[7F75] Do The Bartman
Do The Bartman Written by Bryan Loren (for Left Hand Productions)
Directed by Brad Bird
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[$Id: bartman 1.1 92/05/02 11:14:27 raymond Exp Locker: raymond $]
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> Didja notice...
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Choreographer
Michael Chambers
Starring
Dan Castellaneta (Homer)
Julie Kavner (Marge)
Nancy Cartwright (Bart)
Yeardley Smith (Lisa)
and
Harry Shearer (Principal Skinner)
Also Starring
Pamela Hayden (Milhouse)
Special Guest Voice
Marcia Wallace (Ms. Krabappel)
Animation produced by Klasky-Csupo, Inc.
In association with Varga Studios, Budapest, Hungary
... the Statue of Liberty's pedestal clearly says ``HI''?
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> Freeze Frame Fun
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This video was a freeze-framer's delight.
>> Fourth Grade Dance Recital, Tonight 7:30
Next week: [obscured]rade Recital
>>> Students
Lewis, Richard, Milhouse, Martin, Sherry and Terry
``check out the hair on that one''
>>> In the audience
Ned and Maude Flanders
>> Bart's mug shot
Number A-113
According to the marks on the wall, Bart is 3 1/2 feet tall
>> Bart's room
`KRUSTY TIME' poster.
>> Otto was among the people who yell ``DO THE BARTMAN!'' at Homer
>> In the alley after the dogs are let free
Poster: Ben and his Rats
Chris Baird {cjb} explains that ``Ben'' was Michael Jackson's first #1
hit as a solo performer. It topped the charts for a whole week!
>> Downtown Springfield
Open 24 Hours (the store is locked up)
Springfield Liquor Center
The Aztec, now playing: Do the Bart, Man!
girl holding a Krusty doll
Jasper sits on a bus bench (which has a Duff beer advertisement)
>> Moe's Tavern
Moe, on the phone. (Guess who's calling.)
Barney, Larry, some woman
>> In the conga line
Ms. Krabappel
Principal Skinner
Selma
Herman
>> In the street watching Jacques dance
The two cops
Todd
Maude
Moe
>> On a nearby rooftop watching the dancing in the town square
Krusty
The Capital City Goofball
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> Animation goofs
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Milhouse is wearing a blue jacket at the start, but loses it during the
recital.
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> Comments and other observations
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``Simply brilliant.'' -- rjc
As a result of Bart's tree fall, his hair gets mussed up and he earns a little
lock of hair, just as he mentions Michael Jackson. Coincidence? Hardly.
>> Why was it animated in Hungary, while the episodes are animated in Korea?
Brian Howard {bh} explains:
The Korean company, AKOM, was already behind schedule producing the
regular episodes; this is why there was a rerun of ``Simpson and Delilah''
on 11/29/90 --- ``Bart the Daredevil'' wasn't ready in time.
I don't recall the name of the Hungarian company that did the animation for
the video [Varga Studios]. Klasky-Csupo is the studio in Los Angeles that
lays out all the key shots for the shows, then gets animators in some country
with cheaper labor to fill in the rest. (I think something like 1/10 of each
show is done at Klasky-Csupo, the rest in Korea). Gabor Csupo is indeed from
Hungary (probably also his wife, Arlene Klasky, but I'm not sure), so no
doubt he had connections there when they needed animators to do the video.
Incidentally, back when the Simpsons were on the Tracey Ullman Show, all of
the animation was done at Klasky-Csupo (since it was only a minute or so
per week). It's a <much> larger production these days (including people
whose sole job is to do the artwork for all the related merchandise).
Just to head off any further questions, Matt Groening is working for Gracie
Films (James L. Brooks' studio); they are the company which actually
produces the show for Fox. They write the scripts and send them off to
Klasky-Csupo along with the voice track; Klasky-Csupo designs and animates
the show from this, running it by Gracie at various stages for approval.
When the final animation for the show comes back from Korea (on film),
Klasky-Csupo hands it over to Gracie (after having it transferred to
video); Gracie then adds the music and sound effects tracks, and edits
the whole thing to get the final show.
>> Bart's mug shot number
good@pixar.uucp writes:
The TV episodes are written, designed and directed in LA. They are
mostly animated, and inked and painted in Korea. Brad Bird went to
Hungary to do ``Do The Bart, Man''. He missed his class reunion at
CalArts because he was over there finishing it.
Since this newsgroup seems to like geeky details: In the music video,
Bart's mug shot number is ``A-113''. If you look at ``Family Dog'' and
some other things Brad has directed, you'll see the same number crop
up. It was the room number of the animation room at CalArts where
he and his contemporaries studied the fine art of cartoons.
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> Quotes and scene summary
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% Bkgd = background singers
%
% Marge, Homer, Lisa and Maggie walk past the sign on the Springfield
% Elementary lawn: ``Fourth Grade Dance Recital, Tonight 7:30''
% Leaning coolly against the sign are three hiply-dressed boys. Homer
% is in a blue suit, Lisa in her pink gown; Marge and Maggie are
% traditionally dressed. The family head up the walk to the main entrance,
% joining many other parents doing the same. Lisa doesn't look too happy.
%
% Marge and Homer take their seats. Push in on the closed curtain.
Bart: [o.s.] Come on, man! I can't wait! I <love> an audience!
% From behind the curtain pokes Bart's head, an arm, and a leg. The three
% rise in unison up off the floor. Cut to backstage, where we see that
% Richard and Milhouse are holding Bart up off the ground.
Milhouse: Ugh! I'm hurting, Bart!
% A green-sleeved arm yanks Bart away.
Ms.K: Bart!
% Ms. Krabappel carries Bart across the stage and sets him down behind
% the inner curtain.
Ms.K: Don't worry, Bart. I'll tell your parents you took part.
% She leaves.
Bart: [moans]
% The curtain opens to polite applause.
Pr.S: [o.s.] Now, a group that needs no introduction: Your children.
% A scratchy record plays, and the kids dance stodgily in unison.
% From behind the crowd, Bart rises on his tiptoes and jumps. His
% head becomes briefly visible as he reaches the apex of each jump.
Bart: [jump] Mom!
[jump] Homer!
[jump] Mom!
[jump] Homer!
% Pull back to reveal Marge and Homer.
Marge: Where's Bart?
Homer: I dunno.
% Backstage, Bart grimaces, then gets a sly grin. He reaches into his
% jacket and produces a personal stereo. He goes to the reel-to-reel
% tape deck and shuts it off, with the accompanying ``Huh?''s from the
% audience. He then plugs the audio system into his portable tape deck.
% Funky music issues forth. Ms. Krabappel and Principal Skinner do a
% double-take. The kids look at each other, then to Ms. Krabappel, who
% whispers...
Ms.K: [whispers] Keep going! Keep going!
% The kids shrug and continue their stodgy dance routine. In the audience,
% the parents look at each other as if to say, ``Is this supposed to happen?''
%
% Bart's head slowly works its way through the crowd as Bart hums softly to
% himself. A fist is raised high.
Bart: Yo!
% Bart pushes through and earns a spotlight. The kids stop their dancing.
Bart: Hey, what's happening, dude?
I'm the guy with the rep for being rude.
% Marge, Lisa, Homer and Maggie watch, shocked.
Bart: Terrorizing people wherever I go,
It's not intentional, just keepin' the flow.
% Bart takes off his jacket and GQ-ly drapes it over his shoulder.
Bart: Fixin' test scores to get the best scores.
% Bart tosses his jacket offstage, hitting Principal Skinner squarely in
% the face.
Bart: Droppin' banana peels all over the floor.
% Skinner rushes for a filing cabinet and flips through it frantically.
Bart: I'm the kid that made delinquency an art,
% He finds Bart's disciplinary file.
Bart: Last name Simpson, first name Bart.
% Maggie sucks in time.
Bart: I'm here today to introduce the next phase,
The next step in the big Bart craze.
% Bart does a sort-of moonwalk, except he goes nowhere. A crook slowly
% approaches from behind...
Bart: I've got a dance real easy to do.
I learned it with no rhythm, and so can you.
% Bart ducks in time as the crook is yanked hard. Cut to Principal Skinner
% holding the crook; next to him stands Ms. Krabappel, who snaps her finger
% in frustration.
Bart: So move your body if you've got the notion,
Front to back in a rock-like motion.
Now that you've got it, if you think you can,
Homer: D'oh!
Bart: Do it to the music: That's the Bartman.
% Bart dances off stage left. Lewis, Martin and Milhouse take center
% stage, singing and dancing.
Bkgd: Everybody, if you can, do the Bartman.
Bart: Whoa!
Bkgd: Shake your body, turn it out if you can, man.
Bart: Shake it out, man!
% The entire audience of family members (except for Bart's) sway in their
% seats.
Bkgd: Front to back, to the side, yes you can, can.
Bart: Bartman!
Bkgd: Everybody in the house do the Bartman.
Bart: Uh-huh.
% Ms. Krabappel unscrews a liquor flask and hands it to Principal Skinner.
% He takes a swig, returns it, and shudders.
Bkgd: Everybody, if you can, do the Bartman.
Shake your body, turn it out if you can, man.
Bart: Whoooooooooa, momma!
% Bart leads everyone out the front door of Springfield Elementary.
% The three slick lookin' dudes watch.
Bkgd: Front to back, to the side, yes you can, can.
Bart: Whoa.
Bkgd: Everybody in the house do the Bartman.
% Zoom in on Bart as he spins, leading to an instant change of scene.
% Bart, in his usual clothes, stands in the corner of a completely white
% room.
Bart: It wasn't long ago, just a couple of weeks,
I got in trouble, yeah, pretty deep.
Homer was yellin'...
% Homer's shadow is cast. He yells...
Homer: BART!
% Marge's shadow also forms.
Bart: Mom was too.
% Pan over to Homer putting a spoonful of brown glop in his mouth as Marge
% watches adoringly.
Bart: Because I put mothballs in the beef stew.
% Homer gags and spits out the glop onto the camera.
%
% Bart's mug shot is taken.
Bart: Punishment time.
% Flash! Now look to the side...
Bart: In the air lurks gloom.
% Flash! Thank you very much.
%
% Bart walks dejectedly down a black-and-white corridor as shadows of
% arms pointing are cast on the wall.
Bart: Sitting by myself, confined to my room.
% Bart enters the room at the end of the hallway. Iron bars close behind
% him. (*clang*)
%
% Bart lies, face down, on his bed, hardly happy.
Bart: When all else fails, nothin' else left to do,
I turn on the music, so I can feel the groove.
% Bart lamely turns on the radio. The room brightens into color, and Bart
% springs to life, dancing on tiptoe atop his bed.
Bart: Whoooooa!
Bkgd: Move your body, if you've got the notion.
Bart: I'm feelin' the groove now, baby!
Bring it back...
Bkgd: Front to back in a rock-like motion.
% Bart does a flip off a giant poster of Krusty.
Bart: Whoooooooa!
Bkgd: Move you hips from side to side now.
Bart: Do the Bartman!
Bkgd: Don't ya slip, ...
% Lisa pokes her head in the door.
Bart: Whoa, Lisa.
Bkgd: ... let your feet glide now.
Bart: Ha!
% Bart (with Lisa's help) is flung out the window into the night.
Bkgd: If ya got the groove, ya gotta use it.
Bart: Ha, ha ha!
% Bart hops out the window into the night. He dances along the branch
% of a tree...
Bkgd: Ya got the rhythm in time with the music.
Bart: Ha-ha-ha. Check it out, man.
Bkgd: You just might start a chain reaction.
% ... falls, then rights himself on a lower branch.
Bart: If you can do the Bart, you're bad like Michael Jackson.
% Bart falls from the branch...
%
% ... landing face-down on the streets of downtown Springfield. Behind
% him, the three cool dudes dance, as Bart shakes his head and picks himself
% up.
Bkgd: Everybody, if you can, do the Bartman.
Bart: Everybody... Yeah, do the Bartman!
% In New York Harbor, the Statue of Liberty and a ferryload of tourists
% does the Bartman.
Bkgd: Shake your body, turn it out if you can, man.
Bart: Shake it out!
% Back to Springfield, Bart dances off stage left.
Bkgd: Front to back, to the side, yes you can, can.
Bart: Whoooooooooa, momma! I'm bad!
% The Eiffel Tower looming in the background, the Bartman storms Paris.
Bkgd: Everybody in the house do the Bartman.
Bart: I'm bad!
% Back to Springfield.
Bkgd: Do the Bartman.
% Bart's head pokes in (upside-down) from above.
Bart: Do the Bartman!
% Adil and the American spy dance as Germans do the Bartman through the
% (now-crumbled) Berlin Wall.
Bart: Everybody back and forth, from side to side.
% Back to Springfield.
Bkgd: Do the Bartman.
% Bart's head pokes in (sideways) from screen right.
Bart: Do the Bartman!
% Bart leaps into frame.
Bart: Now here's a dance beat that you can't deny.
% Pull back a bit to reveal several more dancers. Begin wild dance sequence.
%
% Homer's head rises from underneath the manhole cover.
Homer: Turn it down! Will you stop that infernal racket?!
% Everybody yells in Homer's face...
Bkgd: DO THE BARTMAN!
% Pan upwards to Lisa playing her saxophone, silhouetted against the moon.
% Time for the instrumental solo. Bart pops upward into frame, covering
% his ears.
Bart: Oh, my ears!
Lisa, put the saxophone away!
% Down below, Bart sneaks over to a `Springfield Dog Pound' truck, filled
% with canines. With a mischievous grin...
Bart: They can't catch me.
% ... he opens the door, letting the hounds free.
Bart: Ididn'tdoitnobodysawmedoityoucan'tproveanything.
% Bart watches the dogs run off into the distance.
Bart: Oop!
% One tiny dog scoots out from behind Bart and runs away.
Dog: Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark!
% Bart looks to the side, where the three cool dudes stand, arms folded,
% with a disapproving expression.
%
% Bart leads his friends marching down the street. Lisa and Bleedin'
% Gums Murphy sit on a stoop playing the saxophone.
Bart: Now I'm in the house, feeling good to be home,
'Til Lisa starts blowing that damn saxophone.
And if it was mine, you know they'd take it away,
But still I'm feeling good, so that's okay.
% Bart and friends walk past a store whose door is locked shut, gratings
% locked across the window. The sign? ``Open 24 hours''.
Bart: I'm up in my room, just a-singin' a song,
Listen to the kick drum, kickin' along.
Yeah, Lisa likes jazz. She's their number one fan,
But I know I'm bad, 'cause I do the Bartman.
% Begin freeze-frame delight. Bart and his pals skid into downtown
% Springfield, where a large crowd has already gathered. Lots of dancing.
Bkgd: Everybody, if you can, do the Bartman.
Bart: Hey, everybody!
% Geza. Assorted desert folks (and their camel) do an Egyptian version
% of the Bartman in front of the pyramids.
Bkgd: Shake your body, turn it out if you can, man.
Bart: Need I remind you?
% Back to Springfield.
Bkgd: Front to back, to the side, yes you can, can.
Bart: Ooh. I... am...
Bkgd: Everybody in the house do the Bartman.
Bart: Bart... man. Hulp!
% The Bartman is danced atop the Great Wall of China.
Bart: Shake it out.
Bkgd: Do the Bartman.
% Back to Springfield.
% Bart leans into frame holding a pay phone to his ear.
Bart: Do the Bartman!
% Moe's Tavern. The patrons shake their tushes while still seated.
Bart: Everybody back and forth, from side to side.
% Barney leads the bar denizens out into the street.
Bkgd: Do the Bartman.
Bart: Do the Bartman!
% Of all people, Ms. Krabappel leads a conga line. (The SNPP cooling
% towers loom in the background.)
Bart: She can do it, he can do it, so can I.
% Bart rides on a golf cart inside SNPP as assorted employees (some in
% radiation suits, some not) do the Bartman. The cart driver munches
% a donut.
Bkgd: If ya got the groove, ya gotta use it.
Bart: Dooby, dooby, dooby, dooby, dooby, wop-bop-bop!
Bkgd: Ya got the rhythm in time with the music.
Bart: Dabba doo, dabba doo, dab it!
Bkgd: You just might start a chain reaction.
Bart: Dabba doo. Dabba doo.
% In the workers' distraction, a glowing plutonium rod slips from its
% holder.
%
% Flash!
%
% Bart's skeleton rises into frame. The picture fades back to normal
% and we get to see a normal Bart.
Bart: Hee, hee, hee.
% Bart raises a remote control.
Bart: I'm the Bartman.
% Click!
%
% Krusty hawks ``Krusty Brand Pork Products'' as his ham and bacon
% sprout arms and legs and dance on the grill.
Bkgd: Everybody, if you can, do the Bartman.
Krusty: Wuh-huh-huh-huh-huh!
Bart: Swing it, baby.
% Pull back. It's the television set in Sideshow Bob's cell, who sits
% angrily as the other prisoners dance in the background.
Bkgd: Shake your body, turn it out if you can, man.
Bart: Hulp!
% Back to Sideshow Bob's TV set, which now shows Itchy and Scratchy.
% Itchy hits Scratchy with a club, Scratchy strikes back with a mallet.
% (Backwards relative to the I&S title sequence.)
Bkgd: Front to back, to the side, yes you can, can.
Bart: Ha, ha, ha!
% They then both discard their weapons and each hold out a lit bomb.
% The bombs explode simultaneously, leaving their skeletons behind.
Bkgd: Everybody in the house do the Bartman.
Bart: Oh, yeah!
% Kent Brockman silently reads the news as Bart gleefully skids past.
Bkgd: Do the Bartman.
% The inset of people dancing on Springfield town square fills the screen.
Bkgd: Move your body, if you've got the notion.
Bart: You call that dancing? Ha!
% Monty Burns dances in the street.
Bkgd: Shake your body 'til ya got the right emotion.
% Oops, sorry. Monty Burns is actually being manipulated by four
% hired hands (and feet).
Bart: Watch this move.
Bkgd: Do the Bartman.
% Jacques waltzes past with Helen, who turns into Princess Cashmere,
% then turns into some other woman, then turns into... Karl! Only
% after dancing several more steps does Jacques react.
Bkgd: Shake your hips from side to side now.
Do the Bartman.
Bart: [dancing offscreen]
Ooh, uh, uh, ugh, ugh, hup, hup. Yeah!
Bkgd: Don't ya slip, let your feet glide now.
Do the Bartman.
% Reverend Lovejoy and Satan dance next to each other in the street.
Bkgd: If ya got the groove, ya gotta use it.
Do the Bartman.
Bart: Ha, ha ha! Swing it!
% Homer, Marge, Lisa and Maggie do the Simpsons Shuffle as the statue of
% Jebediah Springfield waves in the background.
Bkgd: Shake your body in the time with the music.
Do the Bartman.
You just might start a chain reaction.
Do the Bartman.
Bart: Eat your heart out, Michael!
% Springfield town square is packed with people dancing.
%
% Bart is tossed into the air by an adoring crowd...
Bart: Whoop!
% ... and he lands on his feet, dancing wildly all the while.
Bkgd: Everybody in the house do the Bartman.
Do the Bartman.
Bart: Ha-ha-ha!
% Bart's orange shirt and shorts quickly dissolve into his blue suit.
% The music suddenly stops, Bart's laugh echoing by itself, as a
% green sleeve yanks Bart out of the town square.
%
% Ms. Krabappel carries Bart across the stage and sets him down behind
% the inner curtain. She then walks away.
Bart: [disappointed] Oh, wow, man.
% The curtain opens. A scratchy record plays, and the kids dance
% stodgily in unison.
%
% [End of Act One. Time: 5:06]
%
% Credits continue until 5:55.
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Episode summaries Copyright 1992 by Raymond Chen. Not to be redistributed
in a public forum without permission. (The quotes themselves, of course,
remain the property of The Simpsons and ATV Music / Sorcerous, and the
reproduced articles remain the property of the original authors. I'm just
taking credit for the compilation.)
Conversion by Howard Jones (ha.jones@ic.ac.uk)