The Simpsons' Guide To Jaws
The Simpsons is 30, not a bad record for this vicinity. The cartoon, created by Matt Groening, which originated in The Tracey Ullman Show as short skits between sketches finally got its own series in 1989 and premiered on December 17th that year.
But, did you know that Mr Burns is in Jaws? He's probably old enough to have been a witness at the New Jersey shark attacks in 1916. We are of course technically speaking, as Harry Shearer, the actor who voices Mr Burns, Kent Brockman, Reverend Lovejoy, Ned Flanders and 17 others on The Simpsons also did voice over work for Jaws.
The actor, who also appeared in This Is Spinal Tap, never set foot on the fictional beaches of Amity Island during filming in Martha's Vineyard in 1974, but he added some of the incidental townsfolk voices through the magic of Additional Dialogue Recording (ADR), the term used to describe the process of re-recording actors' dialogue in a studio during post-production.
Spinal Tap star Harry Shearer voices numerous Springfield residents, including Mr Burns
It may have been the year of Batman, but 1989 belonged to Bartman. The first animation to get a prime time slot since The Flintstones, the residents of Springfield have been making us laugh for three decades, much of that time riffing on popular culture. With the programme seeing Jaws make recurring mentions and homages during that time, not a surprise when you consider many of them are as yellow as Quint's barrels.
The Daily Jaws has scoured its DVD boxsets and munched through a box of doughnuts ( d'oh nuts surely) to bring you its favourite Jaws-related moments from The Simpsons.
Radio Bart, season 3
After Bart Simpson receives a microphone which can transmit through radios, for his 10th birthday present, he uses it for several pranks before he convinces Grounds keeper Willie (and then the town) that a little boy, Timmy O'Toole, has fallen down the well. A series of rescue plans are suggested, including one from a salty sea captain, with more than a passing resemblance to Quint, who suggests he can be retrieved with a rather large fishing hook.
Lisa's First Word, season 4
Homer and Marge want to buy a house, so Captain McCallister suggests they buy his houseboat, which all sounds fine until a shark crashes through above water in the iconic Jaws pose from the movie poster, designed by Roger Kastel.
Homer Goes to College, season 5 & The Joy of Sect, season 9
Y'all know Quint, know how he makes a living. Robert Shaw's introduction as Quint as he scratches his fingernails down the Amity town hall blackboard is one of the most iconic scenes in Jaws (to be fair, what isn't?). It's been riffed twice in The Simpsons, once by Bart and the second time by Grounds keeper Willie several seasons later. Both emulating the blackboard scratching noises to great effect.
Even The Daily Jaws has doffed its Quint cap to that very scene this year, although we had the pleasure of doing it with Robert Shaw's son, Ian Shaw, ahead of him playing his dad in The Shark Is Broken:
Itchy & Scratchy Land, season 6
You remember the two kids with the cardboard fin that nearly get their heads shot off in Jaws? That's who Homer and Bart pay homage to, from that scene from the Steven Spielberg blockbuster. It takes place during a flashback sequence showing father and son scaring away beach tourists with a fake dorsal fin. The music, by the always great Alf Clausen, mimicks the famous John Williams theme. As it isn't in sepia, it can't be a flashback seen by Ellen Brody.
Hilariously, Homer swims up, frightening the tourists, then Bart appears next to him, also wearing a shark fin. Homer shrieks and screams "Shark boy!" before racing off.
Old Yeller-Belly, season 14
Homer is swimming in the ocean when a shark appears, he then references Chrissie's opening attack in Jaws. We go behind the scenes to explore how that iconic opening sequence was filmed here: Chrissie Attack Behind The Screams
Take My Life, Please, season 20
According to this episode of The Simpsons, Homer produced a poster when he ran for school president in high school that featured images from both Jaws and Star Wars, it stating that both films backed his election campaign. He gets our vote!
We've even had sharks make it to the famed sofa opening sequence.
Watch a full compilation of Jaws references below:
Lihuaiart Jaws The Simpsons Cartoon
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