A weird, forgotten chapter of 'Simpsons' history has been rediscovered

The Simpsons consult a family therapist in this forgotten 1989 cartoon.

By the time cartoonist Matt Groening unleased The Simpsons on an unwitting world in 1987—it debuted as a segment on Fox's live-action sketch comedy The Tracey Ullman Show—the era of the theatrical animated short was long over. Movie audiences of the 1930s, '40s, and '50s were accustomed to getting cartoons before features, and studios like Disney, MGM, and Warner Bros. famously produced them by the hundreds. Characters like Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Bugs Bunny, and Tom & Jerry thrived in this medium for decades. This was an era we now call the Golden Age of Animation.

But animation was commonplace on television by the 1960s. Ex-MGM animators Joseph Hanna and William Barbera proved that cheap, made-for-TV 'toons could be successful, and other producers followed suit. People who wanted to see cartoons could do so at home whenever they wanted, so movie studios phased out their animated shorts over the course of that turbulent decade. From the 1970s on, theatrical cartoons were parceled out only as occasional treats, usually in conjunction with children's films. That's the way it still is today. If you see a Pixar feature, for example, you expect a short cartoon first. But you won't get one with most live-action movies.

Legless, laughing Simpsons.

Cartoons were mostly stereotyped as disposable kiddie fare in the 1980s. The unexpected success of The Simpsons, however, showed that animation could appeal to both adults and children. Groening's characters got their own weekly, half-hour show in 1989, and its unprecedented success led to an animation boom that was felt across the television landscape. Cartoons were back, baby, and they weren't just for kids anymore.

In December 1989, just weeks before the premiere of "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire," 20th Century Fox decided to try something a little unusual. It repackaged "Family Therapy," a Simpsons short that had originally aired as part of The Tracey Ullman Show on April 23, 1989, as a theatrical short that appeared before the R-rated dark comedy The War of the Roses. I saw Roses during its theatrical run, but I have no memory of this short whatsoever.

Nevertheless, a 35mm print of the forgotten Simpsons short has now resurfaced on a YouTube channel called The Scan Man Gallery. It's quite a find! At the beginning, you'll see some strange logos that I definitely don't remember from the 1980s. Bart (Nancy Cartwright) even sings a little Simpsons fanfare. This print is unmatted, so you see material that was supposed to be hidden offscreen at the top and bottom of the frame. There are moments when the tops of characters' heads disappear and when the entire Simpson family consists of legless torsos floating in midair like ghosts. Another YouTuber, Lane, has posted a color-corrected version.

Plotwise, "Family Therapy" has a disgruntled Homer (Dan Castellaneta) dragging his wife and children to a family therapist named B.F. Sherwood (also Castellaneta) because "we never laugh anymore." With his curly hair, soothing voice, and cardigan sweater, Dr. Sherwood (who reappeared in a Season 23 episode in 2012) seems like a caring, sensitive type. But the family's obnoxious behavior quickly provokes him to anger, and he forces them out of his office after only about a minute. The upside is, they all get a good laugh out of it. The plot of "Family Therapy" would later be expanded into a half-hour episode called "There's No Disgrace Like Home" in January 1990.

What's really interesting here is seeing these very familiar characters before their personalities completely solidified. Only the bratty, smart-mouthed Bart seems himself. He must have emerged fully-formed from Groening's imagination. Meanwhile, in this short, Homer is a stressed-out, grumpy, somewhat imposing father figure who seems to be genuinely worried about his family. Neither his epic stupidity nor his fanciful imagination is in evidence. Marge (Julie Kavner) largely keeps to herself, concentrating on her knitting and barely saying anything. Most different of all is Lisa (Yeardley Smith). In these early days, she was just a female Bart, nearly as rambunctious and disrespectful as her big brother. Watch in awe as she cuts Dr. Sherwood's necktie with scissors.

I'm very grateful for the YouTubers who have rediscovered this short film and made it available to fans everywhere. It's a reminder of a time when The Simpsons was new and radical and didn't have decades of episodes and mountains of merchandise. Yes, even Bart Simpson seemed subversive in 1989.