The Simpsons Producer Reveals New Treehouse of Horror Plans

During a recent episode of The Simpsons, Homer underwent an unexpected transformation into a hippopotamus. The change made sense within the plot of the episode.

Written by Dan Vebber, the season 38 premiere of The Simpsons is titled “The Children’s Book Job.” The story follows reclusive children’s book author Constance Clavinger, voiced by Emma Thompson, as she arrives at Springfield Elementary to debut her new book. Homer receives the task of picking her up from the airport. He discovers that she plans to kill off her iconic character, The Plucky Little Goat, and tries to stop her. The encounter results in a car crash. A severely concussed Homer then imagines himself as a hippopotamus resembling a character from Peppa Pig while traveling through settings inspired by various children’s books. The sequence lasts less than a minute and includes references to celebrated authors such as Eric Carle, who wrote The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and Richard Scarry, creator of the Busytown series.

The Simpsons co-producer Mike Price spoke with Polygon to discuss the creation of that sequence and what viewers can expect from the rest of season 38.

Mike Price on the Season Premiere

Dan Vebber wrote the script and brought the initial idea to the production team. Mike Price joined him to co-run the episode. As they developed the story, they envisioned a plot where Homer picks up the author and she behaves erratically, drawing inspiration from the movie Get Him to the Greek. Matthew Nastuk directed the episode. The genesis of the show centered around the sequence where Homer enters various children’s books, and the team built the entire episode leading up to that moment.

Dan Vebber loves illustrators and children’s books. Mike Price shared memories of reading books by Richard Scarry and Eric Carle to his son when he was little. Dan Vebber introduced other titles to the writers, including Iggy Peck, Architect, Make Way for Ducklings, and Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus. The sequence was originally longer, but the team trimmed it down while shouting out several references, such as Moe as the Stinky Cheese Man and Skinner as Captain Underpants.

Upcoming Episodes and Treehouse of Horror

The upcoming “Treehouse of Horror” episode features elements inspired by The Nightmare Before Christmas. For the opening sequence, the team hired Stoopid Buddy Stoodios to create a stop-motion recreation of the characters styled like the figures in The Nightmare Before Christmas. The episode contains three different stories with scary and gory moments.

The production team does not approach a season with a specific overarching theme because every episode is unique. Showrunner Matt Selman encourages the writing staff to take risks and produce stories known as format breakers. Several of those episodes are scheduled to air alongside regular episodes.

Writer Cesar Mazariegos penned an episode where Moe undergoes a sleep study, and his dreams infiltrate the dreams of everyone else in town. The story draws inspiration from the Nicolas Cage movie Dream Scenario and pays homage to Nora Ephron romantic comedies of the 1980s, such as Sleepless in Seattle and When Harry Met Sally. Meg Ryan guest-stars in that episode.

The second episode of the season features the Simpson family adopting a chimpanzee from a sanctuary for retired showbiz animals. Homer grows worried after learning about the tendency of chimpanzees to attack human faces and crotches. Brian Kelley also wrote a Krusty the Clown episode centered on a disaster at Krustyland.

Returning Characters

Fat Tony takes center stage in an upcoming episode involving a new scam where he works as a production consultant on a movie styled after The Godfather. Owen Wilson guest-stars in the episode alongside Joe Mantegna, who voices Fat Tony.

Source: Polygon