Top 10 Times Shows Made Fun of The Simpsons
#10: “Atta Toy” “Robot Chicken” (2005-)
A parody within another parody, this “Robot Chicken” sketch sees journalist Pat O'Brien of “The Insider” giving his viewers the latest scoop on several shows, including “The Simpsons.” Feeling that the series has become too liberal, Rupert Murdoch gives it a Fox News attitude. When Apu lashes out at Homer for calling French Fries, “Freedom Fries,” Homeland Security busts in and arrests the resident Kwik-E-Mart clerk. The Simpsons enjoy a red, white, and yellow barbeque while Apu is chained up. Hopefully, someone out there is making a documentary about Apu’s problematic incarceration. This wouldn’t be the last time that these two animated universes collided. The “Robot Chicken” gang has contributed to multiple “Simpsons” couch gags, once going full stop-motion and later mixing different animation styles.
#9: “Guess What’s Coming to Dinner” “The Real Ghostbusters” (1986-91)
With yellow skin, overbites, and four fingers on each hand, the Simpsons would admittedly look rather off-putting if they existed in our world. If anything, they’d seem less like humans and more like paranormal creatures. “The Real Ghostbusters” even poked fun at their odd appearances in this episode. Coming back from vacation, the Ghostbusters are appalled to find that their headquarters has been taken over by a ghostly yellow family that’s clearly modeled after the Simpsons, as well as the Bundys from “Married with Children.” Of course, the Grungy family is far more grotesque with misshapen, sluglike bodies. The Grungys eventually decide to relocate, although it’s uncertain where they’ll go next. Maybe Maude Flanders has a room for rent in the afterlife. Too soon?
#8: “Dial M for Mother” “The Critic” (1994-95)
“The Critic” was an all-too short-lived animated series created by Al Jean and Mike Reiss, who served as co-showrunners for “The Simpsons” seasons three and four. Jean returned as showrunner in season 13, holding the position ever since. You might remember Jay Sherman from such crossovers as “A Star Is Burns,” which saw the critic drop by Springfield for a film festival. While the Simpsons never came to visit Jay, “The Critic” did allude to them multiple times. In this meta moment, Geraldo Rivera claims that Jay’s references always go over his viewers’ heads. Jay responds with an obscure reference, frustrating a family watching at home. The family changes the channel to Homer stepping on a rake and Bart saying a catchphrase, which is more their speed.
#7: “The Automated, Animated Adventure” “Garfield and Friends” (1988-94)
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This “Garfield” segment borrows a page from “Duck Amuck,” a classic Warner Bros. short in which the animator toys with Daffy Duck’s reality. Aside from paying homage to the Looney Tunes, the episode also makes commentary on animation’s increasing reliance on computers. When Garfield is “digitized,” he goes through a few different simulations, parodying “He-Man,” “Muppet Babies,” and various other cartoons that were popular at the time. Just when Garfield thinks that he couldn’t possibly look worse, he’s given spiky hair, bulging eyes, and a blue shirt, a la Bart Simpson. As far as Garfield is concerned, this is a new low. He probably would’ve felt more comfortable in Scratchy’s skin.
#6: “A Big Piece of Garbage” “Futurama” (1999-2013)
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It took almost a decade and a half for “The Simpsons” and “Futurama” to have a full-blown crossover on the small screen. Of course, both Matt Groening shows had already referenced each other several times before. In the case of “Futurama,” the funniest instance comes in season one when the Planet Express crew lands on a massive ball of garbage heading for Earth. Fry couldn’t be more excited upon spotting a pile of discarded Bart Simpson dolls. With Nancy Cartwright providing the voice, one of the dolls says Bart’s iconic “eat my shorts” catchphrase, which Bender takes literally. This is actually a clever sendup of all the merchandise spawned from Bartmania during the early ‘90s. We guess the unsold Bart products had to go somewhere!
#5: “Weekday Afternoon Live” “Tiny Toon Adventures” (1990-92)
While this “Tiny Toons” episode primarily satirizes “SNL,” the guest host is unmistakably a Bart Simpson caricature, albeit with purple skin instead of yellow. Like Bart, Blard Simpleton is from an animated show that’s fairly grounded in reality. Blard is in for a rude awakening when he arrives on the “Tiny Toons” set where characters are blown up, eaten alive, and maimed on a regular basis. Unfortunately for Blard, he can’t renege on his hosting duties and ultimately winds up falling through the stage with the rest of the cast. Blard is voiced by Tress MacNeille, who also voiced Babs Bunny. Funnily enough, another episode saw Babs impersonating Marge, Bart, and Maggie. Even more fitting, MacNeille has also voiced various supporting players on “The Simpsons.”
#4: “Duckman and Cornfed in ‘Haunted Society Plumbers’” “Duckman” (1994-97)
Founded by former husband and wife Arlene Klasky and Gábor Csupó, Klasky Csupo provided the animation for the original “Simpsons” shorts on “The Tracey Ullman Show.” The company also produced the first three seasons of “The Simpsons” before branching out with shows like “Duckman.” The “Duckman” crew made a couple of allusions to their “Simpsons” roots, most notably in this episode. After cracking a haunting case, Duckman and Cornfed are rewarded with donuts. They’re suddenly confronted by what appears to be a real ghost, which turns out just to be Homer under a bedsheet. Dan Castellaneta himself cameos as Homer and even recycles a line from an old “Tracey Ullman” short. The episode was nominated for a Primetime Emmy, although it ironically lost to “The Simpsons.”
#3: “Channel Chasers” “The Fairly OddParents” (2001-17)
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On a journey through the airwaves, Timmy Turner inserts himself into numerous parodies of classic cartoons. One of the shows Timmy enters is called “The Feldmans,” which commences with a faithful recreation of “The Simpsons” intro. Following a chalkboard gag, Timmy darts out of detention with Cosmo serving as his skateboard. Timmy encounters a handful of residents inspired by Springfield locals, such as Krusty the Clown, Ned Flanders, and Barney Gumble. Vicky, meanwhile, steals from El Barto’s book, vandalizing the nuclear power plant. An ensuing accident turns the Barney lookalike into a “radioactive man.” Even with these newfound powers, he’s still drawn to this universe’s equivalent of Moe’s. Also, Alec Baldwin voices Future Timmy and we assume he’s happy to be far away from Homer.
#2: “The Simpsons Guy” “Family Guy” (1999-2003; 2005-)
Top 10 Times Family Guy Made Fun of The Simpsons
Honestly, we could probably do a separate list of all the times “Family Guy” made fun of “The Simpsons” and vice versa. For now, though, there isn’t a better example than this crossover episode, in which the Griffins happen upon Springfield. At first, the Simpsons and Griffins get along great given their similarities. They prove too similar, however, as Homer accuses Peter’s favorite beer of being a Duff imitator. While the “Family Guy” writers take just as many shots at themselves, they also aren’t afraid to bring up the fatigue “Simpsons” fans started experiencing during the later seasons. This accumulates with a Giant Chicken fight (minus the chicken) between Homer and Peter. Don’t expect the Simpsons to have an extended stay in Quahog anytime soon. Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. “Hand to God” - “Arrested Development” (2003-06; 2013-) Just Because They Went to Harvard Doesn’t Make Them All Geeks “Fashion” - “Portlandia” (2011-18) Copyright Expired! “Dirty Dancin’” - “Dinosaurs” (1991-94) Don’t Have a Stegosaurus, Man “Faking Bad” - “American Dad!” (2005-) Didn’t Bart Already Get a Fake ID That Took Him to Knoxville? “Retrace-Your-Step-Alizer” - “Solar Opposites” (2020-) This All Better Be Made Canon in “Space Jam 2”
#1: “Simpsons Already Did It” “South Park” (1997-)
Top 10 Times The Simpsons Made Fun of South Park
In his hopeless pursuit of world domination, Butters is annoyed that his best ideas have already been done on “The Simpsons.” Matt Stone and Trey Parker know how Butters feels, as they’ve also come up with several great ideas only to find that the Simpsons beat them to it. A notable example came in season six when they planned to have Cartman block out the sun. Reportedly even while writing this episode, it was brought to their attention that a subplot involving Sea People worshipping Cartman mirrored a “Treehouse of Horror” storyline. This coincidence brought everything together in the end, however, as Butters learns that it’s okay if the Simpsons did something first. Besides, “South Park” would rather invite comparison to “The Simpsons” than “Family Guy.”
