Acclaimed animator, illustrator and director Jorge R. Gutiérrez (Maya and the Three, The Book of Life, El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera) has shared his character designs for the many monsterfied Springfield citizens seen in his Día de los Muertos / arcade fighting game-inspired “Los Simpsons” intro for the recent “Treehouse of Horror XXXV” episode of The Simpsons, which premiered on FOX Sunday (Nov. 3).
The BTS imagery was shared to Gutiérrez’s Facebook page @jorge.r.gutierrez.
The characters spotlighted include the Simpsons family, Krusty the Clown, Mr. Burns & Smithers, Bumblebee Man, Otto, Snake, Sideshow Bob, Itchy & Scratchy and more Matt Groening creations, re-imagined with Gutiérrez’s signature Mexican folk art-fueled flare. The intro also includes cameos by La Muerta and Xibalba from his animated feature film, The Book of Life (2014).
Gus Cosío (The Casagrandes Movie, My Dad the Bounty Hunter, The Great Wolf Pack, Kid Cosmic, Maya and the Three), who was the intro’s storyboard artist, also shared an animatic. The production team also included producer Tim Yoon, editor Myra Lopez, background design & paint by Roman Laney, character animator Richard Plata and composer Juan Carlos Enriquez. Guadalajara-based Mighty Animation provided ink & paint and compositing services.
You can watch the full “Los Simpsons” opener to The Simpsons “Treehouse of Horror XXV” below. The episode is now available to stream on Hulu. A second horror-themed anthology, “Simpsons Wicked This Way Comes,” premieres on FOX this Sunday, November 9 (next day on Hulu).
