| “ | Excellent... | „ |
| ~ Mr. Burns' most famous quote |
Charles Montgomery "Monty" Burns, often known as Mr. Burns or simply Burns, is one the main antagonists of the long-running animated comedy television series The Simpsons, and a minor antagonist in the 2007 theatrical film The Simpsons Movie. He is the founder and chairman of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant and the boss of Homer Simpson, and Waylon Smithers, his right hand man who is heavily attracted to him. He is also Lisa Simpson's archenemy.
He was voiced by the late Christopher Collins (who also played Starscream and Cobra Commander) in his first appearance, then by Harry Shearer for the rest of the series.
Personality
Mr. Burns embodies a number of stereotypes about corporate America, as he has an unquenchable desire to increase his own wealth and power, even through criminal means if necessary. This was shown when he briefly tried to run for Governor in order to prevent his plant from being shut down, and the time when he tried to sell uranium rods to terrorists for profit. Burns also embodies the stereotype of a manager by forgetting his employees' names (especially Homer's, despite it appearing that they interact more than Burns does with most of his employees), though this can be attributed to his senility. Burns is also unconcerned and dispassionate for his employees' safety and well-being, even laughing at the sight of a window washer falling from a great height of a building. His aspirations to apply obsolete technology to everyday life or references to Victorian-era people or places provide a common source of humor on the show.
Despite his evil nature, Burns is able to shed a sense of kindness, as he sympathized over Homer's loss of his new hair as everyone in the plant only took Homer for granted because of his hairstyle. He is also pretty close to his right-hand man Waylon Smithers due to the latter's loyalty; even taking him in as his own son following the death of Waylon's father, who sacrificed himself to prevent a meltdown during the 1960s. He also cherished his lost teddy bear Bobo as it reminds him of the innocence that he lost when he was a child, even telling Homer's youngest daughter Maggie to hold on Bobo after seeing how much she loved it.
Trivia
- Along with Sideshow Bob, Kang & Kodos, Mr. Burns serves as one of the main antagonists of the franchise; however, in The Simpsons Movie, they are all outranked by Russ Cargill.
- Mr. Burns signs his will as "Charles Montgomery Plantagenet Schicklgruber Burns" in the episode of season 22, "Flaming Moe", which implies that he is related to Adolf Hitler and a descendant of the House of Plantagenet.
- He is also one of the many Simpsons characters who guest star on the Family Guy episode "The Simpsons Guy".
- Burns seems to be modeled after Jacob Rothschild and Janez Janša. He also shares a few similarities with both of them.
