Hasta La Creative!

One of the coolest branded buildings at SXSW this year will be particularly difficult to get into. That’s because it’s only 5 inches high, 14 inches wide and 10 inches deep. D’oh!

Having had great success with its first Simpsons construction set and minifigures, Lego will physically unveil its new Simpsons product at SXSW on Friday—the iconic Kwik-E-Mart featured regularly in the show.

The set goes on sale May 1. For hard-core fans of the Fox cartoon, it’s a treasure trove. And it also has Easter eggs for Lego fans, including very rare dark orange bricks.

Among its more interesting features:

• Six minifigures: Homer Simpson, Bart Simpson, Marge Simpson, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Chief Wiggum and Snake (aka Jailbird)
• Opening rear walls, a removable roof with secret vegetable garden, Kwik-E-Mart signage, light-blue walls, dusty blue floors, turquoise welcome mat, shelves, refrigerated cases, counter, Buzz Cola soda fountain, juice dispensers, coffee machine, two arcade games, ATM, crates of Powersauce bars, surveillance cameras, rear storage closet with a rat, cheese, rat hole and an exit door
• Shelves featuring beauty products, diapers, dog food, pastries, fruits, vegetables and more—including Krusty-O’s and Chef Lonelyheart’s Soup for One
• Refrigerator cabinets with a variety of beverages including cans of Buzz Cola … and frozen Jasper
• Counter with a cash register, magazine and card display, lottery machine, hot dog oven, donut display and a Squishee dispenser with 2 Squishees
• Chief Wiggum’s police car featuring an opening trunk, removable roof and space for three minifigures

Many more pics below.

MAC Cosmetics is producing a Simpsons-themed cosmetics line—including eyeshadow, lip gloss, blush, mascara and nail stickers—to honor the show’s 25th anniversary.

One can only imagine the challenges they faced getting this out of R&D. For one thing, the show’s color palette doesn’t really look good on anyone. The dominant color is yellow, and one of the cartoon’s enduring design characteristics revolves around not making anyone, including celebrities, look too attractive. This obviously clashes with beauty products. (The lip gloss colors alone are called Grand Pumpkin, Itchy & Scratchy & Sexy, Nacho Cheese Explosion and Red Blazer.)

“We are celebrating the country’s favorite animated family and its beloved matriarch Marge with a vibrant color collection that screams That Trillion Dollar Look,” the brand says. “Our classic formulas and finishes you love are to blue dye for with an animated twist. All in limited-edition packaging that can only be described in one word: Eeeeexcellent.”

Also, the show has been bad to the point of unwatchable for at least 10 years, so they’re chasing a vanishing audience that mostly watches out of habit with stuff that will make them look, at best, super weird.

Not to mention, any real Simpsons fan involved in this project would have made at least one shade of lip gloss that referenced the monorail episode.

Cet été dans l’enceinte du parc Universal Studios d’Orlando en Floride, le parc d’attraction à l’honneur de la série des Simpsons a ouvert ses portes, permettant aux visiteurs de découvrir une réplique complète de la ville de Springfield, multipliant les références à la série de Matt Groening.