The Hindu News Update Service

Thimphu (PTI): Bhutan's guiding development philosophy -- gross national happiness -- will make a great Simpsons' episode, co-creator of the popular cartoon series Sam Simon has said. One of the original developers of America's most successful and longest running animated TV programme, Simon said he would like to see the idea of gross national happiness implemented in the US.

"Gross national happiness will make a great Simpsons' episode," said Simon, who was on a trip to the Himalayan nation. According to him, the inspiration for The Simpsons was originally just about about a dysfunctional family that wanted to be functional but as time passed by it became a satirical look at America.

"It started off as a five-second cartoon short that was shown before the commercials on Fox network," he said. Simon was one of the original developers of the show along with Matt Groening and James L Brooks. On the show's artistic style, he said it was a collaboration of many talented people.

"Matt sketched some rough drawings, which were refined by an artist named David Silverman, who today has directed movies like 'Monsters Incorporated'," he told the Kuensel. "We just happened to find extremely talented young people, who were there when it started," he said.