If you tuned in to see The Simpsons (that staggering relic of 90s comedy) last night, you may have seen a surprising couch gag starting off the episode. The show’s animators, noting that “parodies are easy,” opened the show in the style of Minecraft. It was radically different from most couch gags, showing the family wandering through Springfield and through the ever-burning tire pile. Quality video of the opener is tough to come by, but here’s the full gag:
Clearly, the best part is Creeper Moe, who was already Springfield’s creepiest creeper and has now ascended to new levels of creephood.
Of course, this isn’t the first time a cartoon has referenced Minecraft (although let’s be honest, it’s not really the most topical parody in 2014). South Park already used the game as a basis for its episode “Informative Murder Porn,” in which Randy and Sharon Marsh gleefully murder each other’s avatars.
Creepers also mad a cameo appearance on MAD TV once, in their “ThunderLOLcats” short. Here’s the full clip, but remember: this is MAD TV we’re talking about here. You may need to purge its “humor” from your system afterwards.
And Minecraft has expanded outside of animation, too. If you managed to sit through Lady Gaga’s “G.U.Y.” music video, you’d know she used her pixel power to reanimate John Lennon, Gandhi, Michael Jackson, and Jesus with the help of Youtube user SkyDoesMinecraft. (Artpop is weird stuff, guys.)
Speaking of Michael Jackson, another YouTuber named MinecraftFinest has made a blockily-rendered animation after the video for “Thriller,” which might be the funniest parody on this list.
But Minecraft itself is better than any parody, especially when people like Deadmau5 are out there. The musician built a giant replica of his mouse-mask on his personal server and uses it to troll people into falling in lava pits.
Minecraft’s creator Markus “Notch” Persson is still a little overwhelmed at all the attention his little game has gotten, and adorably expressed his feelings on Twitter after seeing his brainchild referenced on “The Simpsons.”
I STILL feel a bit like it’s just this small game I made at home. It’s so weird to have all these things happen. <3
— Markus Persson (@notch) April 7, 2014
Enjoy it, Notch. You’ve created a pop culture sensation. We’re just looking forward to “The Minecraft Movie.”
