The Simpsons Movie Cut A Kang And Kodos Cameo To Appease Outraged Fans
"The Simpsons" is a show home to innumerable colorful characters, including two space aliens named Kang and Kodos. How do aliens fit into the world of Springfield? Out of canon, of course! Created by Jay Kogen and Wallace Wolodarsky, the alien characters made their debut on the Halloween episode "Treehouse of Horror," and have appeared in every "Treehouse of Horror" episode since (with one exception: "Treehouse of Horror XXI").
These episodes are understood to take place outside of the standard "Simpsons" continuity, which means aliens can pop up and have no effect on the show's "normal" world. While Kang and Kodos mostly get cameo appearances, they occasionally get their own major "Treehouse of Horror" plotlines, like the time they famously switched places with then-presidential candidates Bill Clinton and Bob Dole for "Treehouse of Horror VII." This is the episode that gave us the now-famous line, "Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos."
"The Simpsons" made the leap from the small to the big screen in 2007 with "The Simpsons Movie," and while nearly every recurring character from the show appeared in that movie in some capacity, Kang and Kodos didn't make the transition from series to film. But as it turns out, the alien duo almost made the cut — until test audiences got in the way.
Test audiences say no to Kang and Kodos
According to the inside-the-show book "Springfield Confidential: Jokes, Secrets, and Outright Lies from a Lifetime Writing for The Simpsons" by "Simpsons" writer Mike Reiss and Mathew Klickstein, Kang and Kodos originally showed up in a post-credit scene in "The Simpsons Movie." As Reiss and Klickstein write, "KANG and KODOS, our resident aliens, have appeared in every Treehouse of Horror. They were inspired by aliens on the cover of a 1950s EC sci-fi comic in Sam Simon's office. Kang and Kodos originally closed The Simpsons Movie, appearing under the credits, debating the quality of the film:
KANG: At least the pig was cute.
KODOS: Yeah, until he vanished halfway through the picture!"
Sounds fine, right? Wrong! According to "Springfield Confidential," test audiences "hated hearing aliens tear apart a film they'd just enjoyed." As a result, the scene was cut. It seems kind of weird that test audiences would be so resistant to a harmless joke like this, but what do I know? I will say that "The Simpsons Movie" is pretty good and holds up just fine without the brief appearance from Kang and Kodos. Still, it's kind of a bummer that test audiences were so against seeing these classic "Simpsons" characters.