The Simpsons is one of the most iconic animated series picturing the satirical life of an American working-class family. The series is known for its witty and snarky take on American culture, politics, history, and society as a whole. After 30 years on the screen, The Simpsons has become not only the longest-running scripted series but also one of the most beloved ones, firmly securing its place in pop culture around the world.
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It's hard to imagine The Simpsons being anything else than a story about a quirky American family of five, constantly getting caught up in unpleasant situations. However, many of us have wondered how would these characters fare in a different setting, for instance, living Russia.
Recently, a graphic designer from Moscow, Lenivko Kvadratjić, the creator of a YouTube channel called Lazy Square, made a bold move by reimagining the iconic Simpsons family living their most miserable lives somewhere in Russia. The designer was born in Siberia in the late USSR and later moved to Moscow to get his degree. "The Simpsons has a great influence on me and people all over the world. Many famous persons made intros for The Simpsons. I always wanted to make some parody version too with my country's local flavor included. So I made it one day," Kvadratjić told Bored Panda.
While his new video titled 'THE SIMPSONS. Russian Art Film Version' went viral and in just a few days gathered more than 1.5 million views, not everyone was a big fan of his work.
"Eighty percent or so loved it, twenty percent didn't read that it was a parody and called me a national enemy. They are very afraid that the western world considers that it's true life in Russia. I wonder why they are so afraid if it's not true as they say. Anyway, the other bigger part (mostly from small towns) say that it is exactly what they see every day."
The recreated main sequence starts with a piece of dramatic music and grey clouds overcasting the gloomy alternate city of Springfield, perfectly setting the mood for the most depressing version of The Simpsons' life. The crayola yellow family we all know has lost their color and energy and was turned into a bleak, miserable group of people.
Here, Bart Simpson is not the rebellious and misunderstood prankster anymore but a violent bully who steals from other kids to get high.
Marge, the kind-hearted mother eager to protect and take care of her family is turned into a bitter woman furiously shopping in a trashy convenient store.
Homer, the safety inspector of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant gets reimagined as a security guard who just spends his day on his phone, smoking and stealing a lamp upon clocking out from work.
Lisa, the fierce activist and a talented saxophone player is shown as a sad little girl busking in the bus station as sinister police officers come wielding batons.
The whole main-sequence gets wrapped up with repulsive imagery of a family gathering in the living room, showing somewhat dystopian but a realistic version of everyday life in the gutter.
The artist hopes to increase his audience to keep up posting his animation videos. "I want to add just one thing: that I have the great pleasure to entertain at least a couple of people with my art and of course, I will be very happy to entertain thousands. So, subscribe. But I need to say that I'm alone and animation is a very hard process so I can't promise a regular, massive flow of cartoons but I'll try to do my best!"
Watch The Russian Art Film Version of The Simpsons below
Here's how people reacted to the video
