Jonah Hill takes on TV cartoon Allen Gregory

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Ay Carumba! Bart Simpson better watch out because there's a new kid on Fox competing for attention of TV fans on Sunday nights.

Allen Gregory, brought to life by Superbad actor Jonah Hill, debuts on Fox this Sunday telling of a pretentious boy named Allen Gregory, who struggles to adapt to public school after his family loses all its money.

Despite the topical themes of financial hardship underlying the show's plot, Hill declined to link Allen Gregory to the current, gloomy economic times troubling people.

It's a really funny cartoon show, Hill told reporters in a recent conference call, adding that the family were a bunch of spoiled rich people figuring out how to make their way in the world for the first time.

He called 7-year-old Allen Gregory a fish out of water who was just trying to fit in.

The bespectacled Gregory, sharply dressed in suits despite his tender age of seven, will embark on a steep learning curve throughout the series, finding it hard to connect to his classmates and even becoming somewhat attracted to his much older female school principal.

We don't shy away from anything on the show, said the Moneyball actor. It's all reality based. That being said, I've never heard of a seven year-old boy having a relationship with a 70-something-year-old, disgusting woman.

The 27-year-old actor, who rose to fame with slapstick comedies like Superbad and Knocked Up, is stepping behind the scenes to produce Allen Gregory along with co-creators, Andrew Mogel and Jarrad Paul.

Hill said he was inspired by ribald animated series like The Critic, South Park and The Simpsons, which has long been among the top TV cartoons featuring the trick-playing youngster Bart Simpson.

With a cast of comedy pros including Saturday Night Live funnyman Will Forte and Hill's frequent co-star Leslie Mann, Hill has his own wish list of potential guest stars.

Robert De Niro would be the best Allen Gregory guest star, laughed Hill.

Allen Gregory will air in primetime on Fox's Sunday night Animation Domination lineup alongside The Simpsons, Family Guy and American Dad.

(Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)