Funzo

Funzo was a toy released by Kid First Industries. It was developed after Kid First Industries employees took some ideas mentioned by Springfield Elementary students regarding developing a new toy. It looks like a Furby.

History of Funzo

The Funzo toy seemed to have a mind of its own and attempted to kill off all other competition in toys, such as Bart's Krusty Doll and Lisa's Malibu Stacy, but many people did not know that the toy was programmed to destroy other toys that kids got for Christmas. Homer went to people's houses to take their Funzo toys dressed up as Santa Claus while Bart and Lisa sang carols to the families. The Funzo Dolls meet their end at the hands of Gary Coleman and the Tire Fire.^[1] One later appears on Bart's shelf.^[2] There is also a Funzo in the attic when Lisa looks for a Simpsons history book.^[3] Funzo has 4 voice commands: "I see you," "Give me a hug," "All righty," and "I'm very mad at you." (This being told towards Homer Simpson before being burnt into fire). Also, it shows a mechanic skeleton which was its appearance when it first met Lisa and scared her and when it was being beaten up by Gary Coleman after being burnt into fire. It was Lisa who suggested the name 'Funzo' while in class.

Behind The Laughter

• Funzo is a parody of the Furby electronic toy, which was launched a year before "Grift of the Magi" first aired.
• The scene with Homer stealing the Funzo toys was later seen in the clip show episode "Gump Roast".
• When Bart and Lisa discovered that Funzo was programmed to destroy other toys to eliminate competition, Bart commented, "You mean, like Microsoft?", which is a reference to the corporate takeovers conducted by Microsoft in the 1990s to eliminate competition.
• If you pay attention to the couch gag of Pulpit Friction, a blue Funzo can be seen.

Appearances

Citations