October 21, 2007
For nearly two decades, The Simpsons has given television audiences countless reasons to laugh at the antics of the dysfunctional yellow-orange tinged family from Springfield. Part of the reason behind its success are the actors that lend their voices to the characters. One of those vocal talents is Yeardley Smith, who has provided the voice of smart, talented and pint-sized Lisa Simpson for years.
Smith has been voicing Lisa for the animated sitcom's entire run. Smith took time out to offer insight on her Simpsons toon persona when she spoke to the U.K. Telegraph this month.
October 14, 2007
The Simpsons Game, featuring a donut-wielding giant robot will hit video game stores October 30. Demos of the game are currently available for Microsoft Xbox 360 and Sony Playstation 3.
The Simpsons Game features our beloved dysfunctional Springfield family as each of them comes to grips with their new video game abilities. Each member of the Simpsons brood has his or her own distinct power to tackle the various challenges in different parodies of popular game titles.
October 7, 2007
Halloween is just around the corner. It's that time of the year again when kids gear up with their costumes, go trick or treat and indulge in scary movies. But for fans of The Simpsons, it also signifies the release of the much awaited Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror #13.
Treehouse of Horror, which is now available in market, is an annual anthology released by Bongo Comics. It is considered as one of the highly anticipated comics of the animated series not just because of its horror theme, but because of the diverse pool of talent it attracts from mainstream writers and artists who are not usually associated with the franchise and the creative freedom they're allowed to infuse. Given its Halloween-themed premise, creators, as well as the writers, are not forced to follow any style guides and are at liberty to depict the Springfield population in their own artistic tone.
September 30, 2007
Over the years, The Simpsons have caught the attention of many viewers with its soft-satirical parody of a fictional community in Springfield. One townie that stands out in the animated series, apart from the titular family consisting of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie, is character Morris Lester Szyslak who is popularly known as Moe the Bartender. While many have pondered on how show creator Matt Groening came to develop the bad-tempered bar owner, comedian Rich Hall reveals that Moe is actually based on him.
Hall, a 53-year-old writer and TV personality, speculated that he was the inspiration for the Simpsons character since he used to work with one of the producers of the show. Consequently, his hunch was confirmed by Groening.
September 16, 2007
The 19th season of The Simpsons is just two weeks away, and word is the opening scene will have Bart Simpson writing this intriguing phase over and over again on the classroom blackboard: “I will not wait 20 years to make another movie.”
While this, along with the fact that the voice cast of The Simpsons are signed to do three movies of the animated series, has led many to think that a sequel is underway, showrunner and executive producer Al Jean told the New York Post that at present, they are not planning a sequel to the highly successful The Simpsons Movie, which has grossed more than $175 million in the United States alone.
September 10, 2007
Premiere Date and Time: Sunday, September 23, 8pm
Network: FOX
Time Slot Competition: Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Viva Laughlin, Life is Wild, Sunday Night Football
Cast: Dan Castellaneta, Yeardley Smith, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer
September 9, 2007
Shout Factory is getting ready to release of The Simpsons: Testify, A Whole Lot More Original Music From the Television Series, the latest soundtrack to FOX's long-running animated series, The Simpsons.
The album features songs used through seasons 10-18 of The Simpsons. It not only contains the iconic opening theme from Danny Elfman, but also compositions from the show's long-time composer, Alf Clausen. Fans of the series can also expect to hear such celebrities as Jackson Browne, Los Lobos, David Bryne, Shawn Colvin, Ricky Gervais, the B-52's, the Baha Men and “Weird Al” Yankovic.
August 26, 2007
Good news for parents whose kids are avid followers of the long-running animated series, The Simpsons. A teacher from the University of Sciences in Philadelphia claims that the cartoon actually helps young students learn about science, as the show's science themes covers an array of topics in biology, chemistry, astronomy and physics.
Paul Halpern, a physics and mathematics professor, recently released a book entitled, What's Science Ever Done for Us? What The Simpsons Can Teach US About Physics, Robots, Life and the Universe. Additionally, he uses certain episodes of the cartoon in his classes, and says that although not everything in the show is scientifically sound, it has the potential to spark an interest in science.