Ralph Wiggum

Ralph Wiggum is a character in The Simpsons. He is the son of Police Chief Clancy and Sarah Wiggum and a student and Springfield Elementary School. Ralph is a well-meaning boy who suffers from either severe learning and social disabilities, and/or some other form of childhood psychiatric disorder, considering that he is heavily implied to be mentally disabled to some degree. The nature of his mentality is kept rather ambiguous, much like many of the signature traits of much of the show's cast. Like almost every other character in Springfield, he may not be quite as simple as he first seems, as evidenced by his hinted immense potential as a performer.

Ralph's primary role in the show is to deliver tangent and non-sequitur material, usually with cluelessness and odd behavior often used to perplex or give the audience a quick laugh. He has a very carefree and somewhat "loopy" temperament, as he is often off in his own world.

He is voiced by Nancy Cartwright.

Why He Rocks

 * 1) Just like Billy, Brak, and Stimpy: His stupidity is very charming and hilarious. His silliness can also be quite endearing at the same time.
 * 2) He has a lot of funny quotes, such as "My cat's breath smells like cat food.", "I'm a brick!", "I'm a unitard!", "Go Banana!", and most especially "Ha-ha I'm in danger!".
 * 3) Considering that he is known for saying many non-sequiturs, they were always done hilariously.
 * Nancy Cartwright did a great job with voicing him.
 * 1) He's a kid that is almost seen with a smile on his face, even during dire situations, and is one of the most genuinely innocent characters. In contrast with his father, Chief Clancy Wiggum, who is an adult and rather corrupt.
 * 2) Despite being hilariously dumb, Ralph has a wild imagination and does show talent by being an amazingly talented actor ("I Love Lisa"), tap dancer ("Last Tap Dance in Springfield"), and nose flutist ("Round Springfield").
 * 3) * And despite being a dim-witted comic relief type of character, he has shown some awesome, badass moments in the series. Examples of this include the episode "Flanders' Ladder", he becomes the evil king of the world, and reigns until the age of 120, only after being killed by his equally ditzy son and outlives most of the main cast.
 * 4) ** And episodes such as "E. Pluribus Wiggum" showed that Ralph still had a smart side, as he wanted to run for U.S. President because he wanted to bring about world peace
 * 5) ** Another example of this is numerous scenes have been dropped throughout various Simpsoncentric media, from the comic to the series itself, that he's possibly creatively gifted.
 * 6) ** In the episode "This Little Wiggy", where Ralph was too scared to enter the abandoned prison until the bullies steal the police master key and throw it in. Ralph ignores his fear and enters the prison to get the key. In which Bart congratulated him on it.
 * 7) ** At the end of the episode "This Little Wiggy", Bart, Homer, and Marge congratulate Ralph for saving the day, even though it was Lisa's plan. Lisa goes along with it after Bart says, "C'mon, let him have this one, Lis. After all, it's Ralph."
 * 8) Even when Ralph does something that’s foolish or ridiculous, it’ll still come off as hilarious.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) He's frequently mistreated by his teacher Miss Hoover.
 * 2) * Likewise, everyone usually unestimates him because of his usually simpleton-ish presence. Considering that Ralph's, more or less, harmless to other kids. Quite frankly, it's a miracle that this kid's still alive since he frequently if unwittingly puts himself in danger.
 * 3) ** In earlier seasons of the show, Ralph was smarter than he is now. Where he had a hidden talent for acting and was slightly more "articulate" at that point. Now, he's so stupid that he can't open the fridge door. According to his father, he keeps pushing the door rather than pulling it.
 * 4) Ralph never learns and fully grasps Miss Hoover's hatred for him, no matter how blunt she is about it. In fact, even his own father is comfortable with mocking his intelligence.
 * 5) * With this in mind, some of his stupidity can irritate other characters.
 * 6) He has a tendency to wet himself when he is upset or distracted.

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Trivia

 * After seeing Bart naked in The Simpsons Movie, he says "I like men now!". Though he did love Lisa…
 * The purple-shirted Ralph from the episode "Moaning Lisa" appeared as a background character a few times after blue-shirted Ralph was established.
 * On TVTropes, the trope "The Ditz" was initially named "The Ralph Wiggum" to describe characters who are as dumb as him.
 * Several episodes imply he's mentally handicapped. How, exactly, is unclear. His affectionate, friendly personality combined with his low intellect suggests Down's Syndrome, however, he shows no physical features of the condition. There are also occasional hints that he might have some form of psychosis, manifest in things like hallucinations of a leprechaun who encourages him to burn things.
 * In the episode "Bart To The Future", it shows that he and Bart end up sharing a house and being unemployed apart from playing in an unsuccessful band.
 * In the episode "The Simpsons Spinoff Showcase", Chief Wiggum describes him as "between the ages of six and ten".