ticket for Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie, the highly anticipated film adaptation of The Itchy & Scratchy Show . While Bart is left home alone with Maggie, he watches television instead of paying attention to her. Maggie takes Homer's car for a joyride and crashes into the wall of Springfield Prison, releasing the prisoners. Homer then punishes Bart by tearing up Bart's ticket to Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie and banning him from ever seeing the movie under any circumstances. Bart begs for a different punishment, but Homer refuses. The film is released to wide acclaim, and every child in Springfield sees the film multiple times; since Bart is not allowed to see the film, his classmates shun him.

Bart tries to buy another ticket, but discovers Homer has instructed the movie theater employees not to sell him a ticket. Two months after the film's release, Marge and Lisa try to convince Homer to change his mind, with Marge claiming Bart has been punished long enough, but Homer refuses. Eventually, the film is removed from theaters. Bart reluctantly confesses that the punishment deeply affected him, to which Homer responds that consequently, he will learn to accept responsibility for his actions and will have a better life as a result.

Forty years later (2032), Bart, now Chief Justice of the United States, and Homer, a senior citizen, walk down the street and discover the film is back in the local theater as a classic re-release. Homer decides that Bart has officially learned from the experience, and the two happily watch the movie together.

Production

This episode, like many other Itchy & Scratchy themed episodes, was written by John Swartzwelder, although the plot was originally pitched by Sam Simon. [3] During the table read of the script, the first act received many laughs, but the second act got little positive reaction, leading Al Jean to believe that the script would require a huge rewrite, although the third act also received a positive reaction. [4] For The Itchy & Scratchy Movie shown at the end of the episode, Mike Reiss felt that it should top all other Itchy & Scratchy cartoons in terms of violence, and John Swartzwelder wrote the "most disturbing, horrible sequence", none of which was used in the final cut. [3]

This was the first episode that Rich Moore directed at Film Roman. [5] The shot of the Korean animation studio angered the Korean animators at Rough Draft Korea; Gregg Vanzo, the overseas director, felt insulted and nearly sent the scene back. [5] While drawing the Steamboat Itchy sequence, the animators jokingly referred to it as "Steamboat Lawsuit". David Silverman explained that he did not know "why [they] weren't sued because there's a shot right out of Steamboat Willie in [the episode]." [6]

The episode features the first appearance of Bumblebee Man, who is a caricature of "El Chapulín Colorado" ("The Red Grasshopper"), a character created and portrayed by Mexican television comedian Roberto Gómez Bolaños. [3]

Cultural references

The Itchy & Scratchy short Steamboat Itchy, parodies Steamboat Willie. Steamboat Itchy.png
The Itchy & Scratchy short Steamboat Itchy, parodies Steamboat Willie .

The opening Star Trek film is a parody of how old the crew of the original Star Trek cast looked in the later movies. [4] Khachaturian's "Sabre Dance" plays while Bart runs amuk. Mrs. Krabappel says that "even the poorest student can become Chief Justice of the Supreme Court." Homer muses that Bart could join "John Marshall, Charles Evans Hughes, Warren Burger..." His apparent familiarity with Supreme Court Justices became a running gag. The 1929 Itchy & Scratchy short Steamboat Itchy is a spoof of the 1928 Disney short Steamboat Willie , the debut of Mickey Mouse. [2] Lisa says Michael Jackson and Dustin Hoffman make cameos in Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie, adding "They didn't use their real names, but you knew it was them." Jackson and Hoffman had made cameos on The Simpsons using pseudonyms in "Stark Raving Dad" and "Lisa's Substitute", respectively. [3] In flashback, Homer is seen listening to "Yummy Yummy Yummy" by The Ohio Express instead of watching the Moon landing. [2] In the flash forward sequence, a man is purchasing Soylent Green in the lobby of the theater. [2] A vehicle resembling a landspeeder from Star Wars (1977) is also shown. [7] The marquee says Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie has been re-released on a bill with Beauty and the Beast (1991). Homer and Bart are seen silhouetted against the screen, a reference to Mystery Science Theater 3000. [3]

Homer tries to take credit for Lisa's success, saying he read to her from TV Guide and emphasized the "three R's": “Reading TV Guide, writing to TV Guide, and renewing TV Guide!" The scene of a billboard for Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie splattering a bride with blood recalls the end of Carrie. Marge asks Homer, "Do you want your son to be Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, or a sleazy male stripper?" Homer responds: "Can't he both, like the late Earl Warren?" Marge points out that Warren wasn't a stripper, and Homer asks "Now who's being naive?" Lisa says Bart has "the demented melancholia of a Tennessee Williams heroine." [8] Bart can be seen reading Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie: The Novel by Norman Mailer.

Reception

During the fourth season, The Simpsons usually aired on a Thursday, but "Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie" aired on a Tuesday because the executives at Fox had wanted to air an episode during the 1992 presidential election results because they felt it would mean increased ratings. [4] Instead, the episode dropped from its normal audience. [3] "Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie" finished 25th in ratings for the week of November 2–8, 1992, with a Nielsen rating of 12.5, equivalent to approximately 11.6 million viewing households. It was the third highest-rated show on the Fox network that week, following The Simpsons episode "Marge Gets a Job", which aired in the same week on the usual Thursday, and Beverly Hills, 90210 . [9]

In the spring of 2002, the episode was released in the United Kingdom on a DVD collection titled The Simpsons Film Festival, along with the season eleven episode "Beyond Blunderdome", the season seven episode "22 Short Films About Springfield", and the season six episode "A Star Is Burns". [10]

Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, the authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide called it a "superb episode", especially "[Homer]'s suggestion for punishing Bart's misbehaviour is to give him a present, and his trick for avoiding jury duty is 'to say you're prejudiced against all races.'" [2]

"Steamboat Itchy" is one of Matt Groening's favorite moments in the history of the show. [11] Nathan Ditum of Total Film ranked "Steamboat Itchy" as the show's 46th best film parody. [12] In 2014, The Simpsons writers picked "Steamboat Itchy" from this episode as one of their nine favorite "Itchy & Scratchy" episodes of all time. [13]

Nathan Rabin writes that "Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie" "isn’t just funny and sweet: It’s also the definitive parody of event-movie mania, though it’s as much a loving tribute to the hubbub and frenzy surrounding a truly epic event movie as it is a spoof", likening the release of the movie within the episode to the release of The Simpsons Movie fifteen years later. [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maggie Simpson</span> Fictional character from The Simpsons franchise

Margaret Lenny "Maggie" Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the youngest member of the Simpson family. 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 L. Brooks' office. She received her first name from Groening's youngest sister. After appearing on The Tracey Ullman Show for three years, the Simpson family was given their own series on the Fox Broadcasting Company which debuted December 17, 1989.

"Bart the General" is the fifth episode of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on February 4, 1990. In the episode, Bart Simpson enlists Grampa's help to battle local bully Nelson Muntz. Bart unites the neighborhood children against Nelson and defeats him. The episode was directed by David Silverman and was the first to be written by John Swartzwelder.

"Kamp Krusty" is the fourth season premiere of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 60th episode overall. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on September 24, 1992. In the episode, the children of Springfield attend Kamp Krusty, a summer camp named after Krusty the Clown. The camp is extremely unpleasant, leading to the campers rebelling against the camp director. Meanwhile, with the kids away, Homer and Marge enjoy more time together, and Homer becomes physically and emotionally healthier.

<i>The Itchy & Scratchy Show</i> Fictional animated series on The Simpsons

The Itchy & Scratchy Show is a fictional animated series featured on The Simpsons. The cartoon depicts a sadistic mouse named Itchy who repeatedly maims or murders a black cat named Scratchy. It is typically presented as 15- to 60-second sketches that are a part of The Krusty the Clown Show. Itchy & Scratchy is filled with graphic violence, unsuitable for children, that almost invariably prompts laughter from The Simpsons characters, especially Bart and Lisa.

"Life on the Fast Lane", known as "Jacques to Be Wild" in the United Kingdom, is the ninth episode of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on March 18, 1990. It was written by John Swartzwelder and directed by David Silverman. Albert Brooks guest starred as Jacques, a French bowling instructor, with him being credited as "A. Brooks".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Treehouse of Horror IX</span> 4th episode of the 10th season of The Simpsons

"Treehouse of Horror IX" is the fourth episode of the tenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on Fox in the United States on October 25, 1998. This is the ninth Treehouse of Horror episode, and, like the other "Treehouse of Horror" episodes, contains three self-contained segments: In "Hell Toupée", Homer gets a hair transplant and is possessed by the spirit of an executed criminal; in "Terror of Tiny Toon", Bart and Lisa are trapped in a special, extremely violent episode of The Itchy & Scratchy Show; and in "Starship Poopers", Marge reveals that Maggie is the product of a one-night stand with the alien Kang.

"Whacking Day" is the twentieth episode of the fourth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on April 29, 1993. The episode revolves around the fictional holiday "Whacking Day", celebrated annually, in which the citizens of Springfield drive snakes into the town square, then fatally club them. After Bart is expelled from school as punishment for injuring Superintendent Chalmers, he applies the knowledge he gains from Marge's homeschooling to help Lisa expose the fraudulent and cruel nature of the holiday.

"Itchy & Scratchy & Marge" is the ninth episode of the second season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on Fox in the United States on December 20, 1990. In the episode, which is a satire of censorship issues, Maggie bullies Homer by attacking him with a mallet and Marge blames The Itchy & Scratchy Show for Maggie's actions. It was written by John Swartzwelder and was the first episode to be directed by Jim Reardon. Alex Rocco makes his first of three guest appearances as Roger Meyers Jr.

"So It's Come to This: A Simpsons Clip Show", or simply "A Simpsons Clip Show", is the eighteenth episode of the fourth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on April 1, 1993. In the episode, Homer plays a series of practical jokes on Bart, and to get even, Bart shakes up a can of Homer's beer with a paint shaker. Homer opens the can, resulting in a huge explosion that lands him in the hospital, where he goes into a coma. At Homer's bedside, the Simpson family reminisce, mainly about moments relevant to Homer's life.

"The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show" is the fourteenth episode of the eighth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 9, 1997. In the episode, The Itchy & Scratchy Show attempts to regain lost viewers by introducing a new character named Poochie, voiced by Homer. The episode is largely self-referential and satirizes the world of television production, fans of The Simpsons, and the series itself. It was written by David X. Cohen and directed by Steven Dean Moore. Alex Rocco is a credited guest voice as Roger Meyers Jr. for the third and final time ; Phil Hartman also guest stars as Troy McClure. Poochie became a minor recurring character and Comic Book Guy's catchphrase, "Worst episode ever", is introduced in this episode.

"The Front" is the nineteenth episode of the fourth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired in the United States on Fox on April 15, 1993. In the episode, Bart and Lisa decide to write an episode of The Itchy & Scratchy Show; after their script is rejected, they resubmit it under the name of their grandfather Abraham Simpson, resulting in Grampa being hired as a staff writer. Meanwhile, Homer returns to high school to retake a failed science course.

"Home Sweet Homediddly-Dum-Doodily" is the third episode of the seventh season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on October 1, 1995. In the episode, following a series of misunderstandings, the Simpson children are put in foster care at Ned and Maude Flanders' house. Homer and Marge are forced to attend a parenting class to get their children back.

"Another Simpsons Clip Show" is the third episode of the sixth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on September 25, 1994. In the episode, Marge reads a romance novel in bed, and it prompts her to have a family meeting, where the Simpson family recall their past loves in form of clips from previous episodes.

"Itchy & Scratchy Land" is the fourth episode of the sixth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on Fox in the United States on October 2, 1994. Wanting a perfect family vacation, the Simpson family visits Itchy & Scratchy Land, where the animatronics turn against the guests.

"The War of the Simpsons" is the twentieth episode of the second season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on May 2, 1991. In the episode, Homer gets drunk at a dinner party and embarrasses Marge, so she enrolls them in marriage counseling at a lakeside retreat with Reverend Lovejoy.

"Marge Gets a Job" is the seventh episode of the fourth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on November 5, 1992. In this episode, Marge gets a job at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant to pay for foundation repair at the Simpsons house. Mr. Burns develops a crush on Marge after seeing her at work and unwittingly harasses her. A subplot with Bart parallels the fable "The Boy Who Cried Wolf".

"Saturdays of Thunder" is the ninth episode of the third season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on November 14, 1991. In the episode, Homer realizes he knows little about Bart and strives to be a better father. When he learns Bart is competing in a Soap Box Derby, Homer helps him make a racer. Bart drives Martin's far superior racer instead, hurting Homer's feelings. Homer eventually realizes he must be a good father by supporting Bart.

"Duffless" is the sixteenth episode of the fourth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on February 18, 1993. Homer gets arrested for drunk driving, and Marge asks him to stop drinking beer for a month. Meanwhile, after Bart ruins Lisa's science fair project, she attempts to get revenge by proving that he is "dumber than a hamster".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Day the Violence Died</span> 18th episode of the 7th season of The Simpsons

"The Day the Violence Died" is the eighteenth episode of the seventh season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 17, 1996. It was written by John Swartzwelder and directed by Wes Archer. Kirk Douglas guest stars as Chester J. Lampwick, Alex Rocco as Roger Meyers Jr., Jack Sheldon as an anthropomorphic constitutional amendment, Suzanne Somers as herself, and Phil Hartman as Lionel Hutz. The end of the episode features Lester and Eliza, who resemble Bart and Lisa Simpson as they appeared in The Tracey Ullman Show in the 1980s.

Media is a recurring theme of satire on The Simpsons. The show is known for its satire of American popular culture and especially television culture, but has since its inception covered all types of media such as animation, journalism, commercials, comic books, movies, internet, and music. The series centers on a family and their life in a typical American town but the town of Springfield acts as a complete universe. The town features a vast array of media channels—from kids' television programming to local news, which enables the producers to make jokes about themselves and the entertainment industry.

References

  1. ↑ Groening, Matt (1997). Richmond, Ray; Coffman, Antonia (eds.). The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family (1st ed.). New York: HarperPerennial. p.  236. ISBN   978-0-06-095252-5. LCCN   98141857. OCLC   37796735. OL   433519M..
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Martyn, Warren; Wood, Adrian (2000). "Itchy & Scratchy:The Movie". BBC. Archived from the original on April 9, 2004. Retrieved July 30, 2007.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Reiss, Mike (2004). The Simpsons season 4 DVD commentary for the episode "Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  4. 1 2 3 Jean, Al (2004). The Simpsons season 4 DVD commentary for the episode "Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  5. 1 2 Moore, Rich (2004). The Simpsons season 4 DVD commentary for the episode "Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  6. ↑ Roberts, Sheila. "The Simpsons Movie Interviews". Movies Online. Archived from the original on January 4, 2009. Retrieved August 2, 2007.
  7. ↑ Chernoff, Scott (July 24, 2007). "I Bent My Wookiee! Celebrating the Star Wars/Simpsons Connection". No Homers Club. Archived from the original on July 24, 2011. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  8. ↑ Rabin, Nathan (2012). "The Simpsons (Classic): "Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie"". The A.V. Club . Archived from the original on December 15, 2023. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  9. ↑ Elber, Lynn (November 12, 1992). "Even without 'Roseanne,' ABC is no. 1". Sun-Sentinel. p. 4E.
  10. ↑ Madden, Damian (March 31, 2002). "Simpsons: Film Festival". DVD Bits. Archived from the original on December 5, 2011. Retrieved December 19, 2011.
  11. ↑ Groening, Matt (2004). The Simpsons season 4 DVD commentary for the episode "Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  12. ↑ Ditum, Nathan (June 6, 2009). "The 50 Greatest Simpsons Movie References". Total Film . GamesRadar. Archived from the original on April 3, 2016. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  13. ↑ "The Simpsons' Writers Pick Their Favorite 'Itchy & Scratchy' Cartoons". Vulture. March 26, 2014. Archived from the original on March 27, 2014. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
  14. ↑ Rabin 2012.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.