Itchy and Scratchy: the Simpsons' cartoon

UniverseItchy & Scratchy

Episode after episode, a blue mouse butchers a black cat: the cartoon shown on Krusty's program flips the roles of Tom and Jerry. This piece explains the principle of the gore parody, its meta commentary on television violence, and the role of the cynical Roger Meyers Jr. at the head of the studio. Then comes "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show" (season 8), in which Homer wins the audition to voice the dog meant to revive the ratings. You will see why this running gag is a mirror held up to television.

A mouse butchering a cat, episode after episode: welcome to Itchy & Scratchy, the most violent (and funniest) cartoon on Simpsons television.

Shown on Krusty's program and adored by Bart and Lisa, this cartoon within a cartoon is a ferocious parody — and a biting satire of television violence. Here is the breakdown.

---

What is Itchy & Scratchy?

Itchy & Scratchy is a fictional cartoon shown inside The Simpsons, within Krusty the Clown's program, and one that Bart and Lisa watch religiously. In the French version, the English names are kept exactly as they are: it really is "Itchy et Scratchy".

Within the fiction, the cartoon is produced by Itchy & Scratchy Studios, run by the cynical Roger Meyers Jr., a boss who openly despises his young audience. An ideal setting for satire.

---

Tom and Jerry with the roles reversed

The premise of Itchy & Scratchy is simple and radical: it is an ultra-violent, gory parody of Tom and Jerry-style cat-and-mouse cartoons, but with the roles reversed. Here it is the mouse, Itchy (blue), who chases and butchers the cat, Scratchy (black), reduced to the role of victim, in a thousand different ways.

🧸 Scratchy takes every one of Itchy's blows without ever being able to hit back; in your bedroom, our Simpsons plush toys only ever have to take hugs.

Far from gratuitous, this escalation of bloodshed serves as a meta commentary on the violence of cartoons and television — a theme the show pushes into the absurd when Bart and Lisa howl with laughter at scenes of total brutality.

---

Poochie and the satire of television

Itchy & Scratchy also served as the springboard for one of the show's cleverest episodes: "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show" (season 8). To revive flagging ratings, the producers add a new "cool" character, the dog Poochie — a merciless satire of the strategy of grafting a trendy character onto a show that has run out of steam.

🧵 Grafting Poochie the dog onto a cartoon with flagging ratings is the producers' whole gamble in "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show"; on your denim jacket that has run out of steam, our Simpsons patches pull off the same graft, and this time you get to pick the newcomer.

A delicious detail: in that episode, it is Homer himself who wins the audition and voices Poochie. The show has never been more clear-eyed about its own industry. The studio even got its own theme park.

---

Itchy and Scratchy's voice actors

In the original version, Itchy is voiced by Dan Castellaneta (the voice of Homer) and Scratchy by Harry Shearer; within the fiction, their voices are supposedly provided by an actress, June Bellamy, a nod to dubbing legend June Foray. In the French version, it is Régine Teyssot who voices Itchy. Since the two characters are almost entirely silent, the dubbing stays minimal.

🖼️ Itchy says so little that Régine Teyssot, his French voice, barely has a line to deliver: everything comes through the picture, which is exactly what our Simpsons posters do on your bedroom wall, a whole scene without a single line of dialogue.

---

Summary table

---

FAQ

• What is Itchy & Scratchy?
  An ultra-violent cartoon shown on Krusty's program, which Bart and Lisa watch. It is a gory parody of cat-and-mouse cartoons.
• What is the difference with Tom and Jerry?
  The roles are reversed: it is the mouse (Itchy) who chases and butchers the cat (Scratchy), not the other way around.
• What is Itchy & Scratchy called in French?
  "Itchy et Scratchy": the English names are kept in the French version.
• Who is Poochie?
  A "cool" dog added to the cartoon in a season 8 episode, satirizing the desperate addition of new characters to revive a show.

---

Conclusion

Bloody, absurd and surprisingly intelligent, Itchy & Scratchy is far more than a running gag: it is the grating mirror The Simpsons hold up to television as a whole. Proof that in Springfield, even the cartoons have a false bottom.

↑ Back to top