The Simpsons Cartoon Studio
Encyclopedia
The Simpsons Cartoon Studio is a computer program
based on the animated television series The Simpsons
that was released for PC
and Mac
computers in 1996 by Fox Interactive
. It allows users to create their own Simpsons cartoons, using characters, sounds, music, and locations from the show. The cast members of The Simpsons provided their voices for the program. The Simpsons Cartoon Studio has received generally positive reviews, although there has been some criticism too.
. To create a cartoon, one first selects a background, then inserts characters, props, and special effects, and after that adds dialog, sound effects, and music. The program allows users to send the finished cartoons to friends through email or save it onto a hard drive or a floppy disk
.
There are 17 characters, 50 special effects, 270 props, and 35 backgrounds in The Simpsons Cartoon Studio, with thousands of individual cel
s hand-drawn by actual The Simpsons cartoonists. Every character has a set of actions; for example, Homer
can crawl, ride on a tube
, and run away screaming, while Bart
can run, trip over, cycle, ride his skateboard, and paint graffiti with spray-paint. Backgrounds featured range from the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant to Bart's room, and props include tables, blenders, and the three-eyed fish Blinky.
and Mac
computers in the middle of 1996. It was developed and published by Fox Interactive
, and uses an improved version of the interface from Felix the Cat's Cartoon Toolbox
that was developed by Big Top Productions. The dialogs featured in the program were provided by the actual cast members of The Simpsons.
wrote that it is not very easy to create the cartoons: "Layering characters, props, sound effects and dialogue into seamless animation is no small task, and you'll invest a good chunk of time with this CD-ROM before you're ready to premiere your own Simpsons episodes. But if you're fan enough to go the distance, this is a remarkably versatile program that turns out great-looking cartoons." Similarly, Jane Clifford of The San Diego Union-Tribune
called it "quite a challenging product" which produces cartoons that "really look professional." Benjamin Svetkey of Entertainment Weekly
gave it a B+ rating, commenting that the cartoons created "can be entertaining, but they're hampered by a failing common to the make-your-own-movie genre: Since Cartoon Studio has a limited number of voice clips ('Ay, caramba!
', 'Mmm... donuts', and about 50 variations on 'Bart!'), your plot choices are restricted to the usual pranks, pratfalls, and catchphrases. Still, as Homer would say, The Simpsons Cartoon Studio is more 'Woohoo!' than 'D'oh!
'."
Wired
s Erika Milvy commented that "Fox's Simpsons Cartoon Studio may be more the '90s answer to Colorforms
than a finely tuned animation resource, but dang if it isn't fun to watch Smithers
and Mr. Burns hula across the monitor as a three-eyed fish swims by," and added that "for the anally inclined, there's certainly a way to have these cartoons make more sense. But I prefer to toss rhyme and reason out the window." Joseph Szadkowski of The Washington Times
wrote that "For the amount of complicated computer stuff going on — frame by frame editing, character motion, voice overlays — even the most computer-illiterate individual should be able to figure this out. The Simpsons Cartoon Studio is a very fun, relatively inexpensive jaunt into the mind of Mr. Groening
."
Mike Langberg of Knight Ridder
was less positive, writing in his review that "At first glance, the CD-ROM provides a lot of raw material. There are 350 brief animations, running two or three seconds each, showing 17 characters from the show in numerous poses. The CD-ROM delivery, unfortunately, falls flat[...]." He explained that "Simpsons Cartoon Studio is awkward to operate and limited in what it can accomplish, producing animated sequences that are jerky and out of sync. The CD-ROM comes with 15 cartoons created by the developers, running from 10 seconds to 55 seconds. None flow smoothly or tell funny stories. There's no reason to expect the rest of us will do any better." Similarly, Nancy Malitz of The Detroit News
wrote that "you move the characters around and invent the scenarios, but in the end you might feel your creativity wasn't heavily challenged. The whole deal is essentially a cut-and-paste operation. You can't create characters of your own, and the kind of automatic synchronization of sounds with movement that you see in a simple product like Video Jam isn't available, so things look sort of choppy no matter how hard you try."
Computer program
A computer program is a sequence of instructions written to perform a specified task with a computer. A computer requires programs to function, typically executing the program's instructions in a central processor. The program has an executable form that the computer can use directly to execute...
based on the animated television series The Simpsons
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...
that was released for PC
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
and Mac
Mac OS
Mac OS is a series of graphical user interface-based operating systems developed by Apple Inc. for their Macintosh line of computer systems. The Macintosh user experience is credited with popularizing the graphical user interface...
computers in 1996 by Fox Interactive
Fox Interactive
20th Century Fox Games is a video game publisher and developer mainly concerned with titles based on 20th Century Fox properties, such as The Simpsons, Family Guy, Futurama, the Alien and Predator film franchises, Independence Day, Charmed, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The X-Files, Avatar, 24, the...
. It allows users to create their own Simpsons cartoons, using characters, sounds, music, and locations from the show. The cast members of The Simpsons provided their voices for the program. The Simpsons Cartoon Studio has received generally positive reviews, although there has been some criticism too.
Gameplay
The Simpsons Cartoon Studio is a design program for creating cartoons using characters, sounds, music, and locations from the American animated television series The SimpsonsThe 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...
. To create a cartoon, one first selects a background, then inserts characters, props, and special effects, and after that adds dialog, sound effects, and music. The program allows users to send the finished cartoons to friends through email or save it onto a hard drive or a floppy disk
Floppy disk
A floppy disk is a disk storage medium composed of a disk of thin and flexible magnetic storage medium, sealed in a rectangular plastic carrier lined with fabric that removes dust particles...
.
There are 17 characters, 50 special effects, 270 props, and 35 backgrounds in The Simpsons Cartoon Studio, with thousands of individual cel
Cel
A cel, short for celluloid, is a transparent sheet on which objects are drawn or painted for traditional, hand-drawn animation. Actual celluloid was used during the first half of the 20th century, but since it was flammable and dimensionally unstable it was largely replaced by cellulose acetate...
s hand-drawn by actual The Simpsons cartoonists. Every character has a set of actions; for example, 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...
can crawl, ride on a tube
Tubing (recreation)
Tubing is a recreational activity where an individual rides on top of an inner tube, either on water, snow, or through the air. The tubes themselves are also known as "donuts" or "biscuits" due to their shape.-Water:Tubing on water generally consists of two forms: towed and free-floating, also...
, and run away screaming, while 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...
can run, trip over, cycle, ride his skateboard, and paint graffiti with spray-paint. Backgrounds featured range from the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant to Bart's room, and props include tables, blenders, and the three-eyed fish Blinky.
Development
The Simpsons Cartoon Studio was released for PCMicrosoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
and Mac
Mac OS
Mac OS is a series of graphical user interface-based operating systems developed by Apple Inc. for their Macintosh line of computer systems. The Macintosh user experience is credited with popularizing the graphical user interface...
computers in the middle of 1996. It was developed and published by Fox Interactive
Fox Interactive
20th Century Fox Games is a video game publisher and developer mainly concerned with titles based on 20th Century Fox properties, such as The Simpsons, Family Guy, Futurama, the Alien and Predator film franchises, Independence Day, Charmed, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The X-Files, Avatar, 24, the...
, and uses an improved version of the interface from Felix the Cat's Cartoon Toolbox
Felix the Cat's Cartoon Toolbox
The Felix The Cat Cartoon Toolbox was developed and published by Big Top Productions, Inc. and released in 1994. This CD-ROM application allowed people to create their own Saturday morning cartoons. The software was developed by Big Top and the character Felix the Cat was licensed from Felix the...
that was developed by Big Top Productions. The dialogs featured in the program were provided by the actual cast members of The Simpsons.
Receptions
Critics gave The Simpsons Cartoon Studio generally favorable reviews, and it received a lot of hype in the United States around the time it was released. A reviewer for The Palm Beach PostThe Palm Beach Post
The Palm Beach Post is a major daily newspaper in Florida, serving Palm Beach County in South Florida, and the Treasure Coast area. It is the 72nd largest daily newspaper in the United States and the sixth largest in Florida.-History:...
wrote that it is not very easy to create the cartoons: "Layering characters, props, sound effects and dialogue into seamless animation is no small task, and you'll invest a good chunk of time with this CD-ROM before you're ready to premiere your own Simpsons episodes. But if you're fan enough to go the distance, this is a remarkably versatile program that turns out great-looking cartoons." Similarly, Jane Clifford of The San Diego Union-Tribune
The San Diego Union-Tribune
-Predecessors:The predecessor newspapers of the Union-Tribune were:* San Diego Sun, founded 1861 and merged with the Evening Tribune in 1939.* San Diego Union, founded October 10, 1868.* Evening Tribune, founded December 2, 1895.-Ownership:...
called it "quite a challenging product" which produces cartoons that "really look professional." Benjamin Svetkey of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
gave it a B+ rating, commenting that the cartoons created "can be entertaining, but they're hampered by a failing common to the make-your-own-movie genre: Since Cartoon Studio has a limited number of voice clips ('Ay, caramba!
¡Ay, caramba!
¡Ay, caramba! comes from the Spanish interjection ¡ay! and caramba ,; which is an exclamation used in the Spanish of Spain to denote surprise...
', 'Mmm... donuts', and about 50 variations on 'Bart!'), your plot choices are restricted to the usual pranks, pratfalls, and catchphrases. Still, as Homer would say, The Simpsons Cartoon Studio is more 'Woohoo!' than 'D'oh!
D'oh!
"D'oh!" is a catchphrase used by the fictional character Homer Simpson, from the long-running American animated sitcom The Simpsons . It is typically used when Homer injures himself, realizes that he has done something stupid, or when something bad has happened or is about to happen to him...
'."
Wired
Wired (magazine)
Wired is a full-color monthly American magazine and on-line periodical, published since January 1993, that reports on how new and developing technology affects culture, the economy, and politics...
s Erika Milvy commented that "Fox's Simpsons Cartoon Studio may be more the '90s answer to Colorforms
Colorforms
Colorforms, invented by Harry and Patricia Kislevitz, refer to a general type of vinyl adhesive toy set produced under the Colorforms brand.-Definition:...
than a finely tuned animation resource, but dang if it isn't fun to watch Smithers
Waylon Smithers
Waylon Smithers, Jr., usually referred to as Smithers, is a recurring fictional character in the animated series The Simpsons, who is voiced by Harry Shearer. Smithers first appeared in the episode "Homer's Odyssey", although he could be heard in the series premiere "Simpsons Roasting on an Open...
and Mr. Burns hula across the monitor as a three-eyed fish swims by," and added that "for the anally inclined, there's certainly a way to have these cartoons make more sense. But I prefer to toss rhyme and reason out the window." Joseph Szadkowski of The Washington Times
The Washington Times
The Washington Times is a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. It was founded in 1982 by Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon, and until 2010 was owned by News World Communications, an international media conglomerate associated with the...
wrote that "For the amount of complicated computer stuff going on — frame by frame editing, character motion, voice overlays — even the most computer-illiterate individual should be able to figure this out. The Simpsons Cartoon Studio is a very fun, relatively inexpensive jaunt into the mind of Mr. 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....
."
Mike Langberg of Knight Ridder
Knight Ridder
Knight Ridder was an American media company, specializing in newspaper and Internet publishing. Until it was bought by The McClatchy Company on June 27, 2006, it was the second-largest newspaper publisher in the United States, with 32 daily newspapers sold.- History :The corporate ancestors of...
was less positive, writing in his review that "At first glance, the CD-ROM provides a lot of raw material. There are 350 brief animations, running two or three seconds each, showing 17 characters from the show in numerous poses. The CD-ROM delivery, unfortunately, falls flat[...]." He explained that "Simpsons Cartoon Studio is awkward to operate and limited in what it can accomplish, producing animated sequences that are jerky and out of sync. The CD-ROM comes with 15 cartoons created by the developers, running from 10 seconds to 55 seconds. None flow smoothly or tell funny stories. There's no reason to expect the rest of us will do any better." Similarly, Nancy Malitz of The Detroit News
The Detroit News
The Detroit News is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival Free Press's building. The News absorbed the Detroit Tribune on February 1, 1919, the Detroit Journal on July 21, 1922, and on November 7, 1960,...
wrote that "you move the characters around and invent the scenarios, but in the end you might feel your creativity wasn't heavily challenged. The whole deal is essentially a cut-and-paste operation. You can't create characters of your own, and the kind of automatic synchronization of sounds with movement that you see in a simple product like Video Jam isn't available, so things look sort of choppy no matter how hard you try."