Matt Groening: 'Fox ended cartoon war'

Simpsons creator Matt Groening has revealed that Fox put an end to the on-screen sparring between his show and Family Guy.

Groening told the New York Post that there was a rivalry between The Simpsons and its animated contemporaries.

He said: "There's some gentle spoofing of each other, although Fox has told both The Simpsons and Family Guy to knock it off.

"You didn't have Bonanza making Gunsmoke jokes."

Groening added that he was "grateful" that Cartman and his friends did not cut off Bart's head when the characters met in the 'Cartoon Wars' episodes of South Park.

"Cartman and his pals would blow Bart out of the water [in a fight]," he said. "Bart's a gentle soul. He's only ten years old, so the consequences of his actions are not as bad as they'll be in a few years."

Earlier this month, The Simpsons made its high definition debut in the UK, launching a new opening credits sequence to mark the occasion.