Where Did THAT Come From – Ah, Fudge! Factory and Cocoa Beanie

Oh Level 40… how thankful I am for the distraction from my Easter prize hunting mania. Sure you stole Ralphie away from some valuable egg hunting, but I’ll forgive you for bringing a building I’ve been wanting with all it’s fun and puns. Of course, that means for this WDTCF, I’ll be going over the Ah, Fudge! Factory.

When I first saw the $600,000 dollar price tag, I must admit I was like Ah Fudge! How is anyone gonna afford this monstrosity?  Then I realized, most players not at Level 40 won’t even have to worry about this price tag. The price will be much lower for them later. A lot of us crazies have a ton of money saved up and once you get to the higher levels, money is a bit easier to make.  I then worried about how I’d fit it into my factory district (so happy I actually have an area I call this now) but at 9×5 it fit perfectly. Earning $135 and 15 XP every 8 hours for “Obesifying America” fits in nice with task times too. I’d be stoked with just this but the inclusion of two freemium characters with tasks just makes it super rad to this fuzzball.

Perhaps my favorite about this factory is the pun for “Oh Schtick” and the connection to chocolate which has made me laugh ever since I first saw this building in the amazing early Simpsons episode “Bart the Murderer” (S3:E4). For us Simpsons nerds, this is also the 1st appearance of Corpulent Tony. It all starts with Bart having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. Homer steals the prize out of his cocoa cereal, SLH actually eats his homework, he misses the bus, it rains, he’s tardy, he splits his pants and worst of all… he forgot his permission slip for the field trip to the chocolate factory.

Poor Bart… stuck licking envelopes for the PTA while all the other kids have fun at the Ah, Fudge! Factory. Informational videos starring Troy McClure, lots n lots of chocolate with children able to run rampant and Cocoa Beanie himself.

Makes sense that the Ah Fudge mascot would get a restraining order from kids after the beating the Springfield kids gave him. Let’s all be honest though, mascots either induce a desire for pictures and autographs or the worst brain-schemes of kids.

NERD NOTE: Neil Patrick Harris (aka Doogie Howser or NPH) actually did a guest voice in this episode as himself playing Bart Simpson. Pretty cool.

Just for fun, here’s some more references to Ah Fudge. In “Simple Simpson” (S15:E19), when the Rich Texan humiliates Lisa at the Springfield County Fair, Homer knows he must take action but if he commits one more felony assault, he’s going to jail. Thus, the Pie Man is born and it’s as simple as taking a quilt from the quilt stand, the 1st place pie AND an apron from the Ah Fudge! stand.

While not the factory, an Ah Fudge store is seen in “He Loves to Fly and he D’ohs” (S19:E1). The Springfield Mall store is seen in the background of a hilarious bit with Burns being sucked into a fountain for trying to pinch a penny.

Ah Fudge is just another of those things that pops up as an Easter Egg in the Best. Show. Ever. One of their candy bars appears in a cooler in “Das Bus” (S9:E14). In the food festival in “Guess Who’s Coming to Criticize Dinner” (S11:E3), they are one of the many food booths. Other booths include The Gilded Truffle, Pimento Grove, Much Ado About Muffins, The Frying Dutchman and Phineas Q. Butterfat’s. Ah Fudge also appears in “Sweets and Sour Marge” (S13:E8). One of their products is seen on the Kwik-E-Mart shelf. Their stock is also shown at I.P.O. Friday’s in “HOMЯ” (S12:E9). I love this gag… basically the Springfield Stock Exchange lampooning a very popular American restaurant chain.

And there you go. A really cool freemium building added to our game which also brings us not one, but two new characters with tasks. I’ve wanted Miss Hoover in the game for a long time. Hope y’all are having the best of luck as Easter reaches it’s final week and please stay classy as usual.

TTFN… Wookiee out!

P.S.  Just for fun, here’s some other Factory Ideas: Box Factory, Pillow Factory, Slide Factory, Spirograph Factory and Motherluving Sugar Corporation.