Simpsons Tall Tales
"Simpsons Tall Tales" is the twenty-first and final episode of the twelfth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 20, 2001. In the episode, Homer refuses to pay a five dollar airport tax to fly to Delaware, which forces the family to ride in a livestock car of a train instead. There they meet a singing hobo who tells three tall tales which include Homer as Paul Bunyan, Lisa as Connie Appleseed (a female version of Johnny Appleseed) and Bart and Nelson as Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn respectively.
"Simpsons Tall Tales"
Season 12
Episode 21
Paul Bunyan:
John Frink
Don Payne
Connie Appleseed:
Bob Bendetson
Tom and Huck:
Matt Selman
CABF17
May 20, 2001
"I should not be twenty-one by now"
The living room is a subway station and the Simpsons enter an arriving train.
Mike Scully
Ian Maxtone-Graham
John Frink
Don Payne
Matt Selman
Tom Gammill
Max Pross
Bob Anderson
Joel H. Cohen
"Simpsons Tall Tales" was directed by Bob Anderson and written by John Frink, Don Payne, Bob Bendetson and Matt Selman. The idea for the episode was pitched while the series' staff were coming up with story ideas for the twelfth season. The staff had noticed that viewers responded well to "Simpsons Bible Stories", and decided to write another trilogy episode because of the warm response.
The singing hobo in the episode was voiced by Hank Azaria. He was originally going to be voiced by Jim Carrey, but he dropped out due to his busy schedule.
In its original broadcast, the episode was seen by approximately 7.8 million viewers, finishing in 33rd place in the ratings the week it aired. Following its home video release, the episode received mixed reviews from critics.
Cultural references[edit]
"Simpsons Tall Tales" has been described as a "skewed" retelling of old tales.[8] The beginning of the episode shows the family winning a trip to Delaware. This is a reference to the end of "Behind the Laughter", in which Homer is seen watching an episode of The Simpsons wherein the family is visiting Delaware.[9]
The first segment is based on the mythological lumberjack Paul Bunyan, who carved Babe the Blue ox out of the Blue Mountains.[4] The second segment shows Lisa as Connie Appleseed, a female version of the American pioneer nurseryman Johnny Appleseed who introduced apple trees to large parts of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. "Tom and Huck" features Bart as Tom Sawyer and Nelson as Huckleberry Finn, both of whom are characters in Mark Twain's 1876 novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Despite the episode's title, only the first two segments are actually tall tales.
This is referenced in the episode, when Lisa says "That's not tall tale, it's a book by Mark Twain." In the first segment, Paul Bunyan and Babe fight Rodan, a fictional Japanese mutated pterosaur introduced in the 1956 tokusatsu film Rodan.[2] When showering Marge with stuffed animals, Bunyan accidentally drops a guard next to her. When noticing the guard, Bunyan tugs his collar in a similar way as American comedian Charles Nelson Reilly.[5] In the third segment, Dr Hibbert can be heard singing the 1927 song "Ol' Man River".[4]
Reception[edit]
In order to boost ratings, two earlier broadcast episodes (including "Treehouse of Horror XI") were shown before the episode.[10] In its original American broadcast on May 20, 2001, "Simpsons Tall Tales" received a 7.6 rating, according to Nielsen Media Research, translating to approximately 7.8 million viewers. The episode finished in 33rd place in the ratings for the week of May 14-20, 2001.[11] On August 18, 2009, the episode was released as part of a DVD set called The Simpsons: The Complete Twelfth Season. Mike Scully, Ian Maxtone-Graham, John Frink, Don Payne, Carolyn Omine, Matt Selman, Tom Gammill, Max Pross, Bob Anderson and Joel H. Cohen participated in the audio commentary for the episode.[2]
Since its home video release, "Simpsons Tall Tales" received mixed reviews from critics.
In his review of The Simpsons: The Complete Twelfth Season, Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie Guide disliked the episode. He argued that the episode is similar to the season 10 episode "Simpsons Bible Stories", in that they both "feel a little heavy on cutesy and low on comedic inspiration."[12] Although he found some parts of the episode amusing, he summarized it as overall being lackluster.[12]
DVD Talk's Casey Burchby described "Simpsons Tall Tales" as the season's worst episode. As with most other trilogy episodes, "Simpsons Tall Tales" "did not work" for Burchby, who found that the gags were either boring or too far between.
He also argued that "Simpsons Tall Tales" and trilogy episodes in general are an excuse for the series' writers to not have to come up with new stories for the characters. "It's understandable that after eleven years, a show might have trouble continuing to come up with original material for the same five characters, but the anthology episodes come across as rather transparent attempts to avoid that challenge", he wrote.[13]
On the other hand, DVD Verdict's Mac MacEntire argued that "Simpsons Tall Tales" is one of the season's best episodes. He wrote that the episode is "filled with great gags", including the hobo's sponge bath and Bart and Nelson's discussion about "backtacks" and "tackbacks".[14]