8 Iconic Movie Twists That Were Spoiled By The Simpsons

Over the decades, The Simpsons developed a reputation for its parodies and film homages, but angered some fans by botching big twist endings. The Simpsons It frequently references films, giving a satirical spin to iconic scenes and characters from all genres. All of Citizen Kane to Star Wars was skewered by the show's writers, although few references to the show's film directly reveal the ending.

For any reason, The Simpsons seems to have no problem revealing big movie twists. In some cases, the show chooses a famous twist as a joke, and it won't bother many fans to mention that Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker's father, for example. There are other big spoilers that could be more problematic, like how the show revealed the big twist The crying game less than a year after the film's release.

8

Planet of the Apes (1968)

Season 7, Episode 19, 'A Fish Named Selma'

The end of Planet of the Apes been spoiled many timesand the last four films in the franchise have been prequels detailing exactly how Earth fell to the apes. The Simpsons It's hardly the first show to spoil the movie, but its miniature musical makes it hard to forget. Troy McClure is one of the show's funniest supporting characters, and "A Fish Called Selma" puts the pompous actor and secret fish fetishist in the spotlight once again. He has a long history of appearing in terrible films and plays - not to mention his roles as a TV presenter - but the Planet of the Apes musical appears to be extremely popular.

It is worth remembering that “A Fish Called Selma” appeared many years before the trend of adapting Hollywood films into Broadway musicals, such as Mean Girls and Back to the future. It was still a ridiculous concept at the time, and Planet of the Apes it was a great choice Simpsons writers. The moment when the Statue of Liberty is revealed on stage is only slightly less laughable than the upbeat number at the end of the A Streetcar Named Desire musical in which Marge appears. "A Fish Called Selma" is a classic episode of The Simpsons, and the musical puts that over the top.

7

Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Season 3, Episode 12, 'I Married Marge'

Like this Planet of the Apes, the big twist The Empire Strikes Back became so famous that anyone who hasn't seen the film should still know that Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker's father. The prequel trilogy details Anakin's transition to the dark side of the Force, and the more recent films also mention it in passing. While the twist is common knowledge today, it still had a huge impact on fandom in 1980. “I Married Marge” is one of the few great episodes of The Simpsons which take place a few years after most of the show, like "And Maggie Makes Three" and "Lisa's Wedding".

As Homer and Marge leave the theater after seeing The Empire Strikes Back, Homer loudly proclaims "Who knew Darth Vader was Luke Skywalker's father?" This irritates the long line of people waiting to see the movie, and one of them responds sarcastically, "Thank you, Mr. Blow up the photo for me." It's a fun joke that grounds the story in 1980eleven years before "I Married Marge" was released in The Simpsons Season 3, and also shows that Homer has always been equally careless. This is just one of many Star Wars references in The Simpsons.

6

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)

Season 21, Episode 22, 'The Bob Next Door'

"The Bob Next Door" is primarily a parody of Face/Off, while Sideshow Bob performs a secret face transplant on a fellow inmate as part of a strategy to escape and kill Bart. Although the face swap is taken directly from Face/Off, the episode takes a moment to spoil the big twist Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. As Bob tells Bart about his plan to kill him at a point where five different US states intersect, he says that he will avoid committing any crimes due to legal technicalities, and that this makes it the "biggest murder since Snape killed Dumbledore."

The film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was released just a year before "The Bob Next Door," but the book was published four years earlier. This spoiler is so annoying that Bart complains, even though he is moments from death. Sideshow Bob's theatrical talent makes him one of the best villains in The Simpsons, and your Harry Potter spoilers can be as annoying for fans of the series as they are for Bart.

5

The Sting (1973)

Season 12, Episode 7, 'The Great Money Caper'

"The Great Money Caper" was a bright spot in Season 12 as the Golden Age of The Simpsons had come to an end. The episode title is a joke The Great Muppet Caper, and the episode parodies a wide variety of heist films. In particular, the big twist ending is reminiscent of Paul Newman and Robert Redford's 1973 classic. The sting. Both The sting and "The Great Money Caper" end with the revelation that the violent ending was just another scamwith a large team of con artists putting on a show to showcase their brand.

In "The Great Money Caper", it becomes quite obvious that something is fishy when Groundskeeper Willie shoots and kills Principal Skinner. Of course, he's not actually dead, just as Hooker and Gondorff survive in The sting. This spoiler is not as blatant as some others that The Simpsons is responsible, as it never mentions The sting by name. It could be seen more as an inside joke or an homage, but whoever watches the episode before watching The sting might be able to figure out what's about to happen based on The Simpsons.

4

The Crying Game (1992)

Season 4, Episode 21, 'Marge in Chains'

Mayor Quimby is prone to political gaffes, but ruining a movie in front of a large crowd for no apparent reason is among his biggest mistakes. The unsophisticated wording of the spoiler is also offensive, as the accepted lexicography surrounding trans people has changed greatly since Mayor Quimby's speech. At the time, "Marge in Chains" aired during season 4 of The Simpsons, the crying game it had only been out for eight months and hadn't even been released on home video or shown on network TV yet.

The crying game was a huge success in 1992 and received six Oscar nominations. Retrospective reviews have been more mixed, with some people opposing the film's trans representation while others support its intent, considering the differences between today's culture and that of the early 1990s. Mayor Quimby's violent revelation highlights that the Contemporary responses sometimes considered the twist to be a moment of great shock value, without internalizing the film's themes of gender and sexuality.

3

Soylent Green (1973)

Season 11, Episode 17, 'Bart to the Future'

"Bart for the Future" is another Simpsons episode that largely takes place in a different era. The show's vision of the future is often an ironic dystopia where people accept crushing injustices because TV technology is more advanced and everyone wears weird fins and hoops on their clothes, like in The Jetsons. "Bart to the Future" is one of many The Simpsons episodes set in the future, each featuring a different timeline. Lisa is the president in "Bart to the Future", while Bart is a failed musician who lives with Ralph Wiggum.

"Bart to the Future" is the famous Simpsons episode that predicted Donald Trump's presidency in 2000. In addition to spoiling real life 16 years in advance, it also takes time to spoil the 1973 dystopian thriller Soylent Green. Homer offers Bart and Ralph some Soylent Green, only for Ralph to respond by saying it's made of people. This revelation is the film's dramatic final twist, as the main character discovers the truth about a mysterious food product. Soylent Green's big twist has been spoiled countless times, with shows like Futurama, Family Guy and South Park all mocking the concept.

2

The Shining (1980)

Season 6, Episode 6, 'Treehouse of Horror V'

Season 6's Halloween special is without a doubt the best Simpsons Treehouse of Horror episode, with three brilliant stories. The first of these is titled "The Shinning" and parodies the Stanley Kubrick film. The Shining in remarkable detail. The short segment manages to distill the essence of the film into just a few minutes, while also providing plenty of laughs. Many of the film's most iconic scenes receive the Simpsons treatment, with Homer taking on the role of Jack Torrance. There's the elevator full of blood, the scene where Jack knocks on the door with a fire ax and the famous ending where he sits frozen in the snow.

Groundskeeper Willie plays Dick Hallorann, played by Scatman Crothers in the film. A big turning point The Shining arrives when Hallorann senses Danny's discomfort and returns to the Overlook Hotel to check on the Torrance family, only to be murdered by Jack as soon as he arrives. 'Treehouse of Horror V' spoils this twist and highlights how dark and humorous it is for Hallorann to travel across the country only to be murdered within seconds. Many Treehouse of Horror episodes parody famous horror films, but few go into such detail.

1

Citizen Kane (1941)

Season 5, Episode 4, 'Rosebud'

As the episode title suggests, "Rosebud" is a play on Citizen Kane, but with Mr. Burns playing the role of the dissatisfied billionaire. The great mystery of Orson Welles' classic concerns Charles Foster Kane's enigmatic final words. Different characters theorize that “Rosebud” could be the name of a woman from his past, urgent business, or something as trivial as a horse he bet on. Ultimately, it is revealed that “Rosebud” is the name of her childhood sled, which represents her lost innocence.

The Simpsons spoils Citizen Kane from the beginning of "Rosebud", since the entire episode is about how Mr. Burns longs for his childhood teddy bear, Bobo. Citizen Kane is one of the most referenced films in The Simpsons, and “Rosebud” isn’t the only episode that parodies a famous scene from the film. Burns is often the focus of these parodies, such as his campaign speech in "Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish" or the musical number in "Marge Gets a Job".