"Elementary School Musical" is the twenty-second season premiere of the American animated television series ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, ...

''. It originally aired on the

Fox network The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations ...

in the United States on September 26, 2010. In this episode,

Krusty the Clown Herschel Shmoikel Pinchas Yerucham Krustofsky (; ) better known by his stage name Krusty the Clown (sometimes spelled as Krusty the Klown), is a recurring character on the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Dan Castel ...

invites

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

to the Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

. Later turning out to be a hoax, Krusty is sued by the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordan ...

for his many instances of public indecency. Meanwhile,

Marge Marge is a feminine given name, a shortened form of Marjorie, Margot or Margaret. Notable Marges include: People * Marge (cartoonist) (1904–1993), pen name of Marjorie Henderson Buell, American cartoonist * Marge Anderson (1932–2013), Ojibwe ...

takes Lisa to a performing arts camp for a week. The episode was written by Tim Long and directed by

Mark Kirkland Mark Kirkland is an American animation director. He has directed 84 episodes of ''The Simpsons'' since 1990, more than any other director. Career At the age of 13, Kirkland began making super 8 films and working for his father, noted photograph ...

. Upon airing, it was met with mixed reception from television critics. "Elementary School Musical" was viewed by 7.8 million viewers and attained a 3.7/8 rating in the 18–49 demographic, according to

Nielsen ratings Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...

. The episode features guest appearances by

Lea Michele Lea Michele Sarfati (; born August 29, 1986) is an American actress, singer, songwriter, and author. She began her career as a child actress on Broadway, appearing in productions of ''Les Misérables'' (1995–1996), ''Ragtime'' (1997–1999) ...

Amber Riley Amber Patrice Riley (born February 15, 1986), sometimes known mononymously as RILEY, is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her portrayal of Mercedes Jones on the Fox comedy-drama series '' Glee'' (2009–2015). For her perf ...

, and

Cory Monteith Cory Allan Michael Monteith (; May 11, 1982 July 13, 2013) was a Canadian actor and musician who played Finn Hudson on the Fox television series '' Glee''. As an actor based in British Columbia, Monteith had minor roles on television series bef ...

from the musical television show '' Glee'', as well as Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie,

Ira Glass Ira Jeffrey Glass (; born March 3, 1959) is an American public radio personality. He is the host and producer of the radio and television series ''This American Life'' and has participated in other NPR programs, including ''Morning Edition'', ' ...

, and Stephen Hawking.

Plot

, Lisa, and her friends watch the announcement of the year's

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

winners, they are astounded to hear that

has won the Peace Prize. Krusty picks Homer to accompany him to

for the awards ceremony to ensure that his jokes will be met with laughter, and Homer decides to take

Bart Bart is a masculine given name, usually a diminutive of Bartholomew, sometimes of Barton, Bartolomeo, etc. Bart is a Dutch and Ashkenazi Jewish surname, and derives from the name ''Bartholomäus'', a German form of the biblical name ''Bartho ...

with him. Their plane lands in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

, and it is revealed that the Peace Prize announcement was a ruse to bring Krusty there so he could be tried by the

for his deplorable public behavior over the years, such as dropping a monkey from the Eiffel Tower in Paris, and stealing the act from a local clown in The Hague. Homer and Bart search desperately for any evidence to show that Krusty has made a genuine contribution to humanity, and eventually argue that his refusal to perform at Sun City because he wanted

potato chips A potato chip (North American English; often just chip) or crisp (British and Irish English) is a thin slice of potato that has been either deep fried, baked, or air fried until crunchy. They are commonly served as a snack, side dish, or ap ...

led directly to the

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government i ...

's decision to release Nelson Mandela from prison. Even though these two incidents are not connected in any way, the court accepts this argument and frees Krusty, who immediately seeks out the nearest place to buy

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various t ...

— the courthouse cafeteria. Meanwhile, Marge surprises Lisa, who is despondent about Bart attending the Peace Prize ceremony instead of her, by sending her to a performing arts camp for a week. She eagerly immerses herself there in music and theater, meeting several campers who love to break into song and two guitar-playing hipster counselors, Ethan and Kurt. When Marge takes her home at the end of the week, Lisa has trouble readjusting to normal life and looks for a chance to express her newly awakened creative side. She runs away from home and seeks out Ethan and Kurt in "Sprooklyn", described by the counselors as the "artistic hotbed of Springfield". However, she soon learns that they have grossly exaggerated the area, which is really a run-down slum, and that they actually work at a sandwich shop. They sing a song about the difficulties of being an artist, during which Krusty gets beaten up for accidentally announcing he is the prison snitch. Ethan and Kurt encourage her to return to her family and think about trying to make an artistic name for herself when she is older. As Marge arrives to take Lisa home, Ethan and Kurt show off a mural that they have painted in her honor, which takes up an entire side of a building.

Production

"Elementary School Musical" was written by Tim Long and directed by

. The episode features guest appearances from

, and

from the Fox series '' Glee''. The three previously revealed their appearances on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

in February 2010. Physicist Stephen Hawking also made an appearance. Flight of the Conchords members Jemaine Clement and

Bret McKenzie Bret Peter Tarrant McKenzie (born 29 June 1976) is a New Zealand musician, comedian, music supervisor, and actor. He is best known as one half of musical comedy duo Flight of the Conchords along with Jemaine Clement. In the 2000s, the duo's c ...

first rehearsed their lines over the phone with

Nancy Cartwright Nancy Cartwright (born October 25, 1957) is an American actress. She is the long-time voice of Bart Simpson on the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', for which she has received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Perform ...

, the voice of Bart, before flying to the United States to record their parts for the show. Clement, a fan of the show since it first aired as

shorts Shorts are a garment worn over the pelvic area, circling the waist and splitting to cover the upper part of the legs, sometimes extending down to the knees but not covering the entire length of the leg. They are called "shorts" because they ...

on '' The Tracey Ullman Show'', said that he and McKenzie would play new characters, rather than themselves. He continued:

Yeah, we were over the moon. We don't play ourselves, because most people won't know who we are, but they'll look like yellow versions of ourselves. We play counsellors at an arts camp that Lisa's going to. It's pretty fun. We just went to a studio and recorded it, but, yeah, we were really flattered.

The opening sequence features

Otto Mann The American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' contains a wide range of minor and supporting characters like co-workers, teachers, students, family friends, extended relatives, townspeople, local celebrities, and even animals. The write ...

in a '' Partridge Family''-like bus, while the

chalkboard gag The opening sequence of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' is among the most popular opening sequences in television. It is accompanied by " ''The Simpsons'' Theme", one of television's most recognizable theme songs. The fi ...

makes a reference to the film ''

Inception ''Inception'' is a 2010 science fiction action film written and directed by Christopher Nolan, who also produced the film with Emma Thomas, his wife. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a professional thief who steals information by infi ...

''. The '' Glee'' cast members sing a version of " Good Vibrations" by the

Beach Boys A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shell ...

had a Super Bowl "nip slip", appeared on ''

The Electric Company ''The Electric Company'' is an American educational children's television series produced by the Children's Television Workshop (CTW, now known as Sesame Workshop). It was co-created by Paul Dooley, Joan Ganz Cooney, and Lloyd Morrisett. The ...

'' and was seen using a child as a human shield in a similar manner to the character Greg Stillson from '' The Dead Zone''. Lisa listens to ''

This American Life ''This American Life'' (''TAL'') is an American monthly hour-long radio program produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media and hosted by Ira Glass. It is broadcast on numerous public radio stations in the United States and internati ...

'', a public radio program voiced by

. Also, Ethan and Kurt have a map of

Middle Earth Middle or The Middle may refer to: * Centre (geometry), the point equally distant from the outer limits. Places * Middle (sheading), a subdivision of the Isle of Man * Middle Bay (disambiguation) * Middle Brook (disambiguation) * Middle Creek ...

on the wall of their apartment. Krusty's comment that "I ain't gonna play Sun City" is a reference to

Steven van Zandt Steven Van Zandt (né Lento; born November 22, 1950), also known as Little Steven or Miami Steve, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor. He is a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, in which he plays guitar and mandoli ...

's famous

protest song A protest song is a song that is associated with a movement for social change and hence part of the broader category of ''topical'' songs (or songs connected to current events). It may be folk, classical, or commercial in genre. Among social mov ...

Reception

"Elementary School Musical" was initially broadcast on September 26, 2010, in the United States as part of the animation television night on Fox. Upon airing, the episode was viewed by 7.8 million households. "Elementary School Musical" garnered a 3.7/8 rating in the 18–49 demographic, according to the

. "Elementary School Musical" ranked twenty-third in the 18–49 demographic for the week. Television critics were polarized with "Elementary School Musical". Emily VanDerWerff of '' The A.V. Club'' gave the episode a 'C+' grade. Although she expressed satisfaction towards many aspects of the episode, such as the character development of Lisa Simpson, VanDerWerff criticized the songs performed in the episode. In response to the appearance of Jemaine Clement and

of the Flight of the Conchords, she stated: "I have no idea if the writers wrote new songs for the two guys in Flight of the Conchords to sing ..but the songs they sang were pretty weak." Similarly, VanDerWerff was critical of the guest appearances of Michele, Riley, and Monteith, and stated: "Bringing in the ''Glee'' kids to sing a take on " Good Vibrations" that was, frankly, awful mostly just felt like an attempt to have guest stars in nothing parts so they could be promoted. In contrast, Brad Trechak of ''

TV Squad Weblogs, Inc. was a blog network that published content on a variety of subjects, including tech news, video games, automobiles and pop culture. At one point, the network had as many as 90 blogs, although the vast majority of its traffic could be ...

'' felt that the "Elementary School Musical" was an enjoyable start to the twenty-second season of the series, and retorted that the appearances of Clement and McKenzie was the highlight of the episode. Similarly, Eric Hochberger of ''TV Fanatic'' wrote, "We actually loved Bret and Jemaine doing what they do best last night: playing characterized versions of themselves. Unlike the ''Glee'' kids, our favorite duo from New Zealand were given decent songs and some pretty great lines." Hochberger gave the episode a 3.5 out of 5 stars.

References

External links

* {{The Simpsons episodes, 22 The Simpsons (season 22) episodes 2010 American television episodes Cultural depictions of Stephen Hawking Musical television episodes Summer camps in television Flight of the Conchords