Itchy & Scratchy is filled with graphic violence, unsuitable for children, that almost invariably prompts laughter from The Simpsons characters, especially Bart and Lisa.

The Itchy and Scratchy characters are extremely violent and bloody parodies of cat-and-mouse cartoons such as Tom and Jerry, Herman and Katnip, Kit 'n' Kaboodle, and Pixie and Dixie and Mr. Jinks.

They appear in the form of 15- to 60-second-long cartoons that are filled with graphic violence, almost always initiated by Itchy the mouse against Scratchy the cat, with the former almost always being the victor.

[11] Along with the cartoon shorts, Itchy and Scratchy were featured in a World War II–era radio series,[12] at least two films (Pinitchio and Scratchtasia, which are parodies of Pinocchio and Fantasia, respectively),[13] and television commercials for Laramie Cigarettes.

The studio was bankrupted after it was sued by Lampwick for $800 million when he was represented by Lionel Hutz, but was saved after receiving a large cash settlement from the government over its use of Mr.

[15] Itchy & Scratchy has spawned an in-universe Academy Award–winning film adaptation,[11] amusement parks,[13] and a musical;[16] and, like Krusty's show, localized versions are produced for other countries, such as Jamaica's The Itchem and Scratchem Blow.

[29] As a child, series creator Matt Groening and his friends would fantasize about an ultra-violent cartoon and how much fun it would be to work on a show like that.

[30] In the series, it was quickly established early on that Scratchy was a peaceful character that was persecuted by his friend, the Psychopathic mouse, Itchy.

[37] Itchy & Scratchy are a favorite of John Swartzwelder, who has written many of the episodes that center on them and quite often pitches the ideas for the shorts.

"[33] During David Mirkin's tenure as showrunner (season five and six), he was asked by the Fox network not to do any more Itchy & Scratchy cartoons due to the amount of violence in them.

[25] During their tenure as executive producers, Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein tried to fit in one episode relating to Itchy & Scratchy every season.

[42] Itchy and Scratchy have also appeared in commercials for various products, including a 1999 Butterfinger advert where Bart watches a short called "500 Easy Pieces".

The writers of the film knew from the beginning that they were going to start with an Itchy & Scratchy short and the segment was the first scene that was storyboarded by the animators.

[46] In his 2004 book Planet Simpson, author Chris Turner describes Itchy & Scratchy as "by far the most gleeful visual riffing on The Simpsons [...] each snippet of "Itchy & Scratchy" packs as much frenetically paced action, sight-gaggery, and physical humor into its half-minute of screen time as a half-dozen Road Runner cartoons and a dozen Tom & Jerrys.

"[5] In 2007, Vanity Fair named "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show" the sixth-best episode in the show's history, describing it as "a classic satire of network influence, obsessed TV fans, and programs that survive long after the shark has been jumped, the episode is a meta-celebration, a tongue-in-cheek rebuttal to everyone who claimed that the quality of The Simpsons had declined over the years.

"[47] Todd Gilchrist of IGN called Itchy & Scratchy a masterpiece, stating it "could easily be packaged and sold by [itself].