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The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. Developed by Groening, James L. Brooks, and Sam Simon, the series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. Set in the fictional town of Springfield, it caricatures society, Western culture, television, and the human condition.

The family was conceived by Groening shortly before a solicitation for a series of animated shorts with producer Brooks. He created a dysfunctional family and named the characters after his own family members, substituting Bart for his own name; he thought Simpson was a funny name in that it sounded similar to "simpleton". The shorts became a part of The Tracey Ullman Show on April 19, 1987. After three seasons, the sketch was developed into a half-hour prime time show and became Fox's first series to land in the Top 30 ratings in a season (1989–1990).

Since its debut on December 17, 1989, 768 episodes of the show have been broadcast. It is the longest-running American animated series, longest-running American sitcom, and the longest-running American scripted primetime television series, both in seasons and individual episodes. A feature-length film, The Simpsons Movie, was released in theaters worldwide on July 27, 2007, to critical and commercial success, with a sequel in development as of 2018. The series has also spawned numerous comic book series, video games, books, and other related media, as well as a billion-dollar merchandising industry. The Simpsons is a joint production by Gracie Films and 20th Television. (Full article...)

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Marquee from the film's premiere in Springfield, Vermont.

The Simpsons Movie is a 2007 American animated comedy film based on the animated television series The Simpsons. The film was directed by David Silverman, produced by James L. Brooks, Matt Groening, Al Jean, Mike Scully, and Richard Sakai, and written by Scully, Jean, Brooks, Groening, George Meyer, David Mirkin, Mike Reiss, John Swartzwelder, Jon Vitti, Ian Maxtone-Graham, and Matt Selman. It stars the regular television cast of Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer, Tress MacNeille and Pamela Hayden and features Albert Brooks in a prominent guest role, as well as Tom Hanks and Green Day in smaller ones. After previous attempts to create a film version of The Simpsons had failed because of script length and lack of staff, production began in 2001. The script was re-written one hundred times continuing after animation had begun. This meant that "two films' worth" of finished material was cut, including cameos from Isla Fisher, Minnie Driver, Erin Brockovich, and Kelsey Grammer. The film premiered in Springfield, Vermont, which won the right to hold it through a Fox competition. The film was a box office success, and received positive reception from film critics, though some felt the film was too short.

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Credit: e5capeveloc1ty

James L. Brooks has a cameo role in the fourteenth season episode, "A Star Is Born-Again". Brooks started his own production company Gracie Films in 1984, which produced The Tracey Ullman Show and The Simpsons.

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“

I'm saying, you're what's wrong with America, Simpson. You coast through life, you do as little as possible... and you leech off decent hard-working people, like me! If you lived in any country in the world, you'd have starved to death long ago!

”

— Frank Grimes ("Homer's Enemy")

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"Brother from Another Series" is the sixteenth episode of The Simpsons' eighth season and originally aired February 23, 1997. Sideshow Bob is released from prison into the care of his brother Cecil and claims to be a changed man. However, Bart does not believe him and tries to find out what Bob is up to. It was the first episode directed by Pete Michels and was written by Ken Keeler. Guest starring Kelsey Grammer in his sixth appearance as Sideshow Bob and David Hyde Pierce as Cecil. The title is not only a pun on the movie The Brother from Another Planet, but also a reference to the fact that guest stars Kelsey Grammer (Frasier Crane) and David Hyde Pierce (Niles Crane) also play bickering brothers on the sitcom Frasier.

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Did you know...

...that the book The Psychology of The Simpsons uses this TV series to analyze topics in psychology including clinical psychology, cognition and Pavlovian conditioning?

...that Lisa Simpson's struggles to be a voice of reason in her family struck a chord with viewers in Japan and the broadcasters found they were able to turn the apparent dislike of the series around by focusing marketing attention on her?

...that before Hank Azaria joined the show, he had previously performed only one voice over, as an animated dog in the Fox pilot Hollywood Dog?

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The following are images from various The Simpsons-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Michael Jackson co-wrote the single "Do the Bartman" (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 2In 2004, Matt Groening won a Lifetime achievement British Comedy Award.
Image 3The Android's Dungeon & Baseball Card Shop, as seen in the Springfield section of Universal Studios Hollywood (from Springfield (The Simpsons))
Image 4James L. Brooks has won twelve Emmys with The Simpsons.
Image 5The show was criticized by several conservatives. Among those were President George H. W. Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush. (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 6Morgan Spurlock produced a documentary on The Simpsons in order to celebrate the show's 20th anniversary. (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 7
David Mirkin
Image 8In 1991, Nancy Cartwright accepted a Kids' Choice Awards while wearing a Bart Simpson costume. (from List of awards and nominations received by The Simpsons)
Image 9Hank Azaria has won four Emmy awards for Outstanding Voice-over Performance (from List of awards and nominations received by The Simpsons)
Image 10The Simpsons Movie premiered in Springfield, Vermont. (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 11Moe's Bar in Concepción, Chile, based on images from The Simpsons. (from Springfield (The Simpsons))
Image 12Part of the writing staff of The Simpsons in 1992 (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 13
Mike Scully
(from History of The Simpsons)
Image 14In 2001, Yeardley Smith's character Lisa Simpson won an EMA Award. (from List of awards and nominations received by The Simpsons)
Image 15Voice actor Phil Hartman was killed by his wife in a murder–suicide in 1998. (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 16Matt Selman won a WGA Award in 2004. (from List of awards and nominations received by The Simpsons)
Image 17David Silverman, director of The Simpsons Movie.
Image 18The Simpsons' visit to Rio de Janeiro almost led to a lawsuit and a diplomatic incident. (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 19Voice actress Maggie Roswell left The Simpsons over a pay dispute, but returned three years later. (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 20A Seattle 7-Eleven store transformed into a Kwik-E-Mart. (from Springfield (The Simpsons))
Image 21"Lisa the Vegetarian", an episode produced by David Mirkin, won a Genesis Award in 1996

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I think the one thing the writers across the board at The Simpsons share, whether they're left or right, is Matt's essential suspicion of authority figures. I think that's what suffuses the show, rather than a political agenda per se. They're on the side of the family, and against all the authority figures and institutions that beset this family.

— Harry Shearer

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