Maggie Simpson
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"Suck suck" -Maggie's catch phrase
Margaret (Maggie) Simpson
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Character Information
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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 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 of the five main Simpsons.
Role in The Simpsons
Like average babies, Maggie is impressionable and easily influenced by what she sees around her. 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?" and "Papa's Got a Brand New Badge," where she is able to shoot the fingers off of a group of mobsters in rapid succession with a rifle.
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 smack on the floor. Indeed, throughout the Tracey Ullman shorts, Maggie fell down a total of 39 times.
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. It is also known that she dislikes One Eyebrowed baby very much.
It was revealed that she was the one who pulled the trigger on Mr. Burns. While most characters dismissed this as an accident, it was strongly implied to viewers that Maggie shot Burns on purpose.
Apart from a few-and-far-between exceptions, Maggie has never been seen to talk.
Creation
Matt Groening first 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.[1] He hurriedly sketched out his version of a dysfunctional family, and named the characters after various members of his own family. Maggie was named after Matt Groening's younger sister Margaret "Maggie" Groening.[2]She often sucked on a pacifier and wore a sleep suit, two traits Groening used for Maggie.[3] Maggie then made her debut with the rest of the Simpsons clan on 19 April, 1987 in the Tracey Ullman short "Good Night".[4] 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. 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.
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 infant-rearing in 1989).[5]. 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.
Voice
With few exceptions, Maggie never speaks but is very participatory in the events around her, emoting with subtle gestures and facial expressions. Maggie has 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.[6]
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.[7][8] Elizabeth Taylor's performance as Maggie was named the 13th greatest guest spot in the history of the show by IGN.[9] James Earl Jones, who voiced Maggie in Treehouse of Horror V,[10] was in seventh place.[11] She would later have brief dialogue in Treehouse of Horror IX, voiced by Harry Shearer, who used his Kang voice.[12] In earlier episodes, Yeardley Smith did many of Maggie's squeaks and occasional speaking parts,[13] although in later seasons her parts were done by Nancy Cartwright.[14] Although she has spoken many times, her only canonical speech that was "real" within the series was in Lisa's First Word.
Appearances
References
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 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
- ↑ Face to Face: Maggie Simpson EW.com. Published September 11, 1992, Retrieved on March 27, 2007
- ↑ "Lisa's First Word"
- ↑ Top 25 Simpsons Guest Appearances, Page 3 IGN.com. Published September 5, 2006, Retrieved on March 27, 2007
- ↑ Template:Cite book
- ↑ Top 25 Simpsons Guest Appearances, Page 4 IGN.com. Published September 5, 2006, Retrieved on March 27, 2007
- ↑ Template:Cite book
- ↑ 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.
External links
- Maggie Simpson at TheSimpsons.com
- The Maggie File at The Simpsons Archive
