Sometimes the uncanny can be fun, and even hilarious. “Weird Simpsons VHS” by Yoann Hervo hits all the marks. This recent work takes the familiar opening from The Simpsons and, according to Art of the Title, turns it into “something that is at once bizarre, funny, and deeply unpleasant.” One of America’s favorite cartoon families has been turned on its head, but just enough that it leaves us feeling a bit icky inside.
Bits of this animation feel like a fever dream, with characters appearing and disappearing where you wouldn’t expect (take Lisa appearing the grocery store with her sax before the animation follows her into the band room at school, or where Bart promptly slips out of Homer’s mouth). The insert of the baby is also a delightful throwback to the old days of VHS recording where a break between recordings would reveal a trace of something previously recorded.