WATCH: New ‘Simpsons’ clip shows ‘Death Note’ parody for upcoming Halloween special
For longtime viewers of the hit animated sitcom The Simpsons, October is a special month as they’re treated to the show’s annual tradition of having a special episode for Halloween.
For its 34th season, The Simpsons decided to make its “Treehouse of Horror” spooky episode extra special by having it as a two-part event, with the bonus episode being a parody of Stephen King’s classic It novel starring Krusty the Clown as the child-eating Pennywise.
For the main event, however, one of the segments features a spoof of the psychological thriller anime Death Note, where the animators completely abandoned the show’s iconic art style and went full anime.
In case you don’t know, Death Note is about an intellectual high school student named Light Yagami who finds the titular mysterious notebook that can kill anyone when their name is written in its pages.
In a clip that has been making rounds on Twitter, Lisa Simpson is shown taking the role of Light and becomes the recipient of the black notebook, now called “Death Tome”, after it falls from the sky and lands in front of her.
The clip ends with Lisa dismissing the book as just a silly prank after reading about its supposed power.
The first clip from ‘The Simpsons’ parody of ‘DEATH NOTE’ has been released.
It is animated by DR Movie who also worked on the original series. pic.twitter.com/mmM7IbXc6K— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) October 25, 2022
Prior to this, three images from the parody had been revealed by FOX, showing Homer and Marge in their anime forms while Bart portrays the grotesque god of death Ryuk.
First look at Lisa, Marge, Homer and Bart in ‘The Simpsons’ parody of ‘DEATH NOTE’. pic.twitter.com/9b0AMHNG9L
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) October 25, 2022
In a tweet, The Simpsons writer Carolyn Omine promised to give details on the “many” easter eggs from the Death Note segment when it airs on television. The episode contains two more parts that spoof The Babadook and Westworld.
The series’ executive producer Matt Selman previously told Entertainment Weekly that he wants to expand the Treehouse of Horror Halloween special as it is one of the most popular installments of the 33-year-old animated show.
“[Treehouse of Horror] is our most popular episode of the year. They're a great match after football with football fans — scary violence. Also, we're tired of being constrained by the six-minute stories. It's so hard to tell a full story. In fact, we could barely cram the It [parody into the half-hour format]. People really love those things so much, so why not expand the ‘Treehouse of Horror’ brand?,” Selman said.
Treehouse of Horror XXXIII will premiere on FOX on Oct. 30.