The Simpsons has been going strong for 33 years and, thanks in part to showrunner Al Jean's ability to constantly reinvent the wheel, remains in the hearts and on the minds of American audiences. With the advent of streaming and Disney's acquisition of Fox, the long-running animated comedy series has also found a new way to entertain folks at home: shorts exclusively airing on Disney+.
"When Billie Met Lisa" is the next short on the docket, premiering April 22 on the streaming service. It follows in the footsteps of the Emmy-nominated "Maggie Simpson In: The Force Awakens From Its Nap" and the incredibly popular "The Good, the Bart, and the Loki." This time, of course, the sibling in the spotlight is Lisa Simpson (voiced by Yeardley Smith). In the course of finding the perfect spot to practice her sax, she runs into megastar Billie Eilish and unleashes a jam session heretofore unknown to humankind.
Jean spoke to Screen Rant about what inspired the crew to tackle "When Billie Met Lisa," how The Simpsons has stayed relevant for over three decades, and what it was like to work with Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas.
You have been working on The Simpsons from the moment of my birth, as a personal celebration of my existence. In that time, so much has changed in terms of animation and storytelling, yet The Simpsons still remains at the forefront of the cultural zeitgeist. How do you do it?
Al Jean: Well, I can give you an analogy. You're old as the Simpsons, but people never ask you, "When are you going to end?" We just keep going! We're having a lot of fun. This year has been one of the most exciting in the history of the show. The show's been great; we've been doing these Disney+ shorts; we did a 10-minute thing for Balenciaga.
With new avenues like streaming coming open, it gives us new ways to do stuff, which is really fun.
Speaking of the shorts, I even though they're literally called shorts, I had never expected them to be as short as they were and have so much story in them. Especially the animated stills in the credits, which tell a whole extra story. How much thought goes into them versus the actual short?
Al Jean: It's really funny, our first short was a Star Wars parody. So, we were really copying The Mandalorian, which has those beautiful painted stills from this episode from the episode. And then we were like, "That was the most popular part! Doing this call back to the previous three minutes."
For ["The Good, the Bart, and the Loki"], we had four different endings. And then we were just like, "We can't do it without these little end credits." Yeah, it's one of my favorite parts. And David Silverman, who directs everything and draws it, is the best. It's always really fun.
Whenever you say to him, "We want someone playing pool with Pinocchio's nose," he has the funniest way of doing it.
The previous shorts felt like they were building on each other, in terms of drawing from Disney canon, and now we have the reigning princess of pop coming into the fold. What inspired Billie Eilish as the subject of a short?
Al Jean: I was talking to Jim Brooks about what we should do next, and he goes, "You know, it'd be great to do something with Billie Eilish." I'd seen her on Saturday Night Live, and I thought that besides being a terrific singer, she's also really funny. It'd be like a perfect match, so we checked with Disney+.
She's number one - or one of the number ones, since they have a lot of great stars. They have Happier Than Ever on Disney+, so they helped arrange it. It was fantastic; not a hitch. She was a pleasure, and Finneas was a pleasure. She was super funny, and she improvised the last scene before the credits with Yeardley. It was all great.
Would you say that Billie and Finneas have a future in voice acting if somehow music stops working out?
Al Jean: Yes! Her talent and success is unrivaled since Mozart. Can you really make that statement about someone? I know it's a joke, but it's really true.
We recorded with her, and that week, it's like, "What else has been going on?" She got nominated for an Oscar, and she met the president. We were the third thing. We're like, "Well, happy to be number three."
I relate to Lisa on a spiritual level in this short, for I too find it impossible to get a quiet spot anywhere in a house full of people. Except, for me, it's to do interviews and to not play my sax. Have you found yourself in her predicament during these pandemic times?
Al Jean: I've been blessed that I've worked a lot alone in my office, which is behind me. It's just so much easier. There's noise; what everybody's doing in residential places now is reconstruction of their houses, so there's jackhammers all day. And the dogs don't like the jackhammers, so it's much easier to do it here.
We still don't know when we're going back in person; meetings are still on Zoom. Every time we get close, something comes up where we're not quite sure what to do. So, we've been erring on the side of caution since March 2020.
I mean, it's been working out for you so far.
Al Jean: Yeah, we haven't missed a minute.
You've been getting to dig in Disney's backyard a lot with all these Disney+ shorts. What has been the most exciting or most surprising cameo that you've gotten to include?
Al Jean: On a personal level, the most exciting thing for me was that they wanted stills for the Loki short, and I remembered Loki was on the cover of Avengers #1. So, David Silverman did a mock-up of that great Jack Kirby cover. I was like, "Oh my God!" Personally, for me, it was huge. Jack Kirby is just the best, and I'm such a fan of his work.
And everything Star Wars. It's all been fantastic. Goofy! It was all good.
I love the little parallel, or the moment between Bart and Finneas, where Bart's like, "How can a brother be like this?"
Al Jean: I still don't [know]! Obviously, he's super talented in his own right, and they're quite a team. They were very great together.
It's ironic, my daughter went to a concert and actually met Finneas a week ago. She didn't say, "My dad works on The Simpsons," but he was super nice. So, it's really just been great.
Hopefully we have more shorts in store, but there are there any other unexplored avenues of Disney/Simpson crossovers you would like to go down?
Al Jean: We've got more we're working on. It hasn't been cleared yet, so I can't say what it is. But it's just been pointed out to me that the first one was Maggie and BB-8, and then it was Bart and Loki.
So, we have another Simpsons character we haven't seen yet with another Disney character that we think will be really fun.
I thought it was really nicely timed that we recently had a Bleeding Gums Murphy episode, which ties to Lisa's love of the sax. A writer at Screen Rant is fixated on this, but Kevin Michael Richardson voices Bleeding Gums Murphy -
Al Jean: Yes, he does, after the late Ron Taylor passed.
And he also voices Dr. Hibbert, his long-lost brother, who shared a scene with him. Was that an intentional choice?
Al Jean: The only thing was people said we should have there be a comment that they're voiced by the same actor. But in the show, they're human beings. [laughs] They don't know who voices them.
"Are we the same person?" "You remind me of myself."
Al Jean: The reception we got on that episode was excellent, but there was one comment I read where somebody goes, "I'm so sick of Bleeding Gums Murphy episodes." We've had three in 30 years! You're sick already?
He's so iconic that people think that he's been around more.
Al Jean: [He's been around] very little. And sadly, not enough with Ron. But Kevin is the best. He does so many great voices for us and has been doing them for about 12 years. Super funny and super nice guy.
Finally, what can you tease for the remainder of The Simpsons season 33?
Al Jean: Hugh Jackman is coming in the season finale, which is super exciting. And Kerry Washington is on this Sunday's episode, which is just as equally exciting.
Starting Sunday of this week, right after the short premieres Friday, there's a bunch of new Simpsons in a row. It's very, very cool.
The Simpsons: When Billie Met Lisa Synopsis
While searching for a quiet place to practice her saxophone, Lisa Simpson is discovered by GRAMMY® Award-winning and chart-topping artists Billie Eilish and FINNEAS. Billie invites Lisa to her studio for a special jam session she’ll never forget.
"When Billie Met Lisa" will be streaming April 22 on Disney+ and new episodes of The Simpsons season 33 air Sundays at 8pm ET/PT on FOX.