Bumblebee Man

“Ay, ay, ay!”

―Bumblebee Man's Catchphrase

Pedro Chespirito, or Bumblebee Man, is the star of a Spanish-language television sitcom on Channel 8, in which he dresses in a bumblebee costume and performs slapstick comedy.

Biography

Bumblebee Man's parents died while they were playing paintball. Chip Davis helped Bumblebee Man to get over his grief of the death of his parents.

Costume

Bumblebee Man never takes off his costume in public, and almost never in private. The sole exception is a short segment showing his private life in "22 Short Films About Springfield". In addition to being seen costumeless, Bumblebee Man is shown as being genuinely clumsy rather than simply acting as such. In the end, his house is destroyed and his wife leaves him ^[1].

His bowling shirt has the name Pedro on it ^[2], which could be his first name.

Language and Nationality

Bumblebee Man speaks Spanish primarily, but is once shown speaking in articulate English when he replaced Kent Brockman for a brief moment and when talking to his producer ^[3].

Generally, Bumblebee Man speaks in simple, over-enunciated (and often inaccurate) Spanish sentences. His catchphrases of choice are typically "¡Ay, ay, ay, no me gusta!" ("I don't like it!"), "¡Ay, ay, ay, no es bueno!" ("That's not good!") and "¡Ay, Dios no me ama!" ("God doesn't love me!"). Quite commonly, his phrases will be intentionally sloppy Spanish: For example, saying "wudpequero" for "woodpecker," when it's actually "pájaro carpintero" ^[4].

Marge was once up late watching Bumblebee Man on TV and saw him confessing that he didn't know any Spanish until he joined Mexican television and that he was actually Belgian.^[5] In The Simpsons: Tapped Out iPad game, meanwhile, he confesses to Lisa that he is actually Norwegian.

In the few instances that he speaks English, he uses a southeastern British Accent.

Other Facts

In "Flaming Moe", Bumblebee Man is indicated to be a member of the Furry fandom (a fanbase for anthropomorphic animals), and is shown holding a sign saying "Furries Fur Moe".

He got kissed by a donkey in The Simpsons Movie.

Non-Canon Appearances

The contents of this article or section are considered to be non-canon and therefore may not have actually happened/existed.

The Simpsons Game

Bumblebee Man appears as one of the contestants in the Duff Ultimate Eating Challenge^[6].

The Simpsons: Tapped Out

Bumblebee Man comments that he is originally from Norway and he takes Spanish lessons.

Behind the Laughter

Character Origins

Bumblebee Man is a caricature of El Chapulín Colorado ("The Red Grasshopper"), a character created and portrayed by Mexican television comedian Roberto Gómez Bolaños (best known by his pseudonym "Chespirito"), and his show consists of simple skits, often involving heavy slapstick. Channel 8 is a reference to El Chavo del Ocho, by the same creators. In several DVD commentaries, the show's producers say that whenever they watched Telemundo, this character was always "on," and then they created Bumblebee Man, who is also always "on". Roberto Gómez Bolaños passed away on November 28th, 2014.^[7]^[8]

In Other Languages

In the Spanish-language version of the show, the humor of Bumblebee Man (known in this version as hombre abejorro in the Spanish-speaking countries of Latin America, or el hombre abeja in Spain) relies on the fact that he wears a gigantic bee costume and frequently engages in physical comedy; there has been no effort made to translate his speech to another language. However, in the Latin American version, he speaks with an over-the-top Mexican accent and in the version that airs in Spain, he does so with a Mexican accent. The Japanese version leaves Hank Azaria's performance untouched.

Trivia

The only episode he appears without his costume is 22 Short Films About Springfield.
In episode "Four Regrettings And A Funeral," he mentions that his parents were killed while playing paintball. Chip Davis helped him deal with his grief.
He is neighbors with Sea Captain.^[9]^[10]
Lisa believed him to be attempting to kill Homer in "The Great Louse Detective", but Sideshow Bob discovered it was actually Frank Grimes Jr.
In the episode "Haw-Haw Land", it is shown that there are actually two guys in the costume.
He is left-handed.^[11]