Grift of the Magi/References
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Cultural references[edit]
- Funzo's metallic frame is similar to the endoskeleton of a T800 Terminator from the Terminator films.
- Chief Wiggum does an impression of Ed Sullivan, known for being the host of The Ed Sullivan Show.
- The American country band Dixie Chicks and basketball player Patrick Ewing were part of Krusty's act of the Nativity of Jesus.
- An instrumental version of "Jingle Bells" is heard during the Funzo commercial.
- The toy Funzo is a parody of the popular Furby dolls.
- Gary Coleman once worked as a security guard in real life. Coleman spoofed Arnold's, Coleman's character in Diff'rent Strokes, catchphrase, "Wha'choo talkin' 'bout, Willis?", in three occasions throughout the episode.
- Jim Hope mentions Furby dolls and Tickle Me Elmo, a toy of Elmo from The Muppets.
- When Lisa mentions that the Funzo was likely configured by its creators to eliminate its competition, Bart mentions Microsoft as an example of an enterprise that employs similar tactics. This is actually a business strategy called Embrace, extend and extinguish which was employed by Microsoft and revealed in the Halloween documents.
- Bart and Lisa sing the popular Christmas carols "Joy to the World" and "Silent Night" to distract the Wiggum and Hibbert family, respectively.
- Homer sings "Writhing Funzos" to the tune of "Tiny Bubbles" by Don Ho.
- At the Springfield Tire Yard, Gary Coleman mentions Webster, a sitcom TV series.
- Lisa cites "the end justifies the means", the famous aphorism attributed to Machiavelli.
- One of the Funzos rises up from the flames and tries to attack the family, similar to the ending of The Terminator.
- According to Coleman, he was going to spend Christmas at George Clooney's house.
- At the end of the episode, the narrator says Mr. Burns was visited by three ghosts in the night which showed him the error of his ways, a homage to A Christmas Carol.
- The narrator also says that Moe, in his annual suicide attempt, was shown what the world would be like without him after sticking his head in his oven. This is a reference to the 1946 film It's a Wonderful Life.
- Flanders mentions the RV he bought in "The Call of the Simpsons".
- When the Simpsons was first shown on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom, on November 5, 2004, one of the idents for that day recycles dialogue from the scene where Bart kicks several books.
- At the hospital, Maggie is seen with a red bow in one scene, instead of her usual blue. In the next scene a few seconds later, it is blue again.
- The color of the lenses in Martin's father's glasses changes in the scene at the hospital.
- The Americans with Disabilities Act was enacted in 1990.
- When Mr. Burns releases the trapdoor under his stage and land in front of them, several people change from their costumes to their regular clothes.
