 Director David Silverman said that unlike the TV series where " you [ have ] to pick and choose " , the film gave them the opportunity to " lavish that attention [ on ] every single scene " . The characters have shadows , unlike in the show . Silverman and the animators looked to films such as The Incredibles , The Triplets of Belleville , and Bad Day at Black Rock for inspiration , as they were " a great education in staging because of how the characters are placed " . They also looked for ideas for a dream sequence , in Disney films such as Dumbo and the Pluto cartoon Pluto 's Judgment Day , and for crowd scenes in It 's a Mad , Mad , Mad , Mad World . Silverman looked at some of the Simpsons episodes he had directed , primarily his two favorites , " Homie the Clown " and " Three Men and a Comic Book " . Mike B. Anderson , Lauren MacMullan , Rich Moore , and Steven Dean Moore each directed the animation for around a quarter of the film under Silverman 's supervision , with numerous other animators working on scenes . 
