The Simpsons is one of those properties that just inspires people. Even after more than two decades worth of episodes, fans are still wildly devoted to the pop culture sensation, and it's hard to find a fanbase as passionate. Regardless of how the show itself is received, it seems like there's something amazing made or built or animated in honor of TV's longest-running sitcom every day.
Case in point: two artists have re-animated the entire opening title sequence in an 8-bit pixel esthetic. At first, it doesn't sound so impressive: countless fans have reimagined the iconic Simpsons opening theme over the years. However, there's never been anything quite like this version: this isn't just a remix of the show's theme, it's a complete reimagining. It's fluid, it's detailed and its style is unlike anything that's ever been done before.
Right off the bat, the video is absolutely gorgeous from start to finish. Redesigning characters isn't easy, and the video could have been a mess if the characters weren't recognizable after losing most of their detail. Fortunately, that's not the case: all of the characters look great, and nothing is lost in translation.
On top of that, Springfield looks fantastic, too. It was a wise choice on the creator's part to avoid mimicking the show shot-for-shot. It would have felt too similar, and likely would have felt like rotoscoping the intro with less detail. Instead, the 8-bit version really does look like a long-lost Simpsons video game, and as such, the creators were able to insert a ton of tiny little details without sacrificing authenticity.
Of course, it makes sense coming from the likes of Paul Robertson: you may not know his name, but you've likely seen Robertson's work in games like Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game and shows like Gravity Falls. His style is a perfect fit for this sort of tribute, and while most of the animation could be called 'simple,' what has been keyframed looks phenomenal - just look to the end of the video, and you'll understand. Ivan Dixon's artwork is just as fantastic - hopefully, we start seeing more out of this duo in the near future.
In any case, 'Simpsons Pixels' is on a level that most fan productions never reach - most people would assume that this was officially commissioned by Fox. Who knows - maybe someday, fans will get to see something like it attached to an episode!
