At this point, it’s safe to say “The Simpsons” has changed television forever. The animated series — which, in case you’ve forgotten, premiered way back in 1989, and is now in its 27th season — has seen its fair share of ups and downs, and become a sort of hotbed of critical debate, with some quick to write off every season after thirteen, and others clinging to the endless nostalgia of Homer and company. Granted, certain seasons have wound up unanimously reviled, while certain episodes have becomes staples of the genre. Throughout it all, though, the show has quite simply remained a wildly popular cultural staple.
No matter where you stand on “The Simpsons,” one thing has been true since the beginning: the show’s love of movies. Over the 27 good years of comedic nuisance the show has been able to pack in literally hundreds of references to films of all calibers: those both classic and reviled, critical favorites, and box office behemoths. Now, a new supercut edited by Celia Gómez is here to lay bare just a small fraction of the many, many homages and tributes the show has paid over the years, both those obvious and obscure. (Also, I’m not kidding about how small of a fraction of the actual amount movie references it is: just check out this 20-minute supercut of the references from just five seasons). “The Simpsons Movie References” pairs up the show with over twenty of some of the more iconic references, to such films as “2001: A Space Odyssey,” “Pulp Fiction,” “The Godfather,” “The Shining,” “The Birds,” “Citizen Kane,” and many more.
More often than not, “The Simpsons” manages to nail some of the classic references, adding just the right amount of comedic texture, defamiliarizing the scene just enough to allow room for something new, something off, something hilarious. “The Simpsons Movie References” is the perfect treat for cinephiles: Hollywood cracking jokes about Hollywood.
Check out the supercut below and weigh in with your favorite ‘Simpsons’ references in the comments.
