The website is described as having been built “for people who love The Simpsons” and “to enhance and enable that love.” The creators, Paul Kehrer, Sean Schulte, and Allie Young, hope to get people watching and re-watching more of the iconic series, as well as to just give users something fun to do. So far, Frinkiac has roughly 3 million screenshots available, taken from episodes spanning the first 15 seasons so far (albeit with some problems in season 11 that are still being ironed out).
By indexing subtitles, Frinkiac’s search engine can pull up images based on what was said during a given scene. Users can then use the images they find to send to friends as they are or to edit and create an entertaining meme. “Never again find yourself wishing you could pinpoint the second his heart rips in half,” the creators write, referring to a scene in which Bart plays back footage of Lisa breaking Ralph’s heart.
The creators are clearly Simpsons fans themselves. Kehrer joked that the site may be more of a “Shelbyville idea” when he tweeted out the news, alluding to Springfield’s famous rival town.
Simpsons fans! Frinkiac, a Simpsons search engine, is now live! Although it might be more of a Shelbyville idea… https://t.co/WkTPmqsc7v
— Paul Kehrer (@reaperhulk) February 2, 2016
They reinforced their love for the show on the website, writing, “The Simpsons is one of (the) greatest television comedies of all time and we hope that having ready access to the perfect screenshot will make people laugh and remind them to rewatch [sic] their favorite episodes.” So go forth, fans, and make some Simpsons memes!
