"Grift of the Magi" is the ninth episode of the eleventh season of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 19, 1999. In the episode, Principal Skinner hires Fat Tony's construction company to build wheelchair ramps for the school. These ramps promptly break down, forcing Skinner to close down Springfield Elementary. However, a toy company led by Jim Hope takes over the school; in school, the children are only taught to provide marketing schemes and suggestions. Soon, a new toy called Funzo that mysteriously resembles the children's ideas is invented. The episode features several guest appearances and has received mixed reception from critics.
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After an ozone hole moves over Springfield, Bart and Milhouse remain inside the house. The duo dress up as ladies and jump on the bed, singing "Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves". When Homer comes in, Bart falls off of the bed and lands on one of Homer's bowling balls and breaks his coccyx. Dr. Hibbert informs Homer and Marge that Bart will have to use a wheelchair until the bone has healed. When Bart arrives at school the following day, he finds that he cannot enter, as it lacks ramps for the disabled. As Principal Skinner considers ramps for the school, Fat Tony emerges and suggests that his construction company would be a good choice of company to build it. The new ramp system almost immediately collapses and Fat Tony informs Skinner that he will have to pay $200,000 in damages. In response, Principal Skinner decides to close Springfield Elementary due to lack of funds. All pleas for financial help are in vain, until Jim Hope, the president of a company named Kid First Industries, buys the school and privatizes it.
The school's staff is replaced, and classes now focus on toys and marketing. Lisa discovers the company that bought the school is a toy company, using students for research to make a toy. Lisa tries to show Marge, Homer and Chief Wiggum the hidden room adjacent to the classroom, but instead discovers it has been reconverted back into a janitor's closet. When Bart and Lisa are back at home, watching television, they see an advertisement for a new toy named Funzo. The toy has many features suggested during a brainstorming session at the school. They visit Jim Hope's office to complain, and he apologetically gives them a free Funzo toy. Bart and Lisa later discover Funzo is programmed to destroy other toys.
On Christmas Eve, with Homer's help, they steal all the Funzo toys from underneath every Christmas tree in Springfield with the intention of burning them in the town's long-running tire fire. However, Gary Coleman (who is a Security Guard at KFI) comes to stop them. The two parties begin an argument, which settles down into civilized discussion about the commercialization of Christmas. Afterwards, Homer invites Coleman to a Christmas dinner at the Simpson house (with Mr. Burns deciding to donate money to Springfield Elementary after having an A Christmas Carol-style epiphany).
The episode was written by Tom Martin and directed by Matthew Nastuk as part of the eleventh season of The Simpsons (1999–2000).[1] According to DVD Talk reviewer Adam Tyner, it is a satire of the commercialization of Christmas.[2] A writer for Newsday commented that episode skewers "the annual craze for that one 'hot' toy."[3] Guest starring in the episode were Tim Robbins as Jim Hope, Gary Coleman as himself, Joe Mantegna as Fat Tony, and Clarence Clemons as the narrator.[1][4][5] Shortly after Coleman's death in 2010, an article appeared in the Peruvian newspaper El Comercio that noted that "the nod to the harsh reality of Gary Coleman in [the episode] is given: in real life a few years ago Gary had to make a living as a caretaker of shops."[6]
"Grift of the Magi" originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 19, 1999.[4][7] On October 14, 2003, it was released in the United States on a DVD collection titled Christmas With the Simpsons, along with the season one episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", the season four episode "Mr. Plow", the season nine episode "Miracle on Evergreen Terrace", and the season thirteen episode "She of Little Faith".[2] On October 7, 2008, the episode was released on DVD again as part of the box set The Simpsons – The Complete Eleventh Season. Staff members Matt Groening, Mike Scully, George Meyer, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Tom Martin, Matt Selman, Tim Long, and Lance Kramer participated in the DVD audio commentary for the episode. Deleted scenes from the episode were also included on the box set.[8]
Since airing, "Grift of the Magi" has received mixed reception from critics. While reviewing the eleventh season of The Simpsons, DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson commented that the episode "feels like an amalgamation of elements from prior holiday programs and never really elicits much humor. Christmas is commercialized and corporations use and abuse their customers? Those aren’t exactly rich insights, so ['Grift of the Magi'] comes across as a below average episode."[7] In his review of the DVD Christmas With the Simpsons, Digitally Obsessed critic Joel Cunningham wrote that "Grift of the Magi" "comes from Season 11, well past the point when the series had sacrificed character for absurdist humor. Unless you don't think evil toy marketers, sentient Furbys, and Gary Coleman qualify. Anyway, after the school nearly goes bankrupt, Principal Skinner signs a contract with corporate backers who use the kids to conduct market research. There are some good gags, but the story doesn't hang together very well."[9] Adam Tyner of DVD Talk wrote that the episode "has a couple of good gags (Gary Coleman chatting on the phone being my favorite) but is quickly forgettable".[2] Brian James of PopMatters described Coleman's cameo as "hysterical" in 2004,[10] and Meghan Lewit of the same website listed "Grift of the Magi" at number eight on her 2009 list of the "10 best holiday themed TV episodes."[11]