The Simpsons and Banksy - Opening

The opening sequence for The Simpsons last night, by Banksy, proved that the show hasn't lost its edge.

From Entertainment Weekly:

The Simpsons has always been subversive, but last night, the animated show took that to a new level by airing a dark, extended opening title sequence—created by UK graffiti artist Banksy—that depicted Asian workers laboring over Simpsons animation and merchandise. The effect was rather stark and piercing: The first few 35 seconds of the sequence feature the near-usual credits, except for a few “Banksy” tags on prominent Springfield buildings, before rather unexpectedly veering into a depressing tour of overseas sweatshop facilities, where legions of workers slave over Simpsons animation stills, kill kittens to stuff Bart Simpson dolls, and even use a chained unicorn to punch out the center of Simpsons DVDs.

Apparently, the title sequence was a reaction to reports that the show outsources much of its animation to a company in South Korea. The BBC is reporting that the controversial credits caused delays behind the scenes because of disputes over broadcast standards and a threatened walk-out by the show’s animation department. The news organization even quoted Simpsons executive producer Al Jean as saying: “This is what you get when you outsource.”

What really makes the opening work is the juxtaposition of the Simpsons sitting on the couch as usual, bright and happy theme song playing, then to the nightmarish scenes of the sweatshop, and then back to the bright and happy.

Al Jean says it all: "This is what you get when you outsource."

Banksy's Bart at the chalkboard scene was a nice touch: "I must not write all over the walls."

Video.