"Large Marge" is the fourth episode of the fourteenth season 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 November 24, 2002. In the episode,

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 ...

decides to get

liposuction Liposuction, or simply lipo, is a type of fat-removal procedure used in plastic surgery. Evidence does not support an effect on weight beyond a couple of months and does not appear to affect obesity-related problems. In the United States, lipo ...

, thinking that

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 ...

does not find her attractive anymore. However, she accidentally receives

breast implants A breast implant is a prosthesis used to change the size, shape, and contour of a person's breast. In reconstructive plastic surgery, breast implants can be placed to restore a natural looking breast following a mastectomy, to correct congenita ...

, so she becomes adored by many men in Springfield and becomes a model. Meanwhile,

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 ...

and

Milhouse Milhouse Mussolini Van Houten is a recurring character in the Fox animated television series ''The Simpsons'' voiced by Pamela Hayden and created by Matt Groening. Milhouse is Bart Simpson's best friend in Mrs. Krabappel's fourth grade class at ...

try to imitate a stunt they saw on an episode of ''

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939. I ...

'' that guest starred

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 ...

. When the stunt ends badly, media watchdog groups blame Krusty, forcing the clown to make his show more safety-conscious and less fun. This is the final episode to feature

Jan Hooks Janet Vivian HooksJan Hooks obituary
liteseyfh.com; accesse ...

as Manjula before her death in October 2014.

Plot

Lisa and

participate in a

Habitat for Humanity Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI), generally referred to as Habitat for Humanity or Habitat, is a US non-governmental, and nonprofit organization which was founded in 1976 by couple Millard and Linda Fuller. Habitat for Humanity is a C ...

project along with former presidents

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again ...

, and George H. W. Bush. While working, Homer takes off his wedding ring for safekeeping, causing Lindsay Naegle and

Cookie Kwan 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 ...

to mistakenly think Homer is a divorcé.

, driving by with Maggie, assumes Homer to be flirting with the women, and worries that Homer has lost interest in her. She decides to get liposuction on the advice of Manjula, but a mix-up at the hospital instead causes her to get breast implants meant for Mayor Quimby's assistant. Marge is forced to wait 48 hours before the implants can be removed. Meanwhile,

and

watch an episode of ''

'' guest starring Krusty, and attempt to recreate a stunt, damaging school property and the U.S. flag in the process. Upon discovering the two were influenced by Krusty, Principal Skinner leads a protest against the clown, who is now seen as a dangerous influence on children. Krusty's show is re-tooled to exclude anything considered dangerous and likely to be imitated by impressionable viewers. After returning home from her surgery, Marge realizes that her new breasts are giving her difficulty in doing even the simplest tasks, but that she is given gifts and attention from the men of Springfield. When the family goes out for dinner, Kiki Highsmith, a trade show executive, approaches Marge and offers her a modeling job. Marge accepts and initially enjoys the experience, but is quickly plagued by back pain and harassment from the men of Springfield. At the Springfield Shoe Expo, Marge is further humiliated while promoting shoe horns. At the same time, Bart decides to help Krusty to win back his popularity by having him appear to rescue Milhouse from Stampy by shouting Stampy's safe word: "magumbo." When Krusty forgets the word, Stampy stuffs both Milhouse and Bart in his mouth, as well as Homer when he tries to save them. The police prepare to shoot Stampy, endangering Homer, Bart and Milhouse, but Marge manages to distract the police by flashing her breasts. Krusty, ogling her breasts, shouts "Look at those magumbos!" Stampy releases Bart, Milhouse, and Homer, and Krusty is hailed as a hero and his popularity is restored with the town. Following the day’s events, Marge finally has her implants removed.

Production

"Large Marge" was written by Ian Maxtone-Graham and directed by Jim Reardon as part of the fourteenth season of ''

'' (2002–03). In an

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. new ...

news report about the episode, it was cited as satirizing "plastic surgery and images of beauty in popular culture." Actors Adam West and Burt Ward, who starred in the television series ''

'' as Batman and Robin, respectively, guest starred in "Large Marge" as those characters. Junkanoo band Baha Men, known for their single " Who Let the Dogs Out?", recorded two parodies of that song for this episode: "Who Left the Milk Out?", which Marge and Maggie listen to on

Radio Disney Radio Disney was an American radio network operated by the Disney Radio Networks unit of Disney Branded Television within the Disney General Entertainment Content, headquartered in Burbank, California. The network broadcast music programmi ...

, and "Who Let Her Jugs Out?", which plays over the closing credits.

Release

The episode originally aired on the

in the United States on November 24, 2002. On February 7, 2006, "Large Marge" was released in the United States on a DVD collection titled ''The Simpsons Kiss and Tell: The Story of Their Love'', along with the season nine episode "

Natural Born Kissers "Natural Born Kissers" is the twenty-fifth and final episode of the ninth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 17, 1998. Homer and Marge discover th ...

", the season fourteen episode " Three Gays of the Condo", and the season fifteen episode "

The Way We Weren't "The Way We Weren't" is the twentieth episode of the fifteenth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 9, 2004. Plot Bart and Milhouse steal and emp ...

". All four episodes revolve around the romance between Homer and Marge. On December 6, 2011, "Large Marge" was released on Blu-ray and DVD as part of the box set ''The Simpsons – The Complete Fourteenth Season''. Staff members

Al Jean Alfred Ernest Jean III (born January 9, 1961) is an American screenwriter and producer. Jean is well known for his work on ''The Simpsons''. He was raised near Detroit, Michigan, and graduated from Harvard University in 1981. Jean began his wri ...

, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Matt Selman, Tom Gammill,

Matt Warburton Matt Warburton (born February 7, 1978) is an American television writer. Early life Warburton grew up in northern Ohio and attended Strongsville High School. He has a degree in cognitive neuroscience from Harvard University. Career Warburt ...

, David Silverman, and

Mike B. Anderson Mike B. Anderson, sometimes credited as Mikel B. Anderson, is an American television director who works on ''The Simpsons'' and has directed numerous episodes of the show, and was animated in "The Secret War of Lisa Simpson" as cadet Anderson. W ...

, as well as cast member

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 ...

, participated in the DVD

audio commentary An audio commentary is an additional audio track, usually digital, consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with a video. Commentaries can be serious or entertaining in nature, and can add informatio ...

for the episode. Deleted scenes from the episode were also included in the box set.

Reception

Reviews from television critics about this episode have been mixed since the release of the ''Kiss and Tell'' DVD. IGN's Jeff Otto commented that while he thought "Natural Born Kissers" was the only "great" episode in the compilation, "All four episodes are good ''Simpsons'' episodes." He added: "I can't figure why, if Fox was going to put together a set of this theme, they couldn't have included some of the more classic episodes about Marge and Homer's romance. Still, even the lesser Simpsons episodes are entertaining, so you could certainly do worse." A writer for HorrorNews.net called it one of the highlights of the season, and Aaron Peck of High-Def Digest described it as "memorable". In his review of the ''Kiss and Tell'' DVD, Andy Dougan of the ''

Evening Times The ''Glasgow Times'' is an evening tabloid newspaper published Monday to Saturday in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. Called ''The Evening Times'' from 1876, it was rebranded as the ''Glasgow Times'' on 4 December 2019. DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson commented that though "the plot of 'Large' screams '

high concept High concept is a type of artistic work that can be easily pitched with a succinctly stated premise. It can be contrasted with ''low concept'', which is more concerned with character development and other subtleties that are not as easily summa ...

', it actually works pretty well. It uses the silliness attached to Marge's chest to good comic effect, and the secondary plot with Bart and Krusty ties into things in a fun manner. It presents a lot of funny bits and turns into a strong episode. It's also hard to knock a show that reunites the voices of Adam West and Burt Ward." While reviewing the fourteenth season of ''The Simpsons'', Victor Valdivia of

DVD Verdict DVD Verdict was a judicial-themed website for DVD reviews. The site was founded in 1999. The editor-in-chief was Michael Stailey, who owned the website between 2004 and 2016, and the site employed a large editorial staff of critics, whose revie ...

wrote: "To be sure, there are some real clinkers this season. Both 'Large Marge' and 'Strong Arm of the Ma' prove that writing good episodes about Marge seem to be out of the question by this point. ..By normal TV standards these are not unwatchable, but by ''Simpsons'' standards, these are the episodes you probably won't watch over and over again."

References

External links

* {{The Simpsons episodes, 14 The Simpsons (season 14) episodes 2002 American television episodes Cultural depictions of Bill Clinton Cultural depictions of George H. W. Bush Cultural depictions of Jimmy Carter Television episodes about plastic surgery