'The Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror XXXV Opening Roars Online
'The Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror XXXV Opening Roars Online
Get a look at 'El Tigre' creator Jorge R. Gutierrez’s special intro for the Halloween festivities
Well, The Simpsons has officially aired all three of its October episodes, largely unimpeded because of how much FS1 has taken on the pre-World Series rounds of the Major League Baseball playoffs. Even if the New York Yankees had taken the Los Angeles Dodgers to seven games, that deciding game would have been played tomorrow, November 2. But now that we’re past Halloween, the show’s own two weeks of festivities can begin, starting with “Treehouse of Horror XXXV”, as promised at San Diego Comic-Con, following the villain-filled “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” short.
The opening sequence animated by El Tigre creator and The Book of Life director Jorge R. Gutierrez has been released, showing how much of his signature style he put into Los Simpsons. It includes a version of the Jarabe Tapatío with Día de los Muertos and “ libre-style” imagery. Día de los Muertos happens on the two days following Halloween so while it’s not an exact landing, it’s still closer. Kearney, Jimbo and Dolph watch Bart and Otto rock out, Lisa and Marge fight Snake, Bart KOs Spidery Krusty, a Maggie-operated Homer going after a Smithers-led Burns, Ralph, Milhouse and Nelson are chased by chainsaw-wielding Itchy and Scratchy, while Bumblebee Man and Sideshow Bob duke it out in front of Comic Book Guy, Santa’s Little Helper, Barney, Moe, Sideshow Mel, Kent Brockman, Mayor Quimby and Devil Flanders. There’s even cameos by La Catrina and Xibalba from The Book of Life as Kang and Kodos are revealed to be playing Los Simpsons Fighter! for “El Treehouse de Horror XXXV”.
“I’ve been a huge Simpsons fan ever since Bart first appeared in my beloved Tijuana in the classic “Kamp Krusty” episode,” Gutierrez said. “I’m forever grateful to [executive producer] Matt Selman and [creator] Matt Groening for giving me the honor to direct my own passionate (and bloody!) animated love letter to the show that inspired me to dream of making cartoons one day. Now, I can die with a huge smile on my face. ¡VIVA LOS SIMPSONS!”
Composer Juan Carlos Enriquez explained the use of the music of “El Jarabe Tapatío”, commonly known as the Mexican Hat Dance, originated in Guadalajara, Mexico, which he noted as his hometown, in the 19th century. He gives it a modern twist calling it a “punk/rock version” blended with some “vibrant corrido-style brass lines,” he said. He also revealed that it was he Jorge, and producer Tim Yoon who sang it in Spanish, describing it “like a Mexican bolero trio at an old cantina.” He added that what he loves about working with Jorge is that “he has a very clear vision and entrusts you with a musical challenge that usually involves putting together a unique colorful blend of elements, but then gives you complete creative freedom during the production process and encourages you to experiment and make it your own.”
The logline describes this episode’s logline: “Giant monsters created by political rage threaten to tear the town apart, a Victorian Mr. Burns is jump-scared on Thanksgiving by the ghosts of his abused workers, and Homer bonds with a pair of extra-terrestrial jeans in an unforgettable stop-motion adventure”, the last describing the Venom parody and boy, do the promo images give a good look at all of it, including the stop-motion symbiote done by Stoopid Buddy Studios. The political rage monsters are overtly blue and red because of course, and it seems to lean heavily on Pacific Rim. Chief Wiggum seems to be playing one of the ghosts of the abused workers.
Unfortunately official uploads of this year’s Treehouse intro don’t exist yet in an embeddable way, and the same for the episode’s on-air promo (shorts don’t work at all), because it’s all Twitter (for all of the above) or Variety’s native player (the former) and no official YouTube, so here’s all the promotional images and an unauthorized upload. If I was able to get high quality screenshots of the intro for the head image, I would have “Treehouse of Horror XXXV” airs Sunday on Fox, while a second spooky anthology episode, “Treehouse of Horror Presents: Simpsons Wicked This Way Comes” airs on November 24.
