MATT GROENING

BY ALICE AND PABLO

WHO WAS HE?Matt Groening was born on the 15th of February, 1954. He is an American cartoonist famous for his multiple animated TV series. He is also a screenwriter, producer, animator, author, musician, comedian, and voice actor.

Matt Groening attended the Evergreen State College in Olympia,Washington, which was a liberal arts school. He was the editor of his school magazine in which he wrote articles and drew cartoons.His biggest inspiration was Linda Barry andhe became interested in cartoons after watching theDisney animation, 101 Dalmatians. He was also inspired by Charles M. Schulz.

HIS WORKMatt Groening is famous for his world wide known Cartoon TV shows and movies such as The Simpsons and Futurama. His most famous piece of work is The Simpsons which was first shown on December 17th 1989 and is still being shown all over the world on televisions today. Futurama premiered on March 28th 1999, after 4 years the show was cancelled by Fox but the series came back later on Comedy Central. The final episode aired on September 4th 2013.The Simpsons was a lot more successful and ended up being made into a movie in 2007.

TECHNIQUES USED TO PRODUCE HIS ANIMATIONS

After the script is finalised it is sent to animators who create story boards and rough sketches of how the show will look. They then make a set of black and white drawings which are shot under a camera and then pieced together and combined with the voice track. Once doubled checked the drawings are sent to Korea to be drawn neatly and coloured in, they are then shot under camera and linked to the voice track once again. Finally they put in the music and it is ready for the writers and producers to view and then air on TV. The whole process takes about nine months.

THE PURPOSE OF HIS WORK AND INFLUENCE AND APPEAL TO AUDIENCES

The Simpsons was made for children and families and was very successful so Matt Groening decided to make Futurama for a more grown up audience.

Matt Groening’s work is very controversial and made the news multiple times and a lot of parents thought characters such as Bart Simpson was a bad role model for little boys.

Simpsons merchandise was banned in many state schools in America. The show was the longest running prime time scripted television series and has had over 550 episodes aired to date.

WHO HIS WORK INSPIREDMatt Groening’s work is a big influence of cartoon TV series such as King of The Hill and Family Guy and American Dad.

A lot of cartoons look similar to his work and are the same style. Matt Groening was a very big influence in the world of TV animations.

QUOTES FROM REVIEWS• “Parents need to know that the jokes in this long-running favorite often

zip past so quickly that kids won't get the deeper statements that lie therein” – written by the website common sense media

• “Beer is consumed in every episode, bad habits are obliged, and ignorance

and mockery are the norm, but somehow, everyone gets along in the end.” - written by the website common sense media

• “The Simpsons is perhaps the greatest animated series of all time” –

Written by a fan.

THE PRINCIPLES AND AFFORDANCES OF ANIMATIONS

Here is a clip showing the use of the 12 Principles of Animation in Matt Groening’s Simpsons

The Simpsons animation exaggerates the characters actions to emphasize movements.The characters show appeal through their personalities and their humour.The scenes are very busy which gives the audience lots to look at.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6lBpL9Zaeo#t=37