There was no way in hell I was missing FOX’s animated pre-trick or treat fun this past Sunday. With 5 minutes to spare I made it back from the LA PodFest just in time to start watching The Simpson’s Treehouse of Terror XXIV. Holy Guillermo del Toro! was it worth the rush. Not only was the intro jam packed with nods to horror classics like Hitchcock’s “The Birds”, “The Shining”, and “Aliens” but animators managed to include a few of del Toro’s own works (Hell Boy, Blade II, Pan’s Labyrnth). Did I spy hints of that pet project we all want made so badly, “At The Mountains of Madness”? I love me some delicious Cthulhu!
The meat of the episode was equally inspirational. There were three tales in totality, “Oh, The Places You’ll Doh!,” “Dead And Shoulders” and “Freak no Geeks.” “Oh, The Places You’ll Doh!” parodied Dr Seuss meticulously with dialogue that would impress Seuss himself. “Freak no Geeks” paid homage to Todd Browning’s “Freaks” movie re-telling the tale of a lovely trapeze artist that agrees to marry the leader of side-show performers. However, the vignette that really made me chuckle was “Dead and Shoulders”. *** SPOILERs **** Bart is somewhat deservedly decapitated while box kite flying near an airport. When asked by Millhouse “Isn’t it dangerous to fly your kite near an airport?” I could barely contain myself when Bart responded “Hey, if they get on an airbus they know they are taking their chances.” The only way doctors are able to keep Bart alive is by grafting his head onto Lisa’s shoulders. The siblings are forced to get along more than usual and Homer finally gets to convert Bart’s room into a man cave. In an attempt to free himself of the 2 heads/1 body situtation Bart takes sleeping Lisa on a ride down a tree splitter. After Bart declares that the siblings can never be friends Lisa agrees and positions herself to lop off Bart’s head. Lisa declares “”In a head to head battle, the one with the most brains wins” but is then decapitated herself. Bart ends up grafted to his aunt and Lisa finds herself forever an appendage of Krusty the Clown. Now THAT is just a classic Simpsons outcome.
Mentions: Don’t miss The Simpsons on Fox Sundays at 8/7C.