Disney’s getting a whole boatload of new content with its upcoming purchase of 21st Century Fox, some of it more suitably “on-brand” than others. Among the biggest gets for the House of Mouse: The Simpsons, and its entire 28-year catalog of subversive, cynical comedy. Executive producers James L. Brooks and Matt Groening “celebrated” the sale by poking fun at how off-message their series might be for the squeaky-clean Disney with a tweet earlier today:
Honestly, though, a little light choking is pretty tame on the grand list of Simpsons gleefully biting the hand that feeds it; there’s much weirder stuff in the show’s quiver, as animator Don Hertzfeldt reminded its new owners today:
The World Of Tomorrow and Rejected animator was referring to his own small contribution to Springfield canon, a brilliantly brutal intro from 2014's “Clown In The Dumps.” Along with the Banksy couch gag that depicted the show’s production facilities as an over-the-top sweatshop, Hertzfeldt’s short film is easily the meanest things the show has said about itself since “They’ll Never Stop The Simpsons,” transforming the last vestiges of the series’ heart into yet another series of catchphrases, endlessly regurgitated by its undying, unrecognizable characters.
Anyway, we’re with Hertzfeldt: We can’t wait to see the theme park ride.