The past decade or so has proved that The Simpsons is not just the crazy animated sitcom we once thought it was but is actually a document of the future of civilization… just told through the lens of yellow cartoon characters. Donald Trump becoming president, Disney buying 20th Century Fox and, as social media has been talking a lot about lately, the coronavirus pandemic, among many others, have all been predicted by the long-running series.
Entertainment Tonight recently caught up with the stars and showrunner of The Simpsons to ask them their thoughts on the animated family’s unexpected psychic abilities. Nancy Cartwright, voice of Bart Simpson, Nelson Muntz and others, admitted that they’ve managed to get it right a lot of the time. “We’ve got quite a track record, which is impressive,” Cartwright joked.
Fittingly, giving that she voices shrewd, often cynical eight-year-old Lisa, Yeardley Smith is less convinced, as she thinks it’s all down to The Simpsons having been on the air for 30+ years. “If you’ve been on for three decades,” she pointed out, “probably you’re going to hit it once in a while.”
As for EP Al Jean, he feels that the show should start using its powers for good and not evil. ”What people are telling us now is, ‘Start predicting some good things!'” he said. “Because these have been too negative.”
To be fair, there are some positive predictions hidden in the show, they just haven’t happened yet. Hover cars, space travel to Mars… Give them time, folks.
The coronavirus prediction comes from 1993 episode “Marge in Chains,” which features a virulent disease that originated in Asia spreading to Springfield. The same episode even saw the townsfolk attacked by bees, which some feel makes it a double-whammy of seeing into the future, given that murder hornets have arrived in the U.S. recently.
The Simpsons just aired its season finale on FOX yesterday and will return for its 32nd season this fall.
