Difference between revisions of "Treehouse of Horror XII/References"

Revision as of 10:35, December 13, 2020

Trivia

• "Treehouse of Horror XII" was originally scheduled to air on Sunday, November 4, 2001. It was delayed two days when the 2001 World Series, which was delayed after the September 11, 2001 attacks and was also televised on Fox, went to seven games. As a result, Treehouse of Horror XII is one of the few episodes of The Simpsons to air in a different timeslot on American TV.
• This is the second of three Treehouse of Horror episodes not to have the credits littered with "scary names." The others are I and XIII.
• This is the last Treehouse of Horror episode to have the name Halloween Special.
• The Burns mansion looks like a haunted house.
• The skull and crossbones on the High Voltage sign is shaped like Mr. Burns' face.
• The "Burns family corpses" in the opening sequence are as follows (from left to right as seen on-screen):
  • A man's body that resembles General Douglas MacArthur as it's wearing an Army uniform and has a pipe and sunglasses like MacArthur's; however, it's a three-star general and MacArthur was a five-star. The body has a tomahawk stuck in its chest.
  • A man's body dressed as a pirate. It has a patch over its left eye and a cutlass stuck in its right eye socket.
  • A woman's body, dressed as a Burlesque dancer, with three bullet holes in its forehead.
  • A man's body wearing a suit of armor with a pitchfork stuck through the helmet's eye slits.
• In Ethnictown:
  • The Simpsons pass a store called "Fatty Meats".
  • The balloon Homer steals says "Birthday Boy".
• The fantasy creatures that get caught in Homer's leprechaun trap include: An imp, a fairy, a pixie (Tinkerbell), a Hobgoblin, a nymph, a naiad, a wood sprite, Katie Couric, and the Leprechaun.
• One of the gypsies at the wedding bears a strong resemblance to Ruth Powers.
• The Salesbot in "House of Whacks" is modeled after Gil and also shares his voice.
• After the Simpson home is converted to the Ultrahouse:
  • The kitchen still has corncob drapes.
  • In the living room, the sailboat picture is replaced with a more abstract version.
• One of the items the Ultrahouse attacks Homer with is the Electric Hammer that Homer invented in "The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace".
  • Other items include: A pair of electric safety scissors, gardening shears, a hypodermic needle, a garden hose, claws, a flamethrower, a stress pill, an electric fan, a power drill, and a soapy shaving brush.
• In "Wiz Kids," Lord Montymort's "wailing wall" features Krusty the Clown, Maude Flanders,Comic Book Guy, Snake Jailbird, Bleeding Gums Murphy, Rainier Wolfcastle, Kent Brockman, Mr. Largo, Patty Bouvier, the Blue-haired lawyer, Üter Zorker, the Old Jewish Man, Mayor Quimby, Selma Bouvier, Lunchlady Dora, Moe Szyslak, Larry Burns, Snowball II, the Squeaky-voiced teen and Frank Grimes.
• Signs on the classroom wall include a table of the magical elements, a poster advertising the magic fair, and the words: Abracadabra, Alakazam and Hocus-Pocus.
• The figure on the sign indicating the men's washroom wears a wizard's cap.
• In an attempt to speed up the process of draining Lisa's magical essence, Montymort tips her upside down and pats her like a ketchup bottle.

Goofs

• At the end of the "Hex and the City" segment, Homer is first seen at the Leprechaun/Gypsy wedding in his regular outfit, a white t-shirt and blue jeans. In the next scene, however, Homer is seen close-up wearing a formal blue suit.

Spells and magic items used in "Wiz Kids"

Cultural references

Opening sequence

• The Flintstones - When the Simpsons trick-or-treat the Burns' manor, Homer and Marge are dressed as Fred and Wilma.
• Bart is dressed as a hobo, and Lisa and Maggie are costumed as a two-headed girl.

Hex and the City

• Sex and the City - Punned in the title. A Hex is a curse.
• ATMs - The sign in the Gypsy's shop window says "Fortune Teller. After Hours Use Automated Teller."
• Aer Lingus - Moe says that Leprechauns come to the USA by hiding in the wheel wells of Aer Lingus jets. Aer Lingus is the oldest and second-largest airline in Ireland.
• Homer lures the Leprechaun into his pit trap using Lucky Charms cereal, the mascot of which is a Leprechaun.
  • Homer accidentally pours Trix cereal into the hole first, attracting rabbits (The Trix mascot is a rabbit).
  • Bongo, the one-eared rabbit from Life in Hell, is the last rabbit to jump in.
  • One of the creatures lured into the trap by the Lucky Charms is Katie Couric.
  • The pixie caught in Homer's trap is Tinkerbell, from the Disney animated film Peter Pan.
• Lisa eats Quaker Oats for breakfast after she becomes a centaur.
• Mister Ed - After Lisa finishes transforming into a centaur, she suggests to Homer that he sic the Leprechaun on the Gypsy. Homer tells her, "Good idea, Mr. Ed."
• The Metamorphosis - Maggie is transformed into a ladybug by the Gypsy's curse; in The Metamorphosis, the character Gregor Samsa awakens to find himself transformed into an insect.
  • The book is fully parodied in issue 6 of the Treehouse of Horror comic series, in the story Metamorph Simpsons, where Homer is the one transformed into a bug.
• Yoda from Star Wars is the minister at the Leprechaun/Gypsy wedding. He says, "Husband and wife I pronounce you now."

House of Whacks

• House of Wax - Punned in the title.
• The Mafia - "Whacking" someone is Mafia slang for killing them.
• Demon Seed - The film and characters are parodied throughout the segment, especially Susan Harris and the Proteus IV computer.
• 2001: A Space Odyssey:
  • The Ultrahouse camera eyes resemble the HAL 9000 computer.
  • The Ultrahouse suggests that Marge take a stress pill. HAL 9000 makes the same suggestion to astronaut David Bowman in 2001.
  • Homer disables the Ultrahouse by removing the circuit boards from its CPU, and while he does so, the Ultrahouse's voice becomes less sophisticated, then slow and garbled, and finally stops. The same thing happens to HAL 9000 at the hands of David Bowman.
• Friends - When the Simpsons test the Matthew Perry voice for the Ultrahouse, it says "Yeah, could I be any more of a house," a reference to Chandler's usual attitude.
• Another voice option for the house is Dennis Miller. Marge and Lisa suggest that this voice caused murder-suicides.
• When Bart suggests "007's" voice for the Ultrahouse (referring to Pierce Brosnan being the 5th Bond actor), Marge thinks of George Lazenby (the 2nd Bond).
• Marge recalls that Pierce played the lead in Remington Steele, which the Ultrahouse confirms the first time it speaks with Pierce's voice.
• The Ultrahouse's mechanical hands have white gloves on them, just like mechanical arms in early Disney and Warner Brothers cartoons.
• Bad Taste - Homer is presumed to have been murdered by the Ultrahouse, but is revealed as having survived when he emerges from the floor. The family discovers that the back of his head is missing, revealing his brain. In Bad Taste, Derek falls off a cliff, presumably to his death, only to wake up later and notice that a piece from the back of his head is missing, also revealing his brain.
• When Homer attacks the water softener with an axe, his movements and demeanor are reminiscent of Jack Torrance breaking through the bathroom door with an axe in The Shining.
• The song playing in the background when the Ultrahouse is in Patty's and Selma's apartment is "Rhythm Divine" by Enrique Iglesias.

Wiz Kids

• The title is a pun on the phrase "Whiz Kids".
• Harry Potter - Hogwarts School and various characters and themes from the Harry Potter books, parodied throughout the third segment. Harry himself appears in Mrs. Krabappel's classroom, chewing brimstone and blowing a bubble of fire after she accuses him of having gum.
  • The episode aired a year after the publication of the fourth book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and around the same time as the release of the first movie, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (just after the UK release and about a week before the USA release).
• When Nelson makes Milhouse zap himself, his third transformation resembles Mr. T.
• Mrs. Krabappel is dressed like the evil queen in Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
• Led Zeppelin - The band's name is punned when Lisa uses a spell on Bart called "Head Zeppelin," which turns Bart's head into a Zeppelin.
• Bart enters Lord Montymort's lair via the school bathrooms, the same way that the Chamber of Secrets is accessed in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
• Montymort's "wailing wall" is a reference to the Wailing Wall (also called the Western Wall), a remnant of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem.
• Montymort says that Lisa has "more wicked witchery than Stevie Nicks", a reference to recurring rumors (untrue) of Nicks being involved in witchcraft.
• Soylent Green - Principal Skinner makes a joke about Lisa having made the refreshments out of dead people.
• Jurassic Park - The dragon's roar sounds like the T-Rex in the Jurassic Park movies.
• Mork & Mindy - Bart exclaims "Shazbot!" when the dragon reveals itself to be Montymort in disguise.
• A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors - the scene where Slithers eats Lord Montymort's body parallels the scene where a girl is almost eaten by a Freddy Krueger snake.
• Lisa's prince wears clothing identical to English comedian Tim Brooke-Taylor.