Well, the mystery surrounding the location of that happy town in which the world’s most famous animated family lives, has finally been revealed. Creator Matt Groening finally spilled the beans on this one. No longer will all the Springfields, the most common name of any town in the U.S., be able to claim that theirs is home to the fictitious group of characters.
In an interview with Smithsonian magazine, Matt Groening said that, “Springfield was named after Springfield, Oregon. The only reason is that when I was a kid, the TV show Father Knows Best took place in the town of Springfield, and I was thrilled because I imagined that it was the town next to Portland, my hometown,” Groening explains in a Q&A with Claudia De La Roca set for an upcoming Smithsonian issue. “When I grew up, I realized it was just a fictitious name. I also figured out that Springfield was one of the most common names for a city in the U.S. In anticipation of the success of the show, I thought, ‘This will be cool’ everyone will think it’s their Springfield.”
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- Springfield as depicted in The Simpsons
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- Old photo of Springfield in Oregon
So there we have it! The longest running animated TV series, which had it’s beginnings on the Tracey Ullmann show in 1989, takes place in Springfield, Oregon, in the Pacific Northwestern region of the United States.
Read the blog on the The Simpsons and their Toon Boom connection here
