‘The Simpsons’ Theme Song Was Based on Music From Another Classic Cartoon

It’s impossible to imagine The Simpsons without its iconic opening sequence, which succinctly establishes who each member of the Simpson family is, gives us the rough layout of the town of Springfield, and, of course, subliminally communicates Matt Groening’s “radical right-wing” beliefs. 

The animation also fits well with the famous score by Danny Elfman — like how the strings give way to a chorus of voices singing “The Simpsons” right as the clouds part to reveal the title. Brilliant. And the way the whole orchestra momentarily pauses to allow for Lisa’s disruptive sax solo. Also brilliant.

It’s hands down one of the best openings to a TV show ever. In fact, Disney+ viewers should be fined for hitting the “Skip Intro” button on this work of art.

As indelible to pop-culture as it is today, there was a time when the Simpsons team had to cobble together an opening sequence from scratch. But they did seemingly take inspiration from another famous animated series. As some fans have pointed out, The Simpsons’ opening shares a lot in common with that of The Jetsons. Both begin with a zoom in from the heavens, followed by a run down of each family member’s daily activities. Although, unlike The Simpsons, The Jetsons’ opening sequence takes place at the start of the work day, not the end of it. 

The music from The Jetsons is also a frenzied, occasionally brassy theme with an unseen chorus shouting out the family.

It shouldn’t be too surprising then that The Jetsons theme was a specific point of reference for the Simpsons theme — and not just because The Simpsons once literally recreated it.

As Groening once recalled, when he was tasked with coming up with ideas for the theme music, he made a mixtape of all his favorite cartoon scores. He ultimately decided that the composer that seemed like the best fit for the show was Hoyt Curtin, the musical director for Hanna-Barbera. “I loved the Jetsons theme the best,” Groening explained. 

After penning the scores for Pee-wee’s Big Adventure and Beetlejuice, Elfman was hired and, according to Groening, he “got it” right away. Groening offered the composer an assortment of tracks to draw inspiration from, including Curtin’s Jetsons theme.

Groening also included a number of slightly less obvious pieces of music, including Italian composer Nina Rota’s scores for Fellini films such as 8½, plus the work of avant-garde jazz saxophonist John Zorn, and the idiosyncratic lounge stylings of Juan Esquivel, who Groening once called “the great unsung genius of space age pop.”

Listening to each of these influences individually, it’s not difficult to see how they all fused together to create The Simpsons theme, along with Elfman’s own distinctly bouncy style. 

Although the Simpsons theme has less of a “haunted circus” vibe than most of his scores.

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