The Simpsons are one of the most famous television families, known around the globe! Everyone is aware of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and little Maggie, but do you know why they never seem to age?
id="age-defying-simposns">Age-Defying SimposnsThe show has been running for over 35 years now with 769 episodes of The Simpsons airing on television since 1989. In all of that time, it's been a crazy world that brought so many new changes to television!
There is one amazing thing that has always been the same!
The Secret
That’s right! Even as "The Simpsons" had its “Golden Age” and transformed into a crazier style, and its animation techniques were redesigned for each new decade! You can tell that this show loves "the bizarre!"
And then in "The Simpsons season 36, Episode 1,", it seems they were even making plans to age some of the characters and finally give those who enjoy "the show" a dose of reality.
One thing, that always seems so weird, is that the main characters, despite all that, have remained unchanged and didn't age. This has made people question things for years and how "The Simpsons" have been able to keep it all so constant!
What Makes The Simpsons So Enduring?
Homer is supposed to be 68 and Bart would be 45 years old! What a shock. This isn't how this show functions though! It turns out this approach was not accidental!
You see "The Simpsons" relies on the fact that those main characters' age won't change. Why does this work? Well, it’s all about making sure this iconic story will keep going, that's the magic that allows them to be super consistent and keep giving viewers this incredible journey. It also means, their amazing storyline won’t ever get interrupted. This might be hard to see for some fans as there could be an event that would totally break up what we've all grown to love. If things kept going as they should, Maggie, in just a few episodes, would need to learn to speak and attend kindergarten, making the family experience so different and that's just the start! What would "The Simpsons" be like, in a few more years?
If you haven’t seen "The Simpsons "Episode One", this big season is all about a birthday for "Bart!"
Age-Changing Bart
You might think it would bring some real changes! In this new episode, they're having an 11th birthday, it really made it seem as though they were taking this whole new approach to a popular cartoon. However, the neXt few scenes went in another direction!
This show does love to have fun!
They make it super clear in a fun, amazing way, that this change wasn't really in their plans at all. "Bart"’s birthday, in the end, is an awesome example of the fact that the show, really loves making it clear that the series doesn’t want to drastically transform the age of the characters. If that's what audiences were expecting. You see, with a show this well-established and loved by millions, there's a need to keep that familiar sense for fans.
The Simpsons Timeline
The whole idea about why "The Simpsons" doesn’t really age. It's to make sure it maintains that incredible consistency!
That means a very special way of bringing these stories to the screen, by utilizing a "floating timeline." This is how "Family Guy," "American Dad," and "Bob's Burgers," as well as other big animation classics are able to stay consistent for decades. In 2008 an incredible piece called Superheroes!: Capes and Crusaders in Comics and Films, discussed how the reason these floating timelines became popular. That it was about "commercial need"
To think about how much "The Simpsons", as a show has endured for so long.
But what makes it super fascinating is how, that one special moment, made it clear that "The Simpsons" never intended to age those iconic characters! The only part of that movie is how it illustrated that changing ages for a beloved character is quite impossible to accomplish without some serious disruption! The movie used Bart's 11th birthday but showed the world a huge disruption in its plot with all of the characters in that movie suddenly going on an unexpected adventure.
It makes you really appreciate the cleverness of these shows!
id="possible-explanations"> Possible Explanations
This big, important show loves a good theory about why its characters remain the same, especially, that idea about being in a "stable time loop." You see in a previous episode they were going to go back in time. It appeared as if, their story would end up right where it all began. But, as "The Simpsons" Season 36 illustrated. There's nothing that can make it happen and these characters might not even want that to occur!
Here are a few ideas! The first is that "The Simpsons" actually changes in slow increments! The family is growing old, in tiny portions every week.
- While we can only see very small age variations
- We may not even be able to notice them from one week to the next.
But what happens, if a whole story arc spans months! That idea falls apart as we see those main characters don't change one bit. It also shows how "The Simpsons" manages to work with these crazy timelines where it becomes obvious the show doesn’t really have to worry about an evolving storyline with this constant change.
id="an-ever-changing-reality"> An Ever-Changing Reality:
"The Simpsons" actually ages with each passing year and as long as this beloved show exists it will continue. The theory here is that, the ages of the characters can shift as long as "The Simpsons "keeps getting its due as the most incredible television comedy series of the last four decades!
- The first episodes had "Homer" and "Marge" as teenagers.
- This was the 1990s but the way time has passed now.
- They may still be teenagers during that same time.
- If those characters changed they would become these super different, well established people! It seems they can do whatever they want in this great, timeless, story world.
If you're looking at a special element of "The Simpsons", a story of continuity. "Homer" seems to be the outlier and it makes you appreciate just how important this really is to keeping those moments consistent, no matter the events that take place!
Even with the latest episodes in "The Simpsons," audiences have an ability to catch a glimpse at an incredibly funny world full of interesting events! This makes sure that this iconic television family, can stay with fans, no matter the changing ages of the actors involved or the seasons that pass! If you're one of those who have watched "The Simpsons". If you have gotten hooked for these memorable years. Then, it doesn't appear as though you will need to start thinking of how you might deal with aging "The Simpsons"! That's why it's important to tune in and see just what makes "The Simpsons" such a big success. The television landscape has never seen anything like it, with amazing seasons that keep showing a whole generation's humor!
