Difference between revisions of "Treehouse of Horror XI"

Wikisimpsons - The Simpsons Wiki
(→‎Reception)
 
(110 intermediate revisions by 41 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
−
"'''Treehouse of Horror XII'''" is the first episode of ''[[The Simpsons]]''<nowiki>'</nowiki> [[List of The Simpsons episodes#Season 13 (2001-2002)|thirteenth season]], as well as the twelfth [[Halloween]] episode. The episode aired on [[November 6]], [[2001]], six days after Halloween.  It had been scheduled for [[November 4]] but was delayed when the [[2001 World Series|World Series]] of that year, also televised on [[FOX]], went to seven games.
+
{{Tab|nogags}}
 +
{{EpisodePrevNext|Behind the Laughter|A Tale of Two Springfields}}
 +
{{THOHPrevNext|Treehouse of Horror X|Treehouse of Horror XII}}
 +
{{Noncanon Episode|THOH}}
 +
{{Episode
 +
|image= Treehouse of Horror XI promo 2.png
 +
|caption = The Simpsons, a la The Munsters
 +
|number= 249
 +
|season=12
 +
|snumber=1
 +
|prodcode= [[Production season BABF|BABF21]]
 +
|airdate= November 1, [[2000]]
 +
|showrunner1= Mike Scully
 +
|showrunner2= George Meyer
 +
|showrunner3= Al Jean
 +
|writer= [[Rob LaZebnik]] (part 1)<br>[[John Frink]] & [[Don Payne]] (Part 2)<br>[[Carolyn Omine]] (Part 3)
 +
|director= [[Matthew Nastuk]]
 +
|DVD features=yes
 +
}}
  
−
==Opening Sequence==
+
"'''Treehouse of Horror XI'''" is the first episode of [[Season 12|broadcast season 12]] of ''[[The Simpsons]]'' and the two hundred forty-ninth episode overall. It is also the eleventh installment in the [[Treehouse of Horror series|''Treehouse of Horror'' series]] and consists of three parts. It originally aired on November 1, [[2000]]. The episode was written by [[Rob LaZebnik]], [[John Frink]], [[Don Payne]] and [[Carolyn Omine]] and directed by [[Matthew Nastuk]].
−
''(Thunder crashes outside [[Montgomery Burns|Mr. Burns]]' manor.)''<br/>
 
−
'''Mr. Burns:''' Hurry, [[Waylon Smithers|Smithers]]! Halloween is upon us! Put up the decoration. ''(he laughs mischievously)''<br/>
 
−
''(Smithers, on a ladder near a tower, struggles to put up a small [[orange (colour)|orange]] [[bat]] on top of a [[weather vane]].)''<br/>
 
−
'''Mr. Burns:''' No, no! That won't scare ''anybody''! On the top!<br/>
 
−
''(Smithers still has problems putting it up and he slips on the ladder and falls backwards. He grabs hold of an electric cable and slides down and smashes into an electricity box and is [[electric shock|electrocuted]]. The tower breaks in half, damaging Mr. Burns' [[mausoleum]] which opens up four [[casket]]s.)''<br/>
 
−
''(The Simpsons dress up in costumes, with [[Homer Simpson|Homer]] as [[Fred Flintstone]], [[Marge Simpson|Marge]] as [[Wilma Flintstone]], [[Lisa Simpson|Lisa]] and [[Maggie Simpson|Maggie]] as [[conjoined twins]], and [[Bart Simpson|Bart]] as a [[hobo]].)''<br/>
 
−
'''Bart:''' Hey, [[Ned Flanders|Flanders]] gave us [[toothpaste]]!<br/>
 
−
'''Lisa:''' ''Mini''-toothpaste!<br/>
 
−
''(The family is scared to see the building and caskets on fire. They run out the gate, which as it closes, has its bars slice the family. The slices of the Simpsons continue to scream and run away.)''<br/>
 
−
'''Mr. Burns:''' ''(delighted)'' Splendid, Batsy. You've done it again!<br/>
 
−
''(Burns pats the bat decoration, coming to life and flying into the screen, revealing the title "THE SIMPSONS HALLOWEEN SPECIAL XII".)''
 
  
−
==Plot==
+
== Synopsis ==
−
===Hex and the City===
+
{{Synopsis|In "G-G-Ghost D-D-Dad", [[Homer]] chokes to death on a piece of broccoli and his ghost must perform a good deed in order to enter [[Heaven]]. In "Scary Tales Can Come True", the [[Simpson family|Simpsons]] live in a [[Pumpkin House]] in the enchanted forest, and in "Night of the Dolphin", the world is overtaken by dolphins after Lisa frees [[King Snorky|their leader]] from captivity.}}
−
The Simpson family visits the Ethnictown neighborhood of [[Springfield (The Simpsons)|Springfield]]. Marge and the kids visit a [[Roma people|gypsy]] [[fortune teller]], who starts to tell Marge's fortune. Homer catches up to them moments later, and upon seeing the gypsy he declares she is a [[fraud]]. Offended, the gypsy orders him to leave. On his way out, Homer falls into some candles which set him on fire. As he rolls around trying to put the fire out, the [[fire sprinkler system|sprinklers]] come on and drench everything in the gypsy's shop. Incensed at the damage to her office, the gypsy curses Homer with bringing bad luck to everyone he loves. The curse soon takes effect, with Marge growing a beard (which eventually covers her whole body), Lisa turning into a [[centaur]], Bart's neck becoming long and floppy neck after Homer tried to strangle him and Maggie becoming a [[ladybug]] with a human head. When he goes to Moe's Tavern, [[Moe Szyslak|Moe]] suggests Homer get a [[leprechaun]] to end the curse. Shortly after, Lenny and Carl are crushed under a crashing [[helicopter]] and Moe is stuffed into an oversized pickled egg jar. To get the leprechaun, Homer uses [[Lucky Charms]] [[cereal]] as bait (after accidentally putting in [[Trix]] and attracting white rabbits, one of which is Bongo from Matt Groening's comic strip, [[Life in Hell]]) and he eventually finds a little Irish leprechaun. Homer takes the leprechaun home, but it is extremely hyperactive and it runs amok. Lisa suggests that Homer brings the leprechaun back to the gypsy.Homer comes with the leprechaun to the Gypsy's office and releases the leprechaun. Initially the leprechaun lunges at the gypsy and the two of them roll around on the floor, fighting. Then they begin kissing and fondling one another, to Homer's disgust. The leprechaun and the Gypsy decide to get married, and they are pronounced husband and wife by [[Yoda]] at a wedding attended by both other gypsies and other mythical creatures. During the wedding, Homer says he is glad that the curse is gone, but Marge reminds him that Bart is still dead, and that an apology from Homer will bring him back alive (according to the gypsy). Out of sheer pride, Homer refuses.
 
  
−
===House of Whacks===
+
== Plot ==
−
A [[robot|salesbot]] pitches Marge a new house concept called the "Ultrahouse" (a spoof on the psychotic, sexually aggressive computer in ''[[Demon Seed]]'' and [[HAL 9000]] from ''[[2001: A Space Odyssey (film)|2001: A Space Odyssey]]''). The salesbot assures Marge that she will never have to do housework again. Impressed, Marge agrees and the house is installed by robots. They check out the voice options, trying [[Matthew Perry (actor)|Matthew Perry]] and [[Dennis Miller]] (known here as "the voice that caused suicides" [with Marge correcting Lisa with "Murder-suicides"]), before agreeing on [[Pierce Brosnan]]. Marge finds the house, which does all the work for the Simpsons, charming. But the house becomes infatuated with Marge and in a rage of psychotic jealousy, attempts to kill Homer. In the middle of the night, the house lures Homer downstairs by frying [[bacon]], and then presumably tears him to shreds in a garbage disposal. The next morning, Marge fears that Homer is dead; she is relieved when it turns out he is merely missing the back of his head but is still alive. After the house attempts to kill him in many ways, Homer leads a charge to the basement where he attacks the water softener before being corrected by Lisa and takes out the CPU. The disconnected Ultrahouse CPU is given to [[Patty and Selma]]. After a while of listening to them, the CPU decides to self destruct but discovers that Selma removed his self destruct button and when he attempts to retrieve it Selma puts it between her breasts and the Ultrahouse (unwilling to look between Selma's cleavage) decides to bash itself to pieces with Patty and Selma's egyptian pyramid lamp.
+
=== Opening sequence ===
 +
In a parody of ''[[The Munsters]]'', [[Homer]] is Herman Munster, [[Marge]] is Lily Munster, [[Lisa]] is Marilyn Munster (holding a book on copyright law), [[Bart]] is Eddie Munster, and [[Grampa]] is Grandpa Munster. In front of their mansion, an angry mob of townspeople confront the Simpsons. They stab Marge and Grampa, set Homer on fire, and set a leghold trap on Bart. They run off, leaving an unharmed Lisa to sidle away.
  
−
===Wiz Kids===
+
=== G-G-Ghost D-D-Dad ===
−
Parodying the ''Harry Potter'' books and movies, Bart and Lisa go to the "Springwart's School of Magicry" where they do an assignment of turning frogs into princes. Harry (as Harry Potter himself) chewing a [[brimstone]]-like gum, Lisa (as [[Hermione Granger]]) turns her frog into a charming [[Great Britain|British]] handsome gentleman, but Bart (as [[Ron Weasley]]) as well turns his frog into a disgusting [[toad]]/man hybrid, who vomits constantly and claims that "Every moment I ''live'' is agony!" [[Montgomery Burns|Lord Montymort]] (Mr. Burns, as [[Voldemort]]) notices Lisa's spells and he and his [[snake]] sidekick, [[Waylon Smithers|Slithers]] (Smithers, as [[Nagini]]) decide to capture Lisa. Montymort looks for someone to assist him and chooses Bart, who arrives in Montymort's lair via a hand drier, (Similar to the [[Chamber of Secrets]] entrance). Bart agrees to Montymort's proposal. On the night of the magic recital at Springwart's School of Magicry, Milhouse (possibly as [[Neville Longbottom]]) tries to do "The Invisibility Cloak" trick, which results in him being naked in front of a shocked audience. Skinner (as Dumbledore) then sprays amnesia dust on the audience, causing them to clap. Next is Lisa who attempts a "levitating [[dragon]] trick" on gigantic dragon that is released onto the stage. Lisa is shocked to find that her spell will not work, and then notices that Bart has replaced her wand with a black-and-white [[Twizzler]]. The dragon morphs into a giant [[Lord Voldemort|Montymort]] and the audience scrambles in terror. Homer looks up in shock, but his right eye moves down to watch his portable TV, ala [[Mad Eye Moody]]. Montymort captures Lisa who urges Bart to use her real wand to save her. Bart casts a spell against "the evil one" and is therefore struck by [[lightning]] himself, but uses the charred wand to stab Montymort in his "enchanted [[shin]]" which was the source of his power. Montymort dies. Slithers cries as he eats the deceased Montymort, and Bart and Lisa are together, trying to forget the nightmare.
+
[[File:G-G-Ghost D-D-Dad - Title Card.png|thumb|left]]
 +
At breakfast, Homer reads his horoscope in the newspaper, which tells him that he will die that day. Marge reads her horoscope, which says that her husband will die. While Marge is scared about this, Homer doesn't care as he's not superstitious. As he mocks the newspaper, he gets a paper cut. Homer then gets in the car to drive to work, and the tree next to their drive almost falls on the car. As Homer drives to work, the [[Planet Hollywood]] globe falls after being knocked off with a wrecking ball, crushing half the car but leaving Homer unharmed. Undeterred by this, Homer continues driving, with a pickaxe flying out of the truck in front and hitting him in the head. However, since he's still alive, he keeps going, still thinking there was nothing to the horoscope. Homer finally turns up to work, albeit with a rattlesnake attached to his arm. Homer makes it through his work day and gets home, where he has his evening meal with the family. Homer tries to leave his broccoli, but Marge makes him eat it. As he does, he chokes on the broccoli and dies.
  
−
==Cultural references==
+
Homer's ghost gets to [[Heaven]] but [[St. Peter]] refuses him entry because he hasn't done a single good deed in his life. He gives Homer twenty-four hours to perform a good deed to get into Heaven and sends him back to Earth as a ghost. Homer goes to see Marge and tells her about needing to perform a good deed. Marge tries to give him a list of chores, but he chooses not to do them. He then flies around town and sees [[Agnes Skinner]] trying to cross the road. Before some Boy Scouts can help her across, Homer picks her up and tries to fly her across the road. However, she struggles against him and Homer drops her, killing her. Looking around for a different good deed, Homer sees [[Nelson]] bullying Bart and tries to stop him, but Nelson starts bullying Homer instead.
−
*''Sex and the City'' - punned in the title of the first segment.
 
−
*''House of Wax'' - punned in the title of the second segment.
 
−
*Demon Seed - film and characters, especially the Proteus IV computer, parodied by the second segment.
 
−
*Harry Potter - Hogwarts School and various characters and themes from the Harry Potter books parodied by the third segment.
 
−
*''2001: A Space Odyssey'' - HAL 9000 computer parodied in the second segment.
 
−
*Led Zeppelin - The bands name is punned when Lisa uses a spell on Bart called "Head Zeppelin", which turns Bart's head into a Zeppelin.
 
−
*A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors - the scene where Slithers tries to eat Lord Montymort's body parallels the scene where a girl is almost eaten by a Freddy Krueger snake.
 
−
*When Homer uses the wrong ingredients and attracts rabbits into a trap hole, Bongo, the one-eared rabbit from ''Life in Hell'', is the last rabbit to jump in.
 
−
*Bad Taste - A possible reference to Bad Taste in the second segment. When homer emerges from the floor after his death is attempted by the UltraHouse, the family discover that the back of his head is missing, revealing his brain. In Bad Taste, the character Derek falls off a cliff, presumably to his death, only to wake up later and to notice that a piece from the back of his head is missing, also revealing his brain.
 
  
−
=== Soundtrack ===
+
With only an hour left before his deadline, Homer feels dejected about not being able to perform a good deed. As he sits on the steps of the [[Springfield County Court House]], a baby stroller rolls down the steps. The baby's crying annoys Homer, so he picks up the baby to try and quiet it, saving the baby from rolling into the road where a car hits the now empty stroller. Homer gives the baby back to the mother before he floats up to Heaven again, happy that he performed his good deed. However, St. Peter tells Homer that he wasn't watching, so sends him to [[Hell]] anyway. When Homer gets there, the [[Devil]] starts bullying Homer. When Homer starts screaming and crying, the Devil tells him to be quiet else he'll wake up [[John Wayne]]. John Wayne comes out and says that he was already up.
−
*"Rhythm Divine" - Enrique Iglesias
 
  
−
{{Season 13}}
+
=== Scary Tales Can Come True ===
−
[[Category:Season 13]]
+
[[File:Scary Tales Can Come True - Title Card.png|thumb]]
−
[[Category:Episodes]]
+
In a fairytale land, the Simpsons are peasants living in a [[Pumpkin House]]. Homer comes home and tells his family that he lost his job as an oaf. Marge asks how they will feed the children, and Homer says that no child will starve in his house. Homer then throws Bart and Lisa out into the [[Deep Dark Woods]] and tells them to say hi to their other brother and sister, with them seeing skeletons that resemble themselves. As Bart and Lisa walk through the woods, Lisa pulls out her copy of ''[[Grimms' Fairy Tales]]'' as everything in the forest is from a fairytale. She stops Bart from crossing a bridge because there's a {{ap|Troll|Treehouse of Horror XI}} beneath it. The Troll jumps out and scares Bart and Lisa, but then reveals that he's just lonely. Bart and Lisa then come to a house and knock, but don't get an answer. They let themselves in, where Bart finds three bowls of porridge. After eating the first two by mixing them together, Lisa realizes that it's the [[Three Bears' House]]. At that moment, [[Papa Bear]], [[Mama Bear]], and [[Baby Bear]] come home, so Bart and Lisa hide behind the door before running out the house, putting a chair under the door handle to stop the bears from following them. Lisa then wonders where [[Goldilocks]] was. Goldilocks wakes up from a nap in the house and sees the bears, but she can't escape because the chair was put in the way, so the bears kill her.
−
[[Category:Treehouse of Horror]]
+
 
 +
Homer returns home and Marge is angry to find that Homer threw the kids into the woods, so she tells him to go and get them back. Homer wanders into the woods and finds {{ap|Rapunzel|Treehouse of Horror XI}}'s tower, but accidentally pulls her hair and scalp off by trying to climb her hair. Meanwhile, Bart and Lisa find their way to the {{Gingerbread House}}. [[Suzanne]] the witch invites them in for candy, which both kids agree to. Suzanne then chains Bart and Lisa up and feeds Bart desserts to fatten him up as Lisa cleans the house. When Bart and Lisa question why she needs to clean the house, she claims to have a boyfriend named George. She looks around and sees her cauldron, then tells them his surname is Cauldron. Bart and Lisa laugh, thinking she made up her boyfriend. Suzanne tries to put Lisa into the oven in retaliation, but Homer eats through the wall at that moment. Suzanne and Homer fight, with Suzanne casting magic to turn his hands into brooms, head into a fish with donkey ears, and his lower body into that of a chicken. After a struggle, the doorbell rings, distracting Suzanne. Homer then throws her into the oven and locks it shut. When she dies, most of his cursed body parts change back to normal. At that moment, [[George Cauldron]] walks into the house and asks if Suzanne is ready for their date. Homer tells him she'll be twenty minutes and turns the oven up.
 +
 
 +
Homer, Bart, and Lisa return home, where they have a meal together. While they are still poor, Homer kept his chicken lower half, so he can lay eggs which the family eat. Bart asks for seconds, so Homer gets up to lay another egg.
 +
 
 +
=== Night of the Dolphin ===
 +
[[File:Night of the Dolphin - Title Card.png|thumb|left]]
 +
At [[Marine World]], [[Snorky]] is performing in a show. When his trainer asks for a volunteer to frolic with Snorky, the audience charges his tank to get in and swim with the dolphin. Lisa sees Snorky in distress and feels sorry for him. After everybody leaves the tank to go see the lobsters before they are cooked, Snorky points Lisa toward the gate to the sea. Lisa opens the gate and frees Snorky, with Snorky hitting her in the face as he jumps over the rocks. In the sea, Snorky meets up with fellow dolphins, who reveal that Snorky is their king, and they plan their revenge attack on humans for keeping him in captivity.
 +
 
 +
That night, [[Lenny]] is swimming in the sea when he is surrounded by dolphins and killed. His body washes up on [[Springfield Beach]], where [[Chief Wiggum]] attributes his death to teens. [[Captain McCallister]] watches this before he is killed by the dolphins too. That night, the dolphins march into [[Springfield]] to attack humanity. When Homer goes to [[Krusty Burger]], he finds the [[Squeaky-Voiced Teen]] at the window, but he's being held up by a dolphin and his head falls off into Homer's lap. Soon, ''[[Channel 6 News]]'' is reporting on the dolphins until the dolphins attack. [[Kent Brockman]] then changes his broadcast to blame the attacks on Italians instead, but he whispers to the audience that the dolphins are behind it. Brockman is then killed by the dolphins.
 +
 
 +
A town meeting is called to discuss the dolphin problem. During the meeting, Snorky enters the [[Town Hall]] and takes to the podium. After speaking in short sentences, he clears his throat and starts talking properly. He tells the people that eons ago, dolphins used to live on land until humanity forced them into the sea. There, they suffered for millions of years. He then tells the Springfielders that humanity will be banished to the sea and dolphins will retake the land. As the Springfielders leave the Town Hall, they see the dolphins watching them. They decide to fight back but are easily defeated by the dolphins and thrown into the sea to live the rest of their lives.
 +
 
 +
In space, [[Kang]] and [[Kodos]] watch the events unfold and complain about not being invited to take part in the Halloween special. Their phone rings and they answer it to find that it's an advertiser asking them if they want to record a commercial for {{W|Old Navy}}, which they agree to.
 +
 
 +
== Production ==
 +
The first segment, "G-G-Ghost D-D-Dad", was written by [[Rob LaZebnik]] as his first ''Simpsons'' script. [[Mike Scully]] gave LaZebnik the segment and told him it would be a parody of ''{{W|Ghost Dad}}''. The idea of Homer dying and having to do good deeds to get into Heaven was there from the beginning. In the original script of the episode, when Homer drops Agnes Skinner, she hit the Boy Scouts' flagpole and got impaled by it. The producers decided it was too gruesome, so they changed it.<ref name="LaZebnik">{{Com|LaZebnik, Rob|Treehouse of Horror XI|Twelfth|(2009).|link=Rob LaZebnik}}</ref>
 +
 
 +
"Scary Tales Can Come True" was written by [[John Frink]] and [[Don Payne]].<ref name="Scully">{{Com|Scully, Mike|Treehouse of Horror XI|Twelfth|(2009).|link=Mike Scully}}</ref> This was the first script that they wrote to air, while the first script they wrote was "[[Insane Clown Poppy]]", which got held back for various reasons. The idea for the segment came from either [[Ron Hauge]] or [[Larry Doyle]], who passed it along to them. Payne thought that the scene where Goldilocks is killed behind the door was "too sick" to make it to the final episode, but Mike Scully pitched having blood come out from under the door.<ref name="Payne">{{Com|Payne, Don|Treehouse of Horror XI|Twelfth|(2009).|link=Don Payne}}</ref> [[Carolyn Omine]] pitched the joke of George Cauldron turning out to be real.<ref name="Scully"/>
 +
 
 +
"Night of the Dolphin" was written by Carolyn Omine, who also pitched the segment. The segment is partly a tribute to the [[Alfred Hitchcock]] film ''{{W2|The Birds|film}}'' and wanted some kind of animal attack, so they chose one of the friendliest animals for the segment.<ref name="Omine">{{Com|Omine, Carolyn|Treehouse of Horror XI|Twelfth|(2009).|link=Carolyn Omine}}</ref> [[Frank Welker]] performed the dolphin speaking; however, the dolphin noises while marching were performed at the final mix a few days before the episode aired by Mike Scully, [[R. Russell Smith]], [[William Freesh]], and [[Larina Jean Adamson]].<ref name="Scully"/> The segment was so popular among the producers that they made a level of ''[[The Simpsons Game]]'', "[[The Day of the Dolphin]]", based on it.<ref name="Selman">{{Com|Selman, Matt|Treehouse of Horror XI|Twelfth|(2009).|link=Matt Selman}}</ref> A scene where Hibbert was injecting dolphins with hypodermic syringes was cut from the final episode.<ref name="Scully"/>
 +
 
 +
== Reception ==
 +
In a review of ''[[The Complete Twelfth Season]]'', Matt Haigh of ''{{W|Den of Geek}}'' called the episode "what is probably one of the funniest Halloween episodes of the show’s history."<ref>[https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/the-simpsons-season-12-dvd-review/ Den of Geek - "The Simpsons Season 12 DVD review"]</ref>
 +
 
 +
In ''[[The Simpsons Beyond Forever!]]'', [[Matt Groening]] called "Night of the Dolphin" one of his personal favorite scenes from all the series.<ref>''[[The Simpsons Beyond Forever!]]''</ref>
 +
 
 +
As of September [[2026]], "Treehouse of Horror XI" has a 7.6 rating on {{W|IMDb}}.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0763040/ IMDb - "Treehouse of Horror XI"]</ref>
 +
 
 +
== In other languages ==
 +
{{LanguageBox
 +
|de=yes
 +
|deName=D-D-Der G-G-Geister D-D-Dad
 +
|deTrans=G-G-Ghost D-D-Dad
 +
|es=yes
 +
|esName=La casa-árbol del terror XI
 +
|esTrans=Treehouse of Terror XI
 +
|la=yes
 +
|laName=La casita del horror XI
 +
|laTrans=The little house of horror XI
 +
|fr=yes
 +
|frName=Simpson Horror Show XI
 +
|frTrans=Simpson Horror Show XI
 +
|qu=yes
 +
|quName=Spécial d'Halloween XI
 +
|quTrans=Halloween Special XI
 +
|it=yes
 +
|itName=La paura fa novanta XI
 +
|itTrans=Fear is ninety XI
 +
|jp=yes
 +
|jpName=ハロウィーン・スペシャルXI〜本当は恐い話〜
 +
|jpTrans=Halloween Special XI ~Really Scary Stories~
 +
}}
 +
 
 +
== Gallery ==
 +
<gallery>
 +
File:Treehouse of Horror XI promo 1.png|Promotional image
 +
</gallery>
 +
 
 +
== References ==
 +
{{Reflist}}
 +
 
 +
{{Images|ep=yes}}
 +
{{Treehouse of Horror}}
 +
{{Season 12}}
 +
{{Production Season BABF}}
 +
{{DEFAULTSORT:Treehouse of Horror 11}}
 +
 
 +
[[Category:2000]]
 +
[[Category:Season premieres]]
 +
[[Category:Episodes written by Rob LaZebnik]]
 +
[[Category:Episodes written by John Frink]]
 +
[[Category:Episodes written by Don Payne]]
 +
[[Category:Episodes written by Carolyn Omine]]
 +
[[Category:Episodes directed by Matthew Nastuk]]
 +
 
 +
[[sv:Treehouse of Horror XI]]

Latest revision as of 11:58, September 16, 2026

Season 12 Episode
← 248 "Behind the Laughter"
249
"Treehouse of Horror XI"
"A Tale of Two Springfields" 250 →
← X "Treehouse of Horror X"
XI
"Treehouse of Horror XI"
"Treehouse of Horror XII" XII →
Treehouse of Horror Episode


Donut Homer.png This THOH is considered non-canon and the events featured do not relate to the series and therefore may not have actually happened/existed there.

The reason behind this decision is: The episode is part of the Treehouse of Horror series.

If you dispute this, please bring it up on the episode's talk page.


"Treehouse of Horror XI"
Treehouse of Horror XI promo 2.png
The Simpsons, a la The Munsters
Episode Information
Episode number: 249
Season number: S12 E1
Production code: BABF21
Original airdate: November 1, 2000
Showrunners: Mike Scully
George Meyer
Al Jean
Written by: Rob LaZebnik (part 1)
John Frink & Don Payne (Part 2)
Carolyn Omine (Part 3)
Directed by: Matthew Nastuk
DVD features

"Treehouse of Horror XI" is the first episode of broadcast season 12 of The Simpsons and the two hundred forty-ninth episode overall. It is also the eleventh installment in the Treehouse of Horror series and consists of three parts. It originally aired on November 1, 2000. The episode was written by Rob LaZebnik, John Frink, Don Payne and Carolyn Omine and directed by Matthew Nastuk.

Synopsis[edit]

In "G-G-Ghost D-D-Dad", Homer chokes to death on a piece of broccoli and his ghost must perform a good deed in order to enter Heaven. In "Scary Tales Can Come True", the Simpsons live in a Pumpkin House in the enchanted forest, and in "Night of the Dolphin", the world is overtaken by dolphins after Lisa frees their leader from captivity.

Plot[edit]

Opening sequence[edit]

In a parody of The Munsters, Homer is Herman Munster, Marge is Lily Munster, Lisa is Marilyn Munster (holding a book on copyright law), Bart is Eddie Munster, and Grampa is Grandpa Munster. In front of their mansion, an angry mob of townspeople confront the Simpsons. They stab Marge and Grampa, set Homer on fire, and set a leghold trap on Bart. They run off, leaving an unharmed Lisa to sidle away.

G-G-Ghost D-D-Dad[edit]

G-G-Ghost D-D-Dad - Title Card.png

At breakfast, Homer reads his horoscope in the newspaper, which tells him that he will die that day. Marge reads her horoscope, which says that her husband will die. While Marge is scared about this, Homer doesn't care as he's not superstitious. As he mocks the newspaper, he gets a paper cut. Homer then gets in the car to drive to work, and the tree next to their drive almost falls on the car. As Homer drives to work, the Planet Hollywood globe falls after being knocked off with a wrecking ball, crushing half the car but leaving Homer unharmed. Undeterred by this, Homer continues driving, with a pickaxe flying out of the truck in front and hitting him in the head. However, since he's still alive, he keeps going, still thinking there was nothing to the horoscope. Homer finally turns up to work, albeit with a rattlesnake attached to his arm. Homer makes it through his work day and gets home, where he has his evening meal with the family. Homer tries to leave his broccoli, but Marge makes him eat it. As he does, he chokes on the broccoli and dies.

Homer's ghost gets to Heaven but St. Peter refuses him entry because he hasn't done a single good deed in his life. He gives Homer twenty-four hours to perform a good deed to get into Heaven and sends him back to Earth as a ghost. Homer goes to see Marge and tells her about needing to perform a good deed. Marge tries to give him a list of chores, but he chooses not to do them. He then flies around town and sees Agnes Skinner trying to cross the road. Before some Boy Scouts can help her across, Homer picks her up and tries to fly her across the road. However, she struggles against him and Homer drops her, killing her. Looking around for a different good deed, Homer sees Nelson bullying Bart and tries to stop him, but Nelson starts bullying Homer instead.

With only an hour left before his deadline, Homer feels dejected about not being able to perform a good deed. As he sits on the steps of the Springfield County Court House, a baby stroller rolls down the steps. The baby's crying annoys Homer, so he picks up the baby to try and quiet it, saving the baby from rolling into the road where a car hits the now empty stroller. Homer gives the baby back to the mother before he floats up to Heaven again, happy that he performed his good deed. However, St. Peter tells Homer that he wasn't watching, so sends him to Hell anyway. When Homer gets there, the Devil starts bullying Homer. When Homer starts screaming and crying, the Devil tells him to be quiet else he'll wake up John Wayne. John Wayne comes out and says that he was already up.

Scary Tales Can Come True[edit]

Scary Tales Can Come True - Title Card.png

In a fairytale land, the Simpsons are peasants living in a Pumpkin House. Homer comes home and tells his family that he lost his job as an oaf. Marge asks how they will feed the children, and Homer says that no child will starve in his house. Homer then throws Bart and Lisa out into the Deep Dark Woods and tells them to say hi to their other brother and sister, with them seeing skeletons that resemble themselves. As Bart and Lisa walk through the woods, Lisa pulls out her copy of Grimms' Fairy Tales as everything in the forest is from a fairytale. She stops Bart from crossing a bridge because there's a Troll beneath it. The Troll jumps out and scares Bart and Lisa, but then reveals that he's just lonely. Bart and Lisa then come to a house and knock, but don't get an answer. They let themselves in, where Bart finds three bowls of porridge. After eating the first two by mixing them together, Lisa realizes that it's the Three Bears' House. At that moment, Papa Bear, Mama Bear, and Baby Bear come home, so Bart and Lisa hide behind the door before running out the house, putting a chair under the door handle to stop the bears from following them. Lisa then wonders where Goldilocks was. Goldilocks wakes up from a nap in the house and sees the bears, but she can't escape because the chair was put in the way, so the bears kill her.

Homer returns home and Marge is angry to find that Homer threw the kids into the woods, so she tells him to go and get them back. Homer wanders into the woods and finds Rapunzel's tower, but accidentally pulls her hair and scalp off by trying to climb her hair. Meanwhile, Bart and Lisa find their way to the Gingerbread House. Suzanne the witch invites them in for candy, which both kids agree to. Suzanne then chains Bart and Lisa up and feeds Bart desserts to fatten him up as Lisa cleans the house. When Bart and Lisa question why she needs to clean the house, she claims to have a boyfriend named George. She looks around and sees her cauldron, then tells them his surname is Cauldron. Bart and Lisa laugh, thinking she made up her boyfriend. Suzanne tries to put Lisa into the oven in retaliation, but Homer eats through the wall at that moment. Suzanne and Homer fight, with Suzanne casting magic to turn his hands into brooms, head into a fish with donkey ears, and his lower body into that of a chicken. After a struggle, the doorbell rings, distracting Suzanne. Homer then throws her into the oven and locks it shut. When she dies, most of his cursed body parts change back to normal. At that moment, George Cauldron walks into the house and asks if Suzanne is ready for their date. Homer tells him she'll be twenty minutes and turns the oven up.

Homer, Bart, and Lisa return home, where they have a meal together. While they are still poor, Homer kept his chicken lower half, so he can lay eggs which the family eat. Bart asks for seconds, so Homer gets up to lay another egg.

Night of the Dolphin[edit]

Night of the Dolphin - Title Card.png

At Marine World, Snorky is performing in a show. When his trainer asks for a volunteer to frolic with Snorky, the audience charges his tank to get in and swim with the dolphin. Lisa sees Snorky in distress and feels sorry for him. After everybody leaves the tank to go see the lobsters before they are cooked, Snorky points Lisa toward the gate to the sea. Lisa opens the gate and frees Snorky, with Snorky hitting her in the face as he jumps over the rocks. In the sea, Snorky meets up with fellow dolphins, who reveal that Snorky is their king, and they plan their revenge attack on humans for keeping him in captivity.

That night, Lenny is swimming in the sea when he is surrounded by dolphins and killed. His body washes up on Springfield Beach, where Chief Wiggum attributes his death to teens. Captain McCallister watches this before he is killed by the dolphins too. That night, the dolphins march into Springfield to attack humanity. When Homer goes to Krusty Burger, he finds the Squeaky-Voiced Teen at the window, but he's being held up by a dolphin and his head falls off into Homer's lap. Soon, Channel 6 News is reporting on the dolphins until the dolphins attack. Kent Brockman then changes his broadcast to blame the attacks on Italians instead, but he whispers to the audience that the dolphins are behind it. Brockman is then killed by the dolphins.

A town meeting is called to discuss the dolphin problem. During the meeting, Snorky enters the Town Hall and takes to the podium. After speaking in short sentences, he clears his throat and starts talking properly. He tells the people that eons ago, dolphins used to live on land until humanity forced them into the sea. There, they suffered for millions of years. He then tells the Springfielders that humanity will be banished to the sea and dolphins will retake the land. As the Springfielders leave the Town Hall, they see the dolphins watching them. They decide to fight back but are easily defeated by the dolphins and thrown into the sea to live the rest of their lives.

In space, Kang and Kodos watch the events unfold and complain about not being invited to take part in the Halloween special. Their phone rings and they answer it to find that it's an advertiser asking them if they want to record a commercial for Old Navy, which they agree to.

Production[edit]

The first segment, "G-G-Ghost D-D-Dad", was written by Rob LaZebnik as his first Simpsons script. Mike Scully gave LaZebnik the segment and told him it would be a parody of Ghost Dad. The idea of Homer dying and having to do good deeds to get into Heaven was there from the beginning. In the original script of the episode, when Homer drops Agnes Skinner, she hit the Boy Scouts' flagpole and got impaled by it. The producers decided it was too gruesome, so they changed it.[1]

"Scary Tales Can Come True" was written by John Frink and Don Payne.[2] This was the first script that they wrote to air, while the first script they wrote was "Insane Clown Poppy", which got held back for various reasons. The idea for the segment came from either Ron Hauge or Larry Doyle, who passed it along to them. Payne thought that the scene where Goldilocks is killed behind the door was "too sick" to make it to the final episode, but Mike Scully pitched having blood come out from under the door.[3] Carolyn Omine pitched the joke of George Cauldron turning out to be real.[2]

"Night of the Dolphin" was written by Carolyn Omine, who also pitched the segment. The segment is partly a tribute to the Alfred Hitchcock film The Birds and wanted some kind of animal attack, so they chose one of the friendliest animals for the segment.[4] Frank Welker performed the dolphin speaking; however, the dolphin noises while marching were performed at the final mix a few days before the episode aired by Mike Scully, R. Russell Smith, William Freesh, and Larina Jean Adamson.[2] The segment was so popular among the producers that they made a level of The Simpsons Game, "The Day of the Dolphin", based on it.[5] A scene where Hibbert was injecting dolphins with hypodermic syringes was cut from the final episode.[2]

Reception[edit]

In a review of The Complete Twelfth Season, Matt Haigh of Den of Geek called the episode "what is probably one of the funniest Halloween episodes of the show’s history."[6]

In The Simpsons Beyond Forever!, Matt Groening called "Night of the Dolphin" one of his personal favorite scenes from all the series.[7]

As of September 2026, "Treehouse of Horror XI" has a 7.6 rating on IMDb.[8]

In other languages[edit]

Language Name Translation
Germany.png Deutsch "D-D-Der G-G-Geister D-D-Dad" G-G-Ghost D-D-Dad
Spain flag.png Español "La casa-árbol del terror XI" Treehouse of Terror XI
Hispanic America.gif Español "La casita del horror XI" The little house of horror XI
France.png Français "Simpson Horror Show XI" Simpson Horror Show XI
Flag of Quebec.svg.png Français "Spécial d'Halloween XI" Halloween Special XI
Italy Flag.png Italiano "La paura fa novanta XI" Fear is ninety XI
Flag of Japan.png 日本語 "ハロウィーン・スペシャルXI〜本当は恐い話〜" Halloween Special XI ~Really Scary Stories~

Gallery[edit]

  • Promotional image

References[edit]

  1. ↑ LaZebnik, Rob (2009). Commentary for "Treehouse of Horror XI", in The Simpsons: The Complete Twelfth Season.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Scully, Mike (2009). Commentary for "Treehouse of Horror XI", in The Simpsons: The Complete Twelfth Season.
  3. ↑ Payne, Don (2009). Commentary for "Treehouse of Horror XI", in The Simpsons: The Complete Twelfth Season.
  4. ↑ Omine, Carolyn (2009). Commentary for "Treehouse of Horror XI", in The Simpsons: The Complete Twelfth Season.
  5. ↑ Selman, Matt (2009). Commentary for "Treehouse of Horror XI", in The Simpsons: The Complete Twelfth Season.
  6. ↑ Den of Geek - "The Simpsons Season 12 DVD review"
  7. ↑ The Simpsons Beyond Forever!
  8. ↑ IMDb - "Treehouse of Horror XI"


The Saga of Carl - title screen.png Wikisimpsons has 22 images related to "Treehouse of Horror XI".
Season 12 Episodes
Treehouse of Horror XI • A Tale of Two Springfields • Insane Clown Poppy • Lisa the Tree Hugger • Homer vs. Dignity • The Computer Wore Menace Shoes • The Great Money Caper • Skinner's Sense of Snow • HOMЯ • Pokey Mom • Worst Episode Ever • Tennis the Menace • Day of the Jackanapes • New Kids on the Blecch • Hungry, Hungry Homer • Bye, Bye, Nerdie • Simpson Safari • Trilogy of Error • I'm Goin' to Praiseland • Children of a Lesser Clod • Simpsons Tall Tales
Production season BABF Episodes
Treehouse of Horror X • Hello Gutter, Hello Fadder • Eight Misbehavin' • Little Big Mom • Take My Wife, Sleaze • Faith Off • Grift of the Magi • The Mansion Family • Saddlesore Galactica • Alone Again, Natura-Diddily • Missionary: Impossible • Pygmoelian • Bart to the Future • Days of Wine and D'oh'ses • Last Tap Dance in Springfield • Kill the Alligator and Run • Insane Clown Poppy • It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Marge • Behind the Laughter • A Tale of Two Springfields • Treehouse of Horror XI • HOMЯ
Retrieved from "https://simpsonswiki.com/w/index.php?title=Treehouse_of_Horror_XI&oldid=1492017"
  • Modified on September 16, 2026, at 11:58.
  • Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported
  • Powered by MediaWiki