We haven’t heard a heck of a lot from John Kricfalusi since he created The Ren & Stimpy Show, which is a darn shame because the idiosyncratic and often downright creepy style of that program is a visual delight. Still, Kricfalusi has popped up here and there over the years, including as a guest director of the couch gag for a 2011 episode of The Simpsons, “Bart Stops to Smell the Roosevelts.”
The grotesque animation style would be perfect for a “Treehouse of Horror” couch gag, so that’s exactly what Matt Groening enlisted the Ren & Stimpy creator to do this Halloween. Check out the Kricfalusi-directed couch gag for “Treehouse of Horror XXVI” above.
The clip mixes a few different art styles, but is ultimately in the Ren & Stimpy tradition. The brief narrative follows the resurrection of a Frankenstein-like Frank Grimes, Homer’s former enemy and co-worker at the power plant, who attempts to get revenge by eating the Simpson children, all to the tune of a “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch”-like song. Fittingly, the video is also reminiscent of the classic Betty Boop cartoon “Snow White”, specifically the scene where Cab Calloway sings “St. James Infirmary”.
This year’s “Treehouse of Horror,” the 579th episode of The Simpsons, airs on October 25 and will see Sideshow Bob actually killing Bart, but with a twist: He will also try to reanimate his deceased nemesis. Check out a poster depicting the scene below, via FOX:
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HT: Laughing Squid
Featured image courtesy of FOX
