Guillermo Del Toro, screenwriter and director who was the creative mind behind Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy, The Devil’s Backbone and Pacific Rim, is trying a hand at animation this fall, where he will design the 2-minute-45-second opening sequence to this year’s The Simpsons’ Halloween episode.<\/p>\n
Like Us on Facebook<\/p>\n
“Treehouse of Horror XXIV,” which will air this Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox, puts Toro’s film knowledge to work as he resurrects creatures his own films, Stephen King and Hitchcock classics, and implements different gems from the horror cannon.<\/p>\n
Toro abandoned the “couch gag” routine, and went for gore, spookiness and authentic horror; and aside from taking inspiration from horror legends, he also employed elements from B-movie horror films, using that hapless comedy to create a correlation between fear and comedy.<\/p>\n
“I really wanted to land the connections between the [show’s] set pieces and the titles and some of the most iconic horror movies, and intersperse them with some of my stuff in there for pure joy,” he said to Entertainment Weekly.<\/p>\n
The delightfully graphic sequence is intended to be scary, said Del Toro. So happy with his creation and his experience, he’s stated that he would love to collaborate with the Fox comedy again in the future.<\/p>\n
The Simpsons, now in its 25th season, has presented the Treehouse of Horror episodes annually in anticipation of Halloween. The episodes usually begin with a brief, dark opening sequence before going into three disconnected segments that tend to be set outside of The Simpsons’ normal settings, with the intention of appearing surreal. Twenty-three Treehouse of Horror episodes have aired to date; and a key Treehouse of Horror indicator is the names of the show’s producers, animators and directors shown as scary alternative names throughout the credits.<\/p>\n
The Treehouse of Horror episodes are usually received well by critics and audiences, and have been nominated several times for Primetime Emmy Awards.