34 seasons, a feature film and numerous short films. This is the Simpsons’ tally to date. At the start of a new short film featuring Andrea Bocelli and his family, we had showrunner Al Jean in a detailed one-on-one interview. A colorful bouquet of topics was discussed. From working on shorts to favorite episodes, crossovers and the future of series on TV and Disney+.
The Simpsons shorts are available from Thursday, December 15, as Disney+ celebrated “The Simpsons meet the Bocellis in Feliz Navidad‘ its world premiere.
In the short, Homer surprises Marge with the latest gift: an unforgettable performance by Italian opera superstar Andrea Bocelli with his 25-year-old son Matteo and 10-year-old daughter Virginia.
Fittingly, the new single “Happy Christmas‘ by Andrea, Matteo and Virginia Bocelli, which is part of the new album ‘A family Christmas” and.
We had the chance to meet with showrunner and executive producer Al Jean about the new project and the “simpsons‘-interrogating the story as a whole. The life”simpsons“-Fan Adam Arndt insisted on diving very deep into the world of “simpsons‘, allowing Jean to divulge some details on topics such as production time, crossover, episode start, first shorts or favorite episodes. The question of the series’ future on FOX or Disney+ has also been raised. So how long will the yellow slobs of Springfield be with us? Enjoy reading the detailed interview.
Serialjunkies.de: This interview is a dream come true for me, because I’ve been a big fan of the “Simpsons” since they race here in Germany, so over 30 years. I had previously spoken to David X. Cohen of Futurama and Josh Weinstein of Disenchantment and now finally Al Jean of The Simpsons.
Al Jean: The Triple Crown for Nerds! (laughs)
Exactly! Can you briefly clarify for our readers what your current position is in the series and how long you’ve been working on it?
I’m an executive producer. I’ve been here for 33 years. I’m a showrunner and supervise short films for Disney+. And I’m happy because we made a short film with the Bocelli family (“The Simpsons meet the Bocellis in Feliz Navidad“, streaming from December 12 – ed.). So with Andrea Bocelli and his son and daughter who “The Simpsons” to get to know. It is very sweet and sweet because they sing Feliz Navidad.
Also interesting from the interview archive of SERIENJUNKIES.DE®:
Futurama: Interview with David X. Cohen
Disenchantment: Interview with showrunner Josh Weinstein
The Simpsons: Interview with artist Phil Ortiz
How do you decide the themes of the short films? Because until now, these have often been pop culture references, corporate synergies or musician specials. How is the approximate topic chosen?
Often it’s about who or what from Disney+ that we get to work with. wonder„Star Wars‘ and then Billie Eilish had a concert on Disney+ and the Bocelli family is there too. We thought it would be a nice Christmas song for the fans. And with us Bart sings “I’m leaving with you‘ (partially aka ‘Time to say goodbye‘ – Ed), which is very funny.
How long does it take to work on a short film? I’ve already heard that a typical episode can take 10-12 months from conception to airing.
We started this short right after the last one. It was September. So it lasts about three months. There’s always some back and forth, but once we get the idea and decide where we want to go, whether it’s a Christmas movie or Homer Marge gets Andrea Bocelli as a Christmas surprise, and then Bart wants to open the his gift and do not pay attention to everything.
It’s a simple plot, but it took some time. Then we recorded our chaos and then the Bocellis in Italy so the song had to be mixed which I think is very sweet. Then we will throw some gags, perfect to wish everyone happy holidays.
Are there different teams for the shorts and seasons?
No, no separate teams. I’m working on both. There are people who are involved in both or write as writers for their respective seasons. David Silverman is the director of the short films. He is also a consultant on the series and has frequently directed it since its inception. It’s kind of like a side job. But I think short films are the content that more people watch than anything else (laughs). Precisely because they are short, this is a great advantage.
