D’oh! As the much-anticipated “The Simpsons Movie” is released in theaters today, one Santa Maria native son can say that he actually knows what it’s like to be a part of the Simpson family.

Mike Anderson has worked as an animator on the iconic television show almost since its inception and last month finished his stint as a sequence director on the movie.

Anderson, 52, has always been an artist.

“I just draw constantly,” Anderson, who now lives in Sherman Oaks, said in a phone interview June 19 — the same day he wrapped the movie. “It’s kind of a disease, really. You can’t escape it.”

And once he got involved in “The Simpsons Movie,” there really was no escape.

Anderson served as one of four sequence directors on the movie, each of whom was responsible for different parts of it, with a supervising director overseeing the entire project. Generally speaking, the task of sequence director is the same as directing an episode, explained Anderson, adding that his primary job in both positions is to figure out how best to tell a story.

“It’s just like live action,” he said. “It’s how to tell the story.”

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Anderson grew up in Santa Maria, and his family — he has brothers in Nipomo and Atascadero, along with a sister in Oklahoma — keeps him connected to the Central Coast.

He attended St. Joseph High School, but dropped out at age 16, opting for a life of auto racing instead. When he realized that dream probably wouldn’t lead to much of a future, he completed his GED at Hancock College and went onto art school, specializing in animation at the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland.

“At that point I was really ready to learn,” said Anderson. “History is cool. Learning is cool,” he added, sounding an awful lot like his buddy Bart Simpson.

After graduating, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in the live action industry.

But in December of 1989 the project he was working on fell apart, and Anderson, then a single dad with a little boy, was worried the bottom had fallen out.

“I was kind of depressed,” he said. And then he saw “The Simpsons” Christmas special.

He remembers immediately recognizing that their animation was a lot like his. So he found a job there, starting as “background clean up.” “From there I climbed,” said Anderson, adding that he held “every conceivable job” in animation at the company, including artist-supervisor, storyboard consultant and director.

In 1996 he directed his first episode, and has continued in that role since. And successfully, at that.

He has been nominated for four Emmy awards and has won two, one in 1997 for the episode “Homer’s Phobia” and the other in 2000 for “HOM-R.” (the R should be backwards) “Homer’s Phobia” also earned Anderson an Annie award and a World Animation Celebration award.

Despite not having a diploma from St. Joe’s, the school still holds a special place in Anderson’s heart, and, he said, he’s been “adopted” into St. Joe’s alumni community.

“I consider that my high school,” he said.

At a recent high school reunion, he spent some of the night drawing Barts and Homers for old friends to take home to their kids, something his celebrity status requires. “People make you draw Simpsons,” he said. “People always ask you to draw the characters.”

But Anderson doesn’t really see himself as a celebrity. “For me, it’s a job,” he said. “I was lucky enough to connect with something that I could make a living doing something I love.”

While Anderson has worked his way up the ranks at “The Simpsons,” the show itself has reached several milestones.

This year, “The Simpsons” wrapped its 18th season with its 400th episode. It is currently the longest-running American sitcom. “The Simpsons” has won numerous national and international awards, including ASCAP awards, American Comedy Awards, Annie Awards, BMI Film & TV Awards, British Comedy Awards, Emmy Awards, Kid’s Choice Awards, Teen Choice Awards, a Peabody Award and more.

“The Simpsons” also received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2000.

“It’s been around so long, I think there’s nothing quite like it,” said Anderson. “It really connects to the public.”

So what’s next for Anderson?

“Now that the film is literally wrapped, today,” he said in our June 19 interview, he’s figuring that out.

“I feel like I went to war or something,” said Anderson, realizing that he now he has time to get to know his family again after spending more than a year working seven days a week to get the film out.

That family includes Anderson’s wife, Celia Mercer, a UCLA animation professor and an award-winning animated short filmmaker; 28-year-old son Robyn, who also works on “The Simpsons”; and 7-year-old daughter Chloe, who is already showing off her artistic talents in producing three of her own animated movies — with a little help from mom and dad, that is.

Professionally, Anderson said there is already talk of a second “Simpsons” movie, and he is slated to direct more “Simpsons” television episodes. In the meantime, his live action dreams live on, and he’s working on scripts and animated projects of his own.

“’The Simpsons’ gets you through any door, but once you’re there, it’s hard to compete with ‘The Simpsons,’” he said. “But if I just keep directing ‘Simpsons’ episodes, I’ll be happy.”

CHECK IT OUT:

A new book, “The Simpsons Handbook: Secret Tips from the Pros,” offers instruction on drawing the popular Simpsons characters. Mike Anderson provided the secret tips for drawing Chief Wiggam, he said, explaining that the character starts with drawing a donut, exactly the shape Chief Wiggam’s body is based on. To purchase the book, visit www.amazon.com.