This Russian arthouse remake of The Simpsons is the most depressing thing you’ll see today

Russia’s indie cinema is not known for its slapstick comedy. So when animator Lazy Square — otherwise known as Alexei Semyonov — released his arthouse remake of America’s favourite cartoon family there was only one solution: scrap the hi-jinks, and add a liberal dose of violence, drugs, and petty crime. That means seeing Bart stealing mobile phones, Lisa being surrounded by police as she busks on the street, and a finale of domestic violence thrown in for good measure.

Semyonov started animating to promote Serious About, a brand where he worked as a designer. Later, he began cultivating his work into a more creative hobby, with YouTube becoming the platform for his often dark and satirical takes on US pop culture. It’s not the first time that his work has blown up the RuNet either — Semyonov’s take on the Terminator 2 has also been at risk of going viral.