Despite the terrible strain on the animator's wrists, an upcoming episode of The Simpsons will feature a segment in which Homer Simpson (Dan Castellaneta) will be answering questions from fans…live. Pardon? You heard me. Most animated series spend many months, and in some cases close to a year, preparing a single episode, so how exactly are they planing to have Homer Simpson appearing live? By the magic of Animotion, by which I mean motion-capture.
The Simpsons show-runner Al Jean spoke with THR and said that the upcoming segment will use "a motion capture technology in which Homer's voice and motions will be depicted in an animated scene talking about things he 'could only be saying live on that day.'" The upcoming episode will air on May 15th and explore the world of improv comedy and the live segment will take up the final three minutes of the episode. The segment will air live on both the East and West Coast broadcasts, and show-runner Al Jean said that "as far as I know, this is the first time that's been done by any animated show." If you'd like the chance to have your question answered by Homer Simpson himself, Fox is letting Simpsons fans know that they can tweet their questions using the hashtag #HomerLive beginning Sunday, May 1, through Wednesday, May 4.