Two weeks ago, cartoonist Matt Groening suggested to the Financial Times that Fox's The Simpsons is running low on creative juice. Later, he claimed to have been "misquoted" in the story, promising "new adventures for years to come." What gives? For the sake of fans suffering from emotional whiplash, TV Guide Online consulted voice-over queen Nancy Cartwright — that's Bart Simpson himself! — for insight.
"Alright, let me give you my opinion," she says. "I think it's all publicity. You know as well as I do that it has to do with ratings. How good is the show doing? We're in season 14 and we're still in the top 20. As long as the show continues to do that well, why would they not continue to do it?"
Nielsen numbers are one thing, but what of worries about the show going stale? "Are you kidding me?" Cartwright winks. "We've got brilliant writers. As long as they're making it and as long as I'm around, baby, I am there. I say, Simpsons forever! As long as the show can maintain the integrity, quality and standards that Matt Groening had at the very beginning, why not?"
When she's not defending Bart's turf, Cartwright keeps busy as baby Chuckie's voice on Rugrats. She also stars in Disney Channel's new cartoon Kim Possible — debuting June 7 at 6:30 pm/ET — about high-school crimefighters. Once again, this quirky femme plays a male — as "mascot sidekick" Rufus, who's a naked mole rat. Ew, couldn't they have made her a prettier animal?
"I had to count on the animator to make Rufus cute," she laughs. "Real, live, naked mole rats are the ugliest things. They're disgusting-looking, like an overcooked hot dog! They're blind, they don't have ears, they're naked because they don't have much hair and they have big buck teeth... Sort of like this guy I used to date!"
