Entertainment
The Best Couch Gag In Simpsons History Was Extremely Dark And Nearly Got The Episode Pulled By Fox
By TeeJay Small
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Since The Simpsons first kicked off back in 1989, couch gags have been an iconic episode-opening staple. Over the years, the team behind the show has collaborated with numerous writers, animators, and artists, creating surprising crossovers with other popular works. While every couch gag holds a special place in my heart, I’d argue that the most memorable iteration came from 2010’s “MoneyBart,” as part of a collaboration with the cryptic political artist Banksy.
Even if you’re not familiar with Banksy by name, you’ve surely crossed paths with his work. The anonymous British artist has delivered numerous thought-provoking pieces, often providing some cutting social commentary or political undertone. He’s about as anti-establishment as an artist can be, so you can understand why it came as a shock when he agreed to collaborate with one of the most well-known cartoons in the history of the world. After all, tagging your name on a Fox branded series doesn’t exactly scream “down with capitalism.”
A brief glance at the intro sequence, which has been making the rounds on social media lately, will quickly clear up any questions you might have about Banksy’s agenda. Rather than using the platform to deliver a fun, simple gag about the yellow family kicking their feet up in front of the TV, Banksy offered an extremely dark critique of the animation industry, the network, and the nature of mass-produced art on the whole. The full gag is nearly two minutes in length, but it feels like a lifetime as you watch in twisted horror at the scathing repudiation of mainstream television.
Not Your Average Couch Gag
The couch gag opens on the usual cloud-first drop into Springfield, but quickly goes off the rails. As soon as the Simpson family takes to the couch, we zoom out to see individual cartoon frames being animated in an Asian sweatshop. Miserable workers toil in squalid conditions, as children paste the film together using vats of toxic waste. Beneath the sweatshop, we see that Simpsons merchandise is made under similar soul-crushing conditions, with adorable kittens being woodchippered to stuff mass-produced Bart plushies.
Other instances of animal abuse are rampant in the supply chain, with panda bears being whipped, decapitated dolphins applying packing tape, and a shackled, sickly unicorn used as a crude method of cutting DVDs to size. The whole thing is deeply disturbing, uncomfortably funny, and uniquely self-reflective, even by Simpsons standards. It all wraps up with a 20th Century Fox logo surrounded by barbed wire fences and dystopian watchtowers, à la George Orwell‘s 1984.
Series executive producer and longtime showrunner Al Jean described the process of linking up with Banksy during a 2010 interview with The New York Times, and revealed the ways in which Fox was apprehensive about airing the segment. Despite arguing that “Fox has been very gracious about us biting the hand that feeds us,” Jean explained that the network demanded several changes “for taste.” When asked what specifically was cut before the segment made it to air, the Harvard alumnus said, “It was even a little sadder. But I would have to say almost all of it stayed in. We were thrilled. It was funny, I watched Mad Men last night, and I wondered if this was my Don Draper letter to The New York Times. I knew just how he felt.”
The original storyboards for the couch gag are available to view on Banksy.blog, so you can see for yourself exactly what was changed before animation. The most notable change is the absence of the propaganda poster depicting Fox founder Rupert Murdoch. Al Jean claims that axing the jab toward Murdoch was the only non-negotiable point for the network, while he himself objected to the unicorn dying on camera.
Luckily, the episode eventually made it to air without any serious threats of cancellation, and Al Jean still works as a writer and producer on The Simpsons to this day. Still, it seems unlikely that Disney will allow any returning Banksy collabs of this sort in the near future.