Let’s be clear right away here. By saying “the greatest thing you’ll see all day” in the headline, we’re just assuming that you think that “most nightmarishly abstract” is a suitable synonym for “greatest.” Now that we’ve established that, check out one of the strangest bits of animation imaginable, starring your favorite animated family, The Simpsons.
There’s a good chance you’re still just staring at your screen as if it dropped out of a different dimension, where space and time are mere suggestions rather than absolutes. And that’s okay, because there is nothing normal about this animation, but there are tons of fascinating things happening.
Created by French animator and character designer Yoann Hervo as part of a Simpsons-related art project, this opening sequence isn’t officially from the show or anything, but I can’t help but think that as soon as Al Jean and the rest of the Simpsons execs get a look at this, they’ll put it into Season 27 immediately. After all, they’ve gotten iconic animators like Bill Plympton and Don Hertzfeldt to put them together before – and Hertzfeldt’s is only a shade less creepy than this one. As well, the show has roped in Banksy, Guillermo del Toro and the teams behind Robot Chicken and Rick and Morty to do them. The past few years have been very kind of the opening credits and couch gags.
So what makes this version so frightening? How about the big flat face across Springfield? Or the weirdo guy at his desk watching Bart in the classroom on his computer? Or Maggie’s face being dragged across the barcode reader over and over again? Or all those Lisas making Mr. Largo scream like the devil? Or that one shot of a real-life baby? Or the detuned Gracie Films logo screen? Or the looping clown mouth over Bart skateboarding? IT NEVER ENDS.
Pretty much every second of this sequence is drowning in weirdness, and now I’m mad that Hervo doesn’t have a slew of underground movies for me to discover elsewhere on the Internet, or in a back room of a video store where you can’t get in by using a door, but simply by stepping through a solid wall. Hero obviously has taste, as one of the only other animated sequences he put together was done in the style of Terry Gilliam, and is also pretty odd for being so short.
Holy Test from Yoann Hervo on Vimeo.
There isn’t long to wait until The Simpsons returns for Season 27, which kicks off with Marge and Homer legally separating, and it will premiere on Sunday, September 27.
