McFarlane Toys - The Simpsons

In 2005, McFarlane acquired the rights (previously held by rival manufacturer Playmates Toys) to produce figures based on the popular Fox TV series The Simpsons. The first toy, produced in 2006, was a motorized statuette entitled "Ironic Punishment" based on the "Treehouse of Horror IV" episode where Homer sells his soul to the Devil (Ned Flanders) in exchange for a donut. Homer is sent to Hell and force-fed donuts as ironic punishment for his gluttony, although he ends up enjoying his fate immensely. The figure features a rotund Homer swallowing stacks of donuts from a large machine run by a blue demon; plastic donuts fall from the machine into Homer's open mouth. The second figure was the "Family Couch Gag", based on the opening sequence of each episode where the family rushes into the living room and performs a 3-second sight gag. The McFarlane release features the entire Simpsons family plus their pets, which are stackable into a human pyramid via connectors on their heads and feet. A third boxed set is based on the "Treehouse of Horror VI" episode where Homer steals a giant metal donut from the Lard Lad (a parody of Big Boy), and includes figures of Homer, Lard Lad, and a diorama background. Released concurrently with the Lard Lad is another Treehouse of Horror set based on the thirteenth such episode, called "The Island of Dr. Hibbert" (a parody of H. G. Wells' The Island of Dr Moreau). It features the family and Comic Book Guy as animalistic creations of Dr. Hibbert.

On June 23, 2006, McFarlane announced the first line of actual Simpsons action figures, rather than statuettes or boxed sets, which would be released in 2007. All figures will depict specific episodes or events in the show, as opposed to Playmates' figures which merely depicted general characters and environments. According to a company press release, The Simpsons Series 1 will include a boxed Itchy and Scratchy "Spay Anything" set as well as six figures: Homer and Bart Simpson as Pie Man and Cupcake Kid; Krusty the Clown and Homer from an episode when Homer attempted Clown College; Treehouse of Horrors: The Raven (based on the poem of the same name by Edgar Allan Poe); the classic scene of Homer strangling Bart; Kamp Krusty; Treehouse of Horror: Belly of the Boss.