Anicom is the term used for an animated sitcom. Pretty much every genre has been expressed through animation, and in the 1960s, 2D animation was used to make a sitcom called The Flintstones. What makes an Anicom different from children’s animation shown on the TV is that they are made to appeal to the whole family, so they were aired at primetime (Dobson, 2009).

The genre was very popular in the 60s, but lost popularity in the 70s. This all changed in 1989 when Matt Groening created The Simpsons, which was originally a sketch on The Tracy Ullman Show. Since becoming its own show, the Simpsons has had so much popularity that it has stayed on TV, being recorded in 2007 as “the longest running sitcom in US television history” (Dobson, 2009).

Figure 1

The Simpsons found its popularity through using a combination of slapstick comedy and heartfelt moments. The show has such an over the top, cynical world view, where each character shows an extreme version of a personality trait that it becomes funny through the absurdity of it (Stubagful, 2023). One of the reasons The Simpsons found so much success early on is because it appealed to older viewers’ nostalgia (who had grown up watching the Flintsones), while being in the moment and slapstick enough to make younger viewers laugh also. (Dobson, 2009)

The show can be called postmodern, as it hosts a rich tapestry of pop culture references within the couch gags and episodes. It’s something that keeps the show current, by bringing on prominent figures of the day, either through a written in character or an outright cameo. The danger of this is that younger audiences today might not emotionally resonate with political gags or pop references of, say, 20 years ago (Dowling, 2014).

I loved The Simpsons from watching it as a kid in the late 90s/early 00s after school on BBC2. I remember the first series was on repeat, and there was always some sort of heartfelt character development in the episodes. This was one thing that meant I was allowed to watch The Simpsons but not South Park (I was told I was too young and it was offensive).

Figure 2

As The Simpsons continues to churn out more and more series, the humour and references change. Some gags lean into shock factor like South Park specialises in. Even though there’s no real character development, as the town is stuck in the same age;   they can’t learn from their mistakes otherwise they wouldn’t be able to keep making episodes with the same gags. ‘Flanderisation’ becomes a term created to describe characters like Flanders, who some argue, loses sight of the character traits that he once had to encompass something else (Zachary, 2020).

The show continues to be screened, despite negative comments on current characters. This is an indication of the show’s continued appeal. It’s longevity is, I think, quite impressive.

References

Dobson, N., 2009. The A to Z of Animation and Cartoons. Maryland: Scarecrow Press, Inc.

Dowling, S., 2014. How the Simpsons Changed TV. [Online]
Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/culture/article/20141216-how-the-simpsons-changed-tv
[Accessed 10 March 2025].

Stubagful, 2023. An Analysis of the Simpsons: Early years & Golden Age. [Online]
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6QZ96dgFp8
[Accessed 10 March 2025].

Stubagful, 2024. An Analysis of Modern Simpsons. [Online]
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gap0obRgBc&t=4277s
[Accessed 10 March 2025].

Stubagful, 2024. An Analysis of the Simpsons: Post Golden Age and Movie. [Online]
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rs_oiMdo1Jk
[Accessed 10 March 2025].

Zachary, B., 2020. Flanderization: How Ned Flanders became Synonymous with Bad writing. [Online]
Available at: https://www.cbr.com/flanderization-ned-flanders-synonymous-with-bad-writing/
[Accessed 10 March 2025].

Images:

Figure 1: Nerdist, 2021. See How The Simpsons’ Animation Style Has Evolved. [Online] Available at: https://nerdist.com/article/the-simpsons-animation-style-evolution/ [Accessed 11 March 2025].

Figure 2: Cracked, 2021. 13 TV Characters who changed without warning. [Online] Available at: https://www.cracked.com/image-pictofact-6282-13-tv-characters-who-changed-without-warning [Accessed 11 March 2025]