Something went viral on social media over the last week, and I kind of hate it.
The video is a faux trailer for a “live-action” movie adaptation of The Simpsons, featuring a succession of famous actors as the main Simpsons characters.
Amongst those at play are Adam Sandler as Homer Simpson, and Kristen Wiig as Marge. Jacob Tremblay “plays” Bart, McKenna Grace portrays Lisa, and Will Ferrell stands in for Ned Flanders.
Steve Buscemi plays C. Montgomery Burns, Neil Patrick Harris as Smithers, Ben Stiller as Moe, and John C. Reilly as Barney. Steve Carell is Principal Skinner, Zach Galifianakis is Chief Wiggum, and Kumail Nanjiani is Apu.
I hate quite a few things about this.
For one, it’s not real, although many people on social media seem to believe otherwise. It uses AI technology (not very well), while leeching the likenesses of a dozen famous people without their participation or consent.
The video, per Snopes, comes from a YouTube channel called The Multiverse of AI.
Also, nothing funny happens. The “trailer” is wildly at odds with what The Simpsons is — from its tone to its visual style — and why it is appealing and funny.
It’s also kind of insulting to Adam Sandler.
In short, there are many reasons to hate that fake trailer.
It’s Fake
With the collapse of content moderation on social media, especially Facebook and X (the former Twitter), there are fewer guardrails regarding what’s true and not true.
This problem is often pointed out regarding politics and other matters of national import. However, truth standards have also collapsed regarding things with lower stakes, like entertainment news.
All the time, there are “viral” posts on social media about supposed sequels and other movie projects that just plain aren’t real. That was true even before we got to the fake Simpsons trailer.
Various news sites, meanwhile, haven’t helped matters by calling it a “concept trailer” in the latter part of a headline. In some cases, they have been coy over whether the trailer is real.
Among other issues, the video is not structured like a movie trailer. There’s no comedy for one thing, and for another, nobody speaks.
In recent months, a viral poster has appeared for Heisenberg, a bogus Breaking Bad sequel from AMC Films.
This was apparently created by someone who forgot that Walter White died at the end of that show and that there was already a Breaking Bad sequel movie on Netflix called El Camino in 2019.
There was also Fred, an alleged Freddy Krueger origin series starring DJ Qualls and developed by Rob Zombie.
That’s to say nothing about the constellation of Facebook pages, constantly publishing “satire” about members of The View being fired, Mel Gibson, Mark Wahlberg, and other actors forming an “anti-woke production company” or other such lies.
AI is Bad
Another reason The Simpsons trailer is terrible is that it uses artificial intelligence. And it’s bad for all the reasons AI is usually bad.
First, there are the moral and intellectual property dimensions. Neither Adam Sandler nor any of the other actors agreed to have their likenesses used in this video, nor did the creators of The Simpsons.
For all the impressions it got online, this video may have made money. But none of the people in it saw a dime of it.
Also, the AI renderings are terrible. “John C. Reilly” looks more like Jack Black than Reilly. Generative AI might one day be more realistic, but we’re clearly not there yet.
It Doesn’t Understand The Simpsons
The video isn’t in any way in the style of The Simpsons. The characters, for one thing, aren’t even yellow. Nor does it have any particular understanding of the show’s specific cadences and humor.
Over its long history, which began in 1989 and with shorts that go back even further, The Simpsons has been a massive feat of world-building, with hundreds of characters and unbelievably deep lore.
For much of its history, the show has been written by writers who grew up watching and loving it.
Also, the show’s animation is an inseparable aspect of its nature.
Telling its stories in live-action makes no sense at all. Plus, the fake trailer doesn’t take any opportunities to be funny — or, for that matter, have the characters speak.
The Simpsons has aired 35 seasons to date, starting in 1989. But it doesn’t appear the creators of the video know anything about the show, aside from vague understandings of the characters’ names and what they look like.
It Doesn’t Understand Adam Sandler
Adam Sandler probably wouldn’t ever star in a live-action adaptation of The Simpsons. While they’re both figures of comedy, his humor style and the show don’t have much in common.
Also, Sandler isn’t one for remakes or reboots. Of his popular projects over the years, only one, Mr. Deeds, was a remake of a previous movie or show.
Sure, Sandler has made some ill-considered projects in his time. But I don’t think Adam Sandler would stoop to something like this.
It’s Not Even an Original Idea
The Simpsons once aired a live-action version of its opening credits back in 2006.
That video was actually developed by Sky One to promote the show.
But the series’ producers used it, couch gag and all, in the real episode. It was titled Homer Simpson, This is Your Wife.
That one actually tried to look like The Simpsons if they were in live-action, as opposed to the AI version, which looked nothing like it.
Lessons of a Fake Trailer
In the age of rampant AI and reduced content moderation, we can use more discernment regarding what’s genuine online and what is not.
But even beyond that, The Simpsons fake trailer is just plain terrible.
