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This 'Simpsons' Writer Is Sharing Secrets And Little-Known Facts About The Show
"The Simpsons" (AKA, the greatest animated show ever made) has been running since 1989 — but fans have never stopped seeking out, and relishing, the stories behind the cartoon's most ingenious characters, puzzling references and perfect one-liners. Luckily for us, Josh Weinstein — who was a writer, showrunner, executive producer, consulting producer, supervising producer and story editor for "The Simpsons" — has been treating Twitter to just that.
Without further ado, here are some of the best "Simpsons" secrets and little-known facts Weinstein has shared about the making of the show.
Why Milhouse eats Vaseline on toast:
This line is based on a kid I knew who got on schoolbus every morning with a piece of toast with Vaseline on it. And ate it. Apparently inventor of Vaseline recommended eating this in 1870s. Maybe he was just trying to move unsold Vaseline
— Josh Weinstein (@Joshstrangehill) January 3, 2023
And now you know the rest of the story https://t.co/5JBQwHeNp6
Smashing Pumpkins replaced Courtney Love:
In the earliest stages of this episode, it was "Courtney Love"/"Homer like" but we got Smashing Pumpkins instead and the rest is now-it's-an-even-better-line history. https://t.co/PCmvV6Psl1
— Josh Weinstein (@Joshstrangehill) January 25, 2022
The origins of Uncle Moe's motto:
This motto for Uncle Moe's was approved by us after like an hour of trying to come up with a better, funnier one and giving up and pulling a "Yeah, you know, it's good." https://t.co/qrXTR3xkTu
— Josh Weinstein (@Joshstrangehill) February 5, 2023
Where 'I says to Mabel' comes from:
Story behind "I says to Mabel"
— Josh Weinstein (@Joshstrangehill) February 19, 2023
Homer story in Chili ep was so full we had no room for kids B story
So when Homer asks them where Marge is, they have nothing going on. What they're doing that moment had to be 100% freestanding
Hence, Mabel
What's your fav random Simpsons line? pic.twitter.com/J5KDTG6YXj
And to be clear, because people have asked about this often, the Mabel line does not reference anything, it never appeared in a book or movie or anything. As far as I know, it is totally freestanding in the human timeline. pic.twitter.com/nCGnIW6PhI
— Josh Weinstein (@Joshstrangehill) February 19, 2023
Avoiding censorship:
Making it "Buttho- Surfers" is the only way the censor would let us have the band's name on Todd's shirt.
— Josh Weinstein (@Joshstrangehill) January 29, 2022
(Though a clever animator may have gotten away with the "L" in the wide shot, see below) https://t.co/jkqFGmIrOw
The world's most boring video game:
(And Lee Carvallo does not exist.)
Lots of love for Lee Carvallo's Putting Challenge. A rare Simpsons scene like Planet of Apes musical written in the room in like an hour.
— Josh Weinstein (@Joshstrangehill) January 14, 2023
Come up w/a delightfully simple idea (world's most boring/crummy golf video game) and lines come tumbling like golf balls into a parking lot. pic.twitter.com/Vhu7Z4miVV
An animation mishap that wasn't intentional:
Fun Simpsons discussion
— Josh Weinstein (@Joshstrangehill) January 2, 2023
People think we intentionally miscolored these shots as meta-joke about cruddy animation. We didn't. They're real mistakes
And a great example of seeing extra jokes/references we didn't intend
Got any more examples/questions if something IS a reference? pic.twitter.com/9mmHS1ieLw
Cut scenes where Homer roleplays as Poochie and Lenny gets scouted by the New York Yankees:
Hey, kids! (BIG KRUSTY LAUGH)
— Josh Weinstein (@Joshstrangehill) February 10, 2023
It's the 26th anniversary of the Poochie episode! (BIG KRUSTY GROAN)
Here are 3 pages from David Cohen's hilarious outline we had to cut for time and also we thought Lenny probably shouldn't leave Springfield to play for the NY Yankees.
It begins… https://t.co/YzVus7Of63 pic.twitter.com/STWc0DnbiB
The inspiration for 'Sideshow Bob Roberts':
I grew up in Washington, D.C., @thatbilloakley in Maryland, in the 70's and we were totally obsessed with Watergate. This ep was our chance to get it all out.
— Josh Weinstein (@Joshstrangehill) October 9, 2022
Many shots were based on "All the President's Men" (Strongly recommend that movie if you've never seen it.)
Thread 1/5 https://t.co/LhiDcBfIm6
— Josh Weinstein (@Joshstrangehill) October 9, 2022
We even asked the animators to match the freaking parking garage pic.twitter.com/StCf73hu2c
— Josh Weinstein (@Joshstrangehill) October 9, 2022
The background kids of Springfield:
(Click the tweet to see the whole thread on these lesser-known little guys.)
A 🧵about the lesser known kids in Springfield who've been around since Simpsons began
— Josh Weinstein (@Joshstrangehill) January 19, 2023
We always liked her too but as far as I can tell, she's never had a name. At least in early Simpsons Design Guide circa 1990, she didn't (while others did)
See Bart's Class Seating Chart
1/2 https://t.co/pUhdz3DAFH pic.twitter.com/SX7I8U09dp
People thinking he and Bill Oakley had died:
When these credits first aired, I believe we got a call from our high school alumni office verifying that we had not, in fact, died.
— Josh Weinstein (@Joshstrangehill) October 31, 2022
Happy Halloween, everybody! pic.twitter.com/pZLriQjuHd
