Misplaced Pages

Milhouse Van Houten: Difference between revisions

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Browse history interactively← Previous editNext edit →Content deleted Content addedVisualWikitext
Revision as of 08:25, 26 April 2006 edit195.188.141.162 (talk)No edit summary← Previous edit Revision as of 06:46, 29 December 2024 edit undoGeraldo Perez (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers259,089 editsm Reverted 1 edit by 2600:4808:313:4601:A48A:DCFF:59D5:39BA (talk): UnsourcedTags: Twinkle UndoNext edit →
Line 1: Line 1:
{{short description|Fictional character from The Simpsons franchise}}
{{Simpsons character|
{{Redirect|Milhouse||Millhouse (disambiguation)|and|Milhous (disambiguation)}}
image= ]|
{{Needs more citations|date=August 2023}}
name=Milhouse Mussolini Van Houten|
{{Infobox character
gender=]|ROOOOSKIN
| series = ]
hair=Blue|
| image = Milhouse Van Houten.png
age=10|
| first = "]" (1988)
job=Student at Springfield Elementary, Warehouse Security Guard, Private Italian Tutor, Actor in the Radioactive Man film.|
| creator = ]
relatives=Father Kirk and mother Luann|
| designer = Matt Groening
appearance=A ] ] commercial|
| voice = {{Plainlist|
* ] (1988–2025)
* ] ("]")
}}
| full_name = Milhouse Mussolini Van Houten
| gender = Male
| religion = ]<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEOmyLHZyqc</ref>
| occupation = Student at ]
| family = ] (father)<br>] (mother)
| relatives = {{Plainlist|
* Jeremy Van Houten (paternal grandfather)
* Sophia "Yiayia Sophia" Mussolini (maternal grandmother)
* Norbert "Zack" Van Houten (paternal uncle)
* Bastardo Paulo (maternal uncle)
* Annika Van Houten (paternal cousin)
* Jillhouse Van Houten (paternal cousin)
* Eustace Van Houten (paternal great-great-grandfather)
* ] and ] (great-great-great-great-great-grandparents)
* ]
}}
| origin = Italian-Greek-Dutch-Danish American-Croatian
}} }}
'''Milhouse Mussolini Van Houten''' is Bart Simpson's best friend, the son of ] and ], and is most distinctive for his extreme ] requiring thick glasses to correct. Despite being considered a ], Milhouse is shown to have just-average intelligence with poor people skills. He is constantly led into trouble by the mischievous Bart, who is not shy about taking advantage of his naïve and trusting friend. On one occasion, Bart got Milhouse to be on the ] list. Milhouse is one of the few residents in Springfield that have eyebrows. He is voiced by ].


'''Milhouse Mussolini Van Houten<ref>{{cite episode |title=The Last of the Red Hat Mamas |episode-link=The Last of the Red Hat Mamas |series=The Simpsons |network=Fox |airdate=November 27, 2005 |season=17 |number=7 |series-link=The Simpsons}}</ref>''' is a recurring character in the ] ] '']'' voiced by ] and created by ]. Milhouse is ]'s childhood best friend in ] fourth grade class at ]. He is insecure, gullible, and is often led into trouble by Bart, who takes advantage of his friend's naivety. Milhouse is a regular target for school bully ] and his friends ], ] and ]. He has a crush on Bart's sister, ], which is a common plot element.
Milhouse harbors a hopeless crush on Bart's younger sister, ], and he is usually clumsy around females. However, in one episode's flashback (during the time that Bart and Milhouse were in kindergarten), a school counselor accidentally revealed that he had assessed Milhouse to be ].


Milhouse debuted in the 1988 ] "The ] Group" while ''The Simpsons'' was still airing as a cartoon short series on the Fox ] '']''. When ''The Simpsons'' was greenlit for a full series by Fox, Milhouse appeared in the first episode of ], "]," becoming one of the series' most prominent recurring characters. Groening chose the name Milhouse, also the middle name of ], because it was the most "unfortunate name <nowiki></nowiki> could think of for a kid".<ref name="tvguide">{{cite news|title=Flash! 24 Simpsons Stars Reveal Themselves|date=2000-10-21|publisher=]|first=Joe|last=Rhodes}}</ref> Milhouse's appearance is based on that of ].<ref name="gould"> around 13m30s. Retrieved 2014-11-15</ref> In the wake of Pamela Hayden's retirement in November 2024, it was confirmed that her characters, including Milhouse, would be recast in the future.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/the-simpsons-milhouse-voice-actor-pamela-hayden-retiring-1236067689/|title=‘The Simpsons’ Voice Actor Pamela Hayden Retiring After 35 Years|first=Rick|last=Porter|work=]|date=November 20, 2024|accessdate=November 20, 2024}}</ref> Following Hayden's appearance in ''The Simpsons'' Disney + special ], ''Simpsons'' creator Matt Groening and writer ] revealed to ''Comic Book.com'' that Hayden would make a few more performances than initially announced.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://comicbook.com/anime/news/the-simpsons-christmas-disney-plus-pamela-hayden/|title=The Simpsons’ Disney+ Christmas Special Brings Back Retired Star (& They Aren’t Done Yet)|first=Nick|last=Valdez|publisher=Comic Book.com|date=December 17, 2024|accessdate=December 17, 2024}}</ref>
Milhouse was named after ] (whose middle name was Milhous) and, apparently, ] follower ]. (There is also a street named Van Houten Avenue in ], where ] grew up.) His middle name (established in "]") is Mussolini, apparently after former ] fascist dictator ]. Presumably his mother's side of the family is ], while his father's side, judging from the last name, is likely ]. The family name was first used in the third season episode "]."


== Profile ==
Milhouse is frequently the target of the bullies ], ], and ]. They often put him into situations in which Milhouse comes out extremely hurt. He is also the subject of ]'s cruelty: "stop (hitting, zapping, etc.) yourself".
Milhouse is of Italian, Greek, Danish and Dutch descent, based on comments and characters introduced throughout the series. He shares the same physical features as both his parents, and his father's primary personality features (which include disappointment, insecurity, and generally depressed demeanor). He has none of his mother's confidence, except when specific storylines demand it. Milhouse is constantly bullied by ], ], ], and ], to the point that when Bart questions Milhouse by saying "Milhouse! I thought you had a three o'clock ] with Nelson", in the episode "]", Milhouse simply responds "I had to reschedule". They do often inflict violence upon the geeky Milhouse, who wears thick eyeglasses, without which he cannot see. Milhouse and family are among the few Springfield residents with visible eyebrows, which are rather thick.
Milhouse is fluent in ] due to visiting his ]-language-hating grandmother Sofie two weeks every year in ]. His uncle Bastardo was the illegitimate child of Milhouse's grandmother and a ] soldier during ]. Due to his grandmother's beatings, Milhouse learned Italian and started to wet his bed. He has also demonstrated that he is skilled in (if not legally entitled to) operate a ] (with pillion passenger) on public roads. It is also in this episode that Milhouse had come closest to wooing Lisa, as she even kept a picture of Milhouse in her room while practicing Italian. It is implied that she is captivated by his impressive command of the language, and a rather romantic outing to the local Italian immigrant establishment. However, he once again reaches a roadblock due to his ongoing fatal flaw when it comes to girls. Milhouse has exhibited a tendency to begin acting rather ridiculously ] complete with ] catch phrases and mannerisms. This case of social anxiety has lost him Lisa's heart three times, as well as a relationship with ] daughter.


Although not disliked and having a moderate number of friends among other kids from school aside from Bart himself, Milhouse has made a career of getting victimized, although his overall true antagonists are the schoolyard bullies of ] (Nelson, Jimbo, Dolph, and Kearney). In "]", Jimbo, Dolph, and Kearney wrapped Milhouse in ]s and placed him in a ]. After Jimbo claimed that "the ]'s ready for his mystical journey!", the bullies pushed the cart with Milhouse down a very steep hill. He is harmed frequently, and on some occasions is injured by dangerous hazards, e.g., being run over by a train, falling down a waterfall, receiving electrical shocks, having his head polished to bone, and having his teeth knocked out by a hockey puck. As a lead character he always survives and recovers, often with no further mention of any injuries. He frequently visited a female psychiatrist until even she could not deal with his constant calling and blocked his number.
Milhouse's first ] was ], a new student who had moved to ] from ] in the episode "]". After her father catches her and Milhouse ], he sends her to an all-girls ].
==The future==


On one occasion, Bart got Milhouse placed on the ] even though they are friends, and tried to lure Milhouse into a cactus. Milhouse is not always subservient to Bart; in "]", Milhouse toyed with Bart's anxiety after Bart sold his soul for $5, and Milhouse demanded $50 to return it. On another occasion, Bart introduced Milhouse to his girlfriend and had to explain why he and Milhouse are friends, but could not come up with a good answer and admitted it was due to geographical convenience. Bart did admit in "]" that he loves Milhouse.<ref>Bart: ''"Oh, I love him so much!"''</ref>
In various episodes set in the ], Milhouse has been seen as a balding manager at the ], a ] to ] Lisa Simpson, and (in Bart's words) a teenaged "emotionally-crippled mini-]". It has also been suggested that Milhouse will betray Bart, causing severe religious turmoil one thousand years later. If the predictions made by a fortune teller in ] come to pass, it is also hinted that Lisa loses her virginity to Milhouse, but, according to Marge, he "doesn't count."


Homer also sometimes makes fun of Milhouse (once referring to Milhouse in the boy's presence as "that little wiener"). In "]", Larry, ]' son, brings Homer to eat at his house. Mr. Burns was angry and he asks Homer if his son "brings home nitwits and make you talk to them", to which Homer answers "Oh, all the time! Have you ever heard of this kid Milhouse? He's a little wiener who...", before being interrupted by Burns. In an attempt to purposefully enrage his father, Bart once stated that he felt "a little attracted to Milhouse", sending Homer into a rage. Bart and Milhouse appear to be the same height, but in the episode "]", it is revealed that Milhouse is at least {{convert|1|in|abbr=on}} taller than Bart.
==Quotes by Milhouse Van Houten==
* "Everything's coming up Milhouse!"
* "So this is what it feels like ]."
* "Look out ]! He's ]!"
* "I'm not a ], Bart. Nerds are smart."
* "Remember ]? He's back! In ] form!"
* "Why do ''you'' have a ]er? ''I'm'' the one with ]."
* "It's called ], and it's nothing to be ashamed of!"
* "I'll kick your butt! ''(pauses)'' At ]."
* "Remember the time ] ate my goldfish? And you lied and said I never had goldfish. Then why did I have the bowl, Bart? ''Why did I have the bowl?''"
* "Not only am I not learning, I'm forgetting stuff I used to know."
* "But I'm all Milhouse! Plus, my mom says I'm the handsomest guy in school!"
* '''Bart:''' "Well, if your ]'s real, where is it?"<br/>'''Milhouse:''' "It's kinda in here... and when you ], that's your soul trying to escape. Saying 'God bless you' crams it back in. And when you die, it squirms out and flies away!"<br/>'''Bart:''' "What if you die in a ] at the bottom of the ocean?"<br/>'''Milhouse:''' "Oh, it can swim! It's even got wheels, in case you die in the desert and have to drive to the cemetery."
* "How could this happen? We started out like ], but it ended up in tragedy."
* "You promised fudgicles. So, where are the fudgicles?"
* "A movie with just two women?! Who'd want to watch that?"
* '''Bart:''' "So how's it feel to ride a girl's bike?"<br/>'''Milhouse:''' "It's disturbingly comfortable."
* "I'm a real human boy! I have feelings, just like you!"
* "But my mom says I'm cool."
* "Their hands were everywhere."
* "I can't wait until we're teenagers. Then we'll be happy."
* (Sitting at gun controls of jet fighter plane) "BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM!!! Take that Mom! Take that Dad! Send me to a psychiatrist would you?! Take that Dr. Sally Waxler!" ''(presses the eject button)''
* "The ]? Where are we?!"
* "The 'House always wins!"
* "I'm cool!" ''(after Dolph says that biking with your eyes closed is cool...leading to an accident involving a ])''
* '''Milhouse:''' "Hey, Bart. Check out my new earring. Pretty cool, huh?"<br/> '''Bart:''' "Milhouse, my Mom wears earrings. Do you think she's cool?"<br/> '''Milhouse:''' "No! I think she's hot! Sorry, it just slipped out."
* 'I can't go on, you two go. And carry me with you!'
* '''Mexican Milhouse:''' "Once again I must sugar my own churro."
* "You told me we were going to ]!"


Milhouse is frequently the butt of a variety of jokes, such as being beaten up by Nelson for delivering a love note from Lisa (which Nelson thought was from Milhouse himself), having the door slammed in his face while playing ], having his possible budding homosexuality given away by his school counselor to Homer and Marge by accidentally picking up the wrong folder while discussing Bart, making him a wanted fugitive (see above), inadvertently inheriting Bart's dismal permanent record at school through a side deal arranged between Bart, Edna Krabappel and ], which will disqualify Milhouse from "all but the hottest and noisiest jobs".


He is fluent in ] ("]") due to visiting his maternal grandmother in ] for two weeks every year. She hates the English language and would beat him whenever he spoke English, so he was forced to learn Italian. He began bed-wetting from this experience. He helps Lisa learn Italian, but there is no reference to his Italian background or language skills in any other episode. Milhouse's personality drastically changes when speaking Italian, becoming a suave, confident ladies' man popular with Springfield's ] in the episode. It is later revealed that both Milhouse's middle name and his maternal family name are "]".
== Trivia ==


The show's ], and various scenes of band practice suggests that Milhouse plays a brass or woodwind instrument, possibly clarinet or trumpet, but all the Springfield Elementary band members, besides Lisa, are very poor musicians.
* It is widely believed that Milhouse was based on '']'' character ] (played by ]).


Milhouse is allergic to honey, ], ], mistletoe, holly, the red parts of candy canes, and his own tears.
==See also==
* ]


==References== === Romance ===
Milhouse harbors an occasionally reciprocated crush on Lisa, but their relationship is never shown as anything other than acquaintance or friendship. As shown in "]", when she admits she liked Nelson – at the end of that episode, after she has stopped liking Nelson, Milhouse asks Lisa who will be her next crush; Lisa coyly answers that it could be anybody and Milhouse rejoices.


Lisa has always opposed the idea of going out with Milhouse (e.g. "Lisa's Date with Density" and "]"); however, in the episode "]", after Milhouse starts tutoring Lisa in Italian and takes her to Springfield's Little Italy, she begins to develop feelings for him, until she catches him with a girl named Angelica, and began cursing in Italian and chasing him with a branch just as his grandmother had done.

Milhouse's first real girlfriend was Samantha Stanky, a new student who had moved to ] from ] in the episode "]". After her father who responds to Bart's call caught her and Milhouse kissing, he shipped her off to a Catholic girls' school run by French-Canadian nuns. While Milhouse's official first kiss was with Samantha in the aforementioned episode, it was contradicted in the episode "]", where Milhouse accidentally kisses ], during a game of ] that Homer interrupted. In the episode "]", Milhouse dated fifth grader Taffy. The relationship ended when Milhouse and Taffy caught Lisa spying on them in the bushes. Taffy told Lisa that Milhouse still loves her, and Lisa kisses Milhouse because "he looks cute in the moonlight". Lisa told Milhouse that he should not give up searching for other girls and that life has unexpected things to offer. In the episode "]", Milhouse has a romantic relationship with Greta Wolfcastle, daughter of film star Rainier Wolfcastle.

Milhouse and Lisa's relationship has been used in episodes set in the show's future, outside of the show's ]{{According to whom|date=February 2024}}. In the episode "]", set 15 years into the future, Milhouse is Homer's boss at the nuclear plant, and after learning of Lisa's impending marriage, Milhouse recalls an earlier date with Lisa in which she said she might never marry, then angrily prepares Homer's annual review. Later in the episode, Lisa wonders if it is acceptable to wear a white wedding dress, suggesting that she had already lost her virginity; Marge tells her, "Milhouse doesn't count". In the episode "]" (2011), set 30 years into the future, Lisa and Milhouse are married and have a daughter, Zia.

== Creation ==
Milhouse was designed by ] for a planned series on ], which was abandoned.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Venable |first1=Nick |title=The Crazy Story Behind Milhouse's Creation on The Simpsons |url=https://www.cinemablend.com/television/1591910/the-crazy-story-behind-milhouses-creation-on-the-simpsons |access-date=November 13, 2020 |publisher=Cinema Blend |date=November 30, 2016}}</ref> The design was then used for a '']'' commercial, and it was decided to use the character in the series.<ref>Groening, Matt. (2006). "A Bit from the Animators", illustrated commentary for "]", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Eighth Season'' . 20th Century Fox.</ref><ref>{{cite tweet |last=Silverman |first=David |user=tubatron |number=1395202081607151616 |date=19 May 2021 |title=Milhouse was a design Matt Groening had done for his never-realized NBC "Saturday morning show" - one of several characters. And @archermation and I chose him for the 1988 Butterfinger commercial. So - no, not based on any writer. I may have some details about what the show was for - I think Sat morn? - but Matt had a bunch of sketches from it and we needed a "best friend" for Bart in the 1st Butterfinger. I remember Wes & I liking that design best. Circa Oct '88 and I didn't keep a journal so ... }}</ref> Milhouse was named after U.S. president ]. The name was the most "unfortunate name Matt Groening could think of for a kid".<ref name="tvguide" /> Years earlier, in a 1986 '']'' comic entitled "What to Name the Baby", Groening listed Milhouse as a name "no longer recommended".<ref name="hugehell">{{cite book|last=Groening|first=Matt|title=The Huge Book of Hell|publisher=Penguin|location=New York|date=1997|pages=54}}</ref> Milhouse is a favorite among the staff as ] noted "most of the writers are more like Milhouse than Bart".<ref name="tvguide"/> His last name was given to him by ], a freelance writer who wrote the episode "]". Gewirtz got the name from one of his wife's friends.<ref name="Gewirtz">{{cite video|people=Gewirtz, Howard|date=2003|title=The Simpsons season 3 DVD commentary for the episode "Homer Defined"| medium=DVD|publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> According to ] and ] (former writer and co-executive producer of ''The Simpsons''), ] (''Simpsons'' writer) inspired Milhouse's look.<ref name="gould" />

== See also ==
{{Portal bar|The Simpsons}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* *
* on ]

{{The Simpsons}}
{{Richard Nixon}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Houten, Milhouse}}
]
] ]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]

Revision as of 06:46, 29 December 2024

Fictional character from The Simpsons franchise "Milhouse" redirects here. For other uses, see Millhouse (disambiguation) and Milhous (disambiguation).
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "Milhouse Van Houten" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (August 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
Fictional character
Milhouse Van Houten
The Simpsons character
First appearance"The Butterfinger Group" (1988)
Created byMatt Groening
Designed byMatt Groening
Voiced by
In-universe information
Full nameMilhouse Mussolini Van Houten
GenderMale
OccupationStudent at Springfield Elementary School
FamilyKirk Van Houten (father)
Luann Van Houten (mother)
Relatives
  • Jeremy Van Houten (paternal grandfather)
  • Sophia "Yiayia Sophia" Mussolini (maternal grandmother)
  • Norbert "Zack" Van Houten (paternal uncle)
  • Bastardo Paulo (maternal uncle)
  • Annika Van Houten (paternal cousin)
  • Jillhouse Van Houten (paternal cousin)
  • Eustace Van Houten (paternal great-great-grandfather)
  • Milford Van Houten and Eliza Simpson (great-great-great-great-great-grandparents)
  • Simpson family
ReligionZoroastrianism
OriginItalian-Greek-Dutch-Danish American-Croatian

Milhouse Mussolini Van Houten is a recurring character in the Fox animated television series The Simpsons voiced by Pamela Hayden and created by Matt Groening. Milhouse is Bart Simpson's childhood best friend in Mrs. Krabappel's fourth grade class at Springfield Elementary School. He is insecure, gullible, and is often led into trouble by Bart, who takes advantage of his friend's naivety. Milhouse is a regular target for school bully Nelson Muntz and his friends Jimbo Jones, Dolph Starbeam and Kearney Zzyzwicz. He has a crush on Bart's sister, Lisa, which is a common plot element.

Milhouse debuted in the 1988 commercial "The Butterfinger Group" while The Simpsons was still airing as a cartoon short series on the Fox variety show The Tracey Ullman Show. When The Simpsons was greenlit for a full series by Fox, Milhouse appeared in the first episode of the first season, "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire," becoming one of the series' most prominent recurring characters. Groening chose the name Milhouse, also the middle name of President Richard Nixon, because it was the most "unfortunate name could think of for a kid". Milhouse's appearance is based on that of Rob Cohen. In the wake of Pamela Hayden's retirement in November 2024, it was confirmed that her characters, including Milhouse, would be recast in the future. Following Hayden's appearance in The Simpsons Disney + special O C'mon All Ye Faithful, Simpsons creator Matt Groening and writer Carolyn Omine revealed to Comic Book.com that Hayden would make a few more performances than initially announced.

Profile

Milhouse is of Italian, Greek, Danish and Dutch descent, based on comments and characters introduced throughout the series. He shares the same physical features as both his parents, and his father's primary personality features (which include disappointment, insecurity, and generally depressed demeanor). He has none of his mother's confidence, except when specific storylines demand it. Milhouse is constantly bullied by Nelson Muntz, Jimbo Jones, Dolph Starbeam, and Kearney Zzyzwicz, to the point that when Bart questions Milhouse by saying "Milhouse! I thought you had a three o'clock wedgie with Nelson", in the episode "Little Orphan Millie", Milhouse simply responds "I had to reschedule". They do often inflict violence upon the geeky Milhouse, who wears thick eyeglasses, without which he cannot see. Milhouse and family are among the few Springfield residents with visible eyebrows, which are rather thick.

Although not disliked and having a moderate number of friends among other kids from school aside from Bart himself, Milhouse has made a career of getting victimized, although his overall true antagonists are the schoolyard bullies of Springfield Elementary School (Nelson, Jimbo, Dolph, and Kearney). In "Sideshow Bob Roberts", Jimbo, Dolph, and Kearney wrapped Milhouse in bumper stickers and placed him in a shopping cart. After Jimbo claimed that "the mummy's ready for his mystical journey!", the bullies pushed the cart with Milhouse down a very steep hill. He is harmed frequently, and on some occasions is injured by dangerous hazards, e.g., being run over by a train, falling down a waterfall, receiving electrical shocks, having his head polished to bone, and having his teeth knocked out by a hockey puck. As a lead character he always survives and recovers, often with no further mention of any injuries. He frequently visited a female psychiatrist until even she could not deal with his constant calling and blocked his number.

On one occasion, Bart got Milhouse placed on the FBI's Most Wanted List even though they are friends, and tried to lure Milhouse into a cactus. Milhouse is not always subservient to Bart; in "Bart Sells His Soul", Milhouse toyed with Bart's anxiety after Bart sold his soul for $5, and Milhouse demanded $50 to return it. On another occasion, Bart introduced Milhouse to his girlfriend and had to explain why he and Milhouse are friends, but could not come up with a good answer and admitted it was due to geographical convenience. Bart did admit in "Little Orphan Millie" that he loves Milhouse.

Homer also sometimes makes fun of Milhouse (once referring to Milhouse in the boy's presence as "that little wiener"). In "Burns, Baby Burns", Larry, Mr. Burns' son, brings Homer to eat at his house. Mr. Burns was angry and he asks Homer if his son "brings home nitwits and make you talk to them", to which Homer answers "Oh, all the time! Have you ever heard of this kid Milhouse? He's a little wiener who...", before being interrupted by Burns. In an attempt to purposefully enrage his father, Bart once stated that he felt "a little attracted to Milhouse", sending Homer into a rage. Bart and Milhouse appear to be the same height, but in the episode "Radioactive Man", it is revealed that Milhouse is at least 1 in (25 mm) taller than Bart.

Milhouse is frequently the butt of a variety of jokes, such as being beaten up by Nelson for delivering a love note from Lisa (which Nelson thought was from Milhouse himself), having the door slammed in his face while playing pin the tail on the donkey, having his possible budding homosexuality given away by his school counselor to Homer and Marge by accidentally picking up the wrong folder while discussing Bart, making him a wanted fugitive (see above), inadvertently inheriting Bart's dismal permanent record at school through a side deal arranged between Bart, Edna Krabappel and Principal Skinner, which will disqualify Milhouse from "all but the hottest and noisiest jobs".

He is fluent in Italian ("The Last of the Red Hat Mamas") due to visiting his maternal grandmother in Tuscany for two weeks every year. She hates the English language and would beat him whenever he spoke English, so he was forced to learn Italian. He began bed-wetting from this experience. He helps Lisa learn Italian, but there is no reference to his Italian background or language skills in any other episode. Milhouse's personality drastically changes when speaking Italian, becoming a suave, confident ladies' man popular with Springfield's Italian community in the episode. It is later revealed that both Milhouse's middle name and his maternal family name are "Mussolini".

The show's opening sequence, and various scenes of band practice suggests that Milhouse plays a brass or woodwind instrument, possibly clarinet or trumpet, but all the Springfield Elementary band members, besides Lisa, are very poor musicians.

Milhouse is allergic to honey, wheat, dairy, mistletoe, holly, the red parts of candy canes, and his own tears.

Romance

Milhouse harbors an occasionally reciprocated crush on Lisa, but their relationship is never shown as anything other than acquaintance or friendship. As shown in "Lisa's Date with Density", when she admits she liked Nelson – at the end of that episode, after she has stopped liking Nelson, Milhouse asks Lisa who will be her next crush; Lisa coyly answers that it could be anybody and Milhouse rejoices.

Lisa has always opposed the idea of going out with Milhouse (e.g. "Lisa's Date with Density" and "Future-Drama"); however, in the episode "The Last of the Red Hat Mamas", after Milhouse starts tutoring Lisa in Italian and takes her to Springfield's Little Italy, she begins to develop feelings for him, until she catches him with a girl named Angelica, and began cursing in Italian and chasing him with a branch just as his grandmother had done.

Milhouse's first real girlfriend was Samantha Stanky, a new student who had moved to Springfield from Phoenix, Arizona in the episode "Bart's Friend Falls in Love". After her father who responds to Bart's call caught her and Milhouse kissing, he shipped her off to a Catholic girls' school run by French-Canadian nuns. While Milhouse's official first kiss was with Samantha in the aforementioned episode, it was contradicted in the episode "The Way We Weren't", where Milhouse accidentally kisses Homer, during a game of spin the bottle that Homer interrupted. In the episode "Homer Scissorhands", Milhouse dated fifth grader Taffy. The relationship ended when Milhouse and Taffy caught Lisa spying on them in the bushes. Taffy told Lisa that Milhouse still loves her, and Lisa kisses Milhouse because "he looks cute in the moonlight". Lisa told Milhouse that he should not give up searching for other girls and that life has unexpected things to offer. In the episode "The Bart Wants What It Wants", Milhouse has a romantic relationship with Greta Wolfcastle, daughter of film star Rainier Wolfcastle.

Milhouse and Lisa's relationship has been used in episodes set in the show's future, outside of the show's canon. In the episode "Lisa's Wedding", set 15 years into the future, Milhouse is Homer's boss at the nuclear plant, and after learning of Lisa's impending marriage, Milhouse recalls an earlier date with Lisa in which she said she might never marry, then angrily prepares Homer's annual review. Later in the episode, Lisa wonders if it is acceptable to wear a white wedding dress, suggesting that she had already lost her virginity; Marge tells her, "Milhouse doesn't count". In the episode "Holidays of Future Passed" (2011), set 30 years into the future, Lisa and Milhouse are married and have a daughter, Zia.

Creation

Milhouse was designed by Matt Groening for a planned series on NBC, which was abandoned. The design was then used for a Butterfinger commercial, and it was decided to use the character in the series. Milhouse was named after U.S. president Richard Milhous Nixon. The name was the most "unfortunate name Matt Groening could think of for a kid". Years earlier, in a 1986 Life in Hell comic entitled "What to Name the Baby", Groening listed Milhouse as a name "no longer recommended". Milhouse is a favorite among the staff as Al Jean noted "most of the writers are more like Milhouse than Bart". His last name was given to him by Howard Gewirtz, a freelance writer who wrote the episode "Homer Defined". Gewirtz got the name from one of his wife's friends. According to Arden Myrin and Dana Gould (former writer and co-executive producer of The Simpsons), Rob Cohen (Simpsons writer) inspired Milhouse's look.

See also

Portal:

References

  1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEOmyLHZyqc
  2. "The Last of the Red Hat Mamas". The Simpsons. Season 17. Episode 7. November 27, 2005. Fox.
  3. ^ Rhodes, Joe (2000-10-21). "Flash! 24 Simpsons Stars Reveal Themselves". TV Guide.
  4. ^ "The Dana Gould Hour" for 2014-10-14 around 13m30s. Retrieved 2014-11-15
  5. Porter, Rick (November 20, 2024). "'The Simpsons' Voice Actor Pamela Hayden Retiring After 35 Years". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
  6. Valdez, Nick (December 17, 2024). "The Simpsons' Disney+ Christmas Special Brings Back Retired Star (& They Aren't Done Yet)". Comic Book.com. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
  7. Bart: "Oh, I love him so much!"
  8. Venable, Nick (November 30, 2016). "The Crazy Story Behind Milhouse's Creation on The Simpsons". Cinema Blend. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  9. Groening, Matt. (2006). "A Bit from the Animators", illustrated commentary for "Lisa's Date with Density", in The Simpsons: The Complete Eighth Season . 20th Century Fox.
  10. Silverman, David (19 May 2021). "Milhouse was a design Matt Groening had done for his never-realized NBC "Saturday morning show" - one of several characters. And @archermation and I chose him for the 1988 Butterfinger commercial. So - no, not based on any writer. I may have some details about what the show was for - I think Sat morn? - but Matt had a bunch of sketches from it and we needed a "best friend" for Bart in the 1st Butterfinger. I remember Wes & I liking that design best. Circa Oct '88 and I didn't keep a journal so ..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  11. Groening, Matt (1997). The Huge Book of Hell. New York: Penguin. p. 54.
  12. Gewirtz, Howard (2003). The Simpsons season 3 DVD commentary for the episode "Homer Defined" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.

External links

The Simpsons
Media
Episodes
Seasons
Shorts
Disney+
shorts
Theme parks
Others
Characters
Simpson family
and relatives
Recurring
Production
Hallmarks
Locations
Themes
Inspired
works
Related
Richard Nixon
Presidency
Life and
politics
Books
Elections
Popular
culture
Related
Staff
Family
Categories: