Cartoon color wheel

Slate places cartoon characters from past and present within the frame of a color wheel.

Why are the Smurfs blue? Why is Doug’s Beebe Bluff purple? Our aim is not to answer these existential questions. When asked why the Simpsons are yellow, Yeardley Smith (voice of Lisa) explained only that Matt Groening “thought that it would be really funny if, when people watched The Simpsons, they thought that maybe the color on their TV was off.”

Totally ridiculous. And that’s what makes it fun.

[Thanks, Dean]

3 Comments

  • Hey! Where’s Perry?

  • Hey where’s Mickey and Donald? Did I miss them somehow?

  • Virusman was the name of a Danish company founded in 2000. The company consisted of a cartoon character similar to Spiderman who was going to save the world from destruction. The motto “He cares” is a registered Trademark at the Danish Patents Agency.