The Itchy & Scratchy Show is extremely light on characters, primarily the two title characters.
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Itchy
Debut: "The Bart Simpson Show"
Debut on The Simpsons: "There's No Disgrace Like Home"
Debut In-Universe: "Manhattan Madness" (1919)
Voiced by: Dan Castellaneta, Harry Shearer (early seasons)
Voiced by In-Universe: June Bellamy
The psychotic mouse member of the cartoon duo, a clear expy-cum-parody of Jerry at his most Jerkass. He is usually the antagonist, and brutally slaughters Scratchy in the show, no matter how little Scratchy may have done to deserve it.
- Amazing Technicolor Wildlife: He's a light blue mouse, which usually come in shades of white or brown.
- Asshole Victim: There is an episode where it is explicitly stated that Scratchy will finally get his revenge on Itchy. Unfortunately, the TV that Bart and Lisa is watching is turned off right before it happens. When they finally get it back on, the episode is over and Krusty proclaims that they will never show it again.
- Ax-Crazy: A mixture of Ax-Crazy and The Sociopath, sadistically killing Scratchy in various painful ways.
- Characterization Marches On: In early appearances in The Tracey Ullman Show and season 1, Itchy was merely the victor in the violent pair, winning death duels with Scratchy. By season 2 of The Simpsons, Itchy was established as the eviler of the two rivals and by season 3 Scratchy was a flat-out good guy that Itchy went after solely For the Evulz.
- Comedic Sociopath: In-Universe. Bart and Lisa find Itchy's sadism towards Scratchy hilarious.
- Corrupted Character Copy: While his inspiration Jerry is simply trying to keep from being eaten (though not always), Itchy merely torments Scratchy For the Evulz. Although Jerry can also be the tormentor Depending on the Writer, Itchy always acts like a flanderized Jerry in his worst sadistic moments.
- Cross-Dressing Voices: In-universe. Both Itchy and Scratchy are voiced by a woman named June Bellamy.
- Even Evil Has Standards: When Lisa and Bart are teleported into the TV land and witness Itchy performing his usual mutilation on Scratchy, even Itchy is disgusted by the kids' enjoyment of Scratchy's suffering and, along with his feline co-star, decides to teach them a lesson.
- Faux Affably Evil: Even as he brutally murders Scratchy, he maintains a joyful demeanor, and will often bait Scratchy into his traps by pretending to advertise something less sadistic.
- Half-Dressed Cartoon Animal: Itchy is usually seen wearing white gloves and a vest, but other outfits are donned, as per Rule of Funny.
- Jerkass: He is a violently psychopathic mouse that revels in repeatedly murdering Scratchy the cat in unbelievably graphic and gory ways. Lampshaded:Homer: Itchy's a jerk!Bart: *Laughs* Yeah...
- Karma Houdini: He never gets punished. Except in the short "Burning Down the Mouse" where he finally gets his comeuppance, featured in "Homer Goes to College", it was only shown once and will never be aired again.
- Karma Houdini Warranty:
- In one cartoon he tricks Scratchy into marrying a pile of bombs and dynamite shaped like a female cat. Scratchy and the bombs eventually marry, have children and move into a retirement home. The bombs finally explode, incinerating the now-elderly Scratchy. The now-elderly Itchy comes into the scene and starts laughing, and then he immediately drops dead of a heart attack.
- Scratchy does get some payback in Burning Down the Mouse.
- One proposed episode had Scratchy dump Itchy into a vat of acid in retaliation of Itchy stealing his pie, before Marge's crusade forced the writers to tone down the violence.
- At Universal Studios, one of the carnival games is “Whack the Rat”, with a display that shows Scratchy finally get a good hit on Itchy.
- Mean Character, Nice Actor: Showed how much he cared for Scratchy when Bart and Lisa entered their world.
- Mocky Mouse: While based primarily on Jerry, Itchy also has some traits borrowed from Mickey Mouse, to the degree that the cartoon has its own theme park in a Disneyland pastiche called Itchy and Scratchy Land and the first cartoon Itchy appeared in with Scratchy is an overt parody of Steamboat Willie.
- The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: He's strictly against anyone else harming Scratchy without his permission, as shown in the treehouse of horror installment where he attempts to kill Lisa and Bart for doing such.
- Sadist: The king of horrific cartoon sadism.
- The Sociopath: With few exceptions, he demonstrates almost nothing in the way of empathy or mercy, lacks remorse for any of his actions, and wears a thin mask of affability while engaging in heinous murder.
- Villain Protagonist: Of the Show Within a Show. He always tortures and kills the other protagonist Scratchy for no reason.
- White Gloves: He always wears a pair white gloves.
- Would Hit a Girl: Itchy has no qualms about slaughtering any female cats Scratchy might be associated with.
- Would Hurt a Child: Itchy is just as willing to massacre Scratchy's kids or any other child cats unlucky enough to be around Scratchy.
Scratchy
Debut: "The Bart Simpson Show"
Debut on The Simpsons: "There's No Disgrace Like Home"
Debut In-Universe: "That Happy Cat" (1928)
Voiced by: Harry Shearer, Dan Castellaneta (yells, early seasons)
Voiced by In-Universe: June Bellamy
The cat member of the Tom and Jerry parodying Show Within a Show, Scratchy is almost never a bad person in his depictions, but invariably suffers nightmarish torment at the hands of Itchy.
- Accessory-Wearing Cartoon Animal: In contrast to Itchy, Scratchy only wears White Gloves.
- Beware the Silly Ones: A Buffoonish Tomcat that did fight back against Itchy in some cartoons and will hurt anyone that laughs at his suffering and misery, albeit in person.
- Buffoonish Tom Cat: A slapstick-prone and somewhat clumsy Butt-Monkey who can be gullible for Itchy's tricks or is easy to fool at times, although he did fight back in some episodes. Scratchy can also have a goofy appearance or reaction whenever Itchy inflicts slapstick onto him while addled or anything happening that is the total opposite of that.
- Butt-Monkey: The perfectly amiable and good-natured cat whose sole reason for existing is to be the perpetual victim of the psychopathic, needlessly malevolent whims of the brutal mouse Itchy.
- Cat Stereotype: An unlucky black furred cat.
- Characterization Marches On: In some of the earliest episodes, and even in the opening, his relationship with Itchy seems to be of at least equal antagonism (see: "Kitchen Kut-Ups," "Field of Screams"). This didn't last long.
- The Chew Toy: His torment is played for humor.
- Cosmic Plaything: Even when not being tormented by Itchy, the rest of the universe seems to bend to make him suffer too, to the point the show's rendition of God actively helps Itchy kill Scratchy and send him to Hell For the Lulz in one cartoon.
- Cross-Dressing Voices: In-universe. Both Itchy and Scratchy are voiced by a woman named June Bellamy.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: He suffers one Once per Episode.
- Furry Confusion: When he and Snowball II show up together in "Treehouse of Horror IX" segment, "The Terror of Tiny Toon".
- Hero Antagonist: He's positioned in the role of the Tom in the Tom and Jerry despite doing absolutely nothing 90% of the time to deserve his torture.
- Humanoid Female Animal: Inverted to the point of Furry Confusion when he and Snowball II show up together in "Treehouse of Horror IX" segment, "The Terror of Tiny Toon". But played straight in the "Grand Theft Scratchy" segment of The Simpsons Game. The orange female prostitute cats look more humanoid than Scratchy.
- Informed Attribute: The intro — "They fight, and bite..." — implies that Itchy and Scratchy are evenly-matched antagonists, or nearly so. (See Characterization Marches On.) The actual show is incredibly one-sided, or, more often, sheer one-way cruelty.
- Jerkass Ball: In a couch gag, he's seen taking advantage of the Simpsons's kindness, and acting like a selfish, lazy slob. By the end of the gag, the Simpsons didn't feel sorry for him anymore, letting Itchy kill him.
- Maniac Tongue: Zig-Zagged since he usually is seen sticking his tongue out an lot and is not at all psychotic like Itchy is.
- Nice Guy: A simple, kindhearted cat who is perfectly fine with interacting with other characters, unless you are Itchy or laughing at his pain in front of him and Itchy.
- Oh, Crap!: There are several instances when Scratchy can see his gruesome fate coming, and he screams in terror as he hopelessly tries to avoid it.
- Offscreen Moment of Awesome: There was the episode "Burning Down the Mouse" where he finally got even with Itchy, featured in "Homer Goes to College". Unfortunately, Bart and Lisa, and consequently the viewer, don't get to see it as the television is unplugged by one of the nerds currently living with the Simpsons (they needed the outlet for their rock tumbler). Once they get the TV plugged back in, the short is over and Krusty excitedly claims, "They'll never let us show that again! Not in a million years!"
- Overly-Long Tongue: Was capable of this in an episode.
- They Killed Kenny Again: Itchy kills Scratchy in every episode, only to have him return in the next for another slaughtering. Except for the one episode where Scratchy kills Itchy. Naturally, neither the viewers nor the Simpson children get to see the end of said episode.
- Throw the Dog a Bone:
- Scratchy comes out ahead on a few very rare occasions. In addition to the cartoon aired in "Homer Goes To College", Scratchy also joins Itchy in beating up on Adolf Hitler in a cartoon produced during World War II. One of the cartoons produced in "Itchy And Scratchy And Marge" starts out with the two beating each other with baseball bats until a squirrel with Marge's hairdo tries to stop them. Itchy decapitates the squirrel with his baseball bat, and the cartoon ends with Itchy and Scratchy shaking hands.
- In the Game Boy game Itchy and Scratchy in Miniature Golf Madness, he’s the playable character, having to play a game of mini golf while contending with Itchy, who's out to kill him as usual. If you complete the game, he'll get his well-deserved revenge on Itchy by using his eyes as golf balls.
- Too Dumb to Live: In a number of appearances. The most famous is probably the time he forgot that you need a heart to live.
- White Gloves: Worn to give him easy-to-draw hands, like the old designs of Mickey Mouse.
Poochie
Debut: "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show"
Debut In-Universe: "The Beagle Has Landed" (1997)
Voiced by: Dan Castellaneta
Voiced by In-Universe: Homer Simpson
Voiced by Homer Simpson, the writers' attempt at designing a new character to boost interest in the Itchy & Scratchy Show, who became loathed by the fanbase and was promptly removed with all speed.
- And There Was Much Rejoicing: His final episode reveals he suffers from a Bus Crash, no one mourns, except Homer.
- Back from the Dead: Since "Little Big Mom". It's possible that something happened to the sworn contract that wouldn't let him return.
- Barefoot Cartoon Animal: When he is not wearing shoes.
- Character Shilling: When his first episode airs, Itchy and Scratchy's very few lines center on how awesome Poochie is. When the episode gets poor feedback, Homer suggests more of this as one way to boost Poochie's popularity, putting extra emphasis on the new character by suggesting that, whenever he's not onscreen, other characters should be asking, "Where's Poochie?"
- Cool Shades:Roger Meyers: He's supposed to have attitude!
Artist: What do you mean, attitude?
Meyers: You know! Attitude, attitude, uhh... sunglasses! - A Dog Named "Dog": Parodied; Poochie's name was simply Roger Meyer Jr. giving a throwaway example of a name. The writers didn't care enough to settle for anything more.
- Demoted to Extra: Even after being contractually exiled from the show, he inexplicably still returns, but only in brief cameos and is still dropped as a title character.
- Dropped a Bridge on Him: He is literally pulled out-of-frame in his final appearance, saying "I have to go, my planet needs me", followed by a still frame that states "Note: Poochie died on the way to his home planet".
- Exiled from Continuity: In-Universe, following Poochie’s death on The Itchy and Scratchy Show, Krusty shows an affidavit written to his audience ensure Poochie could never, ever come back to the show. Subverted in later episodes, where Poochie sometimes does appear, implying the red tape was relaxed.
- Fully-Dressed Cartoon Animal: When he is wearing shoes.
- Hollywood Hype Machine: In-Universe. Before his debut episode, everyone is rather hyped about the addition of a new character and moments before the episode is aired Krusty compares his addition to the show to the 1969 and 1971 moon landings.
- "I Am" Song: He introduces himself with an obnoxious rap.
- Immune to Slapstick: A key reason Poochie was hated, since whenever he appeared the cartoon violence abruptly stopped. A later appearance subverts this and has him run over by the duo in a car chase in something of an In-Universe Take That, Scrappy!.
- Killed Offscreen: After he "flies" away because his home planet needs him, he apparently dies on the way there. This isn't shown onscreen aside from a note. Albeit, with In-Universe Executive Meddling with rather obviously bad editing and dubbing.
- Meaningful Name: A reference to "screwing the pooch", in that his addition to the cartoon proves to be an abysmal failure.
- Nonstandard Character Design: The only main character to have a full, heavily-detailed outfit. We see an artist create a Poochie design that was more in line with Itchy and Scratchy (who in turn were based on classic Looney Tunes designs), but Executive Meddling forced numerous additions until he exemplified the Totally Radical hip 90's look.
- Parody Sue: A good example of a Stu character played as a parody. The reason Poochie annoys the fans isn't because he's new, it's because of his Gary Stu traits. He comes in with a whole rap song about why he's so cool, and Itchy and Scratchy's usually violently comedic characters are changed into oohing and ahhing over him.
- Rescued from the Scrappy Heap: In-Universe, Homer and June Bellamy attempt this by convincing the executives to give Poochie another chance. Unfortunately, Poochie was killed off in the next short and contracted to stay that way.
- The Scrappy: In-Universe. Once introduced, no one but Homer likes the character.
- Shoo Out the New Guy: Former Trope Namer of The Poochie. After Poochie proved unpopular, the creators of the cartoon took the first opportunity to kill him off.
- Spotlight-Stealing Squad: When Poochie makes his debut appearance, the episode grinds to a screeching halt so he can deliver his rap number.Milhouse: *whining* When are they gonna get to the fireworks factory?!
- Totally Radical: Parodied.Poochie: "TO THE EXTREME!"
- Vocal Dissonance: Given he's meant to be Totally Radical, one would assume he'd sound more like Otto Man, except he's voiced by Homer Simpson.
- You Don't Look Like You: Poochie's original design that was used for marketing was a fairly accurate likeness of a typical 90s city kid. By the time he appeared in the cartoon, someone must have demanded some last-minute changes because he now has a motorcycle jacket, sneakers, a soul patch, tattered jean-shorts and blue shades.
