Mona Simpson (The Simpsons)

Last updated

Mona Simpson
The Simpsons character
Mona Simpson (The Simpsons).png
First appearance
Last appearance
Created by Jeff Martin
Richard Appel
Matt Groening
Based on Mona Simpson (namesake)
Designed byMatt Groening
Voiced by
In-universe information
Full nameMona J. Simpson (née Olsen[ citation needed ])
OccupationActivist
Spouse Abraham Simpson (ex-husband)
Children Homer Simpson
Relatives

Mona J. Simpson [1] is a fictional guest character in the animated television series The Simpsons . She is voiced most prominently by Glenn Close, but has also been voiced by Maggie Roswell, Tress MacNeille, and Pamela Hayden. Close's performances as Mona have been well received by critics and she was named one of the top 25 guest stars on the show by IGN.

Contents

Mona was the estranged wife of Abe Simpson, the mother of Homer Simpson, and the mother-in-law of Marge Simpson. The character appeared briefly in flashbacks in the early seasons of the show and was absent from Homer's life but no reason was given. The season seven episode "Mother Simpson" was the first to focus on the character. It was established that Homer believed that his mother was dead, a lie his father, Abe, told him when in reality she was on the run from the law after she sabotaged Mr. Burns's biological warfare laboratory. She also had a large role in "My Mother the Carjacker". The character appeared again in season 19's "Mona Leaves-a", and dies during the episode. An Inception -inspired dream version of her appears in season 23's "How I Wet Your Mother". In the episode "Let's Go Fly a Coot", a flashback reveals she met Abe when she was a waitress in a cantina and he broke the sound barrier to impress her.

The character is named after writer Richard Appel's ex-wife, the American novelist (and Steve Jobs's biological sister) Mona Simpson. The inspiration for the character is Bernardine Dohrn of the Weather Underground.

Biography

Few pieces of Mona's life story have been revealed. She was first mentioned in season one and made two brief flashback appearances, but her first major appearance was in "Mother Simpson". [2] In the episode, it is revealed that in the 1960s, Mona was a homemaker who lived with her husband Abraham Simpson and Homer, who at the time was a child. She became caught up in the hippie movement after her beliefs were ignited by seeing Joe Namath's long hair during Super Bowl III. [3]

Mona soon became a political activist and, at one event, Mona and a group of other activists protesting germ research entered Montgomery Burns's laboratory and destroyed all the biological warfare experiments. As the gang escaped, she stayed behind to help a fallen Burns, who in turn, swore to have her thrown in jail for the rest of her life. Since that night, Mona was forced to leave her family and run off with a jester. Abe lied and said Mona had died while Homer was at the movies, to spare him of the trauma that his mother was a wanted criminal. For 27 years, Homer presumed that his mother was dead. He was accidentally reunited with Mona in "Mother Simpson" after he faked his own death to get a day off from work and Mona visited his supposed gravesite. Overjoyed at their reunion, he brings Mona home to meet his family. At first, Mona does not reveal her whereabouts and spends time catching up with her family, but is forced to reveal her past. She later travels to the post office with Homer, where Mr. Burns recognizes her face and tracks her down with FBI assistance. However, a tip-off to Homer from Chief Wiggum allows Mona to escape. Wiggum is grateful to Mona because his asthma was cured by the "antibiotic bomb" her group detonated during their lab infiltration, thereby allowing him to join the police force. Forced to go on the run again, Mona tells Homer she loves him and escapes to the underground. [3]

In "D'oh-in' in the Wind", it is revealed that at some point, Mona spent time at a commune with two hippies, Seth and Munchie, after life with Abraham became unbearable. It is also strongly implied that she was unfaithful to Abraham. [4] In the episode "Homer's Paternity Coot", a long lost letter reveals that Mona had an affair with lifeguard Mason Fairbanks, leading Homer to falsely believe that he might, in fact, be his real father.

In "My Mother the Carjacker", Homer discovers a secret message left for him in a newspaper that tells him to go to a location. There Homer finds Mona, who explains she had to return after she saw a macaroni pencil holder Homer made for her when he was five. She is captured by police and put on trial for the crime she committed. Due to Homer's heartfelt testimony, she is acquitted. Mr. Burns is angered by this and has her imprisoned for the minor charge of signing into a national park under a false name (Anita Bonghit). As she is being transported to jail, Homer attempts to break her free from the prison bus, but the chase ends in what appears to be her death when the bus drives off a cliff and lands in the water, where it explodes and sets off a rock avalanche which buries it. In truth, she narrowly escaped before the bus went off the cliff, and is still on the run. [5]

Mona returns in "Mona Leaves-a" to try to make up for lost time with Homer, but he angrily refuses, saying that she will just abandon him again. Homer feels guilty about being angry with her and tries to make up only to learn she has died. Then Homer feels very guilty and Homer does something she asked for. She is cremated and, according to her will, Homer is supposed to throw her ashes on a mountain, where they disrupt a missile guidance system which would have devastated the Amazon Rainforest, once again plotted by Burns. Although disappointed that the last thing his mother asked him to do was "another hippie protest", Homer successfully stops the launch and accidentally causes an explosion that destroys the launch site, representing Mona's final victory, through her family and over all the things she spent her life fighting for. Reassured by Lisa that Mona will live on forever through his heroics, Homer releases his mother's ashes once more. [6]

Mona briefly returns in "How I Wet Your Mother", where she rescues the family in a dream of Homer's, saying that she lives on in his dreams. It is revealed in this episode that a couple of weeks before she left Homer as a child, Homer and Grampa went on a fishing trip that was unsuccessful as the boat capsized. Homer would later feel guilt, believing that the incident prompted Mona to leave him and his father. Mona solves Homer's problem by telling him that the fishing trip never played a role in her leaving.

In an alternative retconned story introduced in "Mothers and Other Strangers", Homer discovered Mona's whereabouts in Utah when he was a teenager and went with Grampa to track her down, while unknowingly being tailed by FBI agents. The agents pursued Homer, Grampa and Mona to a canyon where Grampa got stuck in a small gap. Forced to choose between both his parents, Homer went back to save Grampa, while Mona managed to flee on a bus to San Francisco. In the present, Grampa and Homer lament to a therapist how they were never able to find Mona again, but Homer does reveal to his family that Mona secretly visited him in the hospital when Bart was born, disguising herself as a doctor.

Character

Creation

Mona Simpson is first mentioned in season one's "There's No Disgrace Like Home", where Homer recalls his mother telling him that he's a "big disappointment". She later made two brief flashback appearances, the first being season two's "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?" and the second being season six's "Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy", and in both cases she was voiced by Maggie Roswell. [2]

Mona's first major appearance was in the seventh season episode "Mother Simpson". The episode was pitched by Richard Appel, who had been desperately trying to think of a story idea and decided to do something about Homer's mother. [7]

Many of the writers were surprised that an episode about Homer's mother had not previously been produced. [8] The writers used the episode as an opportunity to solve several puzzles about the show, such as where Lisa's intelligence came from. [7]

The character is named after Richard Appel's then wife, the novelist Mona Simpson who is Steve Jobs's biological sister. [7] The inspiration for the character comes from Bernardine Dohrn of the Weather Underground, although the writers acknowledge that several people fit her description. Her crime was intentionally the least violent crime the writers could think of, as she did not harm anyone and was only caught because she came back to help Mr. Burns. [8]

Mona Simpson was drawn in a way so that she has a little bit of Homer in her face, such as the shape of her upper lip and her nose. There were several design changes because the directors were trying to make her an attractive older and younger woman, but still be "Simpson-esque". [9]

Voice

Glenn Close has voiced Mona in nine episodes Glenn Close - Guardians of the Galaxy premiere - July 2014 (cropped).jpg
Glenn Close has voiced Mona in nine episodes

Glenn Close was convinced to voice the character in "Mother Simpson" partially because of James L. Brooks. [10] She was directed in her first performance by Josh Weinstein. [8] When Mona gets in the van, her voice is done by Pamela Hayden because Glenn Close could not say "d'oh!" properly and thus they used the original temp track recorded by Hayden. [7]

Glenn Close recorded original material for three other episodes: season 15's "My Mother the Carjacker" and season 19's "Mona Leaves-a". [11] A deleted scene featuring Mona from "Mother Simpson" appears in season seven's "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular" as well as season thirty-one's "Todd, Todd, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?". The character also has a speaking appearance in season ten's "D'oh-in in the Wind", this time voiced by Tress MacNeille. [12]

Reception

Glenn Close has been well received as the voice of Mona. IGN ranked Close as the 25th-best guest star in the show's history for her first two performances as Mona. [2] In 2007, Entertainment Weekly called Close one of "fourteen guest stars whose standout performances on TV make us wish they'd turn up in a Simpsons Movie 2 ". [13] In 2008, Entertainment Weekly also named Close one of the 16 best Simpsons guest stars. [14] The Phoenix.com placed Close in the second position on their list of the best 20 Simpsons guest stars. [15] Star News Online listed Close as one of the four hundred reasons why they love The Simpsons. [16] Close appeared on AOL's list of their favorite 25 Simpsons guest stars. [17] Robert Canning of IGN wrote that Close "gave us the sweet voice of Mona Simpson. She's a perfect fit, able to convey a loving, motherly tone, while still convincing the audience she's a headstrong hippie activist." [18]

"Mother Simpson" is one of Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein's favorite episodes as a perfect combination of real emotion, good jokes and an interesting story [19] and they have expressed regret about not submitting it for the Emmy Award in the Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming less than One Hour) category. [8] "My Mother the Carjacker" received a Writers Guild of America Award nomination in 2004 in the animation category. [20] "Mona Leaves-a" received mixed reviews from critics. Robert Canning described it as "clunky and forced and wasn't all that funny" but still gave it a 7/10. [18] Richard Keller called it a decent episode, but despised Mona's brief appearance. [21]

Related Research Articles

Marjorie Jacqueline "Marge" Simpson (née Bouvier) is a character in the American animated sitcom The Simpsons and part of the eponymous family. Voiced by Julie Kavner, she first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Marge 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. He based the character on his mother Margaret Groening. After appearing on The Tracey Ullman Show for three seasons, the Simpson family received their own series on Fox, which debuted December 17, 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homer Simpson</span> Character from the Simpsons franchise

Homer Jay Simpson is the protagonist of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared, along with the rest of the Simpsons, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Homer was created by the cartoonist Matt Groening while he was waiting in the lobby of producer James L. Brooks's office. Groening had been called to pitch a series of shorts based on his comic strip Life in Hell but instead created a new set of characters. He named the character after his father, Homer Groening. After appearing for three seasons on The Tracey Ullman Show, the Simpsons received their own series on Fox, which debuted on December 17, 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grampa Simpson</span> Recurring character in The Simpsons

Abraham Jay "Abe" Simpson II, better known as Grampa Simpson, is a recurring character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He made his first appearance in the episode entitled "Grandpa and the Kids", a one-minute Simpsons short on The Tracey Ullman Show, before the debut of the television show in 1989.

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

Barnard "Barney" Gumble is a recurring character in the American animated TV series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire".

"D'oh-in' in the Wind" is the sixth episode of the tenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on Fox in the United States on November 15, 1998. In the episode, Homer Simpson travels to a farm owned by Seth and Munchie, two aged hippies who were friends with Homer's mother. After finding out his middle name is "Jay", Homer is drawn to the carefree lifestyle of hippies, and decides to become one himself.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simpson family</span> Family of five fictional characters in animation series The Simpsons

The Simpson family are the main fictional characters featured in the animated television series The Simpsons. The Simpsons are a nuclear family consisting of married couple Homer and Marge and their three children, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. They live at 742 Evergreen Terrace in the fictional town of Springfield, United States, and they were created by cartoonist Matt Groening, who conceived the characters after his own family members, substituting "Bart" for his own name. The family debuted on Fox on April 19, 1987, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" and were later spun off into their own series, which debuted on Fox in the U.S. on December 17, 1989, and started airing in Winter 1990.

"My Mother the Carjacker" is the second episode of the fifteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 9, 2003. In the episode, Homer receives a cryptic message in the newspaper informing him to come to a certain place at midnight, and soon discovers that the person who wrote the message is his mother, Mona Simpson. It was written by Michael Price and directed by Nancy Kruse. Glenn Close makes her second of eleven guest spots as Homer's mother. It has a direct link from the season seven episode "Mother Simpson". It was nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award in 2004. In its original run, the episode received 12.4 million viewers.

"Lady Bouvier's Lover" is the twenty-first and penultimate episode of the fifth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 12, 1994. In the episode, Abe Simpson falls in love with Marge's mother, Jacqueline Bouvier, and they start dating. However, on a night out in town, she is charmed by Mr. Burns. Abe is brokenhearted when he learns that Jacqueline is going to marry Mr. Burns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Way We Was</span> 12th episode of the 2nd season of The Simpsons

"The Way We Was" is the twelfth episode of the second season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on January 31, 1991. In the episode, Marge tells the story of how she and Homer first met and fell in love. Flashing back to 1974, it is shown how Homer falls in love with Marge in high school and tries to get close to her by enlisting her as his French tutor. After several hours of verb conjugation, Marge falls for Homer too, only to become enraged when he admits he is not a French student. Marge rejects Homer's invitation to the prom and goes with Artie Ziff, who turns out to be a terrible date and Marge realizes that it is Homer she really wants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Regina Monologues</span> 4th episode of the 15th season of The Simpsons

"The Regina Monologues" is the fourth episode of the fifteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 23, 2003. It was directed by Mark Kirkland and was the final episode written by John Swartzwelder. The episode sees the Simpson family travel to the United Kingdom for vacation. There, they meet several celebrities including Tony Blair, Evan Marriott, Ian McKellen and J. K. Rowling, who all appear as themselves. Later, Homer is arrested and locked in the Tower of London for accidentally crashing into the Queen's carriage. Meanwhile, Abraham Simpson journeys to find Edwina, his long lost love, who is voiced by Jane Leeves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy</span> 14th episode of the 5th season of The Simpsons

"Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy" is the fourteenth episode of the fifth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 95th episode overall. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 17, 1994. Lisa challenges the Malibu Stacy dollmakers to make a less sexist doll. With Malibu Stacy's original creator, Stacy Lovell, Lisa creates the doll Lisa Lionheart to positively influence young girls.

"Old Money" is the seventeenth episode of the second season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on March 28, 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mother Simpson</span> 8th episode of the 7th season of The Simpsons

"Mother Simpson" is the eighth episode of the seventh season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on Fox in the United States on November 19, 1995. After faking his own death to get a day off work, Homer reunites with his mother Mona, who he thought had died over two decades prior. It was directed by David Silverman and was the first episode to be written by Richard Appel. Glenn Close makes her first of eleven guest appearances as Homer's mother. This episode is dedicated to the memory of staff member Jackie Banks, who died on November 4, 1995.

"Mona Leaves-a" is the nineteenth and penultimate episode of the nineteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 11, 2008. The episode features the death of Homer's mother, Mona Simpson. Homer is reunited with his mother, Mona, but is not willing to forgive her for all the times she left him as a child. When she dies, a guilt-ridden Homer attempts to make it up to her by fulfilling her final wishes. It was written by Joel H. Cohen and directed by Mike B. Anderson and Ralph Sosa. Glenn Close makes her third appearance as Mona Simpson, and Lance Armstrong has a cameo as himself.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">In the Name of the Grandfather</span> 14th episode of the 20th season of The Simpsons

"In the Name of the Grandfather" is the fourteenth episode of the twentieth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on Sky1 on St. Patrick's Day, March 17, 2009 and aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 22, 2009. It was the first episode of the show to premiere in Europe before airing on Fox. In the episode, the Simpsons buy a new hot tub and spend so much time relaxing in it that they neglect Abraham "Grampa" Simpson. Homer decides to make it up to Grampa by helping him do one thing he wants to do. Grampa reminisces about O'Flanagan's pub in Ireland where he once had the best night of his life so the Simpsons travel there. Marge, Bart and Lisa visit various Irish landmarks while Homer and Grampa buy O'Flanagan's during a night of binge drinking and soon discover that pubs are no longer popular in Ireland.

"How I Wet Your Mother" is the sixteenth episode of the twenty-third season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 11, 2012. In the episode, a traumatic incident causes Homer to repeatedly wet the bed. As it worsens, his family, with the help of Professor Frink, successfully manage to infiltrate his dreams to get to its subconscious source. The episode name is a pun on How I Met Your Mother.

"Forgive and Regret" is the eighteenth episode of the twenty-ninth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 636th episode of the series overall. The episode was directed by Rob Oliver and written by Bill Odenkirk. It aired in the United States on Fox on April 29, 2018.

"Mothers and Other Strangers" is the eighth episode of the thirty-third season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 715th episode overall. It aired in the United States on Fox on November 28, 2021. The episode was directed by Rob Oliver and written by Al Jean.

"Meat Is Murder" is the twenty-first and penultimate episode of the thirty-third season of the American animated television series The Simpsons, and the 727th episode overall. Parodying Succession and The Founder, it aired in the United States on Fox on May 15, 2022. The episode was directed by Bob Anderson and written by Michael Price.

References

  1. ↑ "My Mother the Carjacker". The Simpsons. Season 15. Episode 2. November 9, 2003. Event occurs at 08:01. Fox. Captured '60s radical, Mona J. Simpson, goes on trial today on decades-old charges of sabotaging the C. Montgomery Burns Germ Warfare Lab.
  2. 1 2 3 Goldman, Eric; Iverson, Dan; Zoromski, Brian. "Top 25 Simpsons Guest Appearances". IGN. Archived from the original on December 23, 2008. Retrieved October 6, 2007.
  3. 1 2 Appel, Rich; Silverman, David (November 19, 1995). "Mother Simpson". The Simpsons. Season 07. Episode 08. Fox.
  4. ↑ Cary, Donick; Kirkland, Mark; Nastuk, Matthew (November 15, 1998). "D'oh-in in the Wind". The Simpsons. Season 10. Episode 06. Fox.
  5. ↑ Price, Michael; Kruse, Nancy (November 9, 2003). "My Mother the Carjacker". The Simpsons. Season 15. Episode 02. Fox.
  6. ↑ Cohen, Joel H.; Anderson, Mike B. (May 11, 2008). "Mona Leaves-a". The Simpsons. Season 19. Episode 19. Fox.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Appel, Richard (2005). Commentary for "Mother Simpson", in The Simpsons: The Complete Seventh Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Oakley, Bill (2005). Commentary for "Mother Simpson", in The Simpsons: The Complete Seventh Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  9. ↑ Silverman, David (2005). Commentary for "Mother Simpson", in The Simpsons: The Complete Seventh Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  10. ↑ Groening, Matt (2005). Commentary for "Mother Simpson", in The Simpsons: The Complete Seventh Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  11. ↑ "Fox unleashes a May sweeps to remember". FoxFlash. April 15, 2008. Archived from the original on April 21, 2008. Retrieved April 15, 2008.
  12. ↑ Gimple, Scott M. (1999). The Simpsons Forever! A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family...Continued. HarperCollins. p.  87. ISBN   978-0-06-098763-3.
  13. ↑ Bruno, Mike. "Simpsons Movie 2: Our Dream cast". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 6, 2007. Retrieved October 6, 2007.
  14. ↑ Kim, Wook (May 11, 2008). "Springfield of Dreams: 16 great 'Simpsons' guest stars". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on May 14, 2008. Retrieved May 11, 2008.
  15. ↑ "The Simpsons 20 best guest voices of all time". The Phoenix.com. March 29, 2006. Archived from the original on November 16, 2006. Retrieved November 17, 2008.
  16. ↑ Jeff Hidek. "400 reasons we love 'The Simpsons'". Star News Online. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved October 17, 2008.
  17. ↑ Potts, Kimberly. "Favorite 'Simpsons' Guest Stars". AOL. Archived from the original on May 15, 2008. Retrieved November 24, 2008.
  18. 1 2 Robert Canning (May 12, 2008). "The Simpsons: "Mona Leaves-A" Review". IGN. Archived from the original on May 13, 2008. Retrieved November 17, 2008.
  19. ↑ Weinstein, Josh (2005). Commentary for "Mother Simpson", in The Simpsons: The Complete Seventh Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  20. ↑ "WGA Announces Screenplay Noms". Hollywood.com. Archived from the original on December 5, 2012. Retrieved November 17, 2008.
  21. ↑ Keller, Richard (May 12, 2008). "The Simpsons:Mona Leaves-a VIDEO". TV Squad. Archived from the original on December 1, 2008. Retrieved November 17, 2008.
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.