The iconic show’s long-time executive producer and showrunner shares his thoughts on his team’s latest short film - featuring Sideshow Bob, famous Disney+ villains, and so-called Halloween spirit - as well as his love of the format, and the important role shorts play in the franchise’s universe since the move to Disney.
Released last month on Disney+, the latest in a growing series of The Simpsons shorts, The Most Wonderful Time of the Year, tells the slightly twisted story of Sideshow Bob, who teams up with the most infamous villains of Disney+ to share the true meaning for the Halloween season. As you might expect, the short is filled with music, mayhem, and madness… plus irreverent humor, stellar comedic timing, and something that’s “simply to die for.” The studio’s words, not mine.
AWN recently had a chance to talk with Al Jean, executive producer and showrunner, who’s been on the show since the very beginning – before some of its current writers were born. One of the key creatives responsible for guiding the show into its 35th season, he talked about the new short, The Simpsons shorts in general, how / how often / why they’re produced, and how they fit into the world of the show since the production moved into the Disney family following the 2019 Fox purchase.
Dan Sarto: In addition to your incredibly long-running series, you have a history producing short films. What prompts the development of a short, given all the other stuff that you guys do? Are you looking to do a certain number of them over a certain period of time, are you reacting to a broader initiative, or do you just queue a new one up if you have a good idea?
Al Jean: The genesis was, when we got onto Disney+, Jim Brooks was really wise and said, "We want to do these little things that distinguish us from everything on Disney+, that make people know we're on Disney+." The first one we did was the Star Wars short in 2021. The great thing is, we were able to do them with Star Wars, or with Marvel and Loki… our characters crossed with any of the Disney products and characters. There's no specific number we do a year and no specific time. Every time we finish one, I pitch a new idea to Jim, and if he thinks it's great, we'll do it, and if he doesn't, then we just think of another idea.
DS: Do the productions get pushed into your series pipeline? Do you farm them out, or just find a way to get it done within your current system?
AJ: It's the same animation studio. The big thing with our animation is the director is always David Silverman, who's the best, who's been with us from the beginning. David - and I've worked with him 35 years – every time you send him an idea, or you have a set of drawings, he'll send back a drawing that's funnier than what we envision, every time, and it's such a pleasure. He's one of the people that's most responsible - there's many - for The Simpsons being a success and lasting as long as it has. No question.
DS: The show, it’s tone and humor have stayed so consistent for all these years. I would imagine there are a group of guiding hands, like yours and David’s that shepherd that creative process.
AJ: There is, although what's great about it is we have show writers now that are younger than the show. They come on, and Jim says, "Wherever you are, whatever your point of view, the show has the ability to absorb it. Marge and Homer can put on the costumes, and we can do that story." It's really amazing. It's like, "Oh. Something in the world happens," and you go, "Oh, I can relate it to a Simpsons character." I was just working on an episode for the series, where I was like, "Oh. Willie could be on OnlyFans."
DS: What itch does the shorts scratch for you, creatively?
AJ: I love doing things in that tiny format. I grew up watching Buster Keaton shorts and Charlie Chaplin. I’ve worked on all our shots, starting with the one that was nominated for an Oscar [Maggie Simpson in “The Longest Daycare” (2013)], and there's a thing, a purity about the format, especially when we do them with just Maggie or they're close to silent, or there’s a song, which is similar, where you can do one, quick idea, you can explore it in three minutes, and you can be done. It's just a really cool medium that you don't see as much. I love animated shorts, and I was so thrilled when, as I said, we were nominated both for an Emmy and an Oscar.
DS: The short format lends itself to The Simpsons characters and the style of humor, because it doesn't take a ridiculous amount of time to set things up, you kind of get in and get out.
AJ: I don't know the exact numbers, but there's a huge audience for them on Disney+, because they go on the carousel. It's [Disney+] got over… however many, hundreds of millions of subscribers, so they can watch it in one sitting. It's not like a series where you have to commit to 10 episodes. You can watch the short, and if you don't like it, that's the end. You don't have to see anymore. So, you get an incredible number of views, which is fantastic.
DS: I'm sure you get asked this all the time, but still, it's pertinent. The Fox purchase, the move to Disney, I mean, you guys just keep on jamming. You have stayed true to your own aesthetic, both visually and in your narrative voice, certainly the humor. Has the change of ownership been problematic at all?
AJ: We didn't know we were going to get bought by Disney. But Iger said to Jim, "We want you to be the same that you've been." And they've let us. It's been great.
DS: I remember looking back, when the show launched - we've spoken about this in the past – and how it was viewed by some as one more example of the impending fall of Western Civilization.
AJ: Yes.
DS: It was said seriously. By serious people.
AJ: I know.
DS: And yet, through everything, when you look at The Simpsons, your new home, you guys fit in very, very easily.
AJ: We didn't pick it, but had I have picked, that would've been the pick. I mean, I'm so happy we're at Disney+. You have such other great stuff on the site. It's such a fit for us. Yeah, we couldn't be happier.
DS: You're known for the Treehouse of Horror episodes, the couch gags, there’s never a dull moment with you guys. Anything you can tease us with regards to new shorts or new things that are coming?
AJ: There's a one-hour episode or double episode coming December 17th, 35 years after or premiere, on Disney+ exclusively, a Christmas show written by Carolyn Omine, which is fantastic, so that's a big deal.
DS: Last question. People I speak to in your position, they'll say, "We've got the greatest job in the world, because in essence, we're getting paid to laugh and make funny cartoons.” But you guys are more prolific than anyone in the medium, anyone in live-action comedy, let alone animation. What is it that drives you? What gets you, when you get to your office in the morning and you say, "Ah, today's another day. What do we have?" what is it that still drives you about this property and this work?
AJ: For 35 years, I've been working on what I think is one of the best TV shows of all time. So, I'm really lucky. I mean, I've known people who've worked on great shows, but they didn't last as long. To be one that's still going, there couldn't be a bigger, luckier break. Whether I work a lot on an episode or not, I think they're all great. I'm still really thrilled to be here.
Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
