【War Archives】

There were some Australians who were unimpressed by The War ArchivesSimpsons' "Bart vs. Australia" episode back in 1995.

"All they did was make Australia look like a bunch of loonies with Cockney voices," according to one viewer named Stephen Thomas, in a letter to The Age. "It's not funny that our crops are being eaten by cane toads and Australians have better ways of punishing people than kicking them with big boots."

It's a strange reaction, considering Australia has a proud legacy of making fun of itself in much-loved films such as Crocodile Dundeeand Muriel's Wedding. Yet to hear ridicule from Americans was an affront to the country's national character.

"Who are the Americans trying to kid here? I agree Australia has its faults, as does any other country," reads a letter titled "Stay home, Yanks" by Steve Dimer.

"But laughing in our face about it, then mocking our heritage was definitely NOT called for. It embarrassed and degraded our country as well as making us look like total idiots. I mean, do we normally go around with squeaky voices kicking people in the backside?"

For veteran The Simpsonsshowrunner Mike Reiss, the outrage even reached the higher echelons of power in the country.

"Whenever we have the Simpsonsvisit another country, that country gets furious, including Australia," he told The Agein 2007. "We were condemned in the Australian Parliament after the episode."

Yet for many moreAustralians, the infamous episode has become a much admired as a friendly ribbing of the country's idiosyncrasies.

There's the glut of references to well-worn Australian stereotypes, such as Foster's beer (which no one drinks, by the way), cork hat wearing people that carry boomerangs, and kangaroos hopping around everywhere. It's all very incorrect, but charming.

Most of all, there's a fondness for the portrayal of Australia's politicians and their comically brutish way of handling international incidents. Sometimes, it's not far from the truth.

Just compare Bart Simpson's booting to the recent treatment of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard's two dogs Pistol and Boo, who an Australian politician threatened to euthanise after they were snuck into the country.

The Australians in the episode call money "dollarydoos" -- in some kind of weird Down Under malapropism. A real-life petition to change the name of Australia's currency to "dollarydoos" reached more than 60,000 signatures.

Years of nightly 6 p.m. broadcasts on Australian televisions screens has seen the episode build up a cult following amongst millennials too, arguably unlike any other.

In Australia, you easily find people who can quote more than a couple of lines from the show.

Online fan groups seem to flourish in the country, as indicated by the very popular Facebook pages Rock Bottom and podcast Four Finger Discount. The fondness for The Simpsonsin Australia, like in many other countries, is bigger than it is in the U.S.

"They like it in America but they don't love it," Reiss said. "I don't know if they even get it."

It's perhaps a shock then that it's taken so long for The Simpsonscreator Matt Groening to travel Down Under, where he'll appear in the country for the very first time as part of Sydney's GRAPHIC festival in November. And there's plenty of excitement.

"The most intense Simpsonsfanatics I've met are from Australia, so I'm coming to Sydney to check out all you lunatics," Groening said in a statement.

Maybe they can give him the booting he's long deserved, after an autograph.