Homer’s Appearance on ‘Bob’s Burgers’ Broke Two of ‘The Simpsons’ Biggest Animation Rules
When Homer Simpson zapped into Bob’s Burgers back in Season 30, he lost more than his bearings. He lost a few elements of his signature Simpsons animation style as well.
During a rewatch of the long-running series, a fan noticed that Homer’s odd angles and movements made him look more Belcher than Simpson during the couch gag in “My Way or the Highway to Heaven.”
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“You can tell Homer was animated by a guest because his head is drawn in directions other than three-quarter left and three-quarter right,” they observed while watching Homer experience the restaurant-closing chaos in Bob’s Burgers’ original title sequence.
Front-on angles aren’t completely banned in the Simpsons’ universe. We’ve occasionally seen the characters head-on, but these sightings are as few and far between as one of Abe Simpson’s stories actually making sense. In fact, the angles are so jarring that several Reddit threads have cropped up about just how strange and stoned Springfield’s residents look when not at their typical three-quarters view.
“Man is given fluidity he never saw since the movie,” one fan joked. Another speculated about who animated the segment, theorizing, “I feel like they got the Bento Box team cuz they do Bob’s Burgers animation, this is the type of fluid stuff they do.”
Homer does look weird and bendy, like he’d be more at home on the Wharf with Bob than with Lenny and Carl at Moe’s Tavern. But as another fan pointed out, this variation serves as an uncanny visual reminder of the show’s early ‘90s prime.
“I don’t mind modern Simpsons’ current animation, but the earlier seasons with the more fluid motions with the characters was truly something special,” they wrote alongside a GIF of Homer frantically reaching for a booby-trapped Butterfinger candy bar in an early commercial.
Maybe it’s better then to think of this not as a violation of the show’s contemporary animation style, but as a nice blast from the past.
