Blame It on Lisa
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| The Simpsons episode | |
| "Blame It on Lisa" | |
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| Episode no. | 284 |
| Prod. code | DABF10 |
| Orig. Airdate | March 31, 2002 |
| Show Runner(s) | Al Jean |
| Writer(s) | Bob Bendetson |
| Director(s) | Steven Dean Moore |
| Couch gag | The Simpsons appear as puppets held by strings, being controlled by Matt Groening. |
| SNPP capsule | |
| Season 13 November 6, 2001 – May 22, 2002 |
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| List of all Simpsons episodes... | |
"Blame it on Lisa" is an episode from the thirteenth season of The Simpsons in which the family goes to Brazil in search of Lisa's pen pal, a Brazilian orphan named Ronaldo.
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
The Simpsons go to Rio de Janeiro in search of a missing Brazilian orphan boy that Lisa had been secretly sponsoring. Homer is kidnapped and taken to the Amazon and ultimately, is exchanged for ransom at the cable cars on Sugarloaf Mountain in a parody of the James Bond film Moonraker.
[edit] Trivia
- The song playing just as Homer and Bart are strolling down the beach is the 1939 tune "Aquarela do Brasil" (usually just known as "Brazil," around the world), previously featured prominently in the film Brazil.
[edit] Cultural references
- Homer says that "the boys from Brazil" "are little Hitlers" when Lisa mentions her sponsoree is a Brazilian boy. He's thinking of The Boys from Brazil, a 1970s book and subsequent movie about a Nazi plot to clone Adolf Hitler, which starred Sir Laurence Olivier and Gregory Peck.
- The blonde host of the risque children's variety show Teleboobies (itself a play on Teletubbies) is a reference to Brazilian entertainer Xuxa. The host appears in another episode (Marge Be Not Proud) wherein she stars in a Krusty the Clown special, and is attributed the name "Xoxchitla".
- A sign seen on top of an all-you-can-eat meat-on-swords restaurant, called Churrascaria ("steak house") in Portuguese, mistakenly used in the plural, Churrascarias.
- The saying Aeroporto International de Galeão is a misspelled reference to Rio's international airport, Galeão - Antônio Carlos Jobim International Airport (also known as Aeroporto Internacional do Galeão)
- The orphanage is called "Orfanato dos Anjos Imundos", or "Filthy Angels Orphanage."
- Homer and Bart sing the Chiquita Banana song, butchering the lyrics with, "I'm Chiquita Banana, and I'm here to say, I will eat this Toblerone and I will not pay!"
- The title "Blame it on Lisa" is a reference to the movie called Blame it on Rio
[edit] Reaction in Brazil
Even before the episode was aired in Brazil, Rio's secretary of tourism protested on how the city was portrayed (monkeys everywhere, rampant street crime, slums, kidnappings). Producer James L. Brooks apologized, and said that if needed, Homer would like to invite Brazil's then-president Fernando Henrique Cardoso to Celebrity Boxing.
The writers made a running gag of the situation:
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- Homer's references "the monkey problem getting worse" in Rio in "The Regina Monologues".
- Krusty the Klown's revelation in "Mr. Spritz Goes to Washington" that immigration officials are constantly hounding him because his monkey sidekick, Mr. Teeny, is from Brazil. Krusty comments, "His uncle was the Head Monkey on the Bureau of Tourism."
- In Season 18's "The Wife Aquatic", Lisa mentions that Barnacle Bay is "the most disgusting" place the family has been. Bart asks about Brazil and Lisa replies "After Brazil".
- In the DVD audio commentary for A Streetcar Named Marge, Al Jean joked that, now after they've made fun of New Orleans and Brazil, they can no longer celebrate Mardi Gras.
[edit] External links
