Difference between revisions of "Margical History Tour/References"

Latest revision as of 05:26, May 5, 2024

Cultural references[edit]

• The title is a pun on the song, album and film Magical Mystery Tour by The Beatles.
• Some items seen in the library are Everybody Poops: The Video, Yu-Gi-Oh! Price Guides, and Itchy & Scratchy books on tape.
• The song "Animal House", sung by Homer, is a parody of the song from Animal House.
  • In the song, Homer sings that we saw Donald Sutherland's ass and the end was done like American Graffiti.

Henry VIII[edit]

• Homer (as Henry VIII) sings a variation of "I'm Henery the Eighth, I Am".
• "Greensleeves" plays several times during the segment.
• Henry wipes his mouth with the Magna Carta.
• Margarine of Aragon is a parody of Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII's first wife.
• Anne Boleyn's business card says "A Son'll Come Out Tomorrow", a reference to the song "Tomorrow" from the musical Annie.
• When Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn are making love, she says "Oh, Henry!" a reference to the candy bar, Oh Henry!.
• Homer says to Bart in his dream to "get out of my dreams and into my wife", a reference to the song, "Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car", which in turn was inspired by a line in the song "You're Sixteen".
• Marge says that one of the good things about Elizabeth I's reign is the fact that it gives various British actresses a role to play when they reach a certain age, a reference to the frequent portrayals of Elizabeth in film and television by famous actresses such as Glenda Jackson, Helen Mirren, Vanessa Redgrave and Judi Dench.
• Henry VIII is shown with six different wives as did the real Henry VIII.
• The fourth wife's final words, "I told you I was a dude" is a reference to Anne of Cleves, described at the time by Nicander Nucius as a "mannish woman" and another courtier found her manner, habits, and dress unfeminine. The 4-month marriage was annulled, along with other reasons, for non-consummation as, according to Henry VIII, "She is nothing fair, and have very evil smells about her" made her unable to arouse the king's desire.
• His fifth wife's final words, "You didn't dump me, I dumped you!" is a reference to Katherine Howard being convicted and beheaded for adultery with courier Thomas Culpeper.

Lewis and Clark and Sacagawea[edit]

• Part of "Hail to the Chief" plays when the White House is seen.
• Lewis and Clark travel under the Saint Louis Gateway Arch, made of lumber.
• Immediately after Carl says they've discovered the beautiful Pacific Northwest it starts raining, a reference to the rainy climate of the Pacific Northwest.
• The "butter box" that Sacagawea was said to have posed for is a reference to the picture on the Land O'Lakes butter box.

Mozart and Salieri[edit]

• Sally Salieri is a parody of composer Antonio Salieri.
• Many of the imagery within this part are directly lifted from the movie Amadeus which although set in Vienna, was primary shot on location in Prague.
• Mozart plays "Piano Sonata No. 11" on the piano.
• The T-Shirt "Bat Out of Salzburg" is a reference to the song "Bat Out of Hell" by Meat Loaf and Mozart's birthplace in Salzburg, Austria.
• "The Musical Fruit" is a reference to the children's song "Beans, Beans, the Musical Fruit" and the title of Mozart's last opera "The Magic Flute" while music performed in the opera is Mozart's Eine kleine Nachtmusik (considered the most recognizable of Mozart's compositions) with lyrics about flatulence added. Eine kleine Nachtmusik is a serenade and not part of "The Magic Flute" or any other of Mozart's operas.
• The three other untalented members of the family are three members from The Jackson 5.
• In the scenes where Mozart is ill and living on the street, and later, dying, the music playing in the background is from "Requiem Mass" by Mozart.
• Beethoven plays "Symphony No. 9" on the piano.
• Beethoven's laugh imitates the opening bars from "Symphony No. 5".
• Lisa points out Marge's story sounds a lot like the movie Amadeus which was historically inaccurate. The only think Homer knows is "the guy who played Mozart was also in Animal House" which is correct as the actor who played Mozart, Tom Hulce, had also previously been one of the leads in gross-out comedy Animal House.

Trivia[edit]

• When Reverend Lovejoy officiates at King Henry's second marriage, he says "In the name of the Henry, the Hank and the holy Harry". The latter two are references to cast members Hank Azaria and Harry Shearer.
• A Mozart-esque version of the Gracie Films logo is used for this episodes Gracie Films logo.

Continuity[edit]

• Episode established that Homer has seen the movie Amadeus which stars F. Murray Abraham as Antonio Salieri and won him the Academy Award for Best Actor. In the episode "Homer Simpson in: "Kidney Trouble"" Homer refuses to pull over despite Grampa needing to urite because he wants to get home to not miss F. Murray Abraham on that night's episode of Inside the Actor's Studio reiterating his fandom of F. Murray Abraham.
• Otto married another man ("The Joy of Sect").

Historical errors[edit]

Henry VIII[edit]

• Technically Henry VIII never had a divorce. Unlike his divorce then the next five wives beheaded in the episode, only his second and fifth wives were executed after being found guilty of adultery. Henry VIII's marriage to Anne Boleyn was annulled just two days before her beheading and he also had his first and fourth marriages annulled. He was made a widower by his third marriage while his sixth wife, herself already widowed twice when they married, outlived him.
  • His third wife Jane Seymour was not one of the executed wives. In fact, she died shortly after giving birth to the baby boy that Henry had long sought. She was the least fashionable and least educated of all six wives being barely able to read or write and sources at the time wrote of her dullness. The historical Jane Seymour has been put forward as popularizing the term "Plain Jane" while in the episode her attractive looks, but off-putting voice is referencing the fictional movie star Lina Lamont, played by Jean Hagen, in the musical Singin' in the Rain which is a reoccurring joke with Miss Springfield.
  • Henry VIII mentioned he cannot execute his first wife because her father is the King of Spain although Catherine's father King Ferdinand died in 1516 while Catherine's last pregnancy was the delivery of a stillborn daughter on November 9, 1518 and Henry VIII did try to end his first marriage until 1527 and it did not finally end until 1533. Catherine of Aragon was not locked in a dungeon while Henry had their marriage annulled and through his subsequent remarriages. She was exiled to various castles away from the royal court and was not at his death bed as shown in the episode as she had preceded Henry VIII in death by 11 years.
• The castle of Henry VIII has a flag with blue and vertical and horizontal white lines. This is not a flag of Britain or any of its countries - the Scottish flag (which is also blue and white) has a cross, not vertical and horizontal lines.
• Marge explains how Elizabeth I eventually became queen and that England's power was never greater; in fact, England reached its greatest power about four centuries later as the British Empire. The true order of succession after Henry's death was Edward VI; Lady Jane Grey, who was named in order to keep the Catholic Mary from bringing Catholicism back to England; Mary, who usurped the throne and had Jane executed; and finally Elizabeth, after Mary died childless.

Lewis and Clark and Sacagawea[edit]

• The chief (Homer) says that Sacagawea's (Lisa) name meant "little know-it-all who won't shut her maizehole." In reality, her name is said to mean "bird woman." The joke translation is a reference to Lisa's being smart and always talking.
• Lewis and Clark are portrayed as being complete morons, which they were not in real life. The unflattering portrayal is due to their being played by Lenny and Carl, who are in fact simple-minded.
• When Lewis and Clark sight the Pacific Ocean, Lewis says they'll name this place "Eugene, Oregon". In reality, they sighted the Pacific at the mouth of the Columbia River, near modern-day Astoria, Oregon. The view of the Pacific in the episode has Haystack Rock and the adjacent smaller rock island known as the Needles in Cannon Beach, Oregon which William Clark did visit in 1805 at what is known as "Clark's Point of View" today.
• Clark (Carl) calls Sacagawea (Lisa) Pocahontas, Pocahontas is best remembered when she was nine or ten years old and saving John Smith's life. This is close to Lisa's age on the show, whereas Sacagawea was 16 or 17 when she traveled with Lewis and Clark.

Mozart and Salieri[edit]

• Salieri was a man and he was not related to Mozart at all.
• Mozart did have a musically talented sister, but she was named Marianne and 4 years older.
• At the time of Mozart's death both his mother Anna Maria and father Leopold as well as Emperor Joseph II were already dead.