Matt Groening, arguably the best TV animator of all time, grew visibly emotional receiving the Honorary Cristal Award at as we speak’s Annecy Worldwide Animation Movie Competition, which he labeled the “greatest competition on the earth, animation or in any other case.”
Receiving the gong in entrance of a packed home, he paid tribute to the “gods and goddesses” within the viewers, who “fill the universe with loopy characters who do what you inform them to do.”
“You possibly can have them be courageous however isn’t it extra enjoyable to have Homer fall off a cliff?,” he mentioned. “We torment our characters and have enjoyable with them.”
Groening was emotional as he thanked his household and reminded the viewers that the principle characters in The Simpsons are famously named after his father and mom, Homer and Marge, his sisters, Lisa and Maggie, and his grandfather, Abe.
Is Bart named after Groening? “I’ll allow you to into a bit secret…. Je suis Milhouse,” joked Groening, in reference to Bart’s loveable, dorky greatest good friend.
After watching a brand new ep of The Simpsons, the viewers had been handled to a masterclass from Groening, animator David Silverman and writer-producer Matt Selman.
Throughout this session, Groening revealed the true factor that has motivated him to return to The Simpsons in any case these years.
“We don’t take into consideration being accountable however our predominant motivation is to shock ourselves,” he mentioned to applause. “If we shock ourselves then we expect we are able to shock the viewers.”
The key to the 36-year-old animation stalwart’s 800-episode longevity isn’t to be lazy and hold layering the humor, he added.
“Because it goes on we change into identified for various sorts of jokes,” added Groening. “We now have parodies of cinema and references to books, TV exhibits and private autobiographical anecdotes. The sum complete of the present is that contribution of everybody concerned.”
Within the subsequent season of The Simpsons, there will likely be an ode to well-known American cartoonist Jules Feiffer and Groening quoted Feiffer when referencing The Simpsons’ long-lasting success: “Jules mentioned with each advance in know-how comes decline in high quality. So we have now tried to take care of that hand drawn high quality.”
He additionally confronted questions over the present’s odd knack for predicting real-life occasions, together with an episode during which Lisa references a President Donald Trump years earlier than he grew to become POTUS.
“All of the conspiracy theories are true,” joked Groening, who pretended that the artistic crew pulls its predictions out of a Marge Simpson-shaped wig that his crew had introduced on stage.
Groening and the crew then proceeded to tug out a set of joke predictions together with that the “Statue of Liberty will likely be returned to France when nobody in America can keep in mind what the phrase ‘liberty’ means,” and “electrical automobiles will use a brand new vitality supply powered by a hatred of Elon Musk.”
By way of the recommendation he’d give future animators, Groening first mentioned “don’t let your mother throw away your comedian e-book assortment once you go away Excessive Faculty,” and secondly grew to become emotional as soon as extra as he urged the group of younger animators: “No matter you’re engaged on, end it. The world is filled with half-finished items of animation, so end it and get it on the market.”
Groening was talking on the second day of the Annecy Worldwide Animation Movie Competition, which is being attended by all the massive American studios. Groening labeled Annecy “the very best competition on the earth, animation or in any other case.”
