Difference between revisions of "Lisa Simpson"

Revision as of 14:14, September 9, 2007

Characters

Episodes

Cast and crew

Guest stars

Tapped Out

Comics

Affiliates

Lisa Marie Simpson is a charismatic 8 year-old girl, who exceeds the standard achievement level of children her age. Not to everyone's surprise she is also the moral center of her family. In her upbringing, Lisa lacks parental involvement of Homer and Marge, which leads to hobbies such as a playing saxophone and guitar, riding and caring for horses, and interest in advanced studies. In school Lisa's popularity is affected by those who view her as a geeky overachiever, which leaves her with only a few friends. Lisa Simpson is a smart, witty, independent girl who focuses on her goals and strives to reach her potential, and at age 8 she is already a member of MENSA with an IQ of 159.

Personality

Bart holding baby Lisa as seen in Lisa's First Word.

In the Tracy Ullman shorts and early full length episodes, Lisa had interests equally as childish as Bart's, including comic books and burping contests. As the show continued however, she became more stereotypically intellectual and began to regard such activities juvenile, engaging in more mature pursuits. Lisa is quite eclectic in her knowledge and is notably more concerned with world affairs than her cohorts. Critics have also pointed out that Lisa's situation alludes to the plight of real children, who are often underestimated by adults. Lisa shares her intellect and overachieving personality traits with other female members of the Simpson family ("Lisa the Simpson" revealed that Simpson males inherit a gene on the Y chromosome that prevents them from channeling their intellect). Lisa also deeply values her integrity, as demonstrated when she cheats on a test on The Wind in the Willows to attain her highest grade of A+++, but later admits her dishonesty to an unreceptive Principal Skinner. (She later re-grades the test as an F.) Despite her intellect, Lisa has received detention, like her brother Bart, quite a number of times, often because of her rebellious and sometimes bitter attitude and anti-social behaviour that is capable of deeply embarrassing authority figures.

Although her rebellion against social norms is usually constructive, Lisa can be whiny, cruel and self-righteous at times. Notably, in "Lisa the Vegetarian", her increasing sense of moral righteousness regarding her vegetarianism leads her to proselytize, culminating in her spiteful disruption of a "meat-based" barbecue prepared by Homer (an act she comes to rue). At times, Lisa appears to resist certain situations merely for the sake of resisting them, not because of any genuine ideological opposition. She appears to enjoy breaking the norm for its own sake; in "Bart Star", she triumphantly declares that she, a girl, would like to join the football team. When it is revealed that there are already girls on the team, she declares her distaste for a sport that would use a pig's skin to make its ball. When it is revealed that the ball is actually synthetic, she is at a loss for words and runs off visibly upset.

Despite her high IQ, Lisa does have typical childhood issues, sometimes requiring adult intervention. In "Lost Our Lisa", she tricks Homer into allowing her to ride the bus alone, only to become hopelessly lost. After his coworkers Lenny and Carl point out that he allowed his 8 year old daughter to ride a bus by herself, Homer comes to her rescue. In one episode, Lisa has a Jewish imaginary friend named Rachel Cohen who "just got into Brandeis University." In the earlier seasons, Lisa displayed more personality traits of an eight-year old, including obsessing over getting a pony, being addicted to TV, and fighting with Bart.

Intelligence

In "Homer's Enemy", it is mentioned that Lisa has an IQ of 156. She is a high-ranking member of Mensa Springfield. Lisa demonstrates an early intelligence by changing her own diaper as an infant. When unable to attend school due to a teachers' strike (in "The PTA Disbands!"), she suffered a sort of "school withdrawal" and invents a perpetual motion machine that Homer describes as going "faster and faster". He goes on to chastise her, saying "In this house, we obey the laws of thermodynamics!"

Beliefs

Lisa's political convictions are generally leftist and rather liberal. She is a vegetarian, and a supporter of the Free Tibet movement. Lisa yells "Free Tibet!" after winning the school spelling bee.

While still supportive of the Christian church she was raised in, Lisa is now a practicing Buddhist following her decision to follow the Noble Eightfold Path. Though apparently not an adherent, she mentions in one episode that she considers Wicca "very empowering"

Music

Lisa playing the Sax

Her musical abilities are extensive: she sings with a powerful voice, and has been seen playing the acoustic six-string (in "Last Exit to Springfield"), electric bass guitar, accordion and piano proficiently. She also taught herself to play the oboe in one Simpsons Comic. But her great love is playing jazz on her baritone saxophone. Her musical inclinations were nurtured by her relationship with the late jazz musician Bleeding Gums Murphy.

Independent learning

She is fluent in Italian (learned from Milhouse Van Houten before going to Italy), as well as some French and German verbs (with the help of a German verbwheel in "The Canine Mutiny"). She seems to understand Chinese when Yao Ming speaks to her in the language (though she cannot read it), as well as Spanish. In "Treehouse of Horror XIV", she seems fluent in Swedish (with questionable pronunciation), but this may be considered non-canon due to the "Treehouse of Horror" connection, which episodes are generally considered to be non-canonical.

Boys

Romantic interests in Lisa's life are unpredictable. Her dream crush is a heartthrob from local teen magazines, Corey. But Lisa's first boyfriend is a less-than-stellar schoolmate, Nelson Muntz. He is far from a perfect gentleman - a school bully, a failing student, a prankster with two cohorts, and Lisa finds herself strangely attracted to his grungy lifestyle enough to ask him out. As Nelson and Lisa's share their first real kiss, Lisa realizes that the difference between them is too big and breaks off their relationship.

Meanwhile, Lisa manages to catch the eye of a couple boys from school: Milhouse Van Houten and Ralph Wiggum. Although she has absolutely no attraction to either one of them, there have been references on the show about Lisa's future relationships with Milhouse. There have also been references of a future engagement to a charming British student Hugh (which she breaks off right before the wedding.) So overall, Lisa Simpson isn't a hopeless romantic!

Pets

• Snowball First Cat
• Snowball II Second Cat
• Snowball III Third Cat
• Coltrane Fourth Cat
• Snowball V(later known as Snowball II)

Future Plans

Lisa understands that striving for the best will have great rewards waiting for her. She is often found fantasizing about her future as a Nobel Prize winner, great Jazz musician, and a female President. After finding out that the "Simpson Gene" is ineffective in Simpson women, Lisa feels that there isn't anything that can block her path to success. Her possibilities are endless!

Extra

• Mentored by late jazzman Bleeding Gums Murphy
• Won regional Reading Digest contest
• Served brief term as Little Miss Springfield
• Co-invented the Lisa Lionheart doll
• All-star goalie in pee-wee hockey
• Discovered Jebediah Springfield was a pirate
• Helped Mr. Burns recover his fortune
• Passed second grade as the first female cadet at Rommelwood Military Academy
• Became a singing legend on an American Idol parody.

The Simpsons Hit & Run

Lisa is playable in the third level of The Simpsons: Hit and Run as she looks for Bart after his disappearance. However, she makes an appearance in the first level in Springfield Elementary school, where Homer has to give her the science project she forgot. By the time the seventh level has come around, Lisa is back in the Simpson house, and tells her father to go out and stock up on supplies. However, by the fourth mission, Lisa is back at the school, where she suggests that Homer goes to Mr Burns to buy nuclear waste, which is the aliens’ weakness. When characters use the Malibu Stacy car in levels four, five and six, Lisa appears in the car.