Itchy & Scratchy
The Itchy & Scratchy Show is a fictional animated series within the animated series The Simpsons . It is a bloodthirsty adaptation of Tom and Jerry in which the sadistic mouse Itchy tortures and kills the cat Scratchy in various ways . In the series, she appears as part of the television program of Krusty the Clown , with Bart and Lisa as avid supporters. The plot of Itchy & Scratchy mostly alludes to the plot of the respective episode of The Simpsons . The Itchy & Scratchy Show is also a main theme of the scenario in some Simpsons episodes. The names come from the English words "to scratch" and "to itch" ("itch").
action
In contrast to the classic cat-and-mouse scenarios such as Tom & Jerry or Herman & Katnip , Itchy & Scratchy mostly uses the blue mouse Itchy to trigger the conflict, while the black cat Scratchy at the beginning of the episode is mostly peaceful and without bad intentions is. The conflict is then always extremely brutal and with an explicit representation of violence. Almost every episode ends with Scratchy's gruesome death. This is often followed by a fade-in from the broadcaster, which indicates the violence of the program and that no child should have seen it.
In the episode Homer is "Poochie the Wonder Dog " , the rapping surfer dog Poochie , spoken by Homer Simpson , is introduced due to the dwindling viewership of Itchy & Scratchy . Since it is unpopular, it will be abolished again.
In the episode The television is to blame for everything , Marge Simpson protests against the violence in Itchy & Scratchy and thus triggers a wave of protests, whereupon the series is redesigned and the two main characters only sit in the rocking chair and drink lemonade peacefully. When Marge successfully spoke out in favor of artistic freedom on the occasion of a protest against an exhibition of Michelangelo's David , the show reverted to its usual violence scenarios.
Parallels to Disney
The fictional studio that produces Itchy and Scratchy is based on the Walt Disney Company . The fictional story of the series and its creator Roger Myers allude mainly to that of Walt Disney and his early cartoons. Thus, Steamboat Willie to Steamboat Itchy or Fantasia to ScratchTasia . The Simpsons series also features Itchy-and-Scratchy-Land amusement parks in the United States and Euro-Itchy-and-Scratchy-Land in France, a nod to Disneyland and Eurodisneyland .
Theme song and episode title
The titles of the "Itchy & Scratchy" episodes are mostly word games on film or song titles from popular culture. ( "Skinless in Seattle" , "Reservoir Cats" , "Little Barbershop of Horrors" , "Candle in the Wound" ). During the theme song, Itchy and Scratchy run side by side and hit each other on the head with a hammer and club . The lyrics of the song are:
| Lyrics (english) | German translation |
|---|---|
| They fight, and bite, and fight and bite, and fight. | They fight and bite and fight and bite and fight. |
| Fight, fight, fight. Bite, bite, bite. | Fight, fight, fight. Bite, bite, bite. |
| The Itchy & Scratchy Show | The "Itchy & Scratchy" show |
Merchandise
Video games
In addition to guest appearances in numerous video and computer games, two video games were published in the 1990s that deal with Itchy & Scratchy as the main theme. In 1993, the Gameboy Itchy & Scratchy appeared in Miniature Golf Madness, a mixture of platforming and mini golf simulation, two years later for Game Gear and Super Nintendo, the pure platforming game The Itchy & Scratchy Game . In addition, a mobile game called The Simpsons - Itchy and Scratchy Land , which goes back to an episode of The Simpsons , was released.
comics
In 1993, three "Itchy and Scratchy Comics" were published in the USA. In Germany they appeared in the normal Simpsons comic series and later also in paperbacks.
Media reference effect
An excerpt from Itchy & Scratchy can be seen in the film Ghost Dog shortly before its end. After Ghost Dog is shot, the clip of Louise Vargo's luxury limousine can be seen on TV. It is the episode in which Itchy and Scratchy threaten each other with bigger and bigger weapons and in the end the earth goes under in the mushroom cloud.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Entry on Itchy & Scratchy in Miniature Golf Madness on MobyGames ( English ).
- ↑ Entry on The Itchy & Scratchy Game on MobyGames ( English ).