The Simpsons’ Itchy & Scratchy (& Poochie) Get An adidas Collaboration

Sneaker News September 28, 2023

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Of all the era-defining television shows of the 1990s, The Simpsons is unmatched for its ability to weave in dumb humor with current news. For many years, it offered impeccable commentary on the current state of affairs, but it’s also remembered for its silly moments and pop culture references (particularly to legendary movies, like how Homer Simpson disappearing into a shrub recalled the villain T-1000 from Terminator 2).

The next capsule from the The Simpsons x adidas partnership highlights the cartoon within the cartoon — Itchy & Scratchy. Drawing inspiration from Tom & Jerry, Wile E. Coyote and Elmer Fudd, and a little bit of Ren & Stimpy for its macabre, gore-friendly scenes, Itchy and Scratchy were integral parts of The Simpsons cast of characters despite being canonically fictional.

Poochie, however, was a one-time-only character that appeared in the Season 8 episode “The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show”, during which Homer Simpson won the coveted role of voice actor for the new member. The writers intended to poke fun at how many sitcoms of the 1990s resorted to the cheap tactic of inserting a new character to the main cast late into syndication to boost ratings. Poochie turned out to be a total dud and quickly and unceremoniously written out, sending him off to outer space while cutting corners in animation. Adding another level to the genius of this episode was the appearance of Roy, an unseen new character that was apparently living with The Simpsons the entire time. He only appeared in the last moments of the episode.

Onto the shoes: Itchy & Scratchy get their own colorways of the Rivalry — Lo for the mouse and High for the cat — in character-matching colors and their faces embroidered into the heel. Poochie appears via the adidas Pro Model, although his face appears only on the tongue. On the heel is an image of Itchy & Scratchy chasing Poochie away.

Currently, a release is expected for October 7th at adidas retailers. Adidas has yet to officially announce the release.

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