Nelson Muntz
Nelson Muntz | |
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Springfield Elementary School | |
Family |
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Nelson Mandela Muntz
Role in The Simpsons
Nelson is a 12-year-old student and
His family is also financially poor resulting in a dysfunctional day-to-day lifestyle. While some early episodes offer inconsistent histories (such as
It is shown in many episodes that Nelson's father abandoned him and his mother at an early age when he "went to pick up some
Nelson is also a natural athlete. In the episode "Bart Star", Nelson almost single-handedly carries the entire Springfield Pee-Wee football team. As the team quarterback, he also on one occasion catches his own pass and plows through the opposing team with extreme ease. In various episodes, he gives out the impression that he is a lot smarter than he may first appear. Nelson often points out painfully obvious things to adults and kids alike that take them longer to grasp. Another example is a running joke where Nelson does a class assignment that is implied to be of high quality. However, he is always brushed off by the teachers before he gets to show them his work. Another running joke, though, is Nelson presenting ridiculously simple assignments, such as repeatedly showing a can of tomato paste in Show and Tell, and a presentation on The Grapes of Wrath, consisting of himself crushing a bunch of grapes with a hammer, stating "Here's the grapes, and here's the wrath!" In later episodes, Nelson shows signs of being a tormented artist type, even submitting a film to the Sundance Film Festival about his life as a child living in poverty with a single, unfit mother and no strong father figure. He memorably says in the documentary, "I like to cry at the ocean, because only there do my tears seem small."[2]
In the episode "
In "The Simpsons Guy", he was captured along with Sideshow Bob, Principal Skinner, Jimbo Jones, and Apu by Stewie Griffin.
Relationships with other characters
Even though in the first season (and for many seasons afterward) Nelson seemed to be Bart's antagonist, he eventually becomes what can be considered Bart's second closest friend after Milhouse.
In his debut episode, Lisa was the initial target of Nelson's friend. Nelson had two minions at first one of which snatched a box of cupcakes from Lisa which prompted Bart to defend her. Bart's actions resulted in frequent beatings by Nelson and his gang, but finally ended when Bart received help from Herman, who came up with the idea of standing up to Nelson and his gang by pelting them with water balloons. From that point on, Nelson shows grudging respect for Bart, though he occasionally reverts to his past behavior towards him.
Although still prone to violence, Nelson hangs out with Bart and his less popular friends, such as
Nelson has many other moments where he displays his hidden good nature, such as his brief amorous relationship with Lisa. Although he cannot control his delinquent tendency, he treats her with respect and even tries to change for her, although both of them realize that he is not being true to himself by doing so. In "
He also punishes
In "Loan-a Lisa", Lisa uses $50 to help Nelson fund his bicycle company, which becomes a success. When Nelson almost drops out of school to spend more time on the company, Lisa is saddened and attempts to stop him from doing so, but eventually respects his decision after realizing he will not change despite the money used to fund it. Nelson eventually decides not to drop out after all and takes Lisa skating to make it up to her.
Though Nelson is often said to not really have friends aside from his on-and-off relationship with Bart and the others, Nelson sometimes hangs out with his fellow school bullies
In "Sleeping with the Enemy", Moe Szyslak appears briefly during a Muntz family reunion. The facial similarities between Moe and the Muntzes are surprisingly quite apparent and Moe's childhood experiences and behaviors are somewhat relatable with Nelson's. Moe briefly appears and claims that he is part of the family and is then shunned off-screen by the Muntzes' confused looks.
Character
The Simpsons creator Matt Groening named Nelson after the wrestling hold of the same name.[3] Cast member Nancy Cartwright voices the character, which first appeared in the fifth episode of the first season, "Bart the General" (1990). American voice actress Dana Hill was first supposed to provide Nelson's voice and attended the read-through of the episode. However, as Cartwright wrote in her autobiography My Life as a 10-Year-Old Boy, "the producers were still putting together this ensemble of [actors] and, come Monday, at the recording, she was nowhere to be found and the part was assigned to me. I didn't have time to ask why and I still don't have a clue."[4] Cartwright also commented that when she first found out she would be voicing Nelson, "I asked myself, 'What does a bully sound like?' Well... what you hear is what you get. When I first uttered, 'I'll get you after school, man!' I let out a sigh of relief when I got through the line and a double-sigh when it got a laugh."[4]
By the
Reception
The episode "
In his review of the season 22 episode "Loan-a Lisa", Rowan Kaiser of The A.V. Club commented that Nelson's character has undergone a "Spikeification", in reference to the bully's near-exclusive portrayal as being likable and vulnerable in later seasons of the program.[10]
References
- ^ Garza, Valentina; Faughnan, Matthew (October 3, 2010). "Loan-a Lisa". The Simpsons. Season 22. Episode 466. Fox.
- ^ "The Simpsons: Any Given Sundance — VIDEO". Tvsquad.com. Retrieved 2011-05-26.
- ^ Groening, Matt (2004). Commentary for the episode "Lady Bouvier's Lover", in The Simpsons: The Complete Fifth Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7868-8600-5.
- ^ Scully, Mike; Weinstein, Josh (2007). Commentary for the episode "Lisa's Date with Density", in The Simpsons: The Complete Eighth Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
- ^ Wilson, Stacey (2012-02-08). "'The Simpsons' at 500: Untold Stories". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2012-02-08.
- ^ 59th Primetime Emmy Nominations, emmys.tv. Retrieved on 2008-07-11 [dead link]
- ^ Simpsons Channel | Simpsons Nominated For Emmy Award Archived January 10, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Writer's Guild Awards — Television Nominees 2008". Archived from the original on 2012-05-25., Writers Guild of America West. Retrieved on 2008-07-11
- ^ Kaiser, Rowan (2010-10-04). ""Loan-a-Lisa"/"Cleveland Live!"/"Excellence in Broadcasting"/"100 A.D., Pt 1 of 2"". The A.V. Club. The Onion. Retrieved 2010-10-04.