We're really writing a show that has some of the most esoteric references on television. I mean really, really, really strange, odd, short little moments that very few people get and understand. We do that for ourselves. We're writing it for adults and intelligent adults at that.
The Simpsons are fairly surprised to find themselves in a movie; they can't believe "anyone would pay to see what we did on TV for free." But I suspect a lot of people will...The movie is funny, sassy and intelligent in that moronic Simpsons' way.
We've repeated some basic themes and situations, but there's still plenty of material to keep it going. And, of course, we've developed a wealth of supporting characters over the years, so the writers don't have to build every show around Homer, Marge, or the kids. I think some of our best shows have been built around the secondary characters. No, believe me, we've still got plenty of juice left in 'The Simpsons'.
When they said, 'We're going to a half-hour show,' I thought it could be fun, but this is phenomenal. .. I don't want it to end. I love it. It gives me power. Sometimes now I get other voiceover work without auditions.
The great thing about the Simpsons is that they were more like real people than most of the people on television. Everything about the story line and the humor were character-driven. Now we often have a joke for the sake of a joke. I take exception to that, whether it's live-action or animation. But the show, I think, is still one of the best on TV.
Every week is different on The Simpsons as you know. It really is dependent on whether it's straight underscore type of recording that I have to do or if I have to record vocals—if I have to do orchestral sweeteners of songs that I've written in the past. So, it's never a dull moment.
The shorts were getting a great audience response, and Matt had always had this dream of making a prime-time animated program, which was not something that was done at the time. So myself and another producer friend got together with Matt to create 'The Simpsons.' It actually worked out quite well, because I had the background in sitcoms, and Matt had the background in animation, so we complemented each other to create what is today 'The Simpsons.'
The big thing from the beginning has been to preserve the emotional reality of the characters .. Even though they're cartoon characters, if you insult them, they get mad. It's not the sort of TV give-and-take where somebody is called much worse than you would ever say to a real person, and they just go about their business.
One of the things that is really great about Homer's personality is that he'd rather just sit and watch TV rather than do whatever, until something gets under his collar. He gets some bee in his bonnet, and then he will be the most inventive nincompoop about doing it.
The Lisa shows are great, you get the nice, sweet, observant stuff with her. Really there are two kinds of episodes, one with Homer playing the hilarious buffoon, the other softer thing with Marge and Lisa.
I did a lot of really crappy sitcoms before I got to The Simpsons. .. It's a writer's paradise. You have no interference from the studio or the network, so you really get to do what you want. I know that once I leave the show, it's not going to be that way. So I'm very happy kind of milking it to the end.
I think the one thing the writers across the board at The Simpsons share, whether they're left or right, is Matt's essential suspicion of authority figures. I think that's what suffuses the show, rather than a political agenda per se. They're on the side of the family, and against all the authority figures and institutions that beset this family.
First off there are 50 or so characters. We can really do different episodes every week and not stretch it as thin. And the fact that our characters don't age means we won't have shows coming out later where people will say, "This isn't the 'Happy Days' I fell in love with. Fonzie's teaching high school now." We all work really hard, the actors and the writers, to make it the best show it can be.
.. I came back and did some freelance episodes. But now when I go in there, everything done on 'The Simpsons' is done collectively, done as a group. It's run like a kibbutz, with 10 writers sitting around working on the script a line at a time.
I'm a big fan of a lot of episodes. There was an episode we did a few years ago called Behind the Laughter that was, I think, pretty funny. It was sort of a parody of a show called Behind the Music and it was like a documentary behind-the-scenes of The Simpsons. That actually ended up winning us an Emmy. I think we were very fortunate in that respect.
I was taking animation and illustration and I was just a huge fan of the show and I knew the show was going to be something big. However, I never thought it would last this long, but I wanted to be part of it. I really thought that it was something that could last maybe one or two or years or so and I took a few animation tests but I failed the first group and so I asked them what was right and wrong about it and I followed directions and gave it to them within 48 hours and they hired me.
We try to reward people for paying attention. If you don't pay attention it's a very funny show, but if you do pay attention there are lots of references to other things that are going on in our lives, in culture, in movies and so on.
[The Principal and the Pauper] is about a community of people who like things just the way they are. Skinner's not really close to these people - he's a minor character - but they get upset when someone comes in and says 'this is not really the way things are' and they run the messenger out of town on the rail. And when the episode aired, lo and behold, a community of people who like things just the way they are got mad. It never seems to have occurred to anyone that this episode is about the people who hate it.
