[6.0/10 on a post-classic Simpsons scale] So here’s the weird thing about this episode. Out of four plots and a frame story, only the Muppets homage is really worth a damn, but it’s almost worth the price of admission on its own.
Maybe it’s just the thrill of seeing the Simpsons in another medium (and as puppets, no less). Maybe it’s just the show so wonderfully aping the rhythms and humor of the old Muppet specials. Maybe it’s just misplaced affection for those old Jim Henson creations. Whatever the reason, I’d pretty much tell folks to skip the rest of this episode and jump right to the puppets, because it’s far and away the best part of this.
(Though I’ll say this, it’s pretty weird that the whole episode ends with a cunnilingus joke, which feels off-brand for both The Simpsons and The Muppets.)
The rest of the stories are mostly mild rather than outright bad. The pathology that runs through all of them is that they’re just a bunch of scattershot gags with only the faintest sense of a story or throughline to any of them.
Bart’s Polar Express-inspired dream doesn’t have much in common with its source material beyond a train and a desire to meet Santa.. There’s a mild unifying notion of Bart subconsciously understanding that his parents are in hard times and doing their best when he witnesses the same in Krusty Claus, but then the episode undercuts that immediately with a lame “opulent success at the North Pole” gag. There’s some tepid social commentary about elf jobs being outsourced, but otherwise, the segment is pretty laughless.
Lisa’s WWII on the homefront dream has the best idea of the three, with 1940s Lisa missing her mom who’s fighting overseas. The idea of the leftover Xmas tree as a sign that Marge is okay is a nice one, but then the segment transitions into a confused homage to Inglorious Basterds whose best attempt at comedy is adding Dumbo to the mix. Feh.
The weakest of them is Marge’s Martha Stewart dream, which doesn’t have a premise beyond “let Martha Stewart do Martha Stewart things in the Simpsons’ home.” She’s not much of a voice actor, and the gags they try to mold for her aren’t particularly clever. It’s a mishmash of weak bits that are really only suitable for the unlikely cross-section of major Simpsons fans and major Martha Stewart Living fans.
Overall, jump right to the puppet show and skip the rest of this one, unless you’re a completionist like me.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2020-12-10T23:03:52Z
[6.0/10 on a post-classic Simpsons scale] So here’s the weird thing about this episode. Out of four plots and a frame story, only the Muppets homage is really worth a damn, but it’s almost worth the price of admission on its own.
Maybe it’s just the thrill of seeing the Simpsons in another medium (and as puppets, no less). Maybe it’s just the show so wonderfully aping the rhythms and humor of the old Muppet specials. Maybe it’s just misplaced affection for those old Jim Henson creations. Whatever the reason, I’d pretty much tell folks to skip the rest of this episode and jump right to the puppets, because it’s far and away the best part of this.
(Though I’ll say this, it’s pretty weird that the whole episode ends with a cunnilingus joke, which feels off-brand for both The Simpsons and The Muppets.)
The rest of the stories are mostly mild rather than outright bad. The pathology that runs through all of them is that they’re just a bunch of scattershot gags with only the faintest sense of a story or throughline to any of them.
Bart’s Polar Express-inspired dream doesn’t have much in common with its source material beyond a train and a desire to meet Santa.. There’s a mild unifying notion of Bart subconsciously understanding that his parents are in hard times and doing their best when he witnesses the same in Krusty Claus, but then the episode undercuts that immediately with a lame “opulent success at the North Pole” gag. There’s some tepid social commentary about elf jobs being outsourced, but otherwise, the segment is pretty laughless.
Lisa’s WWII on the homefront dream has the best idea of the three, with 1940s Lisa missing her mom who’s fighting overseas. The idea of the leftover Xmas tree as a sign that Marge is okay is a nice one, but then the segment transitions into a confused homage to Inglorious Basterds whose best attempt at comedy is adding Dumbo to the mix. Feh.
The weakest of them is Marge’s Martha Stewart dream, which doesn’t have a premise beyond “let Martha Stewart do Martha Stewart things in the Simpsons’ home.” She’s not much of a voice actor, and the gags they try to mold for her aren’t particularly clever. It’s a mishmash of weak bits that are really only suitable for the unlikely cross-section of major Simpsons fans and major Martha Stewart Living fans.
Overall, jump right to the puppet show and skip the rest of this one, unless you’re a completionist like me.