Rod and Todd Flanders
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Simpsons character | |
| Image:Rodflanders.gif | |
| Age | 10 |
|---|---|
| Gender | Male |
| Hair Color | Ginger |
| Job | Student at Springfield Elementary |
| Relatives | Brother Todd, Father Ned and Mother Maude (deceased) |
| First appearance | Call of the Simpsons |
| Voice actor | Pamela Hayden |
| The Simpsons character | |
| Age | 9 |
|---|---|
| Gender | Male |
| Hair Color | Ginger |
| Job | Student at Springfield Elementary |
| Relatives | Brother Rod, Father Ned, Mother Maude (deceased) |
| First appearance | Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire |
| Voice actor | Nancy Cartwright |
Rodney and Todd Flanders are fictional characters on The Simpsons. They are the sons of Ned and Maude Flanders.
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Rod and Todd, like their parents, are very religious. The brothers enjoy attending church, watching religious cartoons, and playing religious-themed board games, such as "Good Samaritan." Maude and Ned prohibit them from consuming foods containing sugar, as they fear it will make them behave badly (or send them into diabetic shock, in the case of Rod). They are also extremely entomophobic (particularly moths and ladybugs), a behavior probably learned from their father, as he considers an insect flying near someone an 'attack.' They like stories about robots, though these also frighten them.
Both play with a mock-up newspaper press, and take the activity very seriously. ("This just in, playtime is fun!") They are both also very gullible, walking into a wall when told by "God" (actually Bart Simpson on a radio-transmitting microphone) that He would make it disappear for them.
Early episodes depict Rod and Todd as students at Springfield Elementary, but in later episodes they are shown being home schooled. (In "Skinner's Sense of Snow", Ned and Homer rescue them from the school, despite this.)
It has been suggested the two are homosexuals, or suffering from gender confusion. (Rod told Ned in Tis' the 15th Season he was jealous of girls because they get to wear dresses.) Rod and Todd are both extremely sheltered from girls as Ned considers them to be a major temptation in life, along with rock and roll music. However, Todd's bouts of aggression and being the most likely to go crazy (by Bart) suggests that he is probably imitating his older, flamboyant brother. In "Bart Has Two Mommies", Rod announces to his father, "I'm gay, Daddy! I'm gay! Mrs. Simpson made me gay!" (Bart had just convinced him that "gay" meant "not afraid"). In the episode "Future-Drama", when Bart's future girlfriend mentions she wants to make love to him on prom night, and becomes disappointed when he denies her, she adds, "I never had this problem with Todd Flanders!", implying a strong, though latent, sexuality in the boy. Also, in the episode "Home Away From Homer", Ned moves away and then moves back to Springfield. When announcing this to the boys, Rod says he has a girlfriend. (In another episode depicting the future, however, Ned thanks Bart for not outing Rod and Todd. Both Rod and Todd are then shown washing a cabinet in a slightly feminine way whilst wearing tight shorts and sporting mustaches.)
[edit] Rod Flanders
Rod Flanders is voiced by Pamela Hayden. Rod prays. He prays first thing in the morning and last thing before bed. He prays for God to watch over him and his little brother, Todd. He prays for the success of his father's business. He also prays for all of the naughty little boys and girls, like his neighbor Bart Simpson, who are too bad to pray for themselves. Aside from praying, Rod enjoys playing wholesomely with his brother and eating lots of "nachos, Flanders-style" (cucumbers with cottage cheese). His one regret is that he cannot pray at school. His favourite song is "Bringing in the Sheaves", followed closely by "Noah and the Arky-arky" and "I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart". Rod has diabetes and has described "being quiet during trips" as "one of his favourite hobbies". He is also prone to bedwetting.
[edit] Todd Flanders
Todd is voiced by Nancy Cartwright. Todd is the youngest and most impressionable member of the happy Flanders flock. When exposed to profanity (for example, from over the fence as Homer Simpson curses his way through mowing the lawn), little Todd starts to curse a blue streak himself. Whether due to immaturity or relentless sheltering by his parents, whenever Todd comes into contact with anything outside of his family and their pious ways (like the time he was tricked into eating a Pixie Stick by Bart Simpson), he turns nasty.
Todd's proudest moments have been when he tied with Bart in the mini-golf championship and when he portrayed Jesus in the Springfield Christmas Pageant. Todd can play the violin quite well, and is a part of the Springfield Elementary band.
[edit] Age discrepancy
There is also some controversy as to which of the two is the elder. In "Dead Putting Society" the commentator at the golf tournament states that Todd is 10. In "Homer Bad Man", one of the corrections that the TV-magazine show Rock Bottom makes is to their claim that 'the older Flanders boy is Todd, not Rod.' Later, in "Bart Sells His Soul", the Flanders family eat out for Rod's "big ten-oh", suggesting the two are of similar age. However, in "My Sister, My Sitter" Lisa, when babysitting Rod and Todd, tells a story about a robot named Todd who "had a brother named Rod, who was two space years older than him." Todd responds by saying, "I don't like this story!"
As Rod is shown to be quite a bit taller than Todd, the claim that Todd is the older brother is disputed. It should also be noted that both Rod and Todd were born before Lisa (who is eight), Todd appearing a similar age to Bart (who is 10) in the episode "Lisa's First Word" (when Bart was entering "the terrible twos"). This suggests the Flanders children are a little older than the Simpson children.
Despite these discrepancies, the Simpsons official website states that “Todd is the youngest and most impressionable member of the happy Flanders clan.” This seems to trump any inconsistency concerning age seen in the episodes. Anachronisms are common in the Simpsons, mostly due to the length of the show’s run. For example, in the episode “I Married Marge,” it is clear that Bart was born in 1980, which would make him, currently, 26 years old. Another possible reason for the variation is that, in the DVD commentaries for show, the writers have stated that they are never sure which Flanders sibling is Rod and which one is Todd and are often forced to check character models to be sure.
[edit] Odd "religious" references
- On the local intramural football team, Rod and Todd wear complementary uniforms: numbers 6 and 66. This also reads as 666, the number of the beast, a reference to Emperor Nero.
- The names Rod, Todd, and Maude were possibly chosen because they rhyme with "God".
