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"Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious", also known as "Simpsoncalifragilisticexpialad'ohcious" is the thirteenth episode of the eighth 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, Lisa, ...
'', that 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 an ...
in the United States on February 7, 1997. When Marge becomes stressed, the Simpsons hire a nanny, a
Mary Poppins It may refer to: * ''Mary Poppins'' (book series), the original 1934–1988 children's fantasy novels that introduced the character. * Mary Poppins (character), the nanny with magical powers. * ''Mary Poppins'' (film), a 1964 Disney film sta ...
parody named Shary Bobbins (voiced by
Maggie Roswell Maggie Roswell is an American actress, comedian, writer and producer from Los Angeles, California. She is well known for her voice work on the Fox network's animated television series ''The Simpsons'', in which she has played recurring characters ...
). The episode was directed by
Chuck Sheetz Chuck Sheetz is an American director, animator, animation director, educator, and producer. He is best known for his work on ''The Simpsons,'' ''What's New, Scooby-Doo?'', and '' Recess''. Early life Sheetz grew up outside Philadelphia, Penns ...
and written and executive produced by
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 ...
and
Mike Reiss Michael L. Reiss ( '; born ) is an American television comedy writer and author. He served as a show-runner, writer and producer for the animated series ''The Simpsons'' and co-created the animated series '' The Critic''. He created and wrote ...
.Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious
''BBC.co.uk''. Retrieved on March 28, 2007.
It was the last episode for which Reiss received a writing credit. In 2014, Jean selected it as one of five essential episodes in the show's history. This episode was inspired by the 1964 Disney movie, ''
Mary Poppins It may refer to: * ''Mary Poppins'' (book series), the original 1934–1988 children's fantasy novels that introduced the character. * Mary Poppins (character), the nanny with magical powers. * ''Mary Poppins'' (film), a 1964 Disney film sta ...
''.


Plot

After discovering that she is losing her hair at an alarming rate, Marge visits
Dr. Hibbert Dr. Julius Michael Hibbert, M.D. is a recurring character on the television animated sitcom ''The Simpsons''. He is Springfield's most prominent medical professional. Although he has a kind and warm persona, he is also often characterized as gree ...
, who informs her that stress is the cause. The
Simpson family The Simpson family are the fictional characters featured in the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. The Simpsons are a nuclear family consisting of married couple Homer and Marge and their three children, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. Th ...
decide to hire a nanny to perform housework and childcare, but have trouble finding the right one.
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
Lisa Lisa or LISA may refer to: People People with the mononym * Lisa Lisa (born 1967), American actress and lead singer of the Cult Jam * Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA", Japanese singer and producer * Lisa Komine (born 1978), J ...
sing a song about the ideal nanny, and a woman glides from the sky with a magical umbrella, introducing herself as Shary Bobbins. She is deemed perfect and is hired. Shary proves helpful for the Simpson family: Marge's stress subsides and her hair grows back. As the reformed family sits down to a perfect dinner, Shary declares her work done. After leaving the house, she sees the family reverting to its previous state of
dysfunction Dysfunction can refer to: * Abnormality (behavior) * Dysfunctional family * Sexual dysfunction * ''Dysfunction'' (album), an album by the rock band Staind * Manifest and latent functions and dysfunctions Manifest may refer to: Computing * Mani ...
, forcing Shary to stay, after Grampa accidentally steals her umbrella claiming it has been switched. Soon the family treats her rudely and loses interest in her zest for life and zealous reform. Declaring that the Simpsons will be the death of her, she becomes depressed and starts to cry, drink, and channel her misery into her singing. Realizing the effect the Simpsons have had on Shary, Marge admits that nothing can change them, and the family expresses self-gratitude through a song. Shary accepts and leaves using her umbrella that she retrieves from Grampa.
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 ...
suggests they might see her again someday; unbeknown to them, she is sucked into the engine of a passing airliner, seemingly killing her.


Production

Although the majority of the season eight episodes were
executive produced Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...
by Bill Oakley and
Josh Weinstein Josh Weinstein (born May 5, 1966) is an American television writer and producer, known for his work on the animated comedy series ''The Simpsons''. Weinstein and Bill Oakley became best friends and writing partners at St. Albans School; Weinst ...
, former executive producers
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 ...
and
Mike Reiss Michael L. Reiss ( '; born ) is an American television comedy writer and author. He served as a show-runner, writer and producer for the animated series ''The Simpsons'' and co-created the animated series '' The Critic''. He created and wrote ...
had signed a deal with
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
that allowed them to produce four episodes of ''The Simpsons''. The idea for this episode originated several years before its airdate when Jean and Reiss were the regular showrunners. The idea was pitched at a writers' retreat by Jean but nobody had wanted to flesh it out. After being allowed to come back to produce some episodes, Jean and Reiss decided to write this episode. At first, Reiss was against the episode and felt that it was a bad idea. He felt that the plot was slightly ridiculous and that the show should not feature any magic; except for a few moments, he largely kept magic out of the episode. He now considers it one of the best episodes that he co-wrote. At the time, "Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious" had more music in it than any other episode. While writing, Jean thought that the songs would stretch out and make the episode the proper length but it was considerably shorter than required. Several additional scenes, such as the ''
Itchy & Scratchy ''The Itchy & Scratchy Show'' (often shortened as ''Itchy & Scratchy'') is a Story within a story, fictional animated television series featured on ''The Simpsons''. Description The show depicts a blue mouse named Itchy who repeatedly and violen ...
'' segment, were added to pad out the episode. There was originally a sequence where Bart, Lisa and Shary visit
Patty and Selma Patricia Maleficent "Patty" Bouvier and Selma Bouvier-Terwilliger-Hutz-McClure-Discotheque-Simpson-D'Amico () are fictional characters in the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons''. They are identical Twin, twins and are voiced by Julie Kavne ...
who sing "We Love to Smoke", a parody of "
I Love to Laugh "I Love to Laugh", also called "We Love to Laugh", is a song from Walt Disney's 1964 film ''Mary Poppins'' which was composed by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman. The song is sung in the film by "Uncle Albert" (Ed Wynn), and "Bert" ( Dick ...
". The song was cut because it wasn't getting any laughs but the full version was included on the album ''
Go Simpsonic with The Simpsons ''Go Simpsonic with The Simpsons'' is the 1999 soundtrack album from ''The Simpsons''. It takes many of the musical numbers from the series which were either not included in the previous album, ''Songs in the Key of Springfield'', or were create ...
'' and a brief animated version was included as a deleted scene on the Season 8
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
. During the end song, Homer can be seen dancing along but not singing; this was because the producers forgot to record
Dan Castellaneta Daniel Louis Castellaneta (; born October 29, 1957) is an American actor, comedian, and writer. He is best known for voicing Homer Simpson on the animated series ''The Simpsons'' (as well as other characters on the show such as Abraham "Grampa" ...
. Many of the scenes were animated by
Eric Stefani Eric Matthew Stefani (born June 17, 1967) is an American musician, composer, writer and animator best known as the founder and former member of the ska punk band No Doubt. He is the older brother of former bandmate Gwen Stefani and is also a forme ...
, a former member of
No Doubt No Doubt is an American rock band from Anaheim, California, formed in 1986. For most of their career, the band has consisted of vocalist Gwen Stefani, guitarist Tom Dumont, bassist Tony Kanal, and drummer Adrian Young. Since the mid-1990s, they ...
, who specialized in animation for musical numbers.


Casting

Julie Andrews Dame Julie Andrews (born Julia Elizabeth Wells; 1 October 1935) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has garnered numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Fi ...
(who portrayed the titular role in ''
Mary Poppins It may refer to: * ''Mary Poppins'' (book series), the original 1934–1988 children's fantasy novels that introduced the character. * Mary Poppins (character), the nanny with magical powers. * ''Mary Poppins'' (film), a 1964 Disney film sta ...
'') was originally slated to appear in the episode as Shary, but in the end, the producers went with series regular
Maggie Roswell Maggie Roswell is an American actress, comedian, writer and producer from Los Angeles, California. She is well known for her voice work on the Fox network's animated television series ''The Simpsons'', in which she has played recurring characters ...
after hearing Roswell's reading for the part.
Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, Black comedy, dark humor, Nonlinear narrative, non-lin ...
was also asked to guest star as himself in the Itchy and Scratchy short, but he did not want to deliver the lines required, believing them to be insulting. Instead, regular Dan Castellaneta did the voice.


Cultural references

The overall plot is a reference to the 1964 Disney film ''
Mary Poppins It may refer to: * ''Mary Poppins'' (book series), the original 1934–1988 children's fantasy novels that introduced the character. * Mary Poppins (character), the nanny with magical powers. * ''Mary Poppins'' (film), a 1964 Disney film sta ...
'' and the book series it was adapted from; Shary Bobbins is based on the character
Mary Poppins It may refer to: * ''Mary Poppins'' (book series), the original 1934–1988 children's fantasy novels that introduced the character. * Mary Poppins (character), the nanny with magical powers. * ''Mary Poppins'' (film), a 1964 Disney film sta ...
and the episode title is a spoof of the word "
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" ( ) is a song and single from the 1964 Disney musical film ''Mary Poppins''. It was written by the Sherman Brothers, and sung by Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke. It also appears in the 2004 stage show ver ...
" from the film. Several of the musical numbers are direct parodies of songs from the film, including " The Perfect Nanny", "
The Life I Lead "The Life I Lead" is a song from the 1964 Walt Disney film '' Mary Poppins'', composed by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman. Music arranger Irwin Kostal used the theme from this song as the leitmotif of George Banks, as it most expresses the ...
", " A Spoonful of Sugar" and "
Feed the Birds "Feed the Birds" is a song written by the Sherman Brothers (Richard M. Sherman & Robert B. Sherman) and featured in the 1964 motion picture ''Mary Poppins''. The song speaks of an old beggar woman (the "Bird Woman") who sits on the steps of St Paul' ...
"; a
deleted scene A deleted scene is footage that has been removed from the final version of a film or television show. There are various reasons why these scenes are deleted, which include time constraints, relevance, quality or a dropped story thread. A similar o ...
features
Patty and Selma Patricia Maleficent "Patty" Bouvier and Selma Bouvier-Terwilliger-Hutz-McClure-Discotheque-Simpson-D'Amico () are fictional characters in the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons''. They are identical Twin, twins and are voiced by Julie Kavne ...
singing their version of "
I Love to Laugh "I Love to Laugh", also called "We Love to Laugh", is a song from Walt Disney's 1964 film ''Mary Poppins'' which was composed by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman. The song is sung in the film by "Uncle Albert" (Ed Wynn), and "Bert" ( Dick ...
". The montage of Marge losing her hair features the song "
Hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and f ...
" from the musical of the same name (though the version heard is
The Cowsills The Cowsills are an American singing group from Newport, Rhode Island, six siblings noted for performing professionally and singing harmonies at an early age, later with their mother. The band was formed in early 1965 by brothers Bill, Bob, and ...
version). Homer says he has seen ''
Mrs. Doubtfire ''Mrs. Doubtfire'' is a 1993 American comedy-drama film directed by Chris Columbus. It was written for the screen by Randi Mayem Singer and Leslie Dixon, based on the 1987 novel ''Alias Madame Doubtfire'' by Anne Fine. Robin Williams, who also s ...
'' and believes that some of the candidates for the role of nanny are men in drag. Homer's imagination is a parody of the dancing characters in ''
Steamboat Willie ''Steamboat Willie'' is a 1928 American animated short film directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. It was produced in black and white by Walt Disney Studios and was released by Pat Powers, under the name of Celebrity Productions. The cartoon ...
'' and features the song "
Turkey in the Straw "Turkey in the Straw" is an American folk song that first gained popularity in the 19th century. Early versions of the song were titled "Zip Coon", which were first published around 1834 and performed in minstrel shows, with different people c ...
". In the park,
Groundskeeper Willie William MacMoran MacDougal, better known as Groundskeeper Willie, is a recurring character on ''The Simpsons'', voiced by Dan Castellaneta. He is the head groundskeeper and Janitor at Springfield Elementary School. Willie is almost feral in nature ...
is seen singing a cover version of "
Maniac Maniac (from Greek μανιακός, ''maniakos'') is a pejorative for an individual who experiences the mood known as mania. In common usage, it is also an insult for someone involved in reckless behavior. Maniac may also refer to: Film * ' ...
" by
Michael Sembello Michael Andrew Sembello (born April 17, 1954) is an American singer, guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter, composer and producer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Sembello was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for his 1983 song "M ...
. The scene where Principal Skinner attempts to sell Jimbo is a reference to a similar scene in the story '' Oliver Twist'', more specifically he yells "Boy for Sale", a reference to a song in the musical film adaptation ''
Oliver! ''Oliver!'' is a coming-of-age stage musical, with book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the 1838 novel '' Oliver Twist'' by Charles Dickens. It premiered at the Wimbledon Theatre, southwest London in 1960 before op ...
'' The ''
Itchy & Scratchy ''The Itchy & Scratchy Show'' (often shortened as ''Itchy & Scratchy'') is a Story within a story, fictional animated television series featured on ''The Simpsons''. Description The show depicts a blue mouse named Itchy who repeatedly and violen ...
'' short "Reservoir Cats" is a parody of the scene in
Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, Black comedy, dark humor, Nonlinear narrative, non-lin ...
's 1992 film ''
Reservoir Dogs ''Reservoir Dogs'' is a 1992 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino in his feature-length debut. It stars Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Chris Penn, Steve Buscemi, Lawrence Tierney, Michael Madsen, Tarantino, and Edward Bunke ...
'' where Mr. Blonde cuts off the ear of the police officer. The sequence features the same setting, camera angles and music — " Stuck in the Middle With You" by
Stealers Wheel Stealers Wheel were a Scottish folk rock/ rock band formed in 1972 in Paisley, Scotland, by former school friends Joe Egan and Gerry Rafferty. Their best-known hit is "Stuck in the Middle with You". The band broke up in 1975 and re-formed bri ...
. At the end, Itchy and Scratchy dance in a manner similar to that seen in Tarantino's 1994 film ''
Pulp Fiction ''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, who conceived it with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; Starring John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Tim Roth, Vin ...
''. Tarantino was planned to voice himself but he found his phrase offensive and was voiced by Dan Castellaneta instead. Shary and
Barney Gumble Barnard Arnold "Barney" Gumble is a recurring character in the American animated TV series ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". Barney is the to ...
sing a drunken rendition of
Jimmy Buffett James William Buffett (born December 25, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author, and businessman. He is best known for his music, which often portrays an "island escapism" lifestyle. Together with his Coral Reefer Band, Buffet ...
's "
Margaritaville "Margaritaville" is a 1977 song by American popular music singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett from the album '' Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes''. This song was written about a drink Buffett discovered at Lung's Cocina del Sur restauran ...
". Krusty's television special "Krusty Komedy Klassic" subtly lampshades the implications from its initials which are the same for the
Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...
. Krusty's "Mad About Shoe" joke is a reference to the
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
sitcom ''
Mad About You ''Mad About You'' is an American television sitcom starring Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt as a married couple in New York City. It initially aired on NBC from September 23, 1992, to May 24, 1999, winning numerous awards including four Golden Glob ...
''.


Reception

In its original broadcast, "Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious" finished 76th in ratings for the week of February 3–9, 1997, with a
Nielsen rating 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 rati ...
of 5.6, equivalent to approximately 5.4 million viewing households.
Alf Clausen Alf Heiberg Clausen (born March 28, 1941) is an American film and television composer. He is best known for his work scoring many episodes of ''The Simpsons'', for which he was the sole composer between 1990 and 2017. Clausen has scored or orc ...
received an
Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
nomination for "Outstanding Music Direction" for this episode. In 2014, writers for the series picked "Reservoir Cats" from this episode as one of their nine favorite "Itchy & Scratchy" episodes of all time.


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)Cious 1997 American television episodes Disney parodies Mary Poppins Musical parodies Musical television episodes The Simpsons (season 8) episodes Cultural depictions of Quentin Tarantino Parodies of films Parody television episodes