The Simpsons is, undoubtedly, one of the most successful animation shows created for adult audiences today. Created by Matt Groening, this Fox show has been airing episodes since 1989. Not to mention, The Simpsons has also earned an impressive 95 Emmy nods and 34 Emmy awards throughout its run. Mostly because of stellar episodes like the one with Michael Jackson or the 'steamed hams' bit.
For fans, the show’s opening sequence is as iconic as the characters themselves. Over the years, however, little has been known about the behind-the-scenes work that went into its creation.
The Show Debuted Without The Opening Sequence
The Simpsons started out as a series of shorts for The Tracey Ullman Show in 1987. A few years later, it premiered its own show on Fox. When it made its debut, The Simpsons proceeded to air a Christmas special. Around this time though, Groening didn’t really think that an opening series was necessary. However, while speaking on the DVD commentary for the show’s second episode, Bart the Genius, Groening revealed that they essentially introduced the opening sequence to cut back on animation time.
Danny Elfman Composed The Theme Song. He Also Sang In The Sequence
No opening sequence would ever be complete without a theme song and Groening thought Elfman was the perfect composer for the job. Back in 1989, the two men met up and Groening readily shared sketches of the Simpsons family. As it turns out, Elfman also saw sketches of the sequence itself. “I got it completely. It was totally clear,” he told Yahoo Music. “The energy, the silliness, the characters, it was all there. It wasn't rendered-out and as colourful, but it was totally clear to me exactly what it was.”
From the beginning, Elfman knew there was only one style of music that would fit the show perfectly. “And I said to Matt, ‘If you want something contemporary, I'm not the guy for it,” Elfman recalled telling Groening at one point. “So I said, ‘If you want something crazy and retro, that's what my senses are telling me.’” As it turns out, that’s exactly what Groening had in mind too.
Soon after Elfman got to work on the score. Interestingly, the Oscar-nominated composer didn’t even need a studio to get this important piece of work done. “I literally wrote [the theme] in the car on the way home,” Elfman revealed. “By the time I got to my house from the meeting, it was done.” A week later, Elfman’s song was recorded for the show.
As fans may note, the opening sequence also features voices who sing briefly in the beginning. One of those voices happens to be Elfman who sang that small bit alongside two of his friends. Of that singing gig, he once told Classic FM, “Those are the three notes that kept me in health insurance for 25 years.”
The Sequence Has Gone Through Some Changes Over The Years
The show’s opening sequence may have remained largely the same over the years. Nonetheless, it’s undergone some changes (although only the most eagle-eyed fans may have noticed.) “People say we finally changed the main title for the first time in 20 years, but the truth is the main title changed constantly,” Groening once revealed to the New York Post. “We’re always throwing in what we call Black Bart gags, where Bart is writing on the blackboard, and we switch little things around. Lisa’s saxophone solo switches.”
Meanwhile, if you ask Groening, the one part of the intro sequence that he would want to improve upon would be the infamous animated clouds since he finds it “unsatisfying.” This admission is rather significant because it seems the clouds have always been part of sequence plans, as revealed by early sketches that producer David Silverman shared on social media.
“My original direction to the animators was the make the clouds as realistic as possible, and as we go through the clouds, we enter this cartoon universe of The Simpsons.” Thankfully, animators have “gotten closer to what I had in my mind” since the introduction of the sequence. Nonetheless, Groening also remarked that the clouds are “not perfect, but better.”
In 2019, Elfman hinted that the show was “coming to an end” soon, telling Joe, “I don't know for a fact, but I've heard that it will be in its last year.” Since then, The Simpsons had gone on to produce and air more episodes, so it seems that fans really have nothing to worry about. Moreover, Groening himself recently told USA Today, “My standard answer is there's no end in sight because anytime I speculate on the show ending, the people who work on it and diehard fans get very upset…”
It’s safe to say fans will see more episodes of The Simpsons in the years to come... and possibly more world predictions. It’s also possible that its opening sequence would continue to undergo some changes too. Whatever happens, it will always be considered a classic.