“Irreverent”: that's the word Al Jean would choose if he had to describe The Simpsons in one word. “I think that was the secret to our success,” said the legendary producer of a series that just turned 35 and is a unique global phenomenon.
Much has happened since April 19, 1987, when the Tracey Ullman Show presented the first animated shorts about a yellow family from Springfield. But although those first Simpsons are almost unrecognizable today, Matt Groening's series has not lost the connection with the audience that made it a worldwide success. That, as Jean told Infobae, is the result of a great work of the creatives, “a bigger job than the Titanic”.
—As for the series' predictions, which have generated countless memes worldwide with the phrase “The Simpsons did it again”, how is it possible that on so many occasions they have been right in anticipating events?
“In 720 episodes of 30 minutes each, something will surely touch you. That said, I still think things are crazy,” he acknowledged. I remember when we did the episode about the football world cup in which we said that Germany beat Brazil. We joke a lot about that.
Not all the successes liked him, he added. “Cases like Donald Trump's... I didn't like that kind of predictions very much. I think we have to do them more carefully now.”
— What are you referring to?
“All writers are skeptical, and so am I. I think skepticism is a very healthy attitude. But some things turned out worse than I could have ever predicted. Now we have to make happy predictions. We have to change things to make the world a better place. So there is hope! I have a very optimistic vision of the future.
— What do The Simpsons contribute to society?
“I think we contributed a few things. For example, we have always been intellectuals, because we have never said “We have to cut this joke, it's a cartoon”. On the other hand, many people have said that their first exhibition to Mozart or The Godfather was at The Simpsons. And as for the children, I heard that you wanted to become a songwriter because of a song in an episode of Don McLean. When you get to children and try to basically have an intelligent and heartfelt view of the world, it really pays off.
— What role do women play in the series?
“I always relate to Lisa, since the scripts I write are usually Lisa's. I think she's the intellectual, perhaps the one who feels the most out of place. And that alienation is a really familiar emotion for a writer. On the other hand there is Marge, who we always say is wonderful.
Why did you choose Billie Eilish as a special guest?
“She is the most successful artist of the moment, so it was an easy choice. In addition, when we started writing we saw her documentary and especially her participation in Saturday Night Live: we think she is also a lot of fun, and a natural actress. That was like sealing the deal for us. And she was happy to do it, as was Finneas, her brother, which also made us really happy.
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