I Am Furious Yellow
Encyclopedia
"I Am Furious" is the eighteenth episode of The Simpsons
' thirteenth season
. It first aired in the United States on the Fox network
on April 28, 2002. In the episode, Bart
creates a comic book series based on his father Homer
's anger problems, which turns into a popular Internet cartoon series
called Angry Dad. Homer finds out about this and is at first outraged, but after talking to his family, he decides to try to become a less angry person.
The episode was directed by Chuck Sheetz
and written by John Swartzwelder
. The idea for the episode was pitched by Matt Selman
, and the staff took inspiration for the episode from the Simpsons staff's own experience with web cartoons, such as Queer Duck
and Hard Drinkin' Lincoln
. The episode includes references to the dot-com bubble
, Danish physicist
Niels Bohr
and comic book publishers Marvel Comics
and DC Comics
. It also features American comic book writer Stan Lee
as himself.
Before its original broadcast, "I Am Furious (Yellow)" faced scrutiny from the series fans, who thought that Homer would literally transform into the Hulk in the episode. In its original broadcast, the episode was seen by approximately 7.8 million viewers, finishing in 26th place in the ratings the week it aired. Following its home video release, the episode received positive reviews from critics, and is often considered a favorite among fans. On February 20, 2011, "Angry Dad: The Movie
", an episode in which Bart and Homer make a short film based on the Angry Dad internet cartoon, aired in the United States.
's father, Kirk, gives a speech to the kids at Springfield Elementary about his occupation of assistant flyer distributor. Due to how boring the speech was, Principal Skinner
and Mrs. Krabappel
take Lisa
's advice and visit the Springfield
Writer's Forum to find a better speaker. They find Jeff Jenkins, creator of a popular TV cartoon, Danger Dog. He comes to the school to give a presentation on Danger Dog, including showing them a sneak preview for the next Easter special, and fascinates the kids by telling them about the cartoon industry. Much to Skinner's horror, Jenkins tells the students how easy his job is and how he never needed to work hard to get his job. Later, every kid in school creates their own comic book, all of which are actually rip-off versions of Danger Dog. Bart also creates his own comic Danger Dude (which is actually a dog) and tries to sell it to Comic Book Guy, who criticizes his work. Stan Lee
enters Comic Book Guy's store and tells Bart that his comic is bad, but that he should keep trying to "find his own voice."
At home, Bart comes up with a character called Angry Dad, based on the frequent angry outbursts of his father, Homer
. Bart rolls out the first issue of Angry Dad, which becomes a hit with the kids in school. However having read the first issue, Lisa hates it and confronts him for his obvious plagiarism. She thinks it's very insulting to their father on all aspects. Bart responds by deciding to make a sidekick for Angry Dad: a character named Know-it-All Sister based on Lisa and her intelligence. Soon, Lisa relents as long she gets a pony and the last line of the comic, allowing Bart to make more issues of Angry Dad. Upon reading the comics of Angry Dad, Comic Book Guy finds them very impressive and agrees to sell them, much to Bart's delight.
During an autograph signing session in the schoolyard, Bart is approached by a spokesman for an Internet entertainment site. He wants to make Angry Dad into an online animated cartoon series, and Bart agrees in exchange for stock. The cartoon becomes an Internet hit, becoming the single most popular non-pornographic website of all time. The only one still unaware of Angry Dad is Homer, who finds out one day at work. At first, Homer finds it very funny, but learns that he looks exactly like Angry Dad and that Bart is the one who created it. He becomes a laughingstock both on the web and in Springfield. While driving home, the humiliated Homer is stopped by the town who does what they can to make him all the more angrier, resulting his hand getting stuck in one of the car door, giving him pain. As a result, the townspeople laugh more as the humiliated Homer runs home. Once he does so, the furious Homer finds Bart and Milhouse laughing at another Angry Dad cartoon and strangles Bart for the humiliation the town has given to him through his cartoons. Eventually, Marge and Lisa stops Homer and calms him down. Though Lisa admits while she's not a fan of Bart's comic, she tells him to address his anger management issues. Homer agrees to suppress his anger from that point on. When Marge insists on him going on a diet as well, he refuses and tells her that he's only giving up on anger, not his favorite foods.
The next day, Homer stays true to his word and remains calm, despite having difficulty maintaining it, as it is evident that whenever aggravating situations occur, Homer tries to suppress his rage, causing lumps to grow on his neck. However, his new calm demeanor has taken away Bart's inspiration for his cartoon, so Bart and Milhouse set up a prank for Homer to trigger another outburst. Later, they go to the Internet company office, where they find the company has gone bankrupt
due to all the stock given away. Homer reaches home and happens upon Bart's trap, but he keeps his calm throughout its run, causing more lumps to develop on his neck. The trap ends with Homer falling into a pool full of green paint, finally prompting him to go berserk and storm through town, causing much damage. The police restrain him and Homer is admitted to the hospital.
At the hospital, Marge is angry at Bart for aggravating Homer's rage with his prank because of the 10 million dollars in damages Homer has caused with his rage, swearing that she will punish him for it. However, Dr. Hibbert
arrives and disagrees by telling her that Bart actually saved Homer's life by enraging him. Hibbert explains the lumps on his neck were actually boils caused by suppressed rage and would have otherwise overwhelmed his nervuos system if Bart's prank had not set him off. He convinces Marge that she should go easy on her son. Homer thanks Bart by taking him fishing, where he continues to make his father angry, though this time, Homer tries to control it for good.
and directed by Chuck Sheetz
. It was first broadcast on Fox in the United States on April 28, 2002. The episode's storyline was pitched by Simpsons writer Matt Selman
. In the DVD audio commentary for the episode, he stated that Matt Groening
, the creator of the series, would usually tell the writers about how he was the class clown and did not pay attention in school, and yet grew up to become very successful. After hearing this, Selman thought that if Groening went back to his school to talk about his career, it "[would be] the last message that a principal and the teachers would wanna hear." Selman pitched the story because he thought it would be "humorously infuriating" to teachers. The episode was also partly based on some of the Simpsons staff members' experience with making internet cartoons, such as Queer Duck
and Hard Drinkin' Lincoln
, both of which were created by Mike Reiss
.
The Angry Dad internet cartoon, as well as the other internet cartoons in the episode, were originally going to be animated using Macromedia Flash, however, the department of Film Roman that handled Flash animation would not be able to complete the scenes in time. Because of this, director Sheetz had to draw the scenes himself, mimicking the look of Flash animation. At the end of Bart's trap, Homer falls into a pool of green paint, making him resemble the Hulk
. Selman originally wanted Homer to fall into blue paint, since the blue paint mixed with his yellow skin would make green, however the idea never came to fruition.
The episode features comic book writer Stan Lee
as himself. In John Ortved's book The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History
, Lee stated that he attended the episode's table read, and was impressed with the size and quality of the creative staff, who all sat around the conference table. Lee recalled in 2009, "Honestly, there was so much genuine talent around that table that you could have cut it with a knife." Afterward, Lee met the writers of the show, and was pleasantly surprised to find that they were familiar with his work and he was with theirs. Afterward, executive producer Al Jean
took Lee out to lunch, who he called "one of the nicest and most unassuming guys you could hope to meet." Lee continued, "Of course, I probably said something wrong to him, or he didn't like my table manners, because I haven't been invited back for another guest shot. But hey one lives in hope." The voice actor who plays Angry Dad in the episode was portrayed by Dan Castellaneta
, who also does the voice for Homer among other characters in the series. The design of the character is also based on Castellaneta.
, a speculative bubble covering roughly 1995–2000. In their article "15 Simpsons Moments That Perfectly Captured Their Eras", Genevieve Koski, Josh Modell, Noel Murray, Sean O'Neal, Kyle Ryan and Scott Tobias of The A.V. Club
wrote: "By April 2002, the dot-com bubble of the late '90s had been popped for a couple of years, taking with it myriad Internet start-ups. A sobering soul-searching settled in their place, which The Simpsons captured in this episode about Bart creating a popular Internet cartoon called Angry Dad. Touring the laid-back start-up that hosts the cartoons, Lisa asks head honcho Todd Linux about their business model. 'How many shares of stock will it take to end this conversation?' he retorts. Lisa asks for two million, which Linux grabs from a paper-towel dispenser. When Bart and Lisa return later, the company has gone bust, and Linux is stealing copper wire out of the walls."
When Stan Lee approaches Database, who is playing with a toy Batmobile
, he asks him if he would rather prefer a more exciting action figure
. Lee then begins shoving a The Thing
action figure into the Batmobile, effectively destroying it. This scene pokes fun at the DC vs. Marvel rivalry (Batman's Batmobile of DC Comics
and The Thing a property of Marvel Comics
). Another scene in the episode references Danish physicist Niels Bohr
. In his book What's science ever done for us?: what The Simpsons can teach us about physics, robots, life and the universe, Paul Halpern wrote "In the episode [...], one of Homer's favourite TV shows is preempted by the program The Boring World of Niels Bohr. Homer is so upset that he clutches an ice-cream sandwich, aims it at the screen like it's a remote control, squeezes out its contents, and splatters Bohr's image. In contrast to Homer's reaction, most physicists heap nothing but accolades upon Bohr, whose revolutionary ideas shaped the modern concept of the atom."
, translating to approximately 7.8 million viewers. It finished in 26th place in the ratings for the week of April 22–28, 2002, making it the most watched program on the network that night. Combined with a new episode of Malcolm in the Middle
, The Simpsons beat CBS's Everybody Loves Raymond
special ("Everybody Loves Raymond: The First Six Years") in the ratings, besting the special by a full rating point and a half among adults between ages 18 to 49. On August 24, 2010, the episode was released as part of The Simpsons: The Complete Thirteenth Season DVD and Blu-ray box set. Matt Groening, Al Jean, Matt Selman, Mike Reiss, Chuck Sheetz, Don Payne, Tom Gammill, Max Pross, David Silverman, and Stan Lee participated in the DVD audio commentary
for the episode.
described "I Am Furious (Yellow)", along with "Brawl in the Family
" and "Half-Decent Proposal
", as being "cleverly written" and the best episodes of the season. Aaron Peck of High-Def Digest stated that the episode is one of his "personal favourites," and Ron Martin of 411Mania called it a "standout episode." Adam Rayner of Obsessed With Film gave the episode a favorable review as well. He wrote that, even though it isn't "as rooted in reality as the great episodes," the episode is "consistently hilarious." He concluded that the episode is "great comedy from start to finish."
Blu-ray.com's Casey Broadwater called it a "strong character-centric episode," and added that the episode's title is one of his "favourites." Writing for Project-Blu, Nate Boss wrote "Just when you think The Simpsons is broke, we get Angry Dad. To quote Stan Lee: 'Broke? Or made it BETTER?' That's right. Stan 'the man' Lee." Jennifer Malkowski of DVD Verdict gave the episode a B+, describing "Homer's random exclamation while running around on fire, 'Oh, I hope no one's drawing this!'" as the episode's "highlight." Ryan Keefer of DVD Talk described the episode as being "flat out funny." Lee's appearance in the episode was also praised. Rayner called his performance "one of the all time great cameos," and Jacobson called it "fun." Broadwater considered Lee's appearance to be one of the season's "highlights," and Total Film
s Nathan Ditum ranked Lee's performance as the 12th best guest appearance in the show's history, describing it as "a deranged, childish and brilliant version of himself."
wrote that the twentieth season episode "No Loan Again, Naturally
", an episode in which the Simpsons are foreclosed from their house, could have indicated that "the worst of the housing crisis" at the time the article was written, was over. Hoenig based this theory on the fact that shortly after "I Am Furious (Yellow)", which satirizes the dot-com bubble, aired, the dotcom stocks "began a massive rebound from bear-market lows."
"I Am Furious (Yellow)" inspired the idea for the twenty-second season
episode Angry Dad: The Movie
, which originally aired on February 20, 2011 in the United States. In Angry Dad: The Movie, Bart and Homer create a short film based on the Angry Dad cartoon seen in "I Am Furious (Yellow)", but after the film wins a myriad of prizes, the two start fighting over who created the series.
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
The Simpsons (season 13)
The Simpsons thirteenth season originally aired on the Fox network between November 6, 2001 and May 22, 2002 and consists of 22 episodes. The show runner for the thirteenth production season was Al Jean who executive-produced 17 episodes...
. It first aired in the United States on the Fox network
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
on April 28, 2002. In the episode, Bart
Bart Simpson
Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
creates a comic book series based on his father Homer
Homer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
's anger problems, which turns into a popular Internet cartoon series
Web series
A web series is a series of episodes released on the Internet or also by mobile or cellular phone, and part of the newly emerging medium called web television. A single instance of a web series program is called an episode .While the popularity of web series is continuing to rise, the concept...
called Angry Dad. Homer finds out about this and is at first outraged, but after talking to his family, he decides to try to become a less angry person.
The episode was directed by Chuck Sheetz
Chuck Sheetz
Chuck Sheetz is an animation director on The Simpsons. He was the producer on 'What's new, Scooby-Doo?", the director of the TV series, Recess. He has also done work on Bobby's World, Rocko's Modern Life, King of the Hill, Recess, and Welcome to Eltingville in addition to directing the Drawn...
and written by John Swartzwelder
John Swartzwelder
John Swartzwelder is an American comedy writer and novelist, best known for his work on the animated television series The Simpsons, as well as a number of novels. He is credited with writing the largest number of Simpsons episodes by a large margin...
. The idea for the episode was pitched by Matt Selman
Matt Selman
Matthew "Matt" Selman is an American writer and producer. Selman grew up in Massachusetts, attended the University of Pennsylvania and was editor-in-chief of student magazine 34th Street Magazine. After considering a career in journalism, he decided to try and became a television writer...
, and the staff took inspiration for the episode from the Simpsons staff's own experience with web cartoons, such as Queer Duck
Queer Duck
Queer Duck is an animated series produced by Mondo that originally appeared on Icebox.com and later moved to the American cable television channel Showtime in 2002, where it aired as a followup feature of the American version of Queer as Folk...
and Hard Drinkin' Lincoln
Hard Drinkin' Lincoln
Hard Drinkin' Lincoln is a Macromedia Flash Internet cartoon series produced in 2000 for the Internet animation company Icebox.com. The series was created by Mike Reiss and directed by Xeth Feinberg...
. The episode includes references to the dot-com bubble
Dot-com bubble
The dot-com bubble was a speculative bubble covering roughly 1995–2000 during which stock markets in industrialized nations saw their equity value rise rapidly from growth in the more...
, Danish physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
Niels Bohr
Niels Bohr
Niels Henrik David Bohr was a Danish physicist who made foundational contributions to understanding atomic structure and quantum mechanics, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922. Bohr mentored and collaborated with many of the top physicists of the century at his institute in...
and comic book publishers Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
and DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
. It also features American comic book writer Stan Lee
Stan Lee
Stan Lee is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, producer, publisher, television personality, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics....
as himself.
Before its original broadcast, "I Am Furious (Yellow)" faced scrutiny from the series fans, who thought that Homer would literally transform into the Hulk in the episode. In its original broadcast, the episode was seen by approximately 7.8 million viewers, finishing in 26th place in the ratings the week it aired. Following its home video release, the episode received positive reviews from critics, and is often considered a favorite among fans. On February 20, 2011, "Angry Dad: The Movie
Angry Dad: The Movie
"Angry Dad: The Movie" is the fourteenth episode of The Simpsons twenty-second season. It aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 20, 2011...
", an episode in which Bart and Homer make a short film based on the Angry Dad internet cartoon, aired in the United States.
Plot
MilhouseMilhouse Van Houten
Milhouse Mussolini Van Houten is a fictional character featured in the animated television series The Simpsons, voiced by Pamela Hayden. He is Bart Simpson's best friend in Mrs. Krabappel's fourth grade class at Springfield Elementary School....
's father, Kirk, gives a speech to the kids at Springfield Elementary about his occupation of assistant flyer distributor. Due to how boring the speech was, Principal Skinner
Seymour Skinner
Principal W. Seymour Skinner is a fictional character in the American animated sitcom The Simpsons. He is voiced by Harry Shearer. Born in Capitol City, he is the principal of Springfield Elementary School...
and Mrs. Krabappel
Edna Krabappel
Edna Krabappel is a fictional character from the animated TV series The Simpsons, voiced by Marcia Wallace. She is a 4th grade teacher at Springfield Elementary School. Krabappel is the only character Wallace voices on a regular basis.- Profile :...
take Lisa
Lisa Simpson
Lisa Marie Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She is the middle child of the Simpson 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...
's advice and visit the Springfield
Springfield (The Simpsons)
Springfield is the fictional town in which the American animated sitcom The Simpsons is set. A mid-sized town in an undetermined state of the United States, Springfield acts as a complete universe in which characters can explore the issues faced by modern society. The geography of the town and its...
Writer's Forum to find a better speaker. They find Jeff Jenkins, creator of a popular TV cartoon, Danger Dog. He comes to the school to give a presentation on Danger Dog, including showing them a sneak preview for the next Easter special, and fascinates the kids by telling them about the cartoon industry. Much to Skinner's horror, Jenkins tells the students how easy his job is and how he never needed to work hard to get his job. Later, every kid in school creates their own comic book, all of which are actually rip-off versions of Danger Dog. Bart also creates his own comic Danger Dude (which is actually a dog) and tries to sell it to Comic Book Guy, who criticizes his work. Stan Lee
Stan Lee
Stan Lee is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, producer, publisher, television personality, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics....
enters Comic Book Guy's store and tells Bart that his comic is bad, but that he should keep trying to "find his own voice."
At home, Bart comes up with a character called Angry Dad, based on the frequent angry outbursts of his father, Homer
Homer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
. Bart rolls out the first issue of Angry Dad, which becomes a hit with the kids in school. However having read the first issue, Lisa hates it and confronts him for his obvious plagiarism. She thinks it's very insulting to their father on all aspects. Bart responds by deciding to make a sidekick for Angry Dad: a character named Know-it-All Sister based on Lisa and her intelligence. Soon, Lisa relents as long she gets a pony and the last line of the comic, allowing Bart to make more issues of Angry Dad. Upon reading the comics of Angry Dad, Comic Book Guy finds them very impressive and agrees to sell them, much to Bart's delight.
During an autograph signing session in the schoolyard, Bart is approached by a spokesman for an Internet entertainment site. He wants to make Angry Dad into an online animated cartoon series, and Bart agrees in exchange for stock. The cartoon becomes an Internet hit, becoming the single most popular non-pornographic website of all time. The only one still unaware of Angry Dad is Homer, who finds out one day at work. At first, Homer finds it very funny, but learns that he looks exactly like Angry Dad and that Bart is the one who created it. He becomes a laughingstock both on the web and in Springfield. While driving home, the humiliated Homer is stopped by the town who does what they can to make him all the more angrier, resulting his hand getting stuck in one of the car door, giving him pain. As a result, the townspeople laugh more as the humiliated Homer runs home. Once he does so, the furious Homer finds Bart and Milhouse laughing at another Angry Dad cartoon and strangles Bart for the humiliation the town has given to him through his cartoons. Eventually, Marge and Lisa stops Homer and calms him down. Though Lisa admits while she's not a fan of Bart's comic, she tells him to address his anger management issues. Homer agrees to suppress his anger from that point on. When Marge insists on him going on a diet as well, he refuses and tells her that he's only giving up on anger, not his favorite foods.
The next day, Homer stays true to his word and remains calm, despite having difficulty maintaining it, as it is evident that whenever aggravating situations occur, Homer tries to suppress his rage, causing lumps to grow on his neck. However, his new calm demeanor has taken away Bart's inspiration for his cartoon, so Bart and Milhouse set up a prank for Homer to trigger another outburst. Later, they go to the Internet company office, where they find the company has gone bankrupt
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
due to all the stock given away. Homer reaches home and happens upon Bart's trap, but he keeps his calm throughout its run, causing more lumps to develop on his neck. The trap ends with Homer falling into a pool full of green paint, finally prompting him to go berserk and storm through town, causing much damage. The police restrain him and Homer is admitted to the hospital.
At the hospital, Marge is angry at Bart for aggravating Homer's rage with his prank because of the 10 million dollars in damages Homer has caused with his rage, swearing that she will punish him for it. However, Dr. Hibbert
Julius Hibbert
Dr. Julius M. Hibbert, usually referred to as Dr. Hibbert, is a recurring character on the animated series The Simpsons. His speaking voice is provided by Harry Shearer and his singing voice was by Thurl Ravenscroft, and he first appeared in the episode "Bart the Daredevil". Dr...
arrives and disagrees by telling her that Bart actually saved Homer's life by enraging him. Hibbert explains the lumps on his neck were actually boils caused by suppressed rage and would have otherwise overwhelmed his nervuos system if Bart's prank had not set him off. He convinces Marge that she should go easy on her son. Homer thanks Bart by taking him fishing, where he continues to make his father angry, though this time, Homer tries to control it for good.
Production
"I Am Furious (Yellow)" was written by John SwartzwelderJohn Swartzwelder
John Swartzwelder is an American comedy writer and novelist, best known for his work on the animated television series The Simpsons, as well as a number of novels. He is credited with writing the largest number of Simpsons episodes by a large margin...
and directed by Chuck Sheetz
Chuck Sheetz
Chuck Sheetz is an animation director on The Simpsons. He was the producer on 'What's new, Scooby-Doo?", the director of the TV series, Recess. He has also done work on Bobby's World, Rocko's Modern Life, King of the Hill, Recess, and Welcome to Eltingville in addition to directing the Drawn...
. It was first broadcast on Fox in the United States on April 28, 2002. The episode's storyline was pitched by Simpsons writer Matt Selman
Matt Selman
Matthew "Matt" Selman is an American writer and producer. Selman grew up in Massachusetts, attended the University of Pennsylvania and was editor-in-chief of student magazine 34th Street Magazine. After considering a career in journalism, he decided to try and became a television writer...
. In the DVD audio commentary for the episode, he stated that Matt Groening
Matt Groening
Matthew Abram "Matt" Groening is an American cartoonist, screenwriter, and producer. He is the creator of the comic strip Life in Hell as well as two successful television series, The Simpsons and Futurama....
, the creator of the series, would usually tell the writers about how he was the class clown and did not pay attention in school, and yet grew up to become very successful. After hearing this, Selman thought that if Groening went back to his school to talk about his career, it "[would be] the last message that a principal and the teachers would wanna hear." Selman pitched the story because he thought it would be "humorously infuriating" to teachers. The episode was also partly based on some of the Simpsons staff members' experience with making internet cartoons, such as Queer Duck
Queer Duck
Queer Duck is an animated series produced by Mondo that originally appeared on Icebox.com and later moved to the American cable television channel Showtime in 2002, where it aired as a followup feature of the American version of Queer as Folk...
and Hard Drinkin' Lincoln
Hard Drinkin' Lincoln
Hard Drinkin' Lincoln is a Macromedia Flash Internet cartoon series produced in 2000 for the Internet animation company Icebox.com. The series was created by Mike Reiss and directed by Xeth Feinberg...
, both of which were created by Mike Reiss
Mike Reiss
Michael "Mike" Reiss is an American television comedy writer. He served as a show-runner, writer and producer for the animated series The Simpsons and co-created the animated series The Critic...
.
The Angry Dad internet cartoon, as well as the other internet cartoons in the episode, were originally going to be animated using Macromedia Flash, however, the department of Film Roman that handled Flash animation would not be able to complete the scenes in time. Because of this, director Sheetz had to draw the scenes himself, mimicking the look of Flash animation. At the end of Bart's trap, Homer falls into a pool of green paint, making him resemble the Hulk
Hulk (comics)
The Hulk is a fictional character, a superhero in the . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 ....
. Selman originally wanted Homer to fall into blue paint, since the blue paint mixed with his yellow skin would make green, however the idea never came to fruition.
The episode features comic book writer Stan Lee
Stan Lee
Stan Lee is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, producer, publisher, television personality, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics....
as himself. In John Ortved's book The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History
The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History
The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History is a book about the American animated television series The Simpsons. It was written by John Ortved, and first published in October 2009 by Faber and Faber...
, Lee stated that he attended the episode's table read, and was impressed with the size and quality of the creative staff, who all sat around the conference table. Lee recalled in 2009, "Honestly, there was so much genuine talent around that table that you could have cut it with a knife." Afterward, Lee met the writers of the show, and was pleasantly surprised to find that they were familiar with his work and he was with theirs. Afterward, executive producer Al Jean
Al Jean
Al Jean is an award-winning American screenwriter and producer, best known for his work on The Simpsons. He was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan and graduated from Harvard University in 1981. Jean began his writing career in the 1980s with fellow Harvard alum Mike Reiss...
took Lee out to lunch, who he called "one of the nicest and most unassuming guys you could hope to meet." Lee continued, "Of course, I probably said something wrong to him, or he didn't like my table manners, because I haven't been invited back for another guest shot. But hey one lives in hope." The voice actor who plays Angry Dad in the episode was portrayed by Dan Castellaneta
Dan Castellaneta
Daniel Louis "Dan" Castellaneta is an American actor, voice actor, comedian, singer and screenwriter. Noted for his long-running role as Homer Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons, he voices many other characters on The Simpsons, including Abraham "Grampa" Simpson, Barney Gumble,...
, who also does the voice for Homer among other characters in the series. The design of the character is also based on Castellaneta.
Cultural references
"I Am Furious (Yellow)" references the dot-com bubbleDot-com bubble
The dot-com bubble was a speculative bubble covering roughly 1995–2000 during which stock markets in industrialized nations saw their equity value rise rapidly from growth in the more...
, a speculative bubble covering roughly 1995–2000. In their article "15 Simpsons Moments That Perfectly Captured Their Eras", Genevieve Koski, Josh Modell, Noel Murray, Sean O'Neal, Kyle Ryan and Scott Tobias of The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
wrote: "By April 2002, the dot-com bubble of the late '90s had been popped for a couple of years, taking with it myriad Internet start-ups. A sobering soul-searching settled in their place, which The Simpsons captured in this episode about Bart creating a popular Internet cartoon called Angry Dad. Touring the laid-back start-up that hosts the cartoons, Lisa asks head honcho Todd Linux about their business model. 'How many shares of stock will it take to end this conversation?' he retorts. Lisa asks for two million, which Linux grabs from a paper-towel dispenser. When Bart and Lisa return later, the company has gone bust, and Linux is stealing copper wire out of the walls."
When Stan Lee approaches Database, who is playing with a toy Batmobile
Batmobile
The Batmobile is the automobile of DC Comics superhero Batman. The car has evolved along with the character from comic books to television and films. Kept in the Batcave, which it accesses through a hidden entrance, the Batmobile is a gadget-laden vehicle used by Batman in his crime-fighting...
, he asks him if he would rather prefer a more exciting action figure
Action figure
An action figure is a posable character figurine, made of plastic or other materials, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, video game, or television program. These action figures are usually marketed towards boys and male collectors...
. Lee then begins shoving a The Thing
Thing (comics)
The Thing is a fictional character, a founding member of the superhero team known as the Fantastic Four in the Marvel Comics universe. He was created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee in The Fantastic Four #1...
action figure into the Batmobile, effectively destroying it. This scene pokes fun at the DC vs. Marvel rivalry (Batman's Batmobile of DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
and The Thing a property of Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
). Another scene in the episode references Danish physicist Niels Bohr
Niels Bohr
Niels Henrik David Bohr was a Danish physicist who made foundational contributions to understanding atomic structure and quantum mechanics, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922. Bohr mentored and collaborated with many of the top physicists of the century at his institute in...
. In his book What's science ever done for us?: what The Simpsons can teach us about physics, robots, life and the universe, Paul Halpern wrote "In the episode [...], one of Homer's favourite TV shows is preempted by the program The Boring World of Niels Bohr. Homer is so upset that he clutches an ice-cream sandwich, aims it at the screen like it's a remote control, squeezes out its contents, and splatters Bohr's image. In contrast to Homer's reaction, most physicists heap nothing but accolades upon Bohr, whose revolutionary ideas shaped the modern concept of the atom."
Broadcast and re-release
In its original American broadcast on April 28, 2002, "I Am Furious (Yellow)" received a 7.4 rating, according to Nielsen Media ResearchNielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre films and newspapers...
, translating to approximately 7.8 million viewers. It finished in 26th place in the ratings for the week of April 22–28, 2002, making it the most watched program on the network that night. Combined with a new episode of Malcolm in the Middle
Malcolm in the Middle
Malcolm in the Middle is an American television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for the Fox Network. The series was first broadcast on January 9, 2000, and ended its six-and-a-half-year run on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes...
, The Simpsons beat CBS's Everybody Loves Raymond
Everybody Loves Raymond
Everybody Loves Raymond is an American television sitcom that originally ran on CBS from September 13, 1996, to May 16, 2005. Many of the situations from the show are based on the real-life experiences of lead actor Ray Romano, creator/producer Phil Rosenthal and the show's writing staff...
special ("Everybody Loves Raymond: The First Six Years") in the ratings, besting the special by a full rating point and a half among adults between ages 18 to 49. On August 24, 2010, the episode was released as part of The Simpsons: The Complete Thirteenth Season DVD and Blu-ray box set. Matt Groening, Al Jean, Matt Selman, Mike Reiss, Chuck Sheetz, Don Payne, Tom Gammill, Max Pross, David Silverman, and Stan Lee participated in the DVD audio commentary
Audio commentary
On disc-based video formats, an audio commentary is an additional audio track consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with video...
for the episode.
Critical reception
Upon the episode's release, a promotional image of Homer mimicking the Hulk caused some of the series' internet fans to speculate that the show had jumped the shark. "[...] I still remember the publicity it [the episode] got," Jean said in the DVD commentary for the episode. "The internet people were like, 'They jumped the shark. They're having Homer turn into The Hulk.' [...] We clearly did it in a logical fashion. He's not really super strong." Following its broadcast, "I Am Furious (Yellow)" garnered critical acclaim from reviewers, and is often considered a fan favourite. Colin Jacobsson of DVD Movie Guide called the episode one of the better installments from Season 13, referring to it as "very good" and saying that "the series has milked Homer's rage [as one of its chief sources of humor] for years, but it does so in creative and satisfying ways here." R.L. Shaffer of IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
described "I Am Furious (Yellow)", along with "Brawl in the Family
Brawl in the Family
"Brawl in the Family" is the seventh episode of The Simpsons thirteenth season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 6, 2002. In the episode, the Simpsons family arrested for domestic disturbance, prompting social worker Gabriel to move in and make the family functional...
" and "Half-Decent Proposal
Half-Decent Proposal
"Half-Decent Proposal" is the tenth episode of The Simpsons thirteenth season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 10, 2002...
", as being "cleverly written" and the best episodes of the season. Aaron Peck of High-Def Digest stated that the episode is one of his "personal favourites," and Ron Martin of 411Mania called it a "standout episode." Adam Rayner of Obsessed With Film gave the episode a favorable review as well. He wrote that, even though it isn't "as rooted in reality as the great episodes," the episode is "consistently hilarious." He concluded that the episode is "great comedy from start to finish."
Blu-ray.com's Casey Broadwater called it a "strong character-centric episode," and added that the episode's title is one of his "favourites." Writing for Project-Blu, Nate Boss wrote "Just when you think The Simpsons is broke, we get Angry Dad. To quote Stan Lee: 'Broke? Or made it BETTER?' That's right. Stan 'the man' Lee." Jennifer Malkowski of DVD Verdict gave the episode a B+, describing "Homer's random exclamation while running around on fire, 'Oh, I hope no one's drawing this!'" as the episode's "highlight." Ryan Keefer of DVD Talk described the episode as being "flat out funny." Lee's appearance in the episode was also praised. Rayner called his performance "one of the all time great cameos," and Jacobson called it "fun." Broadwater considered Lee's appearance to be one of the season's "highlights," and Total Film
Total Film
Total Film is a British film magazine published 13 times a year by Future Publishing. The magazine was launched in 1997 and offers film, DVD and Blu-ray news, reviews and features...
s Nathan Ditum ranked Lee's performance as the 12th best guest appearance in the show's history, describing it as "a deranged, childish and brilliant version of himself."
Legacy
The episode has been used as an indicator to the growth of internet companies. In his article "Best Indicator Ever: The Simpsons Foreclosure", Jonathan Hoenig of SmartMoneySmartMoney
SmartMoney The Wall Street Journal Magazine of Personal Business was launched in 1992 by Hearst Corporation and Dow Jones & Company. In 2010, Hearst sold its stake to Dow Jones. Its first editor was Norman Pearlstine....
wrote that the twentieth season episode "No Loan Again, Naturally
No Loan Again, Naturally
"No Loan Again, Naturally" is the twelfth episode of the twentieth season of The Simpsons. It premiered on the Fox Broadcasting Company in the United States on March 8, 2009....
", an episode in which the Simpsons are foreclosed from their house, could have indicated that "the worst of the housing crisis" at the time the article was written, was over. Hoenig based this theory on the fact that shortly after "I Am Furious (Yellow)", which satirizes the dot-com bubble, aired, the dotcom stocks "began a massive rebound from bear-market lows."
"I Am Furious (Yellow)" inspired the idea for the twenty-second season
The Simpsons (season 22)
The Simpsons twenty-second season began airing on Fox on September 26, 2010 and ended on May 22, 2011. The Simpsons was renewed for at least two additional seasons during the twentieth season leading up to this season. The cast is currently signed through the 25th season. On November 11, 2010, the...
episode Angry Dad: The Movie
Angry Dad: The Movie
"Angry Dad: The Movie" is the fourteenth episode of The Simpsons twenty-second season. It aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 20, 2011...
, which originally aired on February 20, 2011 in the United States. In Angry Dad: The Movie, Bart and Homer create a short film based on the Angry Dad cartoon seen in "I Am Furious (Yellow)", but after the film wins a myriad of prizes, the two start fighting over who created the series.
See also
- Dot-com bubbleDot-com bubbleThe dot-com bubble was a speculative bubble covering roughly 1995–2000 during which stock markets in industrialized nations saw their equity value rise rapidly from growth in the more...
- DC ComicsDC ComicsDC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
- "Angry Dad: The MovieAngry Dad: The Movie"Angry Dad: The Movie" is the fourteenth episode of The Simpsons twenty-second season. It aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 20, 2011...
"
External links
- "I Am Furious (Yellow)" at The Simpsons.com