Groundbreaking and influential animated adult situation comedy The Simpsons Having amassed millions of fans since its debut in 1989, it’s no surprise that hundreds of fans flocked to a sold-out launch party. new york comic con Main stage Saturday.
Although there are already several The Simpsons The panel is located San Diego Comic Con (Comic-Con International) This is the first panel of its kind in New York City in many years. The panel was moderated by Vulture writers Jesse David Foxand featured series creators Matt Groening with voice actors Hank Azaria (Moe, Chief Wiggum and countless other characters), Showrunner and Executive Producer Matt Selmanand writer/co-executive producer Tim Long and Caroline O’Ming.
just right The SimpsonsWith a 35-year history of subversive and irreverent humor, the group is filled with witty quips and hilarious off-the-cuff jokes. Fitting for a comic convention, Hank Azaria extended his comic book character’s character and compared New York City to Springfield and Gotham because they both have “rampant crime and corruption.” “Mayor”
Azaria and Groening discussed the comic book artist’s origins and appeal at length, with Groening saying he speaks for “every comic book store manager” but adding that much of his personality also comes from Azaria himself and the cast My own geeky interests. Azaria also emphasized that part of the character’s humor comes from the fact that “he’s an adult arguing with kids on a kid’s level.” However, the writers noted that they gave him one later in the show To show his wife that he’s not entirely a “bad guy,” Aufeng joked that they might have a baby soon.
Much of the panel consisted of Groening and company members reflecting on the show’s origins, with Groening telling the story of how the premiere of the first episode was actually delayed from August to December (First episode is a Christmas episode that introduces the plot of The Simpsons).
Groening felt that America was ready for another primetime animated situation comedy because, at the time, nothing like it had really existed since a show like this one. the jetsons In the 1960s. He worried that adults might not watch the show despite its relatively mature content, but when he saw a “bootleg” Bart Simpson shirt on the streets of New York, he knew he had “made it.”
They also look back at Hank Azaria’s first audition as bartender Moe, a character who would go on to develop into countless other supporting roles in Springfield. Moe initially sounded like a “young Al Pacino,” but he was asked to make his voice more “husky,” which solidified the voice of this hilarious and painful character. Likewise, he later reflected on the development of Police Commissioner Wiggum’s voice, which was partly inspired by character actor David Brinkley, as well as “Mel Blanc’s impression of Edward G. Robinson.”
Groening said his advice to those who want to get into the animation industry is to “Learn to be charming in a room and you’ll be spending months with people that may turn into years at a time so you never get tired of each other. O’Mean added that a person should “learn to look like everyone else in the room.”
Selman reflected on the evolution of The Simpsons characters over the years, noting that “It’s fun to write things into the characters of the show that you didn’t know existed. The writers explained how character development happens between writing dialogue, voice actors providing their voices, and ultimately seeing the characters come to life in the final animation. While marveling at the show’s staying power, he said The Simpsons was designed to be a show that “could go on forever” and joked that “with artificial intelligence, maybe it will go on forever.” .
With no plans to end The Simpsons anytime soon, they recently aired a hypothetical “series finale” that mimicked the “cloying” nature of other show finales, with characters getting better and seemingly unusual twists . For example, in one segment of the episode, Comic Book Man’s wife Kumiko John Heenan In a hilarious cameo. Selman added that they wanted to “sprinkle salt” on future endings.
Lang discussed how they enjoyed writing “things that other shows would never do” on the show. For example, they showed a clip from an episode of the current season 35, which was inspired by the 1985 indie comedy after get off workis a cult favorite in New York, directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Griffin Dunne, who guest-voiced the episode.
While there’s plenty of humor, some of it is pretty dark (for example, acknowledging The Simpsons’ history of “predicting the future”, O’Fine joked that they had to be careful not to “accidentally show up with another 9/11” in an episode it was inspired by) , a warm and nostalgic panel that will delight any long-time fans in the room. They even joked that while there are no current plans to make another movie (the first one came out in 2007), they hope to do so at some point in the future. When asked, Groening joked that the movie would be released in “2042,” while Selman poked fun at Donald Trump, saying there was a “concept of a plan.”
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