Marzipan

Character: Marzipan

watch Marzipan's character video ← Pom Pom Coach Z →

This article is about the character. For the Strong Bad Email, see marzipan.

Marzipan is the only girl in Free Country, USA, holding an on-again, off-again romantic relationship with Homestar Runner. A kind yet opinionated woman, Marzipan has a fondness for animals and making music and is passionately vegan and environmentally-conscious.

Characterization

Marzipan is typically Homestar's girlfriend, with this relationship defining her character in early toons. Marzipan frequently breaks up with Homestar, demonstrating her independence, and has even dated other characters including The Cheat and Bubs. Other breakups are inspired by Homestar's unintentional mean streak; he has even been known to show feelings of contempt and resentment toward his girlfriend, as seen in the email narrator (where he calls her "some type of enormous alien cow") and Happy Fireworks (where he uses a cardboard cutout to imitate her and then tells "her" to shut up). Luckily for Homestar, she continues to love him dearly, and the two always seem to end up together again.

"I'm off to the Chinchilla protest."

Marzipan is a stereotypical environmentalist/vegan/nature-lover — as described by Strong Bad: a "dirty hippie without the dirt."^[2] She is vegan, particularly enjoying tofu and other soy products (though in the email coloring she teaches that "soy is also murder"). She spends much of her time singing and playing her guitar, either solo or as a part of the band Cool Tapes (performing alongside The Cheat and Strong Mad). Many of her songs are about happiness and nature. She often makes protest signs to express her views on issues of varying and personal interest.

Marzipan has a tendency to anthropomorphize inanimate objects — for example, she talks to her guitar, Carol, asks Strong Sad to help resurrect her ficus plant, Credenza, from the dead in 3 Times Halloween Funjob, and once names an ordinary sandwich "Homestar Jr.", proceeding to treat it as though it were a small child. In addition, she has occasionally been fooled by poor imitations of Homestar, such as Tofu Homestar from The Luau and The Cheat's costume from the email do over. Also, in Halloween Potion-ma-jig, she created a potion that could transform Homestar into several different entities, including a strange clone of herself. Upon such instances, Marzipan tends to show more affection to (and quite possibly receives more positive attention from) these pseudo-Homestars than she does her real boyfriend. It is unclear if this reflects a desire to change or replace her current beloved, although she believes her relationship with Homestar has always been open.^[3]

Marzipan's status as the only girl in Free Country, USA has made her the target of quite a few prank messages on her answering machine (most of them left by Strong Bad), as well as the unsolicited romantic attentions of several other characters (most notably Coach Z and Bubs). Despite all this, she is very kind and is friends with almost everyone (excepting The King of Town and Strong Bad^[1]), such as when she helped Strong Sad make baklava while Strong Bad was in jail; however, she does sometimes think only of herself, most notably when she ignored seven years' worth of calls just to play a prank on Strong Bad. Marzipan often cooperates with other characters on various projects. For example, The Cheat made a music video for her song "Oh Yeah Yeah". She has appeared in the Dangeresque series of short films as Cutesy Buttons and Sultry Buttons, and once attempted to teach Strong Bad how to make an attractive centerpiece out of junk mail and kitty litter. She has also hosted a Fall Float Parade with Coach Z and taught a cult-like "kindergarten" class with Homestar, Strong Mad, and Homsar. In DNA Evidence, it is said that she is allergic to pecans. She also takes a Toga-Yoga class, which is led by Bubs.

Marzipan has been mistaken for a baseball bat, a bell, and especially a broom; in the email long pants, she claims that she is not a broom, much to Homestar's surprise. Though she is often mistaken for such distinctly shaped objects, Strong Bad refers to Marzipan as "human" in retirement.

Character Design and Conception

See also Marzipan Evolution

Early designs for Marzipan, described in retrospect as "way too human."

Marzipan is the only female character among the main cast of Homestar Runner (much of the supporting cast is male as well). She is voiced by Missy Palmer, who also writes the lyrics for Marzipan's songs;^[4] Marzipan is one of the few characters not voiced by Matt Chapman.

Marzipan was first drawn by Mike Chapman and named by Craig Zobel.^[5] She first appeared in the interactive game She Loves Me!, which established her romantic relationship with Homestar Runner. Marzipan did not speak in She Loves Me! or Marshmallow's Last Stand, and in In Search of the Yello Dello her only vocalization is provided by a stock sound effect; Missy Palmer first voiced Marzipan in The Reddest Radish. Initially conceived solely as Homestar's girlfriend, Marzipan has since developed as a more independent character. Much of her later characterization was drawn from Missy, with occasional interviews remarking how the character had come to act like her voice actress.

An old Characters page, now in the museum, said the King of Town was Marzipan's father. This concept was quickly abandoned, with The Brothers Chaps later clarifying that it was an idea they had "toyed around with briefly" early in the site's development before rejecting it. The disused idea has occasionally been alluded to in-character, with Marzipan referring to it as a "false allegation" and the King of Town expressing confusion after reading about it online.

Missy appears in-character as Marzipan on multiple strongbad_email.exe DVD commentaries. In several commentaries, such as marzipan and date, she indicates that the Toons are simply a show that the characters are acting out rather than their real lives; later commentaries like montage no longer include this conceit.

Appearance

Marzipan relaxes

Marzipan has a tall, oblong head that extends to a body covered in a purple dress embellished with white trim and gold buttons. Her skin is a shiny, pinkish tone, and her eyes consist of two black circles of differing sizes. Her mouth typically is held in a slight smile, occasionally appearing as a larger 'U' shape more frequently in older toons. She wears her bright blonde hair in a ponytail, tied with a purple hair band matching her dress. Like several other characters, she does not have arms; she is still able to pick up and manipulate objects, such as playing the guitar. Marzipan is of average height, standing somewhat shorter than Homestar.

Body Shape

See also Marzipan Being Compared to a Broom

A bell[e]

Marzipan's lower body is almost always covered by a dress or similar garment, leaving little indication of the shape of her body. Her wide dress combined with narrow head/neck often lead to Marzipan being humorously compared to a broom.

Halloween costumes worn in The House That Gave Sucky Treats and Doomy Tales of the Macabre indicate that her body is shaped like a bell, essentially the same shape as her dress. In A Decemberween Mackerel, Marzipan leaves a single, wide trail through the snow rather than visible footsteps. By contrast, Marzipan is often seen sitting^[6] in a pose that suggests a minimal lower-body shape, again reminiscent of a broom or mop. In Kick-A-Ball, she reveals a large combat boot from under her dress — not revealing any limbs or lower body when doing so.

Alternate versions of Marzipan have varying depictions of limbs. Old-Timey Marzipan has a skeleton with five "leg" bones, Marzi-Mei has human-like arms and legs (with the later Stinkoman 20X6 redesign covering all limbs in a baggy jumpsuit), and the Mysfit-steries variation of Marzipan has legs and feet but no arms.

Character Video Transcript

See main article: Marzipan's Character Video

MARZIPAN: Hi, I'm Marzipan, and this is my guitar Carol. Say hi, Carol. {performs an E major scale, ascending and descending} Ooh, E scale. Nice choice. When I'm not rockin' out, I like to dig in my garden and eat. I'm a fiercely independent woman, and I'm fiercely independent about the soy products that I choose. Homestar Runner and I {Homestar leans in frame} are one hot item when I say we are. {says one of the two at random}

• MARZIPAN: And today we are.
  HOMESTAR RUNNER: Yay!
• MARZIPAN: And today we are not.
  HOMESTAR RUNNER: Boo!

MARZIPAN: I like baby animals, and cats and dogs. But it makes me sad to see cats and dogs in the same room together. Okay, bye. I'm off to the Chinchilla protest. {She pulls out a protest sign that reads "Chinchillas OUT!! (of my basement)" and walks away}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: {leaning in frame} {says one of the following at random, depending on which one was said before}

• Boo! {if he says "yay" above} {leans out of frame}
• Yay! {if he says "boo" above} {leans out of frame}

Fun Facts

Yes, she does have teeth.

• The term marzipan describes a confectionery consisting primarily of ground almonds and sugar that derives its characteristic flavor from bitter almonds.
• The character page title is a reference to Marzipan's song "Oh yeah yeah" from the email marzipan.
• According to Strong Bad, Marzipan is allergic to pecans.
• Marzipan has a cousin named Debra whom Strong Bad considers "hot".
  • Marzipan also has a sister, according to Homestar in Marzipan's Answering Machine Version 17.2.
• As revealed in Marzipan's Answering Machine Version 15.2, she has apparently had questionable surgery to have her nose removed.
• In A Death Defying Decemberween, Homestar refers to Marzipan's mother as "Mrs. Marzipan", and implies that she is frequently divorced. Marzipan says her latest stepfather is named Seth and works in a "philosophy department", presumably at a university.
• Strong Bad says that Marzipan has a "considerable resistance to death" in origins after being super-glued to Homsar and left for dead.

Relationships

Main article: Character Relationships

• Homestar Runner and Marzipan's Relationship
• Strong Bad and Marzipan's Relationship
• Marzipan and The Cheat's Relationship
• Marzipan and Strong Sad's Relationship
• Strong Mad and Marzipan's Relationship
• Marzipan and Coach Z's Relationship
• Marzipan and Bubs's Relationship
• Marzipan and The King of Town's Relationship
• Marzipan and Homsar's Relationship

Variations

Stampers!

• Old-Timey Marzipan (Old-Timey)
• Marzi-Mei (20X6)
• Cutesy and Sultry Buttons (Dangeresque)
• Cardboard Marzipan
• Marzipan Alien Cow (narrator)
• Teenage Marzipan (high school)
• Marzi-PANCAKE (trading cards)
• M.Z. Pan (Xeriouxly Forxe)
• Character 5 (Yonder Website)

Halloween Costumes

• Jeannie (from I Dream of Jeannie) in Homestarloween Party
• Joey Ramone (of the Ramones) in The House That Gave Sucky Treats
• Left Eye Lopes (of TLC) in Pumpkin Carve-nival
• The Log Lady (from Twin Peaks) in 3 Times Halloween Funjob
• Willie Nelson in Halloween Fairstival
• Beaker (of The Muppets) in Halloween Potion-ma-jig
• Frida Kahlo in Happy Hallow-day
• Prince in Jibblies 2
• Stevie Ray Vaughan in Most in the Graveyard
• Lola (from Run Lola Run) in Doomy Tales of the Macabre
• Cindy Lou Who (from How the Grinch Stole Christmas!) in Which Ween Costumes?
• Anton Chigurh (from No Country for Old Men) in Halloween Safety (featured in the Sketchbook and Quote of the Week)
• Tom Servo (from Mystery Science Theater 3000) in I Killed Pom Pom
• Captain EO in The House That Gave Sucky Tricks
• Margot Tenenbaum (from The Royal Tenenbaums) in Later That Night...
• Joanna from Chotchkie's (from Office Space) in Haunted Photo Booth
• J Mascis (of Dinosaur Jr.) in Mr. Poofers Must Die
• Maetel (from Galaxy Express 999) in The Homestar Runner Enters The Spooky Woods
• Captain Planet in Halloween Hijinks
• Trixie the Giraffe-Neck Girl (from Sam & Max Hit the Road) in Halloween Hide & Seek
• John Lennon (as seen in Yellow Submarine) in 2022 Costume Pack Now Available
• Penny (from Pee-wee's Playhouse) in The Show: Ween Edition

Sources

1. ^  Email marzipan
2. ^  Marzipan's Yearbook Character Page
3. ^  Date Nite
4. ^  "An Interview With Homestar Runner Creators, The Chapman Brothers", retroCRUSH, 2001
5. ^  "Craig Zobel, Film Production", Gothamist, Jun 4 2004
6. ^  For instance, in secret recipes, date, secret identity and keep cool

See Also

• Marzipan Evolution
• Other Costumes
• Nicknames

External Links

• watch Marzipan's character video
• watch Marzipan's character video on the old Flash site
• view the Flash file for Marzipan's character video