The Itchy & Scratchy Show (often shortened as Itchy & Scratchy) is a fictional animated series featured on The Simpsons. The cartoon depicts an anthropomorphic sadistic house mouse named Itchy who repeatedly maims or murders an anthropomorphic black cat named Scratchy. It is typically presented as 15- to 60-second sketches that are a part of The Krusty the Clown Show that almost invariably prompts laughter from Bart and Lisa.
The Itchy and Scratchy characters are adult-oriented, extremely violent, bloody, gory, and gruesome parodies of cat-and-mouse cartoons such as Tom and Jerry, Herman and Katnip, and Pixie and Dixie and Mr. Jinks. The Italian comic strip Squeak the Mouse, itself a parody of Tom and Jerry, is also considered to be a strong inspiration and influence for the characters.The Comics Journal, Issues 280-283, Comics Journal Incorporated, 2007, p.27.Pollicelli, Giuseppe (28 August 2011). "Massimo Mattioli: il Disney del porno-horror", Libero.
The cartoon first appeared in The Tracey Ullman Show short "The Bart Simpson Show", which aired in 1988. The cartoon's first appearance in The Simpsons was in the 1990 episode "There's No Disgrace Like Home". The cartoons became popular among the show's writers and animators, and they are often added when an episode needs expanding. Several full episodes were centered on the fictional production of Itchy & Scratchy, such as "Itchy & Scratchy & Marge".
Role in The Simpsons The Itchy & Scratchy Show is a show within a show that appears occasionally in episodes of The Simpsons. They appear in the form of 15- to 60-second-long cartoons that are filled with graphic violence, almost always initiated by Itchy the mouse against Scratchy the cat, with the former almost always being the victor. Itchy & Scratchy airs as a segment on The Krusty the Clown Show, and also aired on its brief replacements, The Side-Show Bob Cavalcade of Whimsy and Gabbo. Itchy & Scratchy mostly airs as a standalone show rather than being a segment in some episodes, such as "In Marge We Trust" (season 8, 1997).
Itchy & Scratchy is usually a parody of traditional cartoons or takeoffs on famous films, but the plot and content are always violent and bloody, with Itchy performing unprovoked acts of graphic violence and homicide unlike most classic cartoons. The most direct and obvious example is Tom and Jerry, an animated series which was also about a constant battle between a cat and a mouse, with the mouse usually victorious, though in Itchy & Scratchy, the mouse acts as the antagonist. Itchy & Scratchy also includes shorts such as Scratchtasia, a parody of Fantasia, and Pinitchio, a parody of Pinocchio. Animation-related jokes are prevalent in the show, such as the Manhattan Madness cartoon in "The Day the Violence Died", which is based on very early animated cartoons such as Gertie the Dinosaur. The cartoons also occasionally serve to play out an exaggerated form of the conflict in the surrounding episode. For example, in "Deep Space Homer" (season five, 1994), Homer is recruited by NASA, and later watches an Itchy & Scratchy cartoon which directly (and gruesomely) parodies the films 2001: A Space Odyssey and Alien.
Fictional production history Several full episodes of The Simpsons were centered on the fictional production history of The Itchy & Scratchy Show. It begins with Chester J. Lampwick creating Itchy the mouse for the now-lost silent cartoon Manhattan Madness, in which Itchy brutally attacks and kills an Irishman and Theodore Roosevelt, in 1919 (the year of the first Felix the Cat cartoon). However, the character was later stolen by Roger Meyers. Scratchy starred in his first cartoon in 1928 titled That Happy Cat. The film, a 13-second-long animation showing the cat whistling and tipping his hat, was a commercial failure. Later that year, Itchy and Scratchy starred in their first cartoon together called Steamboat Itchy, a violent parody of Disney's Steamboat Willie. Along with the cartoon shorts, Itchy and Scratchy were featured in a World War II–era radio series, at least two films (Pinitchio and Scratchtasia, which are parodies of Pinocchio and Fantasia, respectively), and television commercials for Laramie Cigarettes.
Itchy & Scratchy Studios is run by Roger Meyers Jr., the son of Roger Meyers, the cartoon's supposed creator. The studio was bankrupted after it was sued by Lampwick for $800 million when he was represented by Lionel Hutz, but was saved after receiving a large cash settlement from the government over its use of Mr. ZIP. The show underwent a brief, non-violent retooling following a protest campaign led by Marge Simpson, but it returned to its original violent format after Marge was later discredited after defending the display of Michelangelo's David in Springfield in the face of public objection. Itchy & Scratchy has spawned an in-universe Academy Award–winning film adaptation, amusement parks, and a musical; and, like Krusty's show, localized versions are produced for other countries, such as Jamaica's The Itchem and Scratchem Blow.
Characters Featured in Itchy & Scratchy Itchy (voiced by Dan Castellaneta) is a blue mouse and the show's villainous antagonist; he almost always succeeds in his relentless attempts in mutilating or killing Scratchy and any other cats around. Itchy is rarely given any motivation for these attacks outside of the thrill of killing, often laughing in an evil fashion while murdering other characters. Scratchy (voiced by Harry Shearer), the protagonist, is a threadbare, dim-witted black cat and the perpetual victim of Itchy's violent acts; as opposed to Tom of Tom and Jerry, Scratchy seldom antagonizes the mouse to provoke him in any way and is almost always an ordinary civilian going about an everyday life until Itchy kills him. Poochie (voiced by Dan Castellaneta when voiced by Homer Simpson, Alex Rocco when voiced by Roger Meyers Jr.), is an orange dog that appeared in "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show" (season eight, 1997). In the episode, the producers of The Itchy & Scratchy Show believed the cartoons were getting stale, and needed a new character to reinvigorate the show. Homer Simpson gets the job of voicing Poochie, who is introduced in the cartoon, "The Beagle Has Landed". A product of marketing department thinking, Poochie was near-universally despised due to interfering with the graphic violence, and was permanently killed off in his second appearance, despite Homer's objections. The episode was both a reference to TV shows which added new characters purportedly to reinvigorate the show, and a commentary on the growing complaints of fans of The Simpsons. The original idea for the episode was that Poochie would be obnoxious because he was so rich, rather than because he was so cool. Poochie would later make brief speaking cameo appearances in "Treehouse of Horror IX", "Little Big Mom", and "The Nightmare After Krustmas".
Production staff Roger Meyers Jr. (voiced by Alex Rocco in 1990, 1996–1997, Hank Azaria in 1993–1994) is the Chairman of the Board of Itchy & Scratchy Studios and son of Roger Meyers. He first appeared in "Itchy & Scratchy & Marge" (season two, 1990). He distributes the cartoon and is a jaded and selfish businessman who has nothing but contempt for his audience. He has an extremely callous personality; he only cares about people who can help him. This is displayed in his contempt for the writers of The Itchy & Scratchy Show. Alex Rocco also voiced Meyers in "The Day the Violence Died" and "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show". He said that he liked voicing Meyers because "I get to be a big-shot."Rocco, Alex (2006). Commentary for "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show", in The Simpsons: The Complete Eighth Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox. He professed being nervous when voicing the character for the first time in "Itchy & Scratchy & Marge" because he said that he had never done a voice-over before. At first he tried doing a special voice, but was told to "just be yourself." Rocco was one of Bill Oakley's and Josh Weinstein's favorite guest stars, and they liked including him in their episodes so they could "have a little fun with him." On occasions when Rocco was unavailable to do a voice over, Meyers was voiced by Hank Azaria in "The Front" (season four, 1993), "Lady Bouvier's Lover" (season five, 1994) and "Itchy & Scratchy Land" (season six, 1994). The spelling of Meyers' name has been inconsistent in the show. His last name was spelled both Myers and Meyers in "Itchy & Scratchy & Marge", and Myers the later episode "The Day the Violence Died". His name is spelled Meyers in "The Front", as well as in the book The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family. Roger Meyers Sr. first appeared in video footage in "Itchy & Scratchy Land" and has never had a speaking role. He was created because the writers felt it would have been "tortured logic" to have the Roger Meyers Jr. be the creator. Roger Meyers Sr. has similarities to Walt Disney. For example, Disney's alleged antisemitism is spoofed when it is revealed that Meyers made a cartoon called Nazi Supermen are Our Superiors. June Bellamy (voiced by Tress MacNeille in her normal voice, Dan Castellaneta in her Itchy voice, Harry Shearer in her Scratchy voice, Julie Kavner in her Disapproving Squirrel voice) is the actress who portrays both Itchy and Scratchy. Her only appearance was in "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show". She is presumably a reference to veteran voice actress June Foray, who also voiced several male characters, notably Rocky the Flying Squirrel. In actuality, Itchy and Scratchy are voiced by two different men rather than one woman. Chester J. Lampwick (voiced by Kirk Douglas) is the creator of Itchy and only appeared in "The Day the Violence Died". The producers' first choice for the character, William Hickey, declined. Douglas's recording session was fraught with interruptions because he refused to wear the supplied earphones and said the maximum he would do was two takes. In several episodes revolving around the production of Itchy & Scratchy, caricatures of The Simpsons' staff are used as the writing staff of Itchy & Scratchy. This first occurred in "Itchy & Scratchy & Marge" where caricatures of animators David Silverman, Wes Archer, and Rich Moore can be seen.Groening, Matt; Jean, Al; Lapidus, Reardon, Jim; Reiss, Mike. (2002) Commentary for "Itchy & Scratchy & Marge", in The Simpsons: The Complete Second Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox. In "The Front" many of the show's writers were used, this in-joke was purely an idea of the animators. John Swartzwelder, George Meyer, Jeff Martin, Al Jean, Sam Simon, Jon Vitti, and Mike Reiss all appeared in the episode.Groening, Matt; Jean, Al; Lapidus, Adam I.; Reiss, Mike; Moore, Rich. (2004) Commentary for "The Front", in The Simpsons: The Complete Fourth Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox. This joke returned in "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show". Almost all of the writers shown are caricatures of the actual staff of The Simpsons. At the production table, David X. Cohen, Bill Oakley, and Josh Weinstein are shown, while Meyer speaks out and gets fired. The animator shown designing Poochie is Silverman. Others who appear include Dan McGrath, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Donick Cary, Ron Hauge, Ned Goldreyer, and Mike Scully.
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