Matt Groening, The Simpsons debuted on The Tracey Ullman Show in 1987 as a series of animated shorts. After three seasons, it was developed into a half-hour prime time show and made its official debut in 1989.
The Simpsons follows the daily lives of the title family and other notable citizens of Sideshow Bob), and many others have crossed paths with them at some point. Such is the case of Krusty the Clown, host of The Krusty the Clown Show, founder of Krusty Burger, and a favorite among Springfield’s children, especially Bart and Lisa.
Krusty is very popular and has appeared in all types of merchandise, and he once opened his own summer camp, appropriately called “Kamp Krusty”, which was the moving force of a whole episode – however, this could have been an adventure to be enjoyed on the big screen, but there were some obstacles on the way.
Kamp Krusty Was Intended To Be A Simpsons Movie
"Kamp Krusty” is the first episode of The Simpsons season 4, and it follows Bart, Lisa, and many of their friends from Springfield Elementary School as they prepare to spend six weeks at Kamp Krusty, “The Krustiest Place on Earth”. The camp looks like the dream of any child, especially those who look up to Krusty, as Bart does, and so he does his best to convince Homer to let him go, as he said he could if he got at least a C average on his report card. Bart gets a D-, but he's still allowed to go. Sadly, Kamp Krusty turns out to be nothing like what was promised, and instead the kids find themselves roasting pine-cones, being forced to swim in a dangerous lake, and being watched over by the bullies of Springfield – meanwhile, Homer and Marge enjoy their time together. Krusty finally shows up and apologizes to the children, and makes up for it by taking them to the happiest place on Earth: Tijuana. In the commentary found in The Simpsons: The Complete Fourth Season, James L. Brooks explained he suggested "Kamp Krusty" to be used as a plotline for a movie, and while it would have been fun to watch on the big screen, it just wouldn’t have been possible.
Why Kamp Krusty Didn't Become A Simpsons Movie
What got in the way between "Kamp Krusty" and the big screen was the story. The crew struggled to make it fit the minimum time, and so had to lengthen the “Kamp Krusty” song by a couple of verses. Al Jean told Brooks that if they couldn’t make an 18-minute episode out of that idea, how could they possibly make 80, and so the idea was scrapped. “Kamp Krusty” got a follow-up episode 25 years later in “Kamp Krustier”, and The Simpsons got a movie with a completely different story. It’s hard to say if the “Kamp Krusty” story would have made a better movie or not, as it all depends on how it would have been handled, but at least it made a fun episode.