The Simpsons has gone through many changes in 30 years, and one mistake in the opening sequence remained for two decades. The Simpsons began as a series of animated shorts for The Tracey Ullman Show in 1987, and after three seasons, it was developed into a half-hour prime time show. The Simpsons as the world now knows it officially premiered on December 17, 1989, with the episode “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire” (also known as “The Simpsons Christmas Special”).
Since then, the Simpsons have gone through all types of adventures, ups and downs, and along with other notable citizens of Springfield, they have become part of pop culture. The Simpsons has also brought Halloween specials that have become classics, and its opening sequence has also become quite famous. The series’ intro has gone through two major revisions: the first one in the early 1990s, when the sequence was reanimated for the second season, and again in 2009 when it was changed completely, with new scenes, more characters, and new jokes. The sequence has also had some special versions, like the one featuring Ke$ha’s “Tik Tok” and the one directed by Guillermo del Toro.
While the first revision of The Simpsons' opening sequence added more details and some scenes were replaced, it stayed pretty much the same from season 1 up to season 20, but one thing animators didn’t change in all those years was a continuity mistake at the Simpsons’ house.
The Simpsons’ Original Opening Sequence Continuity Error
The continuity mistake in The Simpsons' first opening sequence is a minor one and it happens quickly enough to be missed (especially if you’re focusing on what’s happening to the characters). This inconsistent detail can be found in the Simpsons’ garage, when Homer arrives from the Nuclear Power Plant and stops right in front of the garage while it opens. Bart then jumps on the car and an angry Homer comes out ready to say some not-so-nice words to his son. When the garage door opens, a couple of boxes and a bike (along with some tools and a rake added in the reanimated version) can be found on the right side. However, when Marge arrives and Homer runs inside, the bike and everything else turn into two boxes.
The reason for this error is reused assets. In the original season 1 opening, the boxes were present in both the wide shot and the car POV shot. However, for season 2 onwards, the wide shot was changed but the car shot kept, leading to a discrepancy.
Among the many changes in the new version of The Simpsons’ opening sequence is this mistake. The garage is now cleaner and more organized, with new objects, no bike and no rake, and when Homer is now hit by Marge’s car, all objects are in accordance with the first shot. Of course, this isn’t the only continuity mistake in The Simpsons (three decades and no errors just doesn’t seem right), but it’s definitely the one that has lasted the longest, and probably one that not many fans caught on their own, even after rewatching the series for years. Ultimately, it’s not a detail that messes with the characters’ arcs, as do many others, and it’s just an animation mistake.