Lisa

Lisa Marie Simpson[1] is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She is the middle child of the eponymous family. Voiced by Yeardley Smith, Lisa first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Cartoonist Matt Groening created and designed her while waiting to meet with James L. Brooks. Groening had been invited to pitch a series of shorts based on his comic Life in Hell, but instead decided to create a new set of characters. He named the elder Simpson daughter after his younger sister Lisa Groening. After appearing on The Tracey Ullman Show for three years, the Simpson family began their own series on Fox, which debuted on December 17, 1989.

At eight years old Lisa is the second child of Homer and Marge, younger sister of Bart, and older sister of Maggie. She is highly intelligent and plays the baritone saxophone. She has been a vegetarian since the seventh season, converted to Buddhism in season thirteen and advocates for a variety of political causes, including human rights in Tibet. She has appeared in other media relating to The Simpsons – including video games, The Simpsons Movie, The Simpsons Ride, commercials and comic books – and inspired a line of merchandise.

Yeardley Smith originally tried out for the role of Bart, while Nancy Cartwright (who was later cast as the voice for Bart) tried out for Lisa. Producers considered Smith's voice too high for a boy, so she was given the role of Lisa. In the Tracey Ullman Show shorts, Lisa was something of a "female Bart" who mirrored her brother's mischief, but as the series progressed she became a more sophisticated and intellectual character. Because of her unusual pointed hair style, many animators consider Lisa the most difficult Simpsons character to draw.

Lisa is one of the most enduring characters on the series. TV Guide ranked her eleventh (tied with Bart) on their list of the "Top 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time". Her environmentalism has been especially well received; several episodes featuring her have won Genesis and Environmental Media Awards, including a special "Board of Directors Ongoing Commitment Award" in 2001. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals included Lisa on their list of the "Most Animal-Friendly TV Characters of All Time". Yeardley Smith won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance in 1992, and in 2000 Lisa and her family were awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. {| class="toc" id="toc"

Contents
[hide]*1 Role in The Simpsons
 * 2 Character
 * 2.1 Creation
 * 2.2 Design
 * 2.3 Voice
 * 2.4 Development
 * 2.5 Personality
 * 3 Reception
 * 3.1 Commendations
 * 3.2 Cultural influence
 * 3.3 Merchandising
 * 4 Notes
 * 5 References
 * 6 Further reading
 * 7 External links
 * }

[edit] Role in The Simpsons
The Simpsons uses a floating timeline in which the characters do not physically age; as such, Lisa is always depicted as eight years old.[2] The show itself is perpetually set in the year of broadcast (except for occasional flashbacks and flashforwards). In several episodes, events have been linked to specific time periods, although this timeline has been contradicted in subsequent episodes.[3] Lisa's year of birth is given in "Lisa's First Word" (season four, 1992) as 1984, during the Summer Olympics.[4] The episode "That 90's Show" (season 19, 2008), however, contradicts much of the established backstory; for example, it presents Homer and Marge as being childless in the early 1990s.[5]

Lisa is a lover of music, especially jazz music. She enjoys playing the saxophone and became friends with jazz musician Bleeding Gums Murphy, whom she regards as an idol. Murphy helps pull Lisa out of her depression in "Moaning Lisa" (season one, 1990).[6] She is later deeply saddened by Murphy's death in "'Round Springfield". (season six, 1995)[7] Lisa has had relationships with several boys, including Ralph Wiggum in "I Love Lisa" (season four, 1993)[8], Nelson Muntz in "Lisa's Date with Density" (season eight, 1996)[9] and Colin in The Simpsons Movie. (2007)[10] Milhouse Van Houten has a crush on her, but despite dropping unsubtle hints about his feelings, he has been unsuccessful in winning her attention.[9]

Lisa is the most intellectual member of the Simpson family, and many episodes of the series focus on her fighting for various causes.[11] Lisa is often the focus of episodes with "a real moral or philosophical point," which according to former writer David S. Cohen is because "you really buy her as caring about it."[12] Lisa's political convictions are generally liberal. She is a vegetarian, feminist, environmentalist and a supporter of the Free Tibet movement.[13] While supportive of the general ideals of the Christian church in which she was raised, Lisa became a practicing Buddhist in the episode "She of Little Faith" (season 13, 2001) after she learned about the Noble Eightfold Path.[14]

[edit] Creation
Matt Groening first conceived Lisa and the rest of the Simpson family in 1986 in the lobby of producer James L. Brooks's office. Groening had been called in to pitch a series of animated shorts for The Tracey Ullman Show and had intended to present an adaptation of his Life in Hell comic strip. When he realized that animating Life in Hell would require him to rescind publication rights, Groening went in another direction,[15] hurriedly sketching his version of a dysfunctional family, named after members of his own family. Lisa was named after Groening's younger sister, but little else was based on her.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-15">[16] In The Tracey Ullman Show shorts, Lisa displayed little of the intelligence for which she later became known. She was more of a "female Bart"<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-MirkinBSNTH_16-0">[17] and was originally described as simply the "middle child", without much personality.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Carty_17-0">[18]

Lisa made her debut with the rest of the Simpson family on April 19, 1987 in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-18">[19] In 1989, the shorts were adapted into The Simpsons, a half-hour series on the Fox Broadcasting Company. Lisa and the Simpson family remained the main characters on this new show.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-americasfirstfamily_14-1">[15]

[edit] Design
This image illustrates how to draw Lisa's head and hairline using the three-three-two arrangement.The entire Simpson family was designed to be easily recognized in silhouette.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-19">[20] The family was crudely drawn, because Groening had submitted basic sketches to the animators, assuming they would clean them up; instead, they just traced over his drawings.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-americasfirstfamily_14-2">[15] Lisa's physical features are generally unique. In some early episodes, minor background characters occasionally had a similar hairline. However, in the later seasons, no character other than Maggie shares her hairline.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-20">[21] While designing Lisa, Groening "couldn't be bothered to even think about girls' hair styles".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-THOHV_21-0">[22] At the time, Groening was primarily drawing in black and white; when designing Lisa and Maggie, he "just gave them this kind of spiky starfish hair style, not thinking that they would eventually be drawn in color".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Groening.2C_Matt_2006_22-0">[23]

To draw Lisa's head and hair, most of the show's animators use what they call the "three-three-two arrangement". It begins with a circle, with two curving lines (one vertical, one horizontal) intersecting in the middle to indicate her eyeline. The vertical line continues outside of the circle to create one hair point, with two more added towards the back of her head. Three more points are then added in front (in the direction Lisa is facing), with two more behind it.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-23">[24] Several Simpsons animators, including Pete Michels and David Silverman, consider Lisa the most difficult Simpsons character to draw.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-24">[25] Silverman explains that "her head is so abstract" due to her hairstyle.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-THOHV_21-1">[22]

[edit] Voice
While the roles of Homer and Marge were given to Dan Castellaneta and Julie Kavner because they were already a part of the Tracey Ullman Show cast,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-The_Age_25-0">[26] the producers decided to hold casting for the roles of Bart and Lisa. Nancy Cartwright intended to audition for the role of Lisa, but disliked the character's bland description—Lisa was described simply as the "middle child"—and read for the role of Bart instead.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Carty_17-1">[18] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-26">[27] Yeardley Smith also auditioned for the role of Bart but casting director Bonita Pietila believed her voice was too high. Smith later recalled: "I always sounded too much like a girl, I read two lines as Bart and they said, 'Thanks for coming!'"<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-27">[28] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-28">[29] Voice actress Yeardley SmithSmith was given the role of Lisa instead, although she almost turned it down.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Happy_29-0">[30] Smith and the show's writers worked to give Lisa a more defined personality, and she has developed greatly during the series. In her 2000 memoir My Life as a Ten-Year-Old Boy, Cartwright wrote: "with the brilliant wit of the writers and the wry, in-your-eye, honest-to-a-fault interpretation, Yeardley Smith has made Lisa a bright light of leadership, full of compassion and competence beyond her years. Lisa Simpson is the kind of child we not only want our children to be, but also the kind of child we want all children to be. But, at the time, on The Tracey Ullman Show, she was just an animated eight-year-old kid who had no personality."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Carty_17-2">[18]

Lisa is the only regular character voiced by Smith, who increases the pitch of her voice slightly for the role.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-30">[31] In some earlier episodes she provided some of Maggie's squeaks and occasional speaking parts, and has voiced other characters on very rare occasions.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-com_31-0">[32] Usually they are derivative of Lisa, such as Lisa Bella in "Last Tap Dance in Springfield" (season 11, 2000) and Lisa, Jr. in "Missionary: Impossible". (season 11, 2000)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-32">[33] It's a happy fluke. When she was cast back in 1987, I just liked the sound of her voice. She's also a great actress. In general, people who make their living doing voices on cartoons aren't always great for us. Most cartoons want things peppy and cartoony. Yeardley is able to go through moments of great emotion and wring it for all she's worth. —Matt Groening on Smith's vocal style<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-love_33-0">[34] Despite the fame of Lisa Simpson, Smith is rarely recognized in public, which she does not mind. She said, "it's wonderful to be in the midst of all this hype about the show, and people enjoying the show so much, and to be totally a fly on the wall; people never recognise me solely from my voice."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Sheridan_34-0">[35] In a 2009 interview with The Guardian she commented that "It's the best job ever. I have nothing but gratitude for the amount of freedom The Simpsons has bought me in my life."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-guard_35-0">[36] Although Smith received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance in 1992, she considers it unimportant, saying "there's part of me that feels it wasn't even a real Emmy." The award is a Creative Arts prize not awarded during the primetime telecast and, at the time, a juried award without nominations.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Happy_29-1">[30] Still, Smith considers her work on the show a success. "If I had to be associated with one character in fiction," she said, "I will always be thrilled that it was Lisa Simpson."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Happy_29-2">[30] Matt Groening has described Smith as being very similar to Lisa: "Yeardley has strong moral views about her character. There are lines that are written for Lisa that Yeardley reads and says, 'No, I wouldn't say that.'"<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-love_33-1">[34] Former Simpsons writer Jay Kogen praised her performance on the show, particularly in the episode "Lisa's Substitute", as able "to move past comedy to something really strong and serious and dramatic."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-love_33-2">[34]

Until 1998, Smith was paid $30,000 per episode. A pay dispute erupted in 1998, during which Fox threatened to replace the six main voice actors with new actors, going as far as preparing for casting of new voices.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Glaister_36-0">[37] The dispute was soon resolved, and Smith received $125,000 per episode until 2004 when the voice actors sought an increase to $360,000 per episode.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Glaister_36-1">[37] The issue was resolved a month later,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-37">[38] and Smith earned $250,000 per episode.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Sheridan_34-1">[35] New salary negotiations took place in 2008, and the voice actors currently receive approximately $400,000 per episode.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-38">[39]

[edit] Development
Lisa in her first televised appearance in "Good Night". While designing Lisa, Groening, who was primarily drawing in black and white, "just gave [her] this kind of spiky starfish hair style, not thinking that [she] would eventually be drawn in color". Lisa's hair points would eventually be made less spiky.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Groening.2C_Matt_2006_22-1">[23] In The Tracey Ullman Show shorts, Lisa was something of a "female Bart": equally mischievous but lacking unique traits.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-MirkinBSNTH_16-1">[17] As the series progressed, Lisa began to develop into a more intelligent and more emotional character.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Sax_and_Single_39-0">[40] She demonstrates her intellect in the 1990 episode "Krusty Gets Busted" (season one), by helping Bart reveal Sideshow Bob's plot to frame Krusty the Clown for armed robbery.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Reiss_40-0">[41] Many episodes focusing on Lisa have an emotional nature, such as "Moaning Lisa" (season one, 1990). The idea for the episode was pitched by James L. Brooks, who wanted to do an emotional episode involving Lisa's sadness, to complement the many "jokey episodes" in the first season.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Reiss1_41-0">[42]

In the seventh-season episode "Lisa the Vegetarian" (1995), Lisa permanently becomes a vegetarian, distinguishing her as one of the first primetime television characters to make such a choice.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-PETA_42-0">[43] The episode was written by David S. Cohen (in his first solo writing credit) who jotted down the idea one day while eating lunch. Then-executive producer David Mirkin, who had recently become a vegetarian, quickly approved the idea. Several of Lisa's experiences in the episode are based on Mirkin's own experiences. The episode guest stars musician Paul McCartney, a committed vegetarian and animal rights activist. McCartney's condition for appearing was that Lisa would remain a vegetarian for the rest of the series and would not revert back the next week (as is common on situation comedies). The trait stayed and is one of the few permanent character changes made in the show.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-43">[44] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-44">[45] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-NZ_45-0">[46] In the season 13 episode "She of Little Faith" (2001), Lisa underwent another permanent character change when she converted to Buddhism.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-46">[47]

Lisa plays the baritone saxophone, and many episodes include that as a plot device. According to Matt Groening, the baritone saxophone was chosen because he found the thought of an eight year old girl playing it amusing. He added, "But she doesn't always play a baritone sax because the animators don't know what it looks like, so it changes shape and color from show to show."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Saxophone_47-0">[48] One of the hallmarks of the show's opening sequence is a brief solo Lisa plays on her saxophone after being thrown out of music class. The Simpsons composer Alf Clausen said that the session musicians who perform her solos do not try to play at the second grade level and instead "think of Lisa as a really good player."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Sax_and_Single_39-1">[40]

[edit] Personality
[Lisa is] a good soul. I love that she is so compassionate. She is wise beyond her years. She has remarkable optimism, despite the fact that she's disappointed so often. —Yeardley Smith <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-48">[49] Lisa is highly intelligent and sees herself as a misfit within the Simpson family due to her knowledge. She shows characteristics rarely seen in Springfield, including spirituality and commitment to peaceful ways.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-p78_2-1">[3] Lisa's knowledge covers a wide range of subjects, from astronomy to medicine, and she is notably more concerned with world affairs than her life in Springfield.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-49">[50] Although her rebellion against social norms is usually depicted as constructive and heroic, Lisa can be self-righteous at times.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-50">[51] In "Lisa the Vegetarian", an increasing sense of moral righteousness leads her to disrupt her father's roast-pig barbecue, an act for which she later apologizes.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-51">[52] Episodes often take shots at Lisa's idealism.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-52">[53] In "Bart Star," (season nine, 1997) Lisa, apparently looking for a new cause to crusade over,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-53">[54] defiantly declares that she, a girl, would like to join the football team. When coach Ned Flanders reveals that several girls already play for the team, she hesitates and claims football is "not really [her] thing". She then expresses distaste about a ball made of pig's skin, but one of the girls informs her that their footballs are synthetic and that proceeds are donated to Amnesty International. Visibly upset, Lisa runs off.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-54">[55]

Her brightness manifests itself in various ways. Lisa is said to have an IQ of 156,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-55">[56] and in "They Saved Lisa's Brain" (season ten, 1999) she becomes a member of the Springfield chapter of Mensa.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-56">[57] When unable to attend school due to a teachers' strike in "The PTA Disbands", (season six, 1995) she suffers withdrawl symptoms because of the sudden lack of praise.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-p201_57-0">[58] She even demands that her mother grade her for no obvious reason.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-58">[59] In Planet Simpson, Chris Turner writes that these traits make Lisa more realistic because "No character can aspire to realism without a few all-too-human flaws."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-p201_57-1">[58]

Although she is intellectually gifted, Lisa experiences typical childhood issues, sometimes requiring adult intervention. For example, in "Lost Our Lisa" (season nine, 1998), she tricks Homer into allowing her to ride the bus alone, only to become hopelessly lost and in need of aid from her father.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-59">[60] Chris Turner writes in Planet Simpson that incidents like this illustrate that "Even when Lisa's lecturing like a college professor or mounting yet another protest, she never becomes a full-grown adult trapped in a kid's body."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-60">[61] In ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Simpsons_and_Philosophy:_The_D%27oh%21_of_Homer The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer], Aeon J. Skoble states that although Lisa is an intellectual, she enjoys The Itchy and Scratchy Show'' and teenage heartthrobs. He writes, "In so many cases Lisa is presented not simply as a prodigy but as preternaturally wise, the fondness for Itchy and Scratchy and Corey seem to be highlighted, taking on greater significance. Lisa is portrayed as the avatar of logic and wisdom, but then she also worships Corey so she's 'no better'."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-61">[62]

Lisa occasionally worries that her family's dull habits will rub off on her, such as in "Lisa the Simpson" (season nine, 1998) she worries that the "Simpson gene" will make her less intelligent.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-62">[63] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-63">[64] She is often embarrassed and disapproving of her eccentric family: of her father's poor parenting skills and buffoonish personality; her mother's stereotypical image and social ineptitude; and her brother's delinquent and low-brow nature. She is also concerned that Maggie may grow up to be like the rest of the family and tries to teach her complex ideas. Chris Turner writes in Planet Simpson that "Lisa embarks on quests to find solace for her yearning spirit [...] but the most reliable source of truth she finds is the one she always believed in: her family. It is from the other Simpsons that Lisa draws stability, meaning, contentment."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-64">[65] Her loyalty to her family is most clearly seen in the flashforward "Lisa's Wedding" (season six, 1995), in which she must reconcile her love for them with the distaste of her cultured fiancé.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-65">[66] In the episode "Mother Simpson" (season seven, 1995) she meets her paternal grandmother Mona Simpson for the first time.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-66">[67] Mona is also well-read and articulate, and the writers used the character as a way to explain the origins of Lisa's intelligence.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-67">[68]