With twenty years as the worlds most popular family already under their collective belt, 2007 is set to be the biggest year ever for The Simpsons. Having just passed the milestone of their 400th episode making it by far the longest running TV sitcom the yellowskinned denizens of Springfield are preparing to take on the big screen in their first ever movie, in theatres worldwide July 27. The Simpsons Movie brings together the greatest talent in the shows history to ensure that the movie will be, in the words of Comic Book Guy, Best. Simpsons. Ever. Here, creator Matt Groening, Producer Al Jean, director David Silverman and writers Al Jean and Mike Scully discuss the film, the series and the future.
Why is now the right time to make The Simpsons Movie? Why not make it earlier?
Matt Groening: One of the reasons is that The Simpsons were created in 1987. So thats 20 years. [Weve just passed] our 400th episode. I thought that this was a landmark time. Its now or never.Al Jean: One reason we didnt make it earlier was the fact that we didnt have the cast contracted until 2001. You might say, why 2007? But it took us a while to write it. We tried to do it ten years ago, but we wouldnt have had the ability to do digital animation that we have now. We wouldnt have had the ability to turn things around and write them as quickly. You really couldnt have made the film were making five years ago.
Were used to seeing the simpsons characters in 22- minute episodes how do you keep them interesting over when you move up to feature length?
James L Brooks: You have to tell a story and you have to have a narrative and its been one of the difficult, challenging things in the process.
Matt Groening: We basically tell a feature length story every episode of the show. So it has been a challenge, given how much story we can compress into a TV show, what are our opportunities on the big screen? So, theres more ambitious animation and a more epic story.
David, all the people who created the show have reunited for the movie. how is it having the responsibility of directing the film?
David Silverman: Its actually a lot of challenge and certainly a lot of pressure, but theres a lot of support. So, certainly while the task is daunting I feel very supported by everybody here and theyre helping me do the right job. Im sure Im wrong about that (laughs), but it feels like it.
Matt Groening: David Silverman has been working on The Simpsons since the beginning, so many, many years. Hes been with us since the days of The Tracy Ullman Show, James L Brooks TV show.
He basically invented a lot of the rules for how to draw the characters. He invented a lot of the rules, so the animators could draw them consistently. He came up with the number of hairs on the top of Barts head. That was David Silvermans choice. I drew about 25 or 30; he honed it down.
David Silverman: We had it at 11 and I decided to bring it down to nine.
Mike Scully: He picked the nine funniest ones.
And whose idea was it to make the characters yellow?
Matt Groening: I came to animation as a print cartoonist and Im very lazy, so I only draw the outlines of characters in black and white. I just dont think about colour. Then it came time to colour the characters and I wanted to do something other than that conventional colour that passes for Caucasian in cartoons that horrible pink. And Giorgio Pillucci, our colour stylist, made them yellow and I thought that was great.
David Silverman: One of the reasons she made them yellow is that Bart, Lisa and Maggie dont have a hairline. So it works as their skin and hair colour.
How many storylines have you gone through to get to the story in this movie?
James L. Brooks: We had onesession where everybody brought things and then it started at that first session what the notion was going to be. Weve had lots of drafts it wasnt that formal.
We had a large group of writers that came together, which was anybody whod been with the show from the beginning, whod ever run the show, would be part of that initial group.
It was a reunion. Everybody brought in something and we had a conversation and it wasnt that long before we came away with this starting notion.
Groening: We have a concept we call a notion on the show too. Writers on the show come up with notions and its just based on a single idea, a thought or what if we do our version of a famous movie and localise it.
Plot details on the film were kept very much under wraps throughout production. why did you choose to reveal so little?
James L. Brooks: I think it started out as a privacy thing and then it started to be fun to keep it a secret. Also, it allows us to change without explaining.
The fact is that privacy doesnt exist anymore is not altogether a good thing. Its nice to have a little privacy while youre doing your work. Weve put out fake storylines and everything; its fun to play around with it.
Matt Groening: I think one of the reasons we get along and are friends is because were continuing to surprise each other. One of the great things about this whole project is the idea of surprising ourselves.
Weve been working for a long time together in the same room thats too small and people continue to come up with surprising things. If we can continue to surprise each other then well surprise the world.
So many animated movies released nowadays are computer generated was there any thought about changing the way the movies animated, from 2d to 3d?
David Silverman: I would say that weve used more 3D in the movie [than we do in the show], in terms of having 3D sets and doing camera moves and 3D props.
But we want to keep a hand-drawn look because we want people to still associate this with the TV show. We never thought about doing it as a whole 3D animation, because that would destroy the personalities of the characters.
Mike Scully: Also the computer lets us do things in the film that we just cant do on the show. Like theres a huge mob scene we just couldnt do that on the show. So the fans will really feel like theyre seeing a movie and not just an expanded TV show.
James L. Brooks: It should always look like The Simpsons. You dont want the characters to look like Pixar characters. I also think it makes us different to other animated pictures.
Matt Groening: Through the history of animation, theres always been something very charming about the hand-drawn line. I think thats the appeal of comic books too. There are no computer-generated comic books. Its all about the gesture of the artist.
David Silverman: What I love about it too is that youre watching a picture come to life and Im always charmed by that.
Al Jean: I think our early trailer showed that people are getting tired of that CG beauty that bunny that was animated. People want something thats real.
Mike Scully: I also dont think theres been a great 2D film that has failed. I think sometimes studios over-react and think the public doesnt want 2D. The public just wants to be entertained; they dont care if its 2D or CGI.
David Silverman: I hope we can help regenerate interest in 2D animation. That would be a great bonus.
How will the tv show change after the movie?
Al Jean: For me, theyre independent entities. You can watch the movie without ever having seen the TV show and its not like the movie will end with Oh, youve got to see this episode to understand it.
Its a selfcontained unit. However, people who see the movie, if they havent seen the show, we hope theyll check it out.
James L Brooks: And therell be some continuity. Some things that happen in the movie will affect the series.
So the events of the movie will carry over into the show?
James L Brooks: Certainly, the events that take place in the movie will have happened.
Will we see new characters in the movie?
David Silverman: Yes and some old ones too. We have a lot of scenes where there are crowds, so we figured lets just grab people from different episodes and put them in there for big fans of the show to spot.
Will any of the new characters introduced in the movie become part of the regular cast?
Al Jean: Were hoping to. Thats the goal, yes.
How have the characters changed since the show started?
David Silverman: I would say, by the time we got to the third series we settled down on the characters. Look at any animation and itll change. Look at Bugs Bunny at the beginning; look at Mickey Mouse at the beginning. Even if you look at comic strips. You look at Peanuts at the beginning; the style has not quite congealed. What happens for every cartoonist is that you discover little things.
Do you see a point when the show will eventually end?
Matt Groening: Actually, several years ago I did an interview in which I speculated on that same question and I talked about the first rule of Zen: nothing is permanent. And it became this big thing and I learned how much it upset people the idea that The Simpsons might end.
The attitude that I have is that there is no end in sight. We keep having fun and we keep doing new things and the movie is the latest and most ambitious project yet, but the show will continue and everything associated with it.
Al Jean: On the show last year we won at every award show we went to, including the Emmy for Best Animated Show. So, were still doing stories that we really like and its still being responded to by the audience. So why stop?
David Silverman: Its amazing for me when I see kids of 8 years old and they tell me how much they love The Simpsons. Its great that its still fresh to people that young. Thats an amazing feeling, so I dont see any end in sight.
Why do you think this show has had the success that it has?
Al Jean: Because its good.
David Silverman: In my mind, its like those Warner Brothers characters, like Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. Its a totally different style of animation, but the longevity is the same. I dont compare it to other TV shows.
Weve created this whole universe of characters, in the way that Disney has Mickey Mouse and Goofy and Warner Brothers has Bugs and Daffy and we have The Simpsons.
Brooks: Its an accident when you touch a culture; its an accident when you strike that chord. Were the beneficiaries of some alchemy of timing and a group of people that came together. You just have live in appreciation of the fact that this happened to you and serve it.
Mike Scully: From what Ive heard, for some parents the show has gone from something they didnt want their kids to watch to something they watch with their children.
Its now a family institution. Its one of the few family activities left, as far as watching television together. So I think thats tribute to the show lasting all these years. Nobody wants to see it go away.
The Simpsons Movie is released on DVD on 10th December
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