Questions for Matt Groening

“The Simpsons Movie,” opening on Friday, reminds us of your substantial role in giving masterpiece status to cartoons and animation. Do you see yourself as an A-level artist? No. Cartooning is for people who can’t quite draw and can’t quite write. You combine the two half-talents and come up with a career.

How much of the movie is hand-drawn? We used a combination of cheap labor and computers.

What does that mean? You outsourced the film to animators in China? No. When I say cheap, I mean there’s no amount of money that an animator can be paid — they deserve our eternal gratitude. I would give them back massages if they would take them.

One highlight of 20th-century art is surely Marge Simpson’s blue beehive hairdo. That was inspired by a combination of my own mother’s hairstyle in the 1960s and, of course, “The Bride of Frankenstein.”

Marge’s hair also puts one in mind of Queen Nefertiti and makes her seem regal beside her husband. Any woman would seem regal in comparison to Homer.

In its 18 years on Fox, “The Simpsons” has taken more than a few swipes at Rupert Murdoch, the network’s politically conservative owner. Do the two of you ever hang out? Not really, but he’s been gracious every time I’ve met him. He played himself on the show, and we wrote the line, “I’m Rupert Murdoch, the billionaire tyrant, and this is my skybox,” as his entrance line. He performed it with great zeal.

Would you like to see him buy The Wall Street Journal? I think he owns enough.

In your film, a character named President Arnold Schwarzenegger occupies the Oval Office. How did that happen? We needed a president that would make people laugh. And Schwarzenegger was the obvious choice.

You’re known to be a fairly active Democrat. I’ve rarely voted for a winner in my political life, with the exception of Al Gore.

For all its supposedly subversive humor, “The Simpsons” is basically pro-family and celebrates the consolations of domestic togetherness. The show is celebrating the people who drive you crazy, and that’s basically been it from the very beginning.

It’s unimaginable that Marge and Homer will ever divorce. No, they love each other — they’re nuts about each other. I guess there is a little bit of wish fulfillment on the part of the writers. We want it to work out for somebody.

Your own family has not remained intact. Is there anything to say about your divorce? The demise of marriage and the breaking up of a family is a big drag for everyone.

Do you enjoy fatherhood? It’s a blast. My sons are 16 and 18. We enjoy so much of the same garbage.

What did your dad do for a living when you were growing up in Portland, Ore.? He did single-panel gag cartoons in magazines, the kind featuring starving men crawling across the desert. Later, he turned to surf movies. That’s where he made his mark.

Your movie has a premiere this weekend in a 200-seat theater in Springfield, Vt., winner of a national contest among 14 identically-named towns. I’ll be there.

In what state is the Simpsons’s fictional Springfield located? Certainly not Vermont. You’ll find out in the movie. We actually reveal the states that Springfield borders on.

Can you tell me now? Maine, Kentucky and — I can’t remember what the others are. The point is that Springfield is in your heart.

Why did you decide on a small-town setting instead of the big city? Big cities are harder to draw.