As a devout fan of The Simpsons, I think it’s difficult to not admit one thing: the show has become more and more reliant on gimmick episodes. They may not overwhelm the episode count in any given season, but there is this sense that they’re pulling different tricks just to bring in audiences for one week, hopefully hooking them to keep coming back. Sometimes it’s as simple as a couch gag featuring Rick and Morty tearing apart the very fabric of reason. Others involve a monumental yet underwhelming decision to kill off “beloved” characters that hasn’t really stuck. Sure we see them less, but they’re not off the show.
Though, if I’m being honest, one of their greatest gimmick episodes came at the exact right time. This wasn’t like “Clown in the Dumps,” which had the insurmountable lead-in of FXX’s Every Simpsons Ever and The Simpsons Take The Bowl and destroyed its good will. This was a full-on marketing push that tied into the very identity of the show’s legacy.
While it’s easy to forget, the fact that The Simpsons has been going strong for 31 seasons is worthy of some applause. Whether or not you ultimately see it as overstaying its welcome, it has crossed off so many milestones in its time and has created a barrier that I personally doubt any animated show can top. What show could produce over 600+ episodes and go this long? Our attention spans wouldn’t allow for that to happen. The business model has changed, and that only makes The Simpsons all the more impressive, even as it’s entered the gimmick phase of its career.
When “Brick Like Me” aired, it symbolized so much more than being “the LEGO episode.” We were in the midst of season 25, approaching episode 550. What could possibly be done to make this moment resonate with audiences?
When it was originally pitched by the LEGO company “many years ago,” it was suggested that they do a couch gag. In the modern era, an episode could be inferior and still have a great couch gag to talk to your friends about. However, the talk slowly evolved from what they would do to fill seconds of an episode to what would be deserving of its own episode. They were serious, they wanted to make a grand spectacle about it. Considering that show runner Al Jean claims that many of the writers grew up playing with LEGO in the 70s, it was the perfect chance for them to pay tribute.
After all, The Simpsons and LEGO were very similar on a subliminal level. It wasn’t just that they were yellow. Both had this deceptive simplicity (writer Matt Sellman claimed that the characters were “eyes and a bunch of lines”) to them that would allow endless potential to be reached. Even in a time of countless guest stars and theme episodes, The Simpsons never strayed too far from their animation style for too long. “Brick Like Me” was going to be special if they did it right.
The story goes that it took approximately two years for them to conceptualize the episode. There were many factors working against them, notably the presence of creative interference from LEGO. They had to approve the story as well as every joke in order to keep the story from being too profane. As a result, The Simpsons had to make one of their tamer episodes, which even then featured a few innuendos and a bedroom scene where limbs are tossed without care throughout the room to symbolize erotic passion. Even then, the rest was focused around the family.
This lengthy time could’ve caused problems because this wasn’t a regular episode that could be improvised and changed throughout the process. Everything had to be set (no pun intended) in place before they went to shoot. They had LEGO sets build to play with figures and test their limitations. In moments like the church scene, the writers felt that they needed to cram every character into the scene because their fans wouldn’t forgive them. How cool would it look to have their favorites in LEGO form?
Considering that The Simpsons has a reliance on topical humor, it did create an obstacle or two. The most noteworthy is that because of their extended period in production, they would have to be selective with what references they made. That is likely why the 2014 episode chose to center its conflict around a fictionalized version of The Hunger Games (2012) called Survival Games. There would also be references to The LEGO Movie (2014), but that would be presented during the traditional animation portions.
Despite the similarities with the Phil Lord and Chris Miller film, Al Jean claims that everyone in the writers’ room didn’t see the film until late into the production. While they may seem slight, some could see the father-daughter relationship that grounds The Simpsons to be reminiscent of the father-son dynamic in The LEGO Movie, especially since both use LEGO as escapism and way of creating an ideal form of life. Of course, their approach from there is different, but The Simpsons’ willingness to poke fun at this definitely adds some suspicion as to whether they were aware of this.
I’m willing to believe that it’s coincidental, especially since there’s not a lot else that’s overlapping with the plot. While “Brick Like Me” got to play with the construction of Springfield, it ultimately was a straightforward episode with the characters acting within reason. The craziest that things get is Bart creating a mech suit as he throws random things like lightsabers and sharks at his foes. There’s a few morbid decapitating and building demolishing jokes, but otherwise it would be an adequate episode in its traditional animation style.
Considering that it was the most expensive episode of the series up to this point, a lot was riding on its success. The advertising slowly revealed the models which were, to say the least, a bit unique.
Something to keep in mind with “Brick Like Me” is that it came out in the same year that LEGO decided to release their own model versions of the characters. This would stand to reason that The Simpsons would be doing their own form of cross-promotion, making the episode a 30-minute commercial. Well, that’s the only thing about this episode that hasn’t particularly aged well.
In the episode, their models are more traditionally animated in a LEGO style. Every character’s face feels like a sticker on a cylindrical yellow piece. It looks like a flattened version of their faces. There’s nothing wrong with it, though I’m sure that those who watch it now and look at their 2014 LEGO models will see a world of difference not only in the facial design, but also the general build of its world.
This isn’t just that things weren’t approved in time. I understand that this minor change likely had to do with the capabilities to animate “Brick Like Me” in a convenient manner. However, the LEGO models have been featured on the show in various segments where the characters were presented in a Claymation style. Their faces may not have the ability to attach accessories, but their whole cranial design looks exactly like the characters in more appealing ways.
Following the initial advertising that showed Homer in “Brick Like Me” form, there was an excitement around it. Considering that this was the 25th anniversary of the series, it was going to be a monumental moment, crossing over with LEGO and produce an episode like no other. As mentioned already, it wasn’t exactly “like no other.” While there were moments that a regular episode couldn’t do, there wasn’t anything tonally out of place. This could be because of how much effort went into making sure that every joke landed and that every bit deserved to be put into LEGO form. In that way it was disappointing.
However, those saying that it was one of the best recent episodes would not be wrong. While I contest that the show is at worst average and forgettable in the past decade, it’s nice to have an episode that tests their limits and revives them. This reminds you of what the show does best, which is work on an emotional core, exploring the family dynamic of its characters. Even without a couch gag, it felt like The Simpsons had made a classic episode. The few who disagreed with the praise claimed that it was too many gimmicks and was reminiscent of modern Simpsons’ habit of phoning it in.
I personally think that it’s a good episode and I am drawn to its jarring nature. With that said, it’s amusing to watch it with several years of space. Lisa’s obsession with Survival Games already feels antiquated because The Hunger Games failed to leave much of a cultural landmark. While I really like those films, it’s one of those things firmly in the past tense, showing that even when The Simpsons chose to be calculated, it couldn’t get everything right. In fact a brief cameo from The LEGO Movie’s Wyldstyle likely resonates more.
This episode is fine, but I feel like it’s overshadowed by the much more successful launch of the LEGO Simpsons models. I for one remember 2014 fondly, buying as many figures as I could. I was a fan of those mystery bags where I would just hope for the best and end up getting a bunch of Scratchy’s. I love them all equally because it’s one of those novel crossovers that you’d expect long ago. The only issue is that where you can turn on FXX and find the episode somewhere in syndication, stores aren’t as ready to carry these figures.
While I am fond of covering every gimmick episode of The Simpsons, I doubt that I will be doing them in any order. There is no reason to believe that one informs the other. However, I think it was important to start with “Clown in the Dumps” and “Brick Like Me” to show how outside forces are informative of the show nowadays. In both cases there is this major build-up to reflect the show’s cultural significance by focusing on gimmicks. In the former’s case, it overwhelms the story and takes away from deeper meaning. In the latter, you can see an effort to make something more cohesive, using the animation style to tell a more compelling story.
Is “Brick Like Me” a perfect episode? Not exactly. As far as gimmick episodes go, it’s still of milquetoast quality. It does what you need to have an entertaining episode, but I don’t know that it’s revolutionary. At most, it works because of how it uses different techniques to show an artistic divide in how characters see themselves and what their real-world looks like. In that way, it’s the greatest use of a gimmick likely ever. Even then, it’s fine. The Simpsons definitely took a swing and their results were worthy of note. For a show that’s 25 seasons in, it was a great way to remind us of why we should care.
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