British street artist Banksy has directed a controversial Simpsons intro featuring an Asian sweatshop, apparently inspired by reports the show outsources the bulk of their animation to a company in South Korea.
Although many famous faces have shared the screen with Bart, Homer, Marge, Lisa and Maggie, this is the first time an artist has been invited to contribute to the storyboard.
The episode, entitled “MoneyBart”, which aired in the U.S. on Sunday, sweeps through a vandalized Springfield graffitied with the artist’s tag. Bart is introduced in detention wearing a face mask as he writes all over the classroom blackboard and walls.
(More on TIME.com: See The Simpsons‘ greatest guest voices.)
Then, in a dreamlike sequence, the family “couch gag” travels to a dark dilapidated factory infested with rats and skeletons. The work house features dozens of exploited workers slaving to produce the show’s memorabilia. Kittens are thrown into a wood chipper and used to stuff Bart dolls, a neglected panda is whipped while pulling carts full of merchandise, a chained unicorn is used to punch holes in Simpsons DVDs and a severed dolphin’s head is used to tape up boxes.
The closing scene emerges from a ominous 20th Century Fox logo, heavily guarded with watchtowers, searchlights and a barbed wire fence.
The show has mocked the network in the past and Banksy admits that this time there were delays, disputes over broadcasting and even threats of a walk-out from the animation department.
Ay, caramba! NewsFeed Hopes Mr. Murdoch saw the funny side too.
