| “ | Maude: Are you ready for TALES THAT WILL SHATTER YOUR SPINE AND BOIL YOUR BLOOD!? Lisa: Well, duh. |
” |
— The opening sequence | ||
"Treehouse of Horror XIII" is the thirteenth Halloween episode of The Simpsons, originally aired on November 3, 2002, three days after Halloween. It is the second Treehouse of Horror to have a zombie-related segment, and the last Treehouse of Horror to have three separate writers credited for writing three stories (starting with "Treehouse of Horror XIV", only one writer is credited for writing the three stories).
This is also notably the first episode of the series to use the digital ink and paint as a proof of concept, which led to the decision to have The Simpsons' animation converted from traditional cel to digital ink and paint. It is also the first "Treehouse of Horror" special to actually be called "Treehouse of Horror" instead of "Simpsons' Halloween Special" in the opening or title sequence.
Plot[]
Opening Sequence[]
The Simpsons and Ned Flanders hold a seance in order to contact Ned's dead wife, Maude. While praying, Bart comes in dressed as Maude's ghost and finds out that Maude's real ghost is behind him, which startles everyone. Homer and Ned admire Maude, but are terrified when she turns into a hideous ghoul. Maude opens up a green book with the white writing "THE SIMPSONS TREEHOUSE OF HORROR" and someone writes "13" on the book in blood.
Send in the Clones[]
Promotional image for "Send in the Clones"
In a parody of Multiplicity, Homer walks into the backyard to lie in his hammock. Marge almost immediately sets upon him with a list of chores, Homer replies by saying she made him to many pancakes and has to sleep them off, slyly acknowledging them as being for the church while patting his stomach, however his hammock collapses much to Marges delight, which is only temporary as he buys a new one from a passing vendor, who warns him that it carries a curse. Disregarding this, Homer lies down and discovers that the new hammock can produce clones of anyone who rests on it. He inspects the first clone and notices that it doesn't have a belly button. He begins making and using clones to do all of his chores, which include helping Marge choose an outfit, visiting Grampa to listen to one of his war-related stories, and play a baseball game with Bart, Lisa and Maggie.
The clones are soon revealed to be much more stupid than the true Homer. Lisa notes this while they are playing baseball with one of the clones and the clone smashes the car with a bat. When Ned Flanders asks if he can have his chainsaw back, one of the clones picks up the chainsaw and looks at Homer, who nods. The clone misunderstands and brings back Ned's severed head. Horrified, Homer immediately decides to get rid of the clones and the hammock. He bundles them in a truck and takes them to an isolated cornfield. When they arrive, Homer asks if anyone knows the way home; three Homers put up their hands, prompting Homer to shoot the three clones down with a rifle. He then abandons the rest of them, along with the hammock, presuming that none of the clones are smart enough to get anywhere without him. The clones soon use the abandoned hammock to make an army of Homer clones. Among the hundreds of clones, a few 'mutations' (including Homer as he was drawn on The Tracey Ullman Show, Homer after gaining 300 pounds to get on disability at work, and Family Guy's Peter Griffin) are seen.
The clones attack Springfield and destroy all of its buildings, except for Moe’s Tavern, which reports record business. US army officials gather in the Mayor's War Room, where Lisa thinks of a solution to solve the problem, after getting the idea from Homer, who became upset when he found an empty donut box. She suggests that several helicopters hook gigantic donuts on cables and have the clones chase them into Springfield gorge. The plan is put into action in a parody of the "Ride of the Valkyries" helicopter scene in Apocalypse Now. Upon seeing the large donuts, all the Homers gasp and exclaim,"Mmmmm. Donuts." and begin chasing the helicopters. The helicopters fly over the gorge, luring the Homer clones to their doom. As each clone hits the bottom of the gorge, he replies, "D'oh!", which echoes across the gorge. Later that night, Marge enters the bedroom and soon discovers that the Homer next to her is a clone (he has no belly button), who tells her that the true Homer was the first to fall into the gorge. Marge is initially upset, but relaxes when the clone offers her a back rub as Mike O Malley's "Love The One You're With" plays in the background.
The Fright to Creep and Scare Harms[]
William (Billy The Kid) Bonney
In a parody of The Terminator, Lisa and Bart are at the Springfield Cemetery, mourning the loss of their pet goldfish, Goldie, who had always been there for them between August and October. Lisa inadvertently discovers the grave of William Bonney, a man who was killed at a young age by gun violence. According to his epitaph, he dreamed of a world without guns. In his memory, Lisa starts a gun control crusade, which makes Springfield 100% gun free -all the guns are sold includen Homer's, Bart's and Maggie's guns, even the police no longer possess guns all guns are turned into a playground. The town is now defenseless, causing the corpses of William "Billy the Kid" Bonney and his cohorts, 'The Hole in the Ground' gang to rise from the dead.
The gang starts wreaking havoc on the town, until Professor Frink invents a time machine, which Homer uses to go back in time to stop the gun ban and destroy the zombies. Homer tells the citizens of Springfield to shoot at the zombies' graves, causing them to rise up and flee. Lisa feels guilty about banning guns, because sometimes they are the answer. Suddenly, a more futuristic Homer comes in to warn them about guns that have destroyed Earth in the future. He is then shot by Moe, who has had enough of all this nonsense and plans to use Frink's time machine to find some "caveman hookers". An error in this portion of the episode is when The Hole in the Ground Gang started firing after being introduced, Mayor Quimby has no hair.
The Island of Dr. Hibbert[]
In an elaborate parody of The Island of Doctor Moreau by H. G. Wells, the Simpsons are going on a trip to "The Island of Lost Souls", where they find Dr. Hibbert running the island's resort. While the family are there, Marge starts to think that something creepy is going on, although Homer largely dismisses her concerns. She investigates and, consequently, she is captured by Dr. Hibbert, who transforms her into a panther. After having violent sex with the new Marge, Homer realizes she has been transformed.
He goes to find a cure for Marge's new state, but encounters Ned Flanders, who has become a cow-centaur who needs to be milked. After Homer reluctantly milks him, Flanders takes Homer to meet other Springfield inhabitants who have also been turned into 'manimals', including Bart (now a spider), Lisa (now an owl) and Maggie (now an anteater who was almost eaten by Lisa, claiming to be playing the lets eat Maggie game, but was stopped by Homer). Homer, initially appalled at what everyone has become (and that they actually prefer it to being human), eventually embraces the concept of being an animal who does nothing but eat, sleep, mate and roll around in its own filth after realizing how well it suits his lifestyle. He enjoys spending the rest of his life as a walrus and living with his transformed family on the island.
Kang and Kodos appear briefly at the end, commenting on how the skull-shaped island looks like their number 4. This is a reference to the Japanese as their number 4 is an unlucky number, as it spells like death.
Trivia[]
- Seen among the crowd of Homer's clones are the following:
- Peter Griffin from Family Guy
- The original Homer from The Tracey Ullman Show (he says "Let's all have some frosty chocolate milkshakes.")
- A Homer with glasses
- A Homer with no face
- An even fatter Homer
- This is the third Treehouse of Horror episode not to have the credits littered with "scary names" (the previous two were I and XII). This may have prompted some complaints from longtime fans, as the scary names were reinstated the following year.
- This is the first Halloween episode to have the name Treehouse of Horror.
- Bart, Homer and Maggie are each revealed as owning several guns.
- This episode's title card is written as "Treehouse of Horror 13" as opposed to "Treehouse of Horror XIII".
- Animals in the island
- Homer - Walrus
- Fat Tony - Beaver
- Kearney - Mandrill
- Jimbo - Parrot
- Marge - Panther
- Bart - Spider
- Lisa - Owl
- Maggie - Anteater
- Blue Haired Lawyer - Moose
- Gil Gunderson - Giraffe
- Mr. Burns - Fox
- Mr. Smithers - Flamingo
- Principal Skinner and Mrs. Skinner - Kangaroo and Joey
- McCallister - Crocodile
- Milhouse - Snail
- Raphael - Chameleon
- Old Jewish Man - Vulture
- Miss Springfield - Racoon
- Lenny - Pelican
- Carl - Armadillo
- Krusty - Lion
- Moe - Frog
- Cletus - Sloth
- Chief Wiggum & Sarah Wiggum - Pigs
- Nelson - Wolf
- Otto- Camel
- Professor Frink- Turkey
- Mayor Quimby - Panda
- Manjula - Antelope
- Reverend Lovejoy- Coyote
- Snake - Skunk
- Kent Brockman - Rhino
- Selma - Elephant
- Arnie Pye - Eagle
- Patty - Leopard
- Jasper - Goat
- Kirk Van Houten - Aardvark
- Lindsey Naegle - Meerkat
- Dolph - Tiger
- Grampa - Rooster
- Dr. Nick - Squirrel
- Herman Hermann - Lizard
- Sideshow Mel - Lemur
- Judge Snyder - Hippo
- Cookie Kwan - Deer
- Squeaky Voiced Teen - Donkey
- Hans Moleman - Turtle
- Comic Book Guy - Goat
- Martin - Sheep
- Dewey Largo - Bat
- Allison Taylor - Zebra
- Groundskeeper Willie - Ape
- Rich Texan - Buffalo
- Helen Lovejoy - Horse
- Mrs. Krabappel - Hyena
- Duffman - Koala
- Disco Stu - Shrew
- Eddie - Dog
- Lou - Cheetah
- Rod and Todd Flanders - Penguins
- Ned Flanders - Cow
- Wolfcastle - Rabbit
- Apu and the octuplets - Possums
- Barney Gumble - Warthog
- Gary Chalmers - Bear
- Luigi - Guinea Pig
Production[]
Marc Wilmore, Brian Kelley and Kevin Curran wrote the episode. This is the first Simpsons episode and Halloween episode to use digital ink and paint as a proof of concept, which led to the decision to have the whole show's animation converted from traditional cel to digital ink and paint.
External links[]
- "Treehouse of Horror XIII" at The Simpsons.com
- The Simpsons Wiki: Treehouse of Horror XIII
- "Treehouse of Horror XIII" at the Internet Movie Database
- "Treehouse of Horror XIII" recap at TV Tropes
| The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror | |
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