Ouch !, but also that what happened when most of the creative team from a sitcom gets replaced, they tend to lose track of details that's why in the last 2 examples outside treehouse of horrors and dream sequences Bart has spiked skull, in conclusion the writers are baboons!
In one episode you can clearly see that the Simpson children have spiked skulls, but then in other episodes they clearly have rounded skulls. Are we supposed to believe that they actually have some sort of magical shape-shifting skull? Boy, I sure hope someone got fired for that blunder.
@@soursimpsons Their hair and skulls are stylized. Not everything in a cartoon should be taken as canon. I mean there are other examples of style getting in the way of what is really happening, in hello kitty, for example, Hello Kitty look like a white cat, however the author commented that hello kitty is not really a cat, but a human british girl, she only appear as a cat in the cartoon but its not canon. Meanwhile, we do have a example of style affecting the simpsons, the creator of the Simpson's said that he made then yellow so that he would trick the people watching the cartoon. Make then think that the colors of the tv where wrong and needed adjustments. Cartoons follow rules, like for example, the rule of funny, that say that anything can happen as long as it funny. That is also without counting that the Simpsons have multiple writers, and each author has its own interpretation. Thats why characters go throught things like flandarization, different authors dont get what the characters are about or dont care, and do their own spins on said characters. Now to the skulls, had you perceived how marge skull still has hair? The weird skulls are for the skelletons to get easilly recognized.
Jake the barber is one of those characters I constantly forget about until he appears. He dates all the way back to the Tracy Ulman shorts, and yet his appearances are all so minor.
I propose this theory: Bart has a naturally spiky skull. Every time his hair is visibly cut, he doesn't just cut his hair off, he removes a chunk of his own skull! Fortunately, the spikes regenerate and the brain remains hermetically sealed within its cranium, so the damage is never serious or life-threatening.
I think the spiked skulls are just a way of identifying the characters even post decomposition, same as Marge still having hair as a skeleton. When you know it’s the character like in an X-Ray image, then they just have a rounded skull. But this fur topic, now THAT has my attention. Do Bart and Lisa have the same color hair as their skin color? Or do they actually have lighter skin and yellow fur?
than again the older idea from Marge she's was ether a mutated or a rabbit. because she did have ears under that long hair. that was before they just say it's only a hair style she uses.
5:50 Marge has definitelly the weirdest shape of skull. Since x-ray sees right through the hair, there's no possibility to be her skull covered by hair, that means Marge suffers from microcephaly. Oh and it seems her ear has ossified, as it is a bone too apparently.
If you also factor The Simpsons Arcade game, an electrocuted Marge shows she has rabbit ears hiding behind her tall hair. This Marge plot twist was originally Matt Groening's idea for as early as season 1, but the creatives felt this idea was too ridiculous.
One episode, Homer puts his beer on Barts head, which was flat enough to keep the can from tipping. Another episode, Lisa was trying out for a physical fitness class. She was playing dodgeball but when the ball hit her head, the ball covering was pierced by her spiky head. So they probably do have skulls in the shapes of their heads as depicted in the Treehouse of Horror episodes.
Whereas Frink would never do that - he's thrilled to run all sorts of tests and make calculations that direct the vector of his finger to point THAT WAY!
If we take this theory a notch forward, Marge actually has bunny ears, so with that in mind, it probably affected the birth of Bart and Lisa and even Maggie. Kind of sad to think about. I hope they don't have mutated bodies like Marge does yikes.
@@InAnimateGamer hear me out, but that's because The Simpsons crew never referenced it again in the show. I guess the only way we would ever find out, is if in a Treehouse of Horror, Marge gets electrocuted. These Fan Theories are interesting to debate!
I always took it as the spiky skulls just being for comedic effect. Like when we see Spongebob's square skeleton. It catches you off guard because logic would dictate he wouldn't have one.
You know, I guess there's can be another exhibit in favour of spike skull theory: in S03E12 "I married Marge" Dr. Hibbert provides ultrasonography for pregnant Marge and we can see that Bart already had his spike "haircut" being an embryo. But embryos are usually bold while they in utero. Something like that.
Having not watch the episode yet I'm going to theorize that the skulls have only been shown in dream sequences and non-canon episodes and therefore are open to interpretation and styling for ease of identification
Here's one to analyze. How old is Hans Moleman? Several episodes say he's a senior, but one says he's thirty. Also, how many times has Hans Moleman died? Is it a case where there's multiple Molemen, or is he like Kenny from South Park?
MY THEORY: Bart and Lisa have spikey hair, but Bart's head skull in season 21 was starting to become a bit spikey (and they didn't even bother calling a doctor). In this theory, Bart's skull became normal again after let's say Bart needed a check at Dr. Hibbert's. And then his skull became normal again. Oh... and what about Marge Simpson's secret bunny ears? That... we'll figure out another day.
This is so stupid but as a kid, I put off watching the Simpsons because I thought Bart’s scalp was pointy, not knowing it was meant to be spiky hair. The thought of a real person with a pointy skull disturbed me so much I didn’t want to watch.
Perhaps the spikes are...cartilage?? GOOD observation about the ToH/couch gags/non-canon nature of the spiked skulls, how they perceive it and not an anatomical reality! But to add to that, the radioactive TV clip is shown from the viewer's perspective, and NOT from an official X-ray scan, which might medically confirm the theory! Just another example of driving without an artistic license!
I counter your X-Ray Smooth-skull (sounds like an insult when I put it that way) argument with this - X-Rays don't show hair but Bart's X-Rays still show his outline. That is good ol fashioned skin and cartilage
What I want to know is, why does Lisa have a "normal" scalp, whereas her hair and the rest of her skin is yellow? Maybe the yellowness is like a tan, and her scalp is pale due to lack of exposure? Yet we also see that Bart's scalp is yellow...
The very first appearance of Bart's spiky skull was in the 'Do The Bartman' video. About 4 mins 26 seconds in. But again it's part of his imaginary pop video. And funnily enough the follow up music video for Deep Deep Trouble in 1991 ends with a reveal that Bart had been punished by having his head shaved and no spiky skull. :P So this whole thing has been going on since almost the very start. :P
the skeletons in treehouse of horror 11 don't belong to Bart and Lisa, they belong their unnamed siblings (presumably the one that looks like Bart is Hugo.) Not that this matters since TOH isn't canon, just thought i'd mention it.
it's an intresting mystery,I guess the artists didn't know what to do with the skulls yet or maybe they just like to give us mysteries,I'm surprised no one's ever asked matt,doesn't he go to conventions? why does no one just ask him these things?
As a former owner of a The Simpsons™️ "Bart" -themed set of school supplies including an eraser featuring the skull of family's boy, I can testify to the fact that atleast he does in fact possess a spiky skull.
I just pass this off as a joke most of the time for comic exaggeration, but I guess it makes more sense for them to have a normal skulls. What did it for me was an episode in which Bart wore a wig but held his spiky hair with clips. I'm 80% convinced it's just their hair.
Ive subscribed! Love your stuff... this is a question I've always wondered, too😁 though most of the "skull" incidents do seem to be treehouse or horror or characters' own fantasies...💀
I can answer your question with two words. "Animation humour." And art perfection. It's just all for a laugh, after all all of the Simpson stunts and gags are supposed to be ridiculous in real life.
@@soursimpsons the other problem is because it comes run for so long they tend to forget the old stuff therefore by twisting the backstories. Like House Skinner isn't really Skinner, and the real skinner is forgoten and considered fictional
The clear answer is, whatever is more convenient for the gag. If they just showed a random skull the viewers wouldn’t know who it is supposed to be. Or is it!?… Yes. Probably.
Marge's hair is the most unpredictable. I heard originally they gave her rabbit ears. But who knows? Also if you notice in some of your frames, Marge hair is inconsistent. The hair epidemic sure is interesting indeed.
Lugash the gymnast trainer also comments on Lisa's big head, but squishes her hair spikes when knocking on her head. (from episode "Little Girl in the Big Ten", S13E20)
@@soursimpsons Obviously, I've been streaming these in succession lately, but S16E19 also has Bart and Lisa getting their haircut at Da Buzz Club when they get in a trimmer fight cutting their hair points off to the scalp and showing round-shaped heads.
Oh this was so good. I appreciate these video essays. Have we ever really and truly understood how Barney Gumble, notorious alcoholic, makes his money to buy so much booze?
In the Simpsons episode "Lisa on Ice" Lisa joins a volleyball team and pops the volleyball when it hit here spikey head. Just to add to the information that is "Pro Spikey skull"
My theory is beside it's just an animation style or choice maybe the spiky skulls are used to tell who's who and the normal skulls are used to to make the skulls more normal
I have a PAINFUL theory. Bart and Lisa have skulls that will grow spikes but the problem is those spikes will not stop growing so they have to cut off the spikes before it goes too far. Talk about painful "haircuts"!
I always thought it was hair but this was an interesting mystery indeed. I kind of forgot that they were episodes where you actually see them have spiky skulls
So from our real world perspective it would be to differentiate between the two since Bart and Lisa are about the same height and build it would be hard to tell the two apart skeletal wise without spikes. From a Simpsons universe perspective, they’re inbred, in fact most of the White (or yellow) Springfeildians are descended from a handful of pioneers, some of who were probably related already, that could mean the Springfield gene pool is very small, leading to a lot of genetic duplications and deletions which results in deformities, which explains the spiked skulls, along with Prof Frink having a tick tak shaped head and most of the population having no chins.
In "Double Double, Boy in Trouble", that drop of alcohol that ends up in Marge's stomach in that flashback where she is pregnant with Bart causes the spikes to grow on his head.
Would you have felt Bart or Lisa (Maggie) would have been themselves in those skeleton forms without their iconic spikes? I think Bart and Lisa would still be themselves without their iconic spikes. Their personalities are so strong that they would shine through even without their physical features. Bart would still be mischievous and rebellious, and Lisa would still be intelligent and compassionate. Of course, their spikes are a part of their identity, and they would probably feel a little bit lost without them. But I think they would still be able to be themselves, even if they were just regular skeletons. Maggie, on the other hand, might be a little bit different without her spikes. Her spikes are a symbol of her innocence and vulnerability. Without them, she might seem a little bit more hardened or even aggressive. But I think she would still be the same sweet and loving Maggie at heart. Ultimately, I think the iconic spikes are just a part of Bart, Lisa, and Maggie's personalities. They would still be themselves without them, but they would be a little bit different.
@@soursimpsons the season with Armin Tamzarian was the first "well, that's enough." That season and a couple after had some good episodes, but I call it the beginning of the "good fan fic" era, followed by the "nope" era. 🤣
Personally I believe their hair is made of a flexible bone-like material with a skin/hair texture on it. The white patches are the bones layers underneath, and the material sometimes does or does not show up.
What I mean is their skin goes completely above their spiky squall so it’s not that their head looks spiky it’s just their hair is also shape of their squall
