Just a few episodes into its 36th season,The Simpsonshas dropped a short on Disney+ celebrating the advent of spooky season. Dubbed “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year”, the short is a parody of the beloved Christmas classic rewritten with a comic horror twist. Starring Kelsey Grammer as recurringSimpsonsvillain Sideshow Bob, the short also features villains from across Disney—and Disney-owned—franchises. If you’ve ever wanted to hear Darth Vader or Thanos sing, this is the short for you.
“The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” was co-written and produced by longtime franchise shepherd Al Jean. Jean is the longest-serving showrunner onThe Simpsonsand has been involved with the show in one capacity or another since the series debuted in 1989. Jean also co-wroteThe Simpsons Movieand recently shared an optimistic update about apotentialThe Simpsons Movie 2.
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Screen Rantinterviewed Jean about “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” andThe Simpsonsmoments past and present. Jean discussed writingMary Poppinssong parodies, the potential end of the long-running Sideshow Bob rake gag, and the special placeThe Simpsons’Treehouse of Horrorhas in viewers’ hearts. Jean also shared the message behind the show’s recent series finale fake-out.
Al Jean Details The Creation Of “The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year”
Sideshow Bob Was An Early Addition To The Short
Screen Rant: I loved this short because it combines two trademarks of the Simpsons, which, to me, are Halloween-themed episodes and song parodies. How did this idea come together? Did you have the song first and then build around it?
Al Jean: We didn’t want to do Christmas because there’s a double episode on Disney+ at Christmas. I wanted to do Halloween, and then I thought, “We could get Kelsey to do the short, which would be fantastic.” We wanted a song, and I thought, ‘[It’s the Most] Wonderful Time of The Year’ would be a fantastic Halloween song." And that was it. Once we had those three pieces, we went through it really fast. And David Silverman, the director, is just so great. Once you say, “Hey, let’s put all the Disney villains.” He does such a fantastic job of it.
There’s so much juggling to do because there are villains from all over Disney, you have Darth Vader and Thanos singing, and the Brothers Grimm line is classicSimpsons. How hard is it to make sure that you’re fitting everything in such a short amount of time?
Al Jean: The Brothers Grimm one was one where we were trying to think of an end. We pitched 20 lines, and that was one I thought would be good. Jim Brooks liked it, so I was like, “All right, now we’re going to make the short.” That was the key to getting it finished. And the goal is to just cram as many in as possible. We knew Agatha All Along was coming out, so we wanted to get Agatha in, which she is. And then the big ones—Loki, Thanos, Darth Vader—are all in it.
“I Was So Surprised”
To that—because Lisa is in the end credits ofAgatha All Along—
Al Jean: I was so surprised. I was watching the premiere—I didn’t know it was in. Somebody approved it, I’m sure, but that made me so happy. I like the show anyway, so I was watching it on my own, and then, “Hey, we’re in it! All right.”
Because Disney owns so much now, is there something else you would love to sneakThe Simpsonsinto if you got the chance?
Al Jean: All corners of the world. The biggest crazy thing for us [that] we’ve done is put Mickey in or have Goofy drinking a beer with Homer. They didn’t use to do that kind of stuff, but they’re more open to it now, and we’re just happy to roam around the world. People at Star Wars, Pixar, and Marvel have been fantastic about letting us use their characters, do stuff, and cross over.
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You mentioned Kelsey Grammer. I love Sideshow Bob, and Kelsey Grammer’s still eating that role up. It seems like he has so much fun.
Al Jean: He’s been doing it 35 years and, to my ears, sounds just the same as he did at the beginning—fantastic. [He’s] always a pleasure to work with, as he was on this. He couldn’t be better.
This is a special case, but this deep into the show, how hard is it to find ways to use characters like that that are still fun and new while still being [true to] what people know and love?
Al Jean: With Kelsey and Sideshow Bob, I know people really love the character. We’ve done maybe 20 episodes he’s been in, but we’re pretty sparing. That’s one every other season. I really don’t want to use him or do anything unless I really think it’s something cool and [that] we haven’t done before. And maybe this is the last time we’ll do a rake joke. We’ve done so many. Even I go, “Okay, maybe enough.”
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The Original Writer “Probably Could Have Sued Us”
I used to buy CDs of songs fromThe Simpsons. The songs are some of my favorite things from the show, and I know you’ve written your fair share of them. What, to you, is the thing that makes aSimpsonssong work?
Al Jean: One of the episodes Mike Reese and I wrote was the Mary Poppins one, and when we had Barney—Dan Castellaneta—singing the “Feed the Birds” song, that blew me away at the read. I heard that Richard Sherman (co-writer of theMary Poppinssong) thought it was a great episode, which is good because he probably could have sued us. But he loved it, and that really blew me away because I love the songs from Mary Poppins so much.
Do you have a favorite musical number from the run of the show?
Al Jean: I didn’t work on it at all, but the best one is probably the Planet of the Apes one. I mean, that line about Chimpan-A to Chimpan-Z is just fantastic.
Jean Embraces The Simpsons’ Status As A Halloween Institution
“It’s Like Charlie Brown”
This short really celebratesThe Simpsons’ special place in the Halloween season, which I feel like it’s always had thanks to “Treehouse of Horror”. As someone who’s been there from the beginning, are you surprised thatThe Simpsonsworks so well with that time of year?
Al Jean: What I remember is when my daughter was young, another parent was like, “We’ve got to get home to watch the new Simpsons Treehouse of Horror.” I thought, “Oh, it’s a thing. It’s like Charlie Brown used to be when I was a kid,” and that made me very happy.
The Simpsons Season 36 Premiere Was Meant To Prove The Show Will Continue
“We Wanted To Close Further Discussion Of It”
I would love to ask about the season 36 premiere.The Simpsonshas been around so long, and the episode felt to me like a response to the people going, “Is it ever going to end? Should it end? If it ends, what comes next?” Was there any sort of message you all were writing toward as you were putting it together?
Al Jean: That was exactly it. It was written by Jessica Conrad and produced by Matt Selman. The idea was we’ve been asked that question so many times [that] we wanted to close further discussion of it. It’s not coming to an end, as far as I know, and that’s why it was the premiere—so people wouldn’t think it was the last episode. And I thought we were able to make a lot of statements. A lot of statements were made in that show, that were very good, about last episodes.
So the message is, “Stop asking. We’re good.”
Al Jean: I also think people expect the last episode of a show to sort of answer all the mysteries of life. [With] The Sopranos, which I thought had a brilliant last episode, people were like, “Wait, what does it mean?” I go, “Well, it’s a show and I think he’s dead, but it’s not going to answer all your questions about life.” The fact that you’re not sure—that is what life is like.
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Getting Rid Of Someone Who “Hasn’t Been On The Show For 27 Years”
That episode also brought back, for a second, Bleeding Gums Murphy and some characters that were gone. Are there anySimpsonscharacters currently around that maybe were going to be killed off at some point?
Al Jean: We, this past week after the premiere, killed off Nick the Realtor from season nine in the “The Yellow Lotus” White Lotus parody. It’s kind of convenient because you have this thing like The White Lotus where you know someone’s going to die, but it’s not going to be Dr. Hibbert and it’s not going to be Sideshow Bob. So, it is a character—that guy Nick—but it’s also somebody that’s okay to lose because he hasn’t been on the show for 27 years.
About The Simpsons
The Simpsons is a long-running animated TV series created by Matt Groening that satirically follows a working-class family in the misfit city of Springfield. Homer, a bit of a schmoe who works at a nuclear power plant, is the provider for his family, while his wife, Marge, tries to keep sanity and reason in the house to the best of her ability. Bart is a born troublemaker, and Lisa is his super-intelligent sister who finds herself surrounded by people who can’t understand her. Finally, Maggie is the mysterious baby who acts as a deus ex machina when the series calls for it. This series first premiered in 1989 and has been a staple of Fox’s programming schedule ever since!
The Simpsons’ “The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year” short is streaming now on Disney+.
The Simpsons
Cast
The Simpsons is an animated series set in the fictional town of Springfield, following the daily lives of the Simpson family—Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. Premiering in 1989, the show is renowned for its satirical commentary on politics, media, and American culture, featuring numerous celebrity guest appearances.
