All photos by JORDAN ROSS "Where’s Bart," a spoof on the
"Where’s Waldo" series, is on display in "The Simpsons: Ten Years
Gone" at the Hollywood Entertainment Museum running
indefinitely.
By Leila Mobayen
Daily Bruin Contributor
With a lack of quality television programming in the past
decade, one program that has remained above par for people of all
ages is “The Simpsons.”
The show’s ever-relevant humor and lovable characters has
made it the longest running animated television sitcom to date.
“The Simpsons” first aired as a short on “The
Tracy Ullman Show” in 1987 and became its own television
series in 1989. Since then, it has won 16 Emmy awards as well as
several other honors.
 “The Simpsons: Ten Years Gone” exhibit has
original cels from several episodes on display.
As a tribute to the show’s lasting popularity, the
Hollywood Entertainment Museum is currently hosting a small exhibit
commemorating the show and its contributions to the entertainment
industry as a whole.
“The Simpsons: Ten Years Gone,” which opened in
October, was scheduled to close on Dec. 3, but has been extended
indefinitely.
The exhibit contains mostly pictures, in the form of cel
animation, taken from two episodes.
The main attraction is the 1-by-2.5-foot limited edition art
piece called “Where’s Bart,” which is a play on
the “Where’s Waldo” series except with
“Simpsons” characters.
The characters range from obvious personalities, such as Lisa
and Maggie Simpson, to obscure guest players such as the three-eyed
fish and the different versions of the Duff beer can.
 FOX "The Simpsons" creator, Matt Groening, will be
speaking at Royce Hall. An exclusive exhibit saluting the sitcom is
on display at the Hollywood Entertainment Museum.
By representing every guest star that has ever appeared on the
show, the picture is overwhelming, warranting reexamination of its
intricate detail.
Close scrutiny of the different characters and the scenarios in
which they are depicted would be more rewarding for the avid
“Simpsons” connoisseur than the casual viewer who might
miss most of the intended humor.
The exhibit also focuses on illustrating the way that cel
animation works. As opposed to other animation companies like Pixar
who have taken the leap into the realm of computer-generated
animation, “The Simpsons” has stuck to traditional cel
animation.
One wall shows a slide broken up into the different parts that
make up one cel. Despite the apparent simplicity of the
cartoon’s visual style, a visit to the museum illustrates the
surprising difficulty involved in the show’s production. A
single episode of the show actually takes six to eight months to
produce, and involves tens of thousands of different cels.
The only other attraction in the exhibit is a display of plastic
figurines, which were at one time being given away as a Burger King
promotion.
The rest of the Hollywood Entertainment museum focuses on
television, film, radio, sound recording, and new media.
The museum houses industry artifacts such as old costumes and
recordings, as well as changing exhibits such as the current
feature of a replica of the bar from the sitcom
“Cheers,” using all of the original props.
The museum is conveniently located in the Hollywood Galaxy
Complex, half a block west of the Chinese Mann Theater, and is open
everyday except Wednesdays.
Cameras are permitted, and admission is an affordable $4.50 with
student identification.
“The Simpsons” exhibit is, unfortunately, not very
large. It is located in the front area of the museum, as something
to view while waiting for a tour guide for the rest of the
museum.
For hard core fans of the show, it is an enriching experience,
and for everyone else, the trip is made worthwhile with the
addition of the museum’s other exhibits.
Despite the fact that “The Simpsons” exhibit is more
of a tribute to cel animation than to the well-loved sitcom, the
museum as a whole provides a pleasurable trip down
Hollywood’s memory lane.
MUSEUM: “The Simpsons: Ten Years Gone” is now on
display at the Hollywood Entertainment Museum, located on 7021
Hollywood Blvd. The Museum is open daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and
closed on Wednesdays. Admission is $7.50 for adults, $4.50 for
students and seniors, and $4 for children. For more information
call (323) 465-7900.