Roger Meyers Jr: the boss of Itchy and Scratchy
1326 words | Reading time: 7 minutes
CharacterRoger Meyers JrItchy & Scratchy
A jaded studio boss, who despises his audience and embraces plagiarism as a method. Roger Meyers Jr runs the Itchy & Scratchy studios, inherited from his father — the real pastiche of Walt Disney. This profile gathers his courtroom tirade ("animation is built on plagiarism!"), the lawsuit that costs him $800 billion against Itchy's true creator, the writers' room packed with Harvard graduates, the birth of Poochie, and the spelling of his name that changes from one episode to the next.
He openly despises his young audience, fires his writers in batches and considers plagiarism the very foundation of his trade: Roger Meyers Jr runs the most cynical studio in Springfield.
A profile of the boss who invented Poochie — and lost $800 billion.
Contents
Who is Roger Meyers Jr?
Roger Meyers Jr is the president of the studio that produces Itchy & Scratchy, the ultra-violent cartoon shown inside the Krusty Show.
He is a jaded, selfish businessman, with nothing but contempt for the young audience he sells his cartoons to. An ideal frame for the satire of the cartoon world the show unrolls.
An amusing detail for anyone trying to quote him: the spelling of his name changes from one episode to the next on screen, between "Meyers" and "Myers". Both spellings genuinely exist.
His father, the real Disney parody
Watch out for the most frequent misreading: it is not he who parodies Walt Disney, but his father, Roger Meyers Sr., the supposed creator of Itchy.
The son is merely the heir: a talentless manager exploiting a catalogue built by someone else. And his father was not even the character's true creator — what follows will prove it in court.
⌚ From Meyers Sr., his son inherited nothing but a studio and a catalogue built by someone else; what truly gets handed down from father to son is worn on the wrist, and nothing stops you from starting a line of your own with our Simpsons watches.
His arm-wrestle with Marge
His first appearance, in 1990, pits him against Marge, on a crusade against cartoon violence. Meyers sweeps her complaint aside with disdain, then produces in retaliation an episode in which Itchy and Scratchy go after a caricature of the complainant.
Later, when Bart and Lisa send him a script, he rejects it with the same offhandedness. The show takes the opportunity to show his writers' room — packed with over-qualified authors, a ferocious nod from The Simpsons to their own team.
The $800 billion lawsuit
The character's high point comes with a lawsuit: an old man, Chester J. Lampwick, proves that it was he, and not Meyers senior, who created Itchy.
Cornered, Meyers delivers in court the tirade that sums up the whole character: "animation is built on plagiarism!", before explaining that without borrowing, most of the great series would not exist.
The verdict is crushing: $800 billion in damages, and the studio's bankruptcy. That scene also opened the door to Itchy & Scratchy Land, the theme park from the same universe.
Poochie, his worst idea
It is also under his leadership that Poochie is born, the dog meant to rejuvenate a cartoon running out of steam — a merciless satire of the strategy of grafting a "modern" character onto an ageing series.
📱 Grafting Poochie, a "modern" dog, onto a cartoon running out of steam remains Meyers's worst idea; on your iPhone, which is already a few years old, a fresh look works far better, and our Simpsons iPhone cases take care of it without touching what's inside.
The irony is carried through to the end: it is Homer himself who wins the audition and voices the dog. The show has never been more clear-sighted about its own industry.
Roger Meyers Jr's voice actors
In the original version, the character has had two actors: Alex Rocco, who creates him in 1990 then takes him back in the mid-1990s, and Hank Azaria, who stands in when Rocco is unavailable.
Rocco, who had never done voice work before, recounted having stage fright and trying to compose a special voice — before simply being asked to use his own. He said he liked the role because it let him "be a big shot".
👔 To play this big shot, Alex Rocco needed nothing but his own voice; the day you're the one playing the boss, in a meeting or at a wedding, you'll need at least a knot at your collar, so pick yours from our Simpsons ties.
On the French side, the sources remain imprecise: several actors are associated with the series without any clear allocation by episode.
The studio
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Summary table
| Profile | Details |
|---|---|
| Identity | President of the Itchy & Scratchy studios |
| His father | Roger Meyers Sr., the real parody of Walt Disney |
| His cult tirade | "Animation is built on plagiarism!" |
| His sentence | $800 billion, and the studio's bankruptcy |
| His worst idea | Poochie, the dog meant to revive the series |
| Original voices | Alex Rocco, then Hank Azaria as a replacement |
FAQ
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Who is Roger Meyers Jr?The boss of the Itchy & Scratchy studios, his father's heir and a symbol of the cynicism of the cartoon industry in the show.
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Is he the parody of Walt Disney?No, it is his father, Roger Meyers Sr., who plays that role. The son is merely the managing heir.
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Why does his studio go bankrupt?Because a lawsuit establishes that Itchy's true creator is Chester J. Lampwick, to whom the court awards $800 billion.
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What is his best-known line?His courtroom defence: "animation is built on plagiarism!", followed by a demonstration of television's borrowings.
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Who voices Roger Meyers Jr?Alex Rocco in the original version, replaced by Hank Azaria on several episodes. The French cast is not clearly documented.
Conclusion
Cynical, an heir and perfectly comfortable with plagiarism, Roger Meyers Jr is the grating mirror The Simpsons hold up to their own industry. A studio boss so caricatural that he becomes credible.
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