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Showing posts with label The Walt Disney Company. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Walt Disney Company. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 22, 2024

"The Simpsons": Homer Was Originally Going To Krusty The Clown

There was originally supposed to be a twist on The Simpsons: Krusty the Clown was meant to be Homer Simpson in disguise, but that's not what happened in the end. All 30 seasons of TV's longest-running scripted primetime animated series will be available on Disney+ at launch. This means generations of Simpsons fans can experience one of the greatest TV shows ever from the very beginning - and they'll see just how much The Simpsons has changed since its awkward first season.

Of course, Krusty (voiced by Dan Castellaneta, who is also the voice of Homer) is one of The Simpsons' greatest characters and he's arguably the town of Springfield's biggest celebrity. Krusty hosts The Krusty the Clown Show, the favorite weekday program of Springfield's children. Krusty's show is the home of Itchy & Scratchy cartoons and, as Krusty once bragged, "It's the tightest three hours and ten minutes on TV". Krusty is also Bart Simpson's personal hero; Bart's pure-hearted worship of Krusty defies the realities and many failings of the narcissistic clown. Krusty never seems to remember all the things Bart has done for him like re-ignite his career with Krusty's Komeback Special, serving as his assistant, the "I Didn't Do It! Boy", and reuniting Krusty with his estranged father, Rabbi Krustofsky (Jackie Mason).

The Simpsons' Homer/Krusty Twist Explained

Krusty's first appearance was in The Simpsons short "The Krusty the Clown Show", which aired on The Tracy Ullman Show. Bart attends a taping of Krusty's show but he suspects the clown host isn't the real deal; Simpson yanks off his nose and it's revealed Krusty is an imposter - before a smash cut shows Homer and Marge watching the debacle on TV. But originally, Matt Groening planned for Bart to discover that Homer was Krusty before it was changed. As Groening told EW:

”The original idea behind Krusty the Clown was that he was Homer in disguise, but Homer still couldn’t get any respect from his son, who worshiped Krusty. If you look at Krusty, it’s just Homer with extended hair and a tuft on his head.

This explains the obvious physical resemblance between Homer and Krusty. Groening also said that it was too complicated a story to do during The Simpsons' tumultuous beginnings so they (wisely) dropped the idea and kept Homer and Krusty as separate characters. The Simpsons later did a hilarious spin on Homer being Krusty in season 6 episode, "Homie the Clown", where Homer enrolled in Krusty's Clown College but then the two identical harlequins ended up as targets of Springfield's Mafia because of Krusty's $48 debt to the mob.

The Simpsons Did Something Much Better With Krusty

Dropping the Homer-as-Krusty plot allowed Krusty to become a fan-favorite recurring character. The famous clown went on to become one of The Simpsons' best supporting cast members who has been featured in many great episodes. Moreso, Krusty fulfills an invaluable function in the series by encapsulating every negative stereotype about celebrities, thanks to Krusty's improbable 61 years in show business. This includes Krusty's penchant for slapping his image on any substandard product to support his lavish lifestyle of eating dodo eggs and lighting his cigars with $100 bills.

Krusty's venal nature has also been mined for laughs: In "Bart the Fink", the Clown once faked his death because of his IRS debts and posed as "Rory B. Bellows" until Bart and Lisa goaded him back to bring Krusty because he couldn't stand the idea of not being admired for being famous. When his outdated (and racist) comedy bombs in "The Last Temptation of Krust", Krusty stages a comeback by "telling it like it is", only to immediately sell out when he's offered the chance to be the spokes-clown for the Canyonero. While Homer secretly being Krusty would have been an interesting twist, it can't compare to the dividends reaped by Krusty's many hysterical adventures on The Simpsons over the decades.

Credits: Screenrants

Monday, January 29, 2024

The Simpson's History With The Gameboy With Game Included

Acclaim Entertainment teamed with Imagineering to release Bart Simpson's Escapes From Camp Deadly in 1991. The summer camp horror story was notable released before the show's intake of this idea in the season 4 episode titled Camp Krusty.

Acclaim Entertainment then also rushed out the continuation of Bart's handheld conflict in 1992 with The Simpsons: Bart Vs. The Juggernauts. The game's designers pulled out the idea from the most sacred of institutions which was American Gladiators.

Later that year, the handled Krusty's Funhouse also by Acclaim Entertainment was shipped on Gameboy. It was an impressively huge puzzle game featuring as many brain twisting levels as the console and computer versions.

It took a short break when the Bart mark started a waver and came back in 1993 with Itchy & Scratchy In Miniature Golf Madness. Surely these kids were clambering to have these two violent characters to play in an orderly game.

Itchy And Scratchy In Miniature Golf doesn't end with a bang but a whimper as Acclaim Entertainment exits the Gameboy with Bart And The Beanstalk in 1993. The game merges the existing universe of The Simpsons television series with the fairy tale of Jack and the Beanstalk.

Uncovered by Bartmania, THQ and Software Developer released what is the most memorable games in the Simpsons franchise titled The Night Of The Living Treehouse Of Horror in 2001. In colour and featuring the entire family released too late to make much of a splash.

The Simpsons made a leap to the Gameboy Advance courtesy of the THQ and Voltron with The Simpson's Road Rage in 2003. Based on the fun and fully 3D, the console game developed by Radical Entertainment plays like the paper craft taxi racing game you never wanted.

In total, The Simpsons managed to immense amount of 7 handheld games which is impressive for any handheld series.

Credits: Noiselandco