Maggie Simpson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Simpsons character | |
 |
|
| Maggie Simpson | |
| Gender | Female |
|---|---|
| Job | None |
| Relatives | Parents: Homer and Marge Siblings: Bart and Lisa (See also Simpson family) |
| Voice actor | Various[1] |
| First appearance | |
| Ullman shorts | "Good Night" |
| The Simpsons | "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" |
Margaret "Maggie" Simpson is a fictional character featured in the animated television series The Simpsons. She is the youngest of the five main family members and is almost always seen as a baby. She first appeared in the Tracey Ullman short "Good Night" and was quite prominent during the Ullman days, often being featured alongside Bart and Lisa. Maggie has since become the least seen and heard of the five main Simpsons.[2]
Contents |
[edit] Role in The Simpsons
[edit] Personality
Maggie is impressionable, easily influenced by what she sees around her but also shows a high degree of dexterity. She once hit Homer on the head with a mallet, shot a suction dart at his picture, and brandished a pencil in imitation of Itchy and Scratchy. Despite her age, Maggie is a formidable marksman, as seen in "Who Shot Mr. Burns?"[3] and "Papa's Got a Brand New Badge," where she is able to non-fatally shoot a group of mobsters in rapid succession with a rifle.[4]
During the early seasons of the show, Maggie's equivalent of a hallmark or calling card would be to trip over her clothing and fall on her face while trying to walk, causing a loud thud on the floor. Throughout the Tracey Ullman shorts, Maggie fell down a total of 39 times, in all but 9 episodes.[4]
She is keenly aware of her surroundings, and can usually be seen imitating the flow of action around her. Like Bart, Lisa and Homer, she is not fond of spending time with her aunts Patty and Selma.[5]
Maggie's most complex relationship has been with her father Homer, where Maggie is frightened and then exasperated by Homer's attempts to bond with her, or where she becomes closer to her babysitter Moe than to Homer. On three occasions, however, she has stepped in saved Homer's life: once from drowning, once from being shot by mobsters, and from being shot by Russ Cargill, head of the EPA.
[edit] Character
[edit] Creation
Matt Groening conceived the Simpson family in the lobby of James L. Brooks' office. He had been called in to pitch a series of animated shorts, and had intended to present his Life in Hell series. When he realized that animating Life in Hell would require him to rescind publication rights for his life's work, Groening decided to go in another direction.[6] He hurriedly sketched out his version of a dysfunctional family, and named the characters after various members of his own family.[6] Maggie was named after Matt Groening's younger sister Margaret "Maggie" Groening.[7] She often sucked on a pacifier and wore a sleep suit, two traits Groening used for Maggie.[8] Maggie then made her debut with the rest of the Simpsons clan on 19 April 1987 in the Tracey Ullman short "Good Night".[9] Groening thought that it would be funny to have a baby character that did not talk and never grew up, but assigned any emotions that the scene required.[8] Her comedic hallmarks include her tendency to stumble and land on her face while attempting to walk (though this has been downplayed in later seasons), and a penchant for sucking on her pacifier, the sound of which has become the equivalent of her catchphrase and was originally created by Groening during the Tracey Ullman period, and by Nancy Cartwright during the regular series.[citation needed]
During the show's opening credits, Maggie is run through a supermarket checkout scanner, which reads that she is worth $847.63, a reference to the monthly cost of supporting a child in 1989 (the year of the shows first season)[10]. In "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular," the scanner instead reads "NRA4EVER," a reference to the running joke that the show's creators are right-wing radicals.
[edit] Voice
With few exceptions, Maggie never speaks but is very participatory in the events around her, emoting with subtle gestures and facial expressions. Maggie's first lines were spoken in "Good Night", the first short to air on The Tracey Ullman Show, after the family falls asleep. On this occasion, Liz Georges provided the voice of Maggie.[11]
Maggie's first word spoken in the normal continuity of the series occurred in "Lisa's First Word", when she was voiced by Elizabeth Taylor.[2][12] Elizabeth Taylor's performance as Maggie was named the 13th greatest guest spot in the history of the show by IGN.[13] James Earl Jones, who voiced Maggie in Treehouse of Horror V,[14] was in seventh place.[15] She would later have brief dialogue in Treehouse of Horror IX, voiced by Harry Shearer, who used his Kang voice.[16] In earlier episodes, Yeardley Smith did many of Maggie's squeaks and occasional speaking parts,[17] although in later seasons her parts were done by Nancy Cartwright.[18]
[edit] References
- ^ Maggie has been voiced by numerous people in various episodes. In canon episodes, she has only ever said one word, which was spoken by Elizabeth Taylor.
- ^ a b Face to Face: Maggie Simpson EW.com. Published September 11, 1992, Retrieved on March 27, 2007
- ^ "Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part 2)" The Simpsons.com. Retrieved on March 27, 2007
- ^ a b "Poppa's Got a Brand New Badge" The Simpsons.com. Retrieved on March 27, 2007
- ^ "Homer Alone" The Simpsons.com. Retrieved on March 27, 2007
- ^ a b BBC. (2000). 'The Simpsons': America's First Family (6 minute edit for the season 1 DVD) (DVD). UK: 20th Century Fox.
- ^ Sadownick, Doug (February 26, 1991). Groening Against the Grain. Advocate. Retrieved on March 27, 2007.
- ^ a b Groening, Matt; Jean, Al; Brooks, James L.. (2007). The Simpsons Movie: A Look Behind the Scenes [DVD]. The Sun.
- ^ Richmond, Ray; Antonia Coffman (1997). The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to our Favorite Family. Harper Collins Publishers, pg. 14. ISBN 0-00-638898-1
- ^ List of Inquiries and Substantive Answers. Retrieved on June 4, 2007.
- ^ The Simpsons Archive: The Simpsons on The Tracey Ullman Show
- ^ "Lisa's First Word"
- ^ Top 25 Simpsons Guest Appearances, Page 3 IGN.com. Published September 5, 2006, Retrieved on March 27, 2007
- ^ Richmond, Ray; Antonia Coffman (1997). The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to our Favorite Family. Harper Collins Publishers, pg. 154, 155. ISBN 0-00-638898-1.
- ^ Top 25 Simpsons Guest Appearances, Page 4 IGN.com. Published September 5, 2006, Retrieved on March 27, 2007
- ^ Gimple, Scott M.; Matt Groening (December 1, 1999). The Simpsons Forever!: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family ...Continued. HarperCollins, pp.50-51. ISBN 978-0060987633.
- ^ Smith, Yeardley. (2007). Audio commentary for The Simpsons Movie [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
- ^ Brooks, James L.; Cartwright, Nancy; Groening, Matt; Jean, Al; Moore, Rich. (2003). The Simpsons The Complete Third Season DVD commentary for the episode "Brother Can You Spare Two Dimes?" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
[edit] External links
- Maggie Simpson at TheSimpsons.com
- The Maggie File at The Simpsons Archive
- Maggie Simpson at the Internet Movie Database
