Simpson Safari

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The Simpsons episode
"Simpson Safari"
Episode no. 264
Prod. code CABF13
Orig. airdate April 1, 2001
Show runner(s) Mike Scully
Written by John Swartzwelder
Directed by Mark Kirkland
Chalkboard "I will not flush evidence"
Couch gag The Simpsons join a kickline of Rockette-style dancers as the living room turns into a showbiz extravaganza, with fire-eaters, performing animals, magicians, and unicyclists.
Season 12
November 1, 2000 – May 20, 2001
  1. "Treehouse of Horror XI"
  2. "A Tale of Two Springfields"
  3. "Insane Clown Poppy"
  4. "Lisa the Tree Hugger"
  5. "Homer vs. Dignity"
  6. "The Computer Wore Menace Shoes"
  7. "The Great Money Caper"
  8. "Skinner's Sense of Snow"
  9. "HOMR"
  10. "Pokey Mom"
  11. "Worst Episode Ever"
  12. "Tennis the Menace"
  13. "Day of the Jackanapes"
  14. "New Kids on the Blecch"
  15. "Hungry, Hungry Homer"
  16. "Bye Bye Nerdie"
  17. "Simpson Safari"
  18. "Trilogy of Error"
  19. "I'm Goin' to Praiseland"
  20. "Children of a Lesser Clod"
  21. "Simpsons Tall Tales"
List of all The Simpsons episodes

"Simpson Safari" is the seventeenth episode of the twelfth season of The Simpsons. It aired on April 1, 2001.

[edit] Plot

When Maggie eats a magazine, Marge makes Homer do the grocery shopping. Homer mistreats a bag boy at the grocery store, and all the bag boys of Springfield go on strike. Homer goes on a search for food when it runs out, and Santa's Little Helper finds a box of animal crackers which is more than 30 years old. Homer bites into a giraffe, but he does not know that it is made of solid gold, which indicates Homer has won a trip to Africa. The makers of the animal crackers (who actually do not even make food anymore) originally refuse to honor the prize, but when Homer is injured by the sharp corner of the box, they reconsider, to avoid a lawsuit.

When the family is in Africa, they experience tribal dance, but a hippo chases after the family, who escape on a raft going down a raging river. The family is saved by the scientist Dr. Bushwell (a spoof of Jane Goodall). Dr. Bushwell claims to research the monkeys, but some poachers come to take the monkeys. However, the poachers turn out to be Greenpeace members, revealing that Dr. Bushwell is actually a chimp slave master, exploiting their labor at a nearby diamond mine. Worried that the Simpsons will report her to the authorities, the researcher offers them her diamonds, which the Simpsons (except Lisa) accept. The Simpsons leave Africa, and return to Springfield. On the plane, it is revealed that their former tour guide is now president of the country, with the former president now the Simpsons' flight attendant.

[edit] Cultural references

  • When Homer is told to 'take it' on the song the natives are singing and launches into some bizarre song lyrics ("nibby nobby nooby...") these are from a real song, Good Morning Starshine.
  • The beauty of an African sunrise, silhouettes of animals, and the rhythmic music playing across the veldt are reminiscent of the opening moments of the Disney animated film The Lion King.
    • Also, right after Marge scares a cheetah away, the family is driving and PrideRock may be seen in the background.
  • Near the end of the episode, where Bushwell's secret diamond stash is revealed, it is remarked that she has diamonds everywhere, to which Marge adds "Even on the soles of her shoes". The quip is a reference to the famous Paul Simon song Diamonds on the Soles of her Shoes.
  • President Muntu can be seen on a billboard wearing a leopard-skin hat and glasses, a spoof of former Zaire president Mobutu Sese Seko.
  • When Homer stares in the open mouth of a hippo, he yells "Aah, a hungry hungry hippo!", which is a reference to the children's board game Hungry Hungry Hippos. Incidentally, one of the hippos of the game is named Homer.
  • Homer being attacked by leeches is a parody of a scene from the 1951 film The African Queen. In "Hungry, Hungry Homer," which was just two episodes earlier, Homer was attacked by Blocko leeches and screamed out in the same manner "Aah, leeches!"
  • There is a similar story line with diamonds and apes in the novel Congo by Michael Crichton.
  • The episode makes many jokes that are probably in reference to the Anglo-Zanzibar War, particularly the part where the stewardess is reminded of the new name of Tanzania (New Zanzibar and Pepsi Presents: New Zanzibar) and the end where Kitenge is now dictator of Pepsi Presents: New Zanzibar and the old dictator has been reduced to working as a flight attendant.
  • When the Simpsons are wandering the savanna Homer tells Bart to scout ahead by "climbing up that hill". Bart reveals that the hill is actually Mount Kilimanjaro.
  • In the scene where the family is protecting the chimp refugee camp from Greenpeace, the fight looks a lot like those seen in the 1980s action show, The A-Team.
  • The name of the tour guide (Kitenge) actually means "colorful garment" in swahili.
  • at the time the president of Tanzania was actually president Benjamin Mkapa

[edit] External links

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