Rainier Wolfcastle’s Fat-Shaming Was Inspired by a ‘Simpsons’ Producer’s Experience With Arnold Schwarzenegger
The Simpsons has obviously showcased countless thinly-veiled celebrity parodies over the years — from the Raffi-like children’s singer Roofi, to the diminutive George Lucas lookalike Randall Curtis, to Steven Spielberg’s “non-union Mexican equivalent” Señor Spielbergo, who directed A Burns for All Seasons.
But only a few members of the show’s core group of Springfieldians are blatant caricatures of famous people, like Mayor Quimby who’s seemingly a stand-in for Ted Kennedy. And heavyweight champ Drederick Tatum, who is just Mike Tyson minus the ear-biting scandal.
Then there’s Rainier Wolfcastle, star of the McBain franchise and co-owner of Planet Hype. It didn’t take much detective work to figure out that the hulking Austrian superstar was inspired by Arnold Schwarzenegger, a fact that was made extra-clear by the fact that he was literally renamed “President Schwarzenegger” for The Simpsons Movie, so as not to confuse any idiots in the audience.
But the show’s depiction of the Help! My Son Is a Nerd star wasn’t always terribly flattering. Case in point: In the Season Nine episode “Bart Star,” we see that Wolfcastle is leading the “Fit or Fat” initiative, subjecting Springfield’s youngsters to grueling exercise routines and invasive physical examinations. He also taunts the kids, ridiculing and fat-shaming them. He literally tells Üter to “quit stalling fatty.”
As voice actor Dan Castellaneta pointed out on the episode’s DVD commentary, Schwarzenegger had been named President George H.W. Bush’s Chairman of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, and tasked with raising the “consciousness of all Americans on the importance of good health through physical fitness.” And he really did hang around a bunch of kids and encourage them to exercise, minus the verbal abuse.
But according to producer George Meyer, the main inspiration for this bit was a real encounter with the future Governor of California. “I was hiking behind Arnold Schwarzenegger one time in the canyons back here,” Meyer explained to his shocked colleagues, “and he was telling his kids to ‘Move it fatty!’ There was a little bit of that.”
That unfortunate anecdote didn’t stop The Simpsons from making “Arnold Schwarzenegger” their president. And Rainier Wolfcastle, unlike Meyer’s anecdote about Schwarzenegger, didn’t seem to be a terrible father. At least not when Bart was dating his daughter, Greta.
Although he didn’t seem to have the best relationship with his son, Dieter. Although at least he didn't make disparaging comments about his weight.
Still, it’s hard not to feel bad for Wolfcastle when his eyes were being burned by a river of “real acid,” thanks to goggles that did nothing.
