The Simpsons 'No-No Sheets’

Investigating five rule-breaking Simpsons characters.

Music: The Simpsons: Hit & Run, Simpsons Skateboarding, Simpsons Road Rage (PS2)

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Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
1:58 - Simpsons Illustrated
3:24 - Eyes
6:04 - Hair
9:03 - Teeth
10:18 - Face
13:43 - Body
17:58 - Animation
21:45 - Conclusion

[DangStank]

Another lovely fact is that Matt Groening hated Hans Molemans design when he first appeared and demanded that he never appear again. But the crew loved him too much and only found it funny that Matt hated him. So they just kept putting him in

[horpuscorpus]

My favorite "No-No Style Guide" for animated shows has to be Plank's expression for Ed, Edd n Eddy. Danny Antonicci created a sheet that listed all of the "expressions" Plank should emote depending on how he was feeling.
The joke was that all of his expressions were the exact same, but this was a serious guide for animators/storyboard artists to follow because Danny didn't want anyone to change Plank's iconic face if they wanted to.

[nosidenoside]

They should do a treehouse of horror episode where they pretend all of the no's in the no-no book are yes's but is otherwise completely normal

[JimiVexTV]

I just realised, my bedsheets as a kid where some of these drawings. I thought it was weird how janky these pics of the Simpsons where, and why they had "NO" written all around them. What a weird, and much cooler than I thought, concept for bedsheets.

[OpEditorial]

*The Babysitter Bandit* episode is an entire "No-No Sheet" come to life, not so much that the characters are poorly drawn or off model but the animation is so stylistically weird and (at times) beautiful to look at it became the gold standard of what not to do with early 90's era Simpsons.

[SM]

I'm glad that Lenny was spared from the "no one else has Homer's beard" rule.

[fluffcake]

I think a funny thing about these No-No sheets is that when the rare occasion the rules are broken it drastically increases the joke as well. Also it’s wholesome hearing the Simpsons are just silly fellas who are mischievous and not scoundrels

[fantasticbirdblue]

I think the reason we don't see them again is obvious:

they no longer use the bus stop. Because Bart stole the bus stop sign

[GreysToons]

This is legit the kind of video that reminds me of why I love this platform. A fascinating 20+ minute deep dive on how one example of an iconic cartoon’s early installment weirdness might or might not align with its style guide/“do’s & don’ts”. Ain’t no way you’re gonna get something like this on TV or Netflix lol

[soovcat]

"These characters exist not as individuals, but rather as a group. They stand still together... They act shocked together... They lean back together."
I want what they have 😩

[MarcHendry]

as an animator I appreciate having these types of style guides highlighted, it's a major part of our jobs. This is hardly a hot take, but I do feel they've become TOO rigid with the rules of the show over time, at the cost of life, character and flexibility in the animation

[Trazynn]

The 'no cunning' rule is a great rule for any sympathetic protagonist really. They're never scheming, they're always taking whatever life throws at them and respond to that.

[NYRfan]

I love the derpy 'wall-eyed' expressions of the early seasons. That blank stare has been used to perfect comedic effect so many times, it really adds to the joke/scene. It's especially prevalent in Seasons 4-5, which had some of the most fun/wacky animation of the series. Boy-Scoutz 'n the Hood and Homer Goes to College are two of my favorite episodes in terms of the animation.

[davidsilverman]

As the designer of the opening sequence I may have more accurate answers. But to the point: the reason why this was cut -- not the right tone of humor for the show and the way it was evolving. Pretty simple, eh?

[TehSkullKid]

Style guides are some of the most interesting behind-the-scenes materials, and we rarely see many of them. Personal favorite is one from Invader Zim called "God Save the Dib" which gave lots of tips on how to draw that character and how not to, and lots of the potential mistakes were just labeled as "don't do this, it makes him look like a whiny bitch."

[d-boivids]

15:27 "even some of the ridiculous season one background characters follow these body principles"
the guy in the middle of the crowd: *w i d e*

[Vailskibum]

Looking at the guide also helps you realize how much work goes into every little decision, most viewers aren't even aware

[smugbowkid]

I would 100% watch several more videos just going over “Do’s and Don’ts/No-No Sheets” for animated media and examples within them, it’s just so interesting.

[impagain]

As a storyboard artist working on an animated series, your best stuff gets cut ALL THE TIME. Just like the squirrel house masterpiece, I've spent days crafting a perfect scene, getting it all approved, great feedback from everyone, and then had it completely cut because that scene just didn't work for the episode. We even lost an entire FINISHED character design from that cut (...which I was also the secondary character designer for...) Annoying, and a bit disheartening at the time, but literally nothing personal. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work, and there's nothing you can do but sigh and move on. That's the way of television animation.

[michaelbarker]

I feel like the idea for Mrs Gross might have morphed into lunch lady Dorris. “dont tell me how to do my job” is something i can picture her saying very clearly in my head.