Apr 11, 2014

Behind the Scenes of the Opening of "The Simpsons," Directed by Sylvain Chomet

The Simpsons couch gag, directed by Sylvain Chomet of "The Triplets of Belleville" and "The Illusionist," has become a making-of video courtesy of th1ng, the London production company that created the opening. th1ng founder Dominic Battimore and animator Neil Boyle appear in the video along with Chomet.

Chomet also recently explained to the British trade magazine Beak Street Bugle why the entire Simpsons clan wears glasses in the opening, saying Sylvain's characters do not have the round eyes of the Simpsons, so he struggled to make the characters recognizable while maintaining his own aesthetic. His solution was to have everyone wear glasses. A little lateral thinking makes a big difference.

(Thanks to Kirk Hendry)