Matt Groening Convinced Alf Clausen That ‘The Simpsons’ Was a Drama

Sad news in the world of The Simpsons: Longtime composer Alf Clausen assist from The Jetsons), but it was Clausen who consistently gave the show a true sense of majesty, whether it was a memorably playful ditty about a city made entirely of chocolate…

…or a wistful piece to accompany one of the show’s most emotional scenes.

And we have 11 words for you: Stop the Planet of the Apes I Want to Get Off!

Before his time at The Simpsons, Clausen was the orchestrator for some of the biggest movie comedies of all-time, such as The Naked Gun and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. He was also the composer for the show ALF, prior to his Pog-based comeback. Yes, Alf co-wrote the theme song to ALF.

But when The Simpsons first began, Clausen actually turned down the opportunity to compose for the show, specifically because he wanted to work on more weighty projects. “I immediately said no,” Clausen said of his first meeting with Matt Groening. “I went in, and he said, ‘Do you have any interest in doing an animated series?’ And I said, ‘No.’ He said, ‘Really, why?’ I said, ‘Basically I’ve been concentrating on dramas. I consider myself to be a drama scorer, and that’s what I want to do with my life.’”

But Groening quickly came up with a clever way to lure Clausen on board. “Matt Groening said his favorite comment to me: 'We don’t look upon this as being a cartoon but a drama where the characters are drawn, and we would like it scored that way. Can you do that?’” Clausen recalled. “And I went, ‘Bingo, I can do that.’”

Clausen suggested that he try scoring just one episode. It turned out to be the very first “Treehouse of Horror,” and needless to say, he nailed it. 

Unfortunately, Clausen’s tenure at The Simpsons ended in a confusing legal mess. He was fired from the show in 2017, and then “sued Disney and its Fox divisions, claiming age discrimination.” As Variety reported, the show’s producers “said in court filings that they decided to terminate Clausen after they became dissatisfied with his work on a hip-hop themed episode.” Court papers later revealed that producers were also “surprised and disturbed” to learn that Clausen “had been delegating some of the work of composing music for The Simpsons to others, including his son.”

Still, Clausen clearly had a huge impact on the show, and it just wouldn’t have been the same without him. Even his “Technical Difficulties Please Stand By” track was a masterpiece.