Choco-Pussy or Dip and Let Die!

"Choco-Pussy or Dip and Let Die!"

The Itchy & Scratchy Show Episode Information Pun: Octopussy Live and Let Die First appearance: Bart Simpson and the Krusty Brand Fun Factory

"Choco-Pussy or Dip and Let Die!" is an episode of The Itchy & Scratchy Show. Bart, Lisa and Homer watched it on TV.

Plot

Itchy and Scratchy are in a candy factory. Itchy is at the controls of an excavator and has picked up Scratchy with the excavator's pincher claw. Itchy releases the claw, dropping Scratchy into a vat full of melted chocolate. Itchy then picks up a now-chocolate-covered Scratchy (who is in a pose resembling the Easter Bunny) and drops him into a vat full of "Poppin' Rocks" candies. Itchy sprays the candies with seltzer water and says, "You're all washed up, Mr. Scratchy!" Scratchy screams as the exploding candies blow holes in him and send him flying into the air. Scratchy keeps ascending and ends up in outer space, where his screams are replaced by a speech balloon that is empty except for an asterisk. The asterisk directs the reader to a footnote that says, "In space, no one can hear you scream." Scratchy ends up hurtling into the sun.

Reactions

Bart and Lisa laughed uproariously at the cartoon. Homer, impressed by the ending, said, "Wow! What a way to go!" He then turned to Marge (who was dusting in the living room during the cartoon) and said, "Marge, when I die, will you make sure I get dipped in chocolate and shot into the sun?"

Behind the Laughter

• The cartoon references and parodies James Bond films as follows:
  • The title is a pun on Octopussy and Live and Let Die.
  • The illustration on the title card shows Itchy melting Scratchy by focusing light with a magnifying glass, reminiscent of the laser beam scene in Goldfinger.
• When Itchy pulls Scratchy out of the vat of chocolate, Scratchy looks like one of the rabbit characters from Matt Groening's Life in Hell comic strip.
• The "Poppin' Rocks" candies are a reference to Pop Rocks, a hard candy that contained tiny high-pressure bubbles of carbon dioxide. Exposure to moisture (such as inside someone's mouth) made the bubbles rupture, which produced popping that could be heard as well as felt by the eater. Pop Rocks were withdrawn from sale due to lack of market success, as well as persistent rumors (since debunked) that the candies were harmful.
• The footnote ("In space, no one can hear you scream") for Scratchy's blank speech balloon echoes the promotional tagline from Alien.

Appearances

• Comic story – Bart Simpson and the Krusty Brand Fun Factory