The semi-annual tradition of another animator taking on The Simpsons’ infamous opening “couch gag†has had some rather interesting entries over the years: Banksy’s elegy to the Korean animation assembly lines slash sweatshops that create the Simpsons’ show and merch, for example; the Family Guy one; and Oscar-nominated animator Don Hertzfeldt’s inspired, and bonkers time-traveling take (“Still love you, Homarâ€). That tradition continues in the new season, with a gag that takes Homar, er … sorry, Homer, off the couch and in search of the family’s missing sailboat painting. This take, courtesy of Seth Green’s Robot Chicken, bears that show’s penchant for sketch-length, stop-motion-inspired vignette comedy that frequently takes gentle, bro-y, sarcastic stabs at popular culture.
Homer’s search for the missing painting first takes him through what is clearly a slam on South Park. “Is this a TV show, or did I walk into a third grade shoebox diorama,†asks Homer (he has not seen the now-computer-animated South Park in about ten years, it sounds like). Homer then laughs off the foul-mouthed children before him, commits raisin murder (long story, just watch), and rescues the painting from a nerd who was excited to get such primo Simpsons memorabilia and yet is somehow not excited that the Homer Simpson stands before him. Watch the gag above, and The Simpsons itself, for two more seasons at least (and 10,000 more, if Hertzfeldt has anything to say on the matter).
