In The Beginning Groening conceived of the idea for the Simpsons in the lobby of James L. Brooks's office. Brooks had asked Groening to pitch an idea for a series of animated shorts, which Groening initially intended to present as his Life in Hell series. However, when Groening realized that animating Life in Hell would require the rescinding of publication rights for his life's work, he chose another approach and formulated his version of a dysfunctional family. [1] He named the characters after his own family members, substituting "Bart" for his own name. [2]James L. BrooksLife in Hellpublication rightsdysfunctional family [1] [2] The Simpson family as they first appeared in The Tracey Ullman Show.Simpson familyThe Tracey Ullman Show The Simpson family first appeared in short subjects in The Tracey Ullman Show on April 19, [3] Groening submitted only basic sketches to the animators and assumed that the figures would be cleaned-up in production. However, the animators merely re-traced his drawings, which led to the crude appearance of the characters in the initial short episodes. [2] The animation was produced domestically at Klasky Csupo, [4] with Wesley Archer, David Silverman, and Bill Kopp being animators for the first season. [5] After season one it was animated by Archer and Silverman. [5] Georgie Peluse was the colorist and the person who decided to make the characters yellow. [5]Simpson familyshort subjectsThe Tracey Ullman ShowApril [3] [2]Klasky Csupo [4]Wesley ArcherDavid SilvermanBill Kopp [5] The actors who voiced the characters would later reprise their roles in The Simpsons. Dan Castellaneta performed the voices of Homer Simpson, Abraham Simpson, and Krusty the Clown. [6] Homer's voice sounds different in the shorts compared to most episodes of the half-hour show. In the shorts, his voice is a loose impression of Walter Matthau, whereas it is more robust and humorous on the half-hour show, allowing Homer to cover a fuller range of emotions. [7] Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, and Yeardley Smith performed the voices of Marge Simpson, Bart Simpson, and Lisa Simpson respectively. [6] While most of the characters' personalities are similar to what they are in the series, Lisa is portrayed as a female version of Bart without the intelligence that she possesses in the half-hour series.Dan CastellanetaHomer SimpsonAbraham SimpsonKrusty the Clown [6]Walter Matthau [7]Julie Kavner Nancy CartwrightYeardley SmithMarge SimpsonBart Simpson Lisa Simpson [6] The shorts were featured on the first three seasons on The Tracey Ullman Show. By the fourth and last season of The Tracey Ullman Show the first season of the half-hour show was on the air. In the two first seasons the shorts were divided into three or four parts, [8] but in the third season they were played as a single story. [8] [8]

Almost all of Grampa's biographical information is supplied by himself. Many of his stories seem to be wildly inaccurate, often physically or historically impossible, and occasionally inconsistent even with each other, suggesting that Abe is quite senile. As such, all information provided is taken with a grain of salt. Additionally, he suffers from narcolepsy.senile grain of saltnarcolepsy Grandpa

Homer is the boorish father of the Simpson family. With his wife, Marge, he has three children: Bart, Lisa and Maggie. As the family's provider, he works at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. Homer embodies several American working class stereotypes: he is crude, overweight, incompetent, clumsy, and lazy; however, he is also fiercely devoted to his family. Despite the suburban blue-collar routine of his life, he has had a number of remarkable experiences.MargeBartLisaMaggieSpringfield Nuclear Power Plantworking classblue-collar Homer

Marge’s image is typically that of a stereotypical sitcom mother, who is sometimes portrayed as naive, gullible and optimistic. Despite having higher morals than most other characters, Marge has had her fair share of wild escapades throughout the show’s history. She was once a police officer in Springfield, took therapy for road rage, was jailed for shoplifting, became a gambling addict, showed alcoholic tendencies, helped run an illegal bootlegging business and distillery in the basement of her house, accidentally got breast implants (and later exposed them), was an unwilling participant in a cross-country police chase, overdosed on steroids, cheated on a cooking competition and developed amnesia. She has also sold prescription drugs at her garage sale which she was jailed for. In "The Joy of Sect", she escapes brainwashing by the Movementarian Church, showing a surprisingly strong will. Marge is the only member of the family who encourages church attendance.sitcomwas once a police officer in Springfieldtook therapy for road ragewas jailed for shopliftingbecame a gambling addictshowed alcoholic tendenciesbootleggingwas an unwilling participant in a cross-country police chasesteroidsamnesiaThe Joy of SectMovementarian Churchchurch Marge

At ten years of age, Bart is the eldest child and only son of Homer and Marge, and the elder brother of Lisa and Maggie. Bart's most prominent character traits are his mischievousness, rebelliousness and disrespect for authority. HomerMargeLisa Maggie Bart

At eight years of age, Lisa is the middle child of the Simpson family and eldest daughter of Homer and Marge, younger sister of Bart and elder sister of Maggie. She is highly intelligent, plays the saxophone, has been a vegetarian since the seventh season, has been a Buddhist since season thirteen and supports a number of different causes.HomerMargeBartMaggiesaxophonevegetarianseventh seasonBuddhistseason thirteen Lisa

Maggie is the youngest child of Marge and Homer, and sister to Bart and Lisa. She is often seen sucking on her pacifier, and when she walks she trips over her clothing and falls on her face. Due to the fact that she can not talk, Maggie is the least seen and heard in the Simpson family. Maggie