Mr. Sparkle's combination
Mr. Sparkle (ミスタースパーコル Misutā Supākoru) is a Japanese dishwashing detergent mascot who bears a strong resemblance to Homer.
Mr.Sparkle
History
Homer thought that the company was using his likeness without his permission until a video from Mr. Sparkle's parent company explains it came from combining the logos of the companies who produced Mr. Sparkle as a joint-venture: a cartoon fish (representing Matsumura Fishworks) and a lightbulb (representing Tamaribuchi Heavy Manufacturing Concern), proving the resemblance to be purely a coincidence. In turn, to sum it all up, Bart tells Homer, "There's your answer, fishbulb."[1]
Non Canon Appearances
|
The contents of this article or section are considered to be non-canon and therefore may not have actually happened/existed. |
Mr. Sparkle appeared in The Simpsons Game, when the Simpsons enter the videogame world and Homer and Lisa enter a game featuring Mr. Sparkle, where they have to help him clean up a Japan-style world by clearing several levels. He commits suicide towards the end of the game for dishonoring his ancestors (he kills him self with a sword, bizarrely with out hands or a chest). Here, he was voiced by Hank Azaria.
Behind the Laughter
Mr. Sparkle was voiced by Sab Shimono in the episode "In Marge We Trust".
Other
Mr. Sparkle is seen on the checkout belt in the new version of the opening sequence.
Trivia
- The three dancing women in the commercial were fashioned after the three members of Japanese pop/punk band Shonen Knife.
- The Mr. Sparkle commercial was the inspiration for the Fruity Oaty Bar commercial in the movie Serenity.
- There is a blade in the game Fruit Ninja named Mr. Sparkle.
- The visual programming software Grasshopper 3D has a component arrangement/distribution feature named Mr. Sparkle.
- In "Married to the Blob", Kumiko mentions Homer looks like Mr. Sparkle, and that the detergent is a popular means of suicide in Japan.
- Mr. Sparkle's speech bubble in the box is supposed to read like "power clean!" (パワークリーン！ pawā kurīn!); however, due to a typo, the diacritic on パ is absent, turning the phrase into ハワークリーン！ (hawā kurīn!).
- Still on the subject of English-to-Japanese transcription inconsistencies, the word "Sparkle" is more accurately rendered as スパークル (supākuru); when transcribing consonantal encounters into Japanese, the syllable representing the first consonant most commonly is the one with a U nucleus (e.g. プラグ puragu for "plug").
Appearances
Episode – "In Marge We Trust" - Episode – "Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo" in commercial
- Episode – "Funeral for a Fiend" Commercial seen
- HD Opening Sequence — Being bought by Marge
- Episode – "A Tree Grows in Springfield"
- Episode – "Married to the Blob" (mentioned by Kumiko)
Video game – The Simpsons Game