Everything about Lisa Simpson totally explained
Lisa Marie Simpson is a
fictional character in the animated
television series
The Simpsons, voiced by
Yeardley Smith.
Matt Groening, the creator of the series, named her after his sister.
She is the elder daughter and middle child of
Homer and
Marge Simpson, and the sister of
Bart and
Maggie.
Lisa is an extremely intelligent 8 year old girl, one of the most intelligent characters on the show, with an
I.Q. of either
156 or
159. She also plays the
saxophone.
Personality
Lisa's knowledge covers a wide range of subjects, from astronomy to medicine, and she's notably more concerned with world affairs than her life in Springfield. Lisa shares her intellect and overachieving personality traits with other
female members of the Simpson family ("
Lisa the Simpson" revealed that Simpson
males inherit a
gene on the
Y chromosome that prevents them from using their intellect regularly). Lisa also deeply values her
integrity, as demonstrated when she cheats on a test on
The Wind in the Willows to attain her highest grade of A+++, but later admits her dishonesty to an unreceptive
Principal Skinner, and later self-grades her test as an F. Like her brother
Bart, Lisa has received
detention quite a number of times, often because of her rebellious and sometimes bitter attitude and anti-social behavior that's capable of deeply embarrassing authority figures. For instance, she once stole all the teacher's edition
textbooks of the school's faculty and threw it into a panic as their ignorance is threatened to be exposed. In
The President Wore Pearls, Lisa's dedication to being Student Council President makes her troublesome with the teaching staff, so Skinner temporarily transfers her to a school for the academically gifted, much to her delight (although Homer refuses to allow her to attend).
Although her rebellion against social normalities is usually depicted as constructive and heroic, Lisa can be self-righteous at times. Notably, in "
Lisa the Vegetarian", her increasing sense of moral righteousness regarding her
vegetarianism leads her to proselytize, culminating in her disruption of a "meat-based"
barbecue prepared by Homer, an act she comes to rue. In
Bart Star, she triumphantly declares that she, a girl, would like to join the football team. When it's revealed that there are already girls on the team, she declares her distaste for a sport that would use a pig's skin to make its ball. When it's revealed that the ball is actually synthetic, she's at a loss for words and runs off visibly upset. She was also able to talk at a very young age, as seen in "
Homer's Barbershop Quartet".
Despite her high
IQ, Lisa does have typical childhood issues, sometimes requiring adult intervention. In "
Lost Our Lisa", she tricks
Homer into allowing her to ride the bus alone, only to become hopelessly lost. After his coworkers
Lenny and
Carl point out that he allowed his 8 year old daughter to ride a bus by herself, Homer comes to her rescue. In one episode, Lisa has a Jewish
imaginary friend named Rachel who "just got into
Brandeis." In the earlier seasons, Lisa displayed more personality traits of an eight-year old, including obsessing over getting a pony, addiction to TV and fighting with Bart many times throughout the series. She also finds Bart's joke-calls to Moe's tavern funny (although she never does it personally). It is slightly less prevalent in the later seasons.
In "
Homer's Enemy", it's mentioned that Lisa has an IQ of 156. She is a member of
Mensa Springfield. Lisa demonstrates an early intelligence by changing her own
diaper as an
infant and completing a puzzle in Dr. Pryor's office at 3 years old. When unable to attend school due to a
teachers'
strike in "
The PTA Disbands", she suffered a sort of "school withdrawal" and invents a
perpetual motion machine that Homer describes as going "faster and faster". He goes on to chastise her, saying "In this house, we obey the
laws of thermodynamics!"
Lisa's political convictions are generally socially liberal. She is a
vegetarian, and a supporter of the
Free Tibet movement.
While still supportive of the
Christian church in which she was raised, Lisa became a practicing
Buddhist following her decision to follow the
Noble Eightfold Path. She also supports the theory of
Darwinism and
evolution, calling Darwin "one of the greatest minds" of all time, as seen in the episode, "
The Monkey Suit." Though apparently not an adherent, she mentions in one episode that she considers
Wicca "very empowering." There have been several instances where Lisa has used extreme measures to get her point across (such as throwing paint on the
Keebler elves and on
Krusty the Clown for wearing a fur coat).
Lisa's quintessentially good nature, even compared to her family members, is symbolized in the episode
Simpsons Bible Stories, when she's the only family member to be raised up to Heaven during the
Rapture (although Homer pulls her back down so she can go to Hell with the rest of them).
Lisa has had relationships with several boys, including
Ralph Wiggum ("
I Love Lisa"),
Nelson Muntz ("
Lisa's Date with Density, and
Love, Springfieldian Style") and
Colin (
The Simpsons Movie). She has revealed that the boy in school that she likes the most is a never-seen boy called Langdon Alger.
Milhouse Van Houten also has a crush on her, and tries to get her to kiss or date him frequently, and as yet has been unsuccessful.
Character
Creation
Matt Groening first conceived the Simpson family in the lobby of
James L. Brooks' office. He had been called in to pitch a series of animated shorts, and had intended to present his
Life in Hell series. When he realized that animating
Life in Hell would require him to rescind publication rights for his life's work, Groening decided to go in another direction. He hurriedly sketched out his version of a dysfunctional family, and named the characters after various members of his own family, and Lisa is the name of one of his sisters.
Nancy Cartwright, originally auditioned for the role of Lisa, but was soon told that her voice would be better suited voicing Bart. Yeardley Smith had initially been asked to audition for the role of Bart but casting director
Bonita Pietila believed her voice was too high, so Smith was given the role of Lisa instead. In order to perform the voice, Smith lifts her voice up a little.
In the Tracey Ullman Show shorts, Lisa was more of a "female Bart" and was equally mischievous. As the series progressed, Lisa began to develop into a more intelligent and more emotional character with "
Krusty Gets Busted" being one of the first episodes where her true intelligence is fully shown. Many episodes focusing on Lisa have an emotional nature, the first one being "
Moaning Lisa". The idea for the episode was pitched by
James L. Brooks, who had wanted to do an emotional episode where Lisa is sad because the show had done a lot of "jokey episodes".
Cultural influence
In 2001 Lisa received a special "Board of Directors Ongoing Commitment Award" at the
Environmental Media Awards. "
Lisa the Vegetarian", an episode from
the seventh season, won both an Environmental Media Award for "Best Television Episodic Comedy" and a
Genesis Award for "Best Television Comedy Series, Ongoing Commitment". Lisa was also listed at number 11 in
TV Guide's "Top 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time." In
Japan, the broadcasters of the series found they were able to turn the apparent viewer dislike of the series around by focusing marketing attention on Lisa. Lisa's well-intended but ill-fated struggles to be a voice of reason and a force of good in her family and city struck a chord with the Japanese.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Lisa Simpson'.
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