The Burns Cage/References
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Cultural references
- The title of the episode is a possible reference to the 1996 comedy film The Birdcage.
- As Smithers walks down the corridor of the Executive Suite, he passes by versions of a number of paintings, but with Mr. Burns replacing the persons originally depicted:
- A Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team member is seen in the title screen and Bart writes about them needing to win or they'd lose everything on the blackboard.
- The song This Guy's in Love with You by Herb Alpert plays after Smithers and Mr. Burns land from the parachute jump.
- The song Celebration by Kool & The Gang plays when Smithers is dating Julio.
- The school is doing a play of Casablanca, and will do Equus or Top Gun the next day.
- Homer uses "Grinder" to find a lover for Smithers, a parody of Grindr, a homosexual geosocial app.
- Comic Book Guy wears a Hello Kitty costume.
- Milhouse lists co-stars couples that fell in love:
- Tom Collins' name is a reference to the cocktail of the same name.[1]
- Bart gets Comic Book Guy to buy a half-page advert in the playbook by telling him that Sam will play "As Time Goes By" with Hulk hands. Martin is later seen trying to play the piano with Hulk hands.
- The montage at the end showing Moe, Jack and Groundskeeper Willie on a journey for gold is a reference to The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.
- The image of Lisa and Jack on The African Queen boat is a reference to the film The African Queen.
- The image of Moe with a noose around his neck and standing on the shoulders of a boy is a reference to the pivotal scene, revealed in flashback, in Once Upon a Time in the West.
- Smithers refers to Homer, Lenny and Carl as Larry, Moe and Curly, and then the three start acting like them.
- George Takei mentions Klingons from Star Trek.
Trivia
- The Simpsons logo appears over the clouds when Smithers and Mr. Burns were parachuting.
- Rob LaZebnik told in an interview that the inspiration for this episode came from his relationship with his homosexual son, Johnny LaZebnik, who came out during high school.[2]
Continuity
Goofs
- The banner of the opera to be played the next day after Casablanca changes between scenes from Equus to Top Gun.
- At the Licenses Bureau, it's possible to see for a fraction of a second that the lady gives Smithers and Julio a Marriage License, but later it's a fishing license.
- Janey Powell calls herself "Jacqueline Jones" in this episode.
References