The Simpsons Movie's Writers Also Found Spider-Pig Annoying
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The year was 2007. Then-President George W. Bush was still in office. You could buy the first iPhone for the weirdly-low price of $499. Everyone and their mother was crank-ing that to “Crank That (Soulja Boy)” – probably even YOUUUUUUUUUUUUU! And of course, Spider-Pig – yes, the gag from The Simpsons Movie – was the absolute peak of comedy, with every fifth grader (myself included) singing “Spider-Pig, Spider-Pig, does whatever a Spider-Pig does” over and over again – well, fifth graders and most men who were under the age of 35 at the time.
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But despite the bit's ubiquity in playgrounds and bars alike, it seems not everyone was a massive fan of Spider-Pig – namely, the creative team behind the beloved film.
"The next thing we knew, it was half the ads," Simpsons writer/producer Al Jean recalled of their hammy hero in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. "That was the one thing that was a very late addition that suddenly took over the whole movie. I wished they hadn't advertised it quite as much — because it was really just a little joke."
This one-off joke wasn't always so little. Like most things in Hollywood, Spider-Pig's genesis came out of necessity, serving as a catalyst to Marge questioning her relationship to Homer and adding a much-needed conversation between Marge and her daughter Lisa Simpson, an element the film was notably missing at the time.
“What was great about the way that David was pitching it was that Lisa was talking about her new possible boyfriend very excitedly and Marge was listening, very pleased with it,'" director Al Silverman explained, referencing The Simpsons Movie co-writer, David Mirkin. "She says, ‘That’s great, the important thing is a man listening to you because there’s nothing better than — how did these pig prints get on the ceiling???’”
That wasn't Spider-Pigs only cameo. Our favorite non-web swinging superhero also appeared in several deleted scenes, including Homer's psychedelic-infused trip sequence.
“In the background, you had Spider-Pig in a full Spiderman outfit, sans the head, so you could see the pig face because his face was so funny, and he was swinging from web to web, shooting out of his hoofs as he’s going from totem pole to totem pole in the background,” Silverman said of the scrapped clip. “And Al was like ‘Oh, I think we’re tired of Spider-Pig at this point.’ Yeah, you’re probably right.”
So folks, take it from the Simpsons's creative team – Spider-Pig can do whatever a Spider-Pig does – which apparently includes annoying the crap out of Al Jean and Co.
Top Image: Fox/Disney
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