Lisa's Pony
Encyclopedia
"Lisa's Pony" is the eighth episode of the third season
of The Simpsons
. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 7, 1991. In this episode, Homer
goes drinking at Moe's Tavern instead of buying a new reed for Lisa
's saxophone
, resulting in her flopping at the school talent show. Desperate to win back his daughter's love, Homer gives Lisa the one thing she has always wanted: a pony. Homer struggles with two jobs to cover the cost of sheltering and feeding the pony. Lisa, upon seeing what Homer must go through to pay for the pony, decides to give it away.
The episode was written by Al Jean
and Mike Reiss
, and directed by Carlos Baeza
. Lunchlady Doris, a recurring character on The Simpsons, made her first appearance on the show in this episode. "Lisa's Pony" features cultural references to films such as The Godfather
and 2001: A Space Odyssey
and the comic strip Little Nemo in Slumberland. Since airing, the episode has received positive reviews from television critics. It acquired a Nielsen rating
of 13.8 and was the highest-rated show on the Fox network the week it aired.
is participating in a school talent show and needs a new reed for her saxophone
. She calls her father, Homer
, who agrees to buy one before heading to the show. However, he decides to visit Moe's Tavern first, and when he arrives at the music shop, it has closed down for the night. Dejected, Homer goes back to Moe's where the music shop owner is enjoying a drink. Moe
helps him convince the man to re-open his store. Homer is happy that he remembered exactly which reed he needs to get; however, he then forgets which instrument Lisa plays. After going through many of the instruments in the store, Homer finally remembers that Lisa plays the saxophone and rushes to the school. However, he is too late, arriving in time to hear Lisa humiliate herself by butchering the song she chose to play.
Despite Marge
's warnings that they cannot afford it, Homer decides to purchase a pony for Lisa to win back her love. To afford the pony, he applies for a loan through the Power Plant Credit Union. Mr. Burns
personally reviews the loan, and approves it only after determining that Homer does not intend to eat the pony and has no knowledge of the "state's stringent usury
laws." Homer buys the pony (named Princess) for Lisa, and, after waking up to find it lying next to her, she gallops into her parents' bedroom happily telling Homer she loves him. While Homer is happy that Lisa is no longer angry with him, Marge is upset that he made such an extravagant purchase.
In order to pay the rent for Princess's shelter, Homer takes a second job working for Apu
at the Kwik-E-Mart
. Homer becomes more and more exhausted
after trying to work both jobs. Finally, Marge admits to the children that their father has been working two jobs to pay for the pony. Marge tells Lisa that she is not going to make her give up the pony, as it is something Lisa needs to decide for herself. After watching a meek, sleep-deprived Homer being bullied by his own son at the Kwik-E-Mart, Lisa agrees to give up the pony, and she shares a heart-breaking goodbye with Princess. Lisa tells Homer that there is a "big dumb animal" she loves even more than her horse, that being Homer himself.
and Mike Reiss
, who were show runner
s of The Simpsons when the episode was produced. According to Reiss, being a show runner is a stressful job as he has to supervise all the processes the episodes go through. Jean and Reiss were working approximately 80–100 hours a week when they were assigned to write an episode on top of their regular job. "Lisa's Pony" was written between 10.00 p.m. and 1.00 a.m. every night after they had finished their 12–14 hour workday. They came up with idea for it while going through a list of Lisa's interests, and Jean told Reiss, "Lisa likes ponies; we [should] give her a pony." While writing down ideas for the story, they decided to explore the consequences of having a pony in a suburban house.
Carlos Baeza
served as animation director
for the episode. The Simpsons creator Matt Groening
said animating horses is "the most difficult thing to do." The animators used Eadweard Muybridge
's famous animation of a horse galloping and other photo references as models for Princess. In the talent show scene, Lisa is lit up by a spotlight
when she performs with her saxophone. After the episode came back from the animation studio in Korea, the staff noticed that the light was colored blue, making Lisa look like "a Smurf." The scene had to be re-animated in the United States, and the spotlight effect was reduced.
The woman who sells the pony to Homer is based on actress Katharine Hepburn
. Cast member Tress MacNeille
provided the voice for the character. Lunchlady Doris, a recurring character on The Simpsons, made her first appearance on the show in this episode as one of the judges in the talent show. She was voiced by the show's script supervisor Doris Grau
, who had a "beautiful, tobacco-cured voice" the staff thought was perfect for the role. Following Grau's death in 1995, the characters she voiced were retired out of respect, with the exception of Lunchlady Doris who stayed on the show without speaking roles.
. The Simpsons director David Silverman
had difficulties with making the ape resemble Homer and struggled with the design for several hours. After hurting Lisa's feelings at talent show, Homer watches old home movies
of him and Lisa, including one in which a young Homer is seen watching Fantasy Island
on television instead of paying attention to Lisa's taking her first steps. The scene in which Lisa wakes up in her bed and discovers the pony lying next to her is a reference to a scene in the 1972 film The Godfather
, in which a character awakens to discover the severed head of his favorite horse placed in his bed. The musical chords used in the episode are the same as in the film but shortened. While driving home from the Kwik-E-Mart, Homer falls asleep behind the wheel and dreams that he is in Slumberland, drawn in the style of Winsor McCay
's Little Nemo in Slumberland. The song "Golden Slumbers" by The Beatles
plays during the sequence.
One of the children at the talent show performs the song "My Ding-a-Ling
" by Chuck Berry
. According to Jean, it was a "huge difficulty" to clear the rights for the song so that it could be used on the show. John Boylan, who produced the album The Simpsons Sing the Blues
, personally appealed to Berry to clear the song for them. The lyrics to "My Ding-a-Ling", with their sly tone and innuendo, caused many radio stations to ban the song. This is parodied in the episode when Principal Skinner rushes the child off the stage before he is able to finish the first line of the refrain. The man who owns the music shop Homer visits is based on actor Wally Cox
.
In its original American broadcast, "Lisa's Pony" finished 35th in the ratings for the week of November 4–10, 1991, with a Nielsen rating
of 13.8, equivalent to approximately 12.7 million viewing households. It was the highest-rated show on the Fox network that week. "Lisa's Pony" was released with the episode "Treehouse of Horror II
" on a Video Home System (VHS) collection in 1999, called Best of the Simpsons. Homer's voice actor, Dan Castellaneta
, received a Primetime Emmy Award
for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance
in 1992 for his performance in the episode.
Since airing, the episode has received positive reviews from television critics. The authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, called the episode "good stuff" and praised the "nice flashbacks to Lisa as a baby." Bill Gibron of DVD Verdict said "Lisa's Pony" is a "priceless part" of the show because of its "meshing of old storylines with new experiences, combined with some of the best jokes in the series." Gibron gave the episode a perfect score of 100. Cinema Blend
's Bryce Wilson called "Lisa's Pony" one of the best Lisa episodes, and added that the only words to describe it are "funny as hell." Nate Meyers of Digitally Obsessed gave the episode a 5/5 rating, praising it for its references to The Godfather and 2001: A Space Odyssey that "film buffs will find uproarious." Meyers added that Homer and Lisa's relationship is "the heart of the episode, showing Homer to be more than just a brute." The episode's reference to The Godfather was named the seventh greatest film reference in the history of the show by Total Film
' s Nathan Ditum. The Star-Ledger
named this episode's reference to 2001: A Space Odyssey one of their favorite references to Stanley Kubrick
on The Simpsons.
Niel Harvey of The Roanoke Times
called the episode a "classic bit of Simpsonia," and The Baltimore Sun
' s Kevin Valkenburg named it one of the "truly classic" The Simpsons episodes. The Guardian
' s David Eklid said episodes such as "Lisa's Pony" and "Stark Raving Dad
" make season three "pretty much [the] best season of any television show, ever." In addition, Molly Griffin of The Observer commented that "Lisa's Pony" is one of the season three episodes that "make the show into the cultural force it is today." DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson, however, gave the episode a less positive review, commenting that episodes "in which Homer has to redeem himself to others aren't a rarity, and 'Lisa's Pony' falls in the middle of that genre's pack. Homer's escapades at the Kwik-E-Mart definitely add life to the proceedings, and some of his other antics make the show good. I like 'Lisa's Pony' but don't consider it to offer a great program."
According to Greg Suarez of The Digital Bits
, "Lisa's Pony" is considered a fan favorite. In a list of the show's top 10 episodes, compiled by the webmaster of the fan site The Simpsons Archive
and published by USA Today
, this episode was listed in seventh place. Paul Cantor
, a professor of English at the University of Virginia
, utilized "Lisa's Pony" as an example that The Simpsons does not promote negative morals and values, which some critics have criticized the show for.
The Simpsons (season 3)
The Simpsons third season originally aired on the Fox network between September 19, 1991 and May 7, 1992. The show runners for the third production season were Al Jean and Mike Reiss who executive produced 22 episodes the season, while two other episodes were produced by James L. Brooks, Matt...
of The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 7, 1991. In this episode, Homer
Homer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
goes drinking at Moe's Tavern instead of buying a new reed for Lisa
Lisa Simpson
Lisa Marie Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She is the middle child of the Simpson family. Voiced by Yeardley Smith, Lisa first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Cartoonist Matt Groening...
's saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
, resulting in her flopping at the school talent show. Desperate to win back his daughter's love, Homer gives Lisa the one thing she has always wanted: a pony. Homer struggles with two jobs to cover the cost of sheltering and feeding the pony. Lisa, upon seeing what Homer must go through to pay for the pony, decides to give it away.
The episode was written by Al Jean
Al Jean
Al Jean is an award-winning American screenwriter and producer, best known for his work on The Simpsons. He was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan and graduated from Harvard University in 1981. Jean began his writing career in the 1980s with fellow Harvard alum Mike Reiss...
and Mike Reiss
Mike Reiss
Michael "Mike" Reiss is an American television comedy writer. He served as a show-runner, writer and producer for the animated series The Simpsons and co-created the animated series The Critic...
, and directed by Carlos Baeza
Carlos Baeza
Carlos Baeza is an animation director. He has worked for The Simpsons and Futurama.- The Simpsons episodes :He is credited with directing the following episodes:*"Lisa's Pony"*"Radio Bart"*"Bart the Lover"*"Treehouse of Horror III"...
. Lunchlady Doris, a recurring character on The Simpsons, made her first appearance on the show in this episode. "Lisa's Pony" features cultural references to films such as The Godfather
The Godfather
The Godfather is a 1972 American epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, based on the 1969 novel by Mario Puzo. With a screenplay by Puzo, Coppola and an uncredited Robert Towne, the film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Sterling Hayden, John Marley, Richard...
and 2001: A Space Odyssey
2001: A Space Odyssey (film)
2001: A Space Odyssey is a 1968 epic science fiction film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, and co-written by Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke, partially inspired by Clarke's short story The Sentinel...
and the comic strip Little Nemo in Slumberland. Since airing, the episode has received positive reviews from television critics. It acquired a Nielsen rating
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
of 13.8 and was the highest-rated show on the Fox network the week it aired.
Plot
LisaLisa Simpson
Lisa Marie Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She is the middle child of the Simpson family. Voiced by Yeardley Smith, Lisa first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Cartoonist Matt Groening...
is participating in a school talent show and needs a new reed for her saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
. She calls her father, Homer
Homer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
, who agrees to buy one before heading to the show. However, he decides to visit Moe's Tavern first, and when he arrives at the music shop, it has closed down for the night. Dejected, Homer goes back to Moe's where the music shop owner is enjoying a drink. Moe
Moe Szyslak
Momar / Morris "Moe" Szyslak is a fictional character in the American animated television series, The Simpsons. He is voiced by Hank Azaria and first appeared in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire"...
helps him convince the man to re-open his store. Homer is happy that he remembered exactly which reed he needs to get; however, he then forgets which instrument Lisa plays. After going through many of the instruments in the store, Homer finally remembers that Lisa plays the saxophone and rushes to the school. However, he is too late, arriving in time to hear Lisa humiliate herself by butchering the song she chose to play.
Despite Marge
Marge Simpson
Marjorie "Marge" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the eponymous family. She is voiced by actress Julie Kavner and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
's warnings that they cannot afford it, Homer decides to purchase a pony for Lisa to win back her love. To afford the pony, he applies for a loan through the Power Plant Credit Union. Mr. Burns
Montgomery Burns
Charles Montgomery "Monty" Burns, usually referred to as Mr. Burns, is a recurring fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons, who is voiced by Harry Shearer and previously Christopher Collins. Burns is the evil owner of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant and is Homer...
personally reviews the loan, and approves it only after determining that Homer does not intend to eat the pony and has no knowledge of the "state's stringent usury
Usury
Usury Originally, when the charging of interest was still banned by Christian churches, usury simply meant the charging of interest at any rate . In countries where the charging of interest became acceptable, the term came to be used for interest above the rate allowed by law...
laws." Homer buys the pony (named Princess) for Lisa, and, after waking up to find it lying next to her, she gallops into her parents' bedroom happily telling Homer she loves him. While Homer is happy that Lisa is no longer angry with him, Marge is upset that he made such an extravagant purchase.
In order to pay the rent for Princess's shelter, Homer takes a second job working for Apu
Apu Nahasapeemapetilon
Apu Nahasapeemapetilon is a character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Hank Azaria and first appeared in the episode "The Telltale Head". Apu is the proprietor of the Kwik-E-Mart, a popular convenience store in Springfield, and a friend of Homer Simpson. He is also...
at the Kwik-E-Mart
Kwik-E-Mart
The Kwik-E-Mart is a fictional chain of convenience stores in the animated television series The Simpsons. It is a parody of American convenience store chains, such as 7-Eleven and Circle K, and represents many myths and stereotypes of them. It is notorious for its high prices and the poor quality...
. Homer becomes more and more exhausted
Shift work sleep disorder
Shift work sleep disorder is a circadian rhythm sleep disorder characterized by insomnia and excessive sleepiness affecting people whose work hours are scheduled during the typical sleep period...
after trying to work both jobs. Finally, Marge admits to the children that their father has been working two jobs to pay for the pony. Marge tells Lisa that she is not going to make her give up the pony, as it is something Lisa needs to decide for herself. After watching a meek, sleep-deprived Homer being bullied by his own son at the Kwik-E-Mart, Lisa agrees to give up the pony, and she shares a heart-breaking goodbye with Princess. Lisa tells Homer that there is a "big dumb animal" she loves even more than her horse, that being Homer himself.
Production
"Lisa's Pony" was written by Al JeanAl Jean
Al Jean is an award-winning American screenwriter and producer, best known for his work on The Simpsons. He was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan and graduated from Harvard University in 1981. Jean began his writing career in the 1980s with fellow Harvard alum Mike Reiss...
and Mike Reiss
Mike Reiss
Michael "Mike" Reiss is an American television comedy writer. He served as a show-runner, writer and producer for the animated series The Simpsons and co-created the animated series The Critic...
, who were show runner
Show runner
Showrunner is a term of art originating in the United States and Canadian television industry referring to the person who is responsible for the day-to-day operation of a television seriesalthough such persons generally are credited as an executive producer...
s of The Simpsons when the episode was produced. According to Reiss, being a show runner is a stressful job as he has to supervise all the processes the episodes go through. Jean and Reiss were working approximately 80–100 hours a week when they were assigned to write an episode on top of their regular job. "Lisa's Pony" was written between 10.00 p.m. and 1.00 a.m. every night after they had finished their 12–14 hour workday. They came up with idea for it while going through a list of Lisa's interests, and Jean told Reiss, "Lisa likes ponies; we [should] give her a pony." While writing down ideas for the story, they decided to explore the consequences of having a pony in a suburban house.
Carlos Baeza
Carlos Baeza
Carlos Baeza is an animation director. He has worked for The Simpsons and Futurama.- The Simpsons episodes :He is credited with directing the following episodes:*"Lisa's Pony"*"Radio Bart"*"Bart the Lover"*"Treehouse of Horror III"...
served as animation director
Animation director
An animation director is the director in charge of all aspects of the animation process during the production of an animated film or animated segment for a live-action film...
for the episode. The Simpsons creator Matt Groening
Matt Groening
Matthew Abram "Matt" Groening is an American cartoonist, screenwriter, and producer. He is the creator of the comic strip Life in Hell as well as two successful television series, The Simpsons and Futurama....
said animating horses is "the most difficult thing to do." The animators used Eadweard Muybridge
Eadweard Muybridge
Eadweard J. Muybridge was an English photographer who spent much of his life in the United States. He is known for his pioneering work on animal locomotion which used multiple cameras to capture motion, and his zoopraxiscope, a device for projecting motion pictures that pre-dated the flexible...
's famous animation of a horse galloping and other photo references as models for Princess. In the talent show scene, Lisa is lit up by a spotlight
Followspot
A followspot, sometimes known as a spot light, is a powerful stage lighting instrument which projects a bright beam of light onto a performance space. Followspots are controlled by a spotlight operator who follows actors around the stage...
when she performs with her saxophone. After the episode came back from the animation studio in Korea, the staff noticed that the light was colored blue, making Lisa look like "a Smurf." The scene had to be re-animated in the United States, and the spotlight effect was reduced.
The woman who sells the pony to Homer is based on actress Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress of film, stage, and television. In a career that spanned 62 years as a leading lady, she was best known for playing strong-willed, sophisticated women in both dramas and comedies...
. Cast member Tress MacNeille
Tress MacNeille
Tress MacNeille is an American voice actress best known for providing various voices on the animated series The Simpsons, Futurama, Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, Disney's House of Mouse, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Rugrats, All Grown Up!, Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers, and Dave the...
provided the voice for the character. Lunchlady Doris, a recurring character on The Simpsons, made her first appearance on the show in this episode as one of the judges in the talent show. She was voiced by the show's script supervisor Doris Grau
Doris Grau
Doris Grau was an American script supervisor, actress, and voice artist from Brooklyn. Shortly after moving to Hollywood in 1940, she began her career with supervising film and television scripts...
, who had a "beautiful, tobacco-cured voice" the staff thought was perfect for the role. Following Grau's death in 1995, the characters she voiced were retired out of respect, with the exception of Lunchlady Doris who stayed on the show without speaking roles.
Cultural references
The beginning of the episode, in which Homer has a dream of himself as an ape, is a reference to the Dawn of Man sequence from the 1968 science-fiction film 2001: A Space Odyssey2001: A Space Odyssey (film)
2001: A Space Odyssey is a 1968 epic science fiction film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, and co-written by Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke, partially inspired by Clarke's short story The Sentinel...
. The Simpsons director David Silverman
David Silverman
David Silverman is an animator best known for directing numerous episodes of the animated TV series The Simpsons, as well as The Simpsons Movie...
had difficulties with making the ape resemble Homer and struggled with the design for several hours. After hurting Lisa's feelings at talent show, Homer watches old home movies
Home video
Home video is a blanket term used for pre-recorded media that is either sold or rented/hired for home cinema entertainment. The term originates from the VHS/Betamax era but has carried over into current optical disc formats like DVD and Blu-ray Disc and, to a lesser extent, into methods of digital...
of him and Lisa, including one in which a young Homer is seen watching Fantasy Island
Fantasy Island
Fantasy Island is the title of two separate but related American fantasy television series, both originally airing on the ABC television network.-Original series:...
on television instead of paying attention to Lisa's taking her first steps. The scene in which Lisa wakes up in her bed and discovers the pony lying next to her is a reference to a scene in the 1972 film The Godfather
The Godfather
The Godfather is a 1972 American epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, based on the 1969 novel by Mario Puzo. With a screenplay by Puzo, Coppola and an uncredited Robert Towne, the film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Sterling Hayden, John Marley, Richard...
, in which a character awakens to discover the severed head of his favorite horse placed in his bed. The musical chords used in the episode are the same as in the film but shortened. While driving home from the Kwik-E-Mart, Homer falls asleep behind the wheel and dreams that he is in Slumberland, drawn in the style of Winsor McCay
Winsor McCay
Winsor McCay was an American cartoonist and animator.A prolific artist, McCay's pioneering early animated films far outshone the work of his contemporaries, and set a standard followed by Walt Disney and others in later decades...
's Little Nemo in Slumberland. The song "Golden Slumbers" by The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
plays during the sequence.
One of the children at the talent show performs the song "My Ding-a-Ling
My Ding-a-Ling
"My Ding-a-Ling" was the title of a novelty song recorded by Chuck Berry, and his only U.S. number-one single on the pop charts. Later that year the song, in a longer unedited form, was on the album The London Chuck Berry Sessions...
" by Chuck Berry
Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
. According to Jean, it was a "huge difficulty" to clear the rights for the song so that it could be used on the show. John Boylan, who produced the album The Simpsons Sing the Blues
The Simpsons Sing the Blues
The Simpsons Sing the Blues is the first album released as an offshoot of The Simpsons. The album contains originally recorded music not featured in the series save for the first verse of the track "Moaning Lisa Blues" which was first featured in the episode "Moaning Lisa", aired February 11, 1990...
, personally appealed to Berry to clear the song for them. The lyrics to "My Ding-a-Ling", with their sly tone and innuendo, caused many radio stations to ban the song. This is parodied in the episode when Principal Skinner rushes the child off the stage before he is able to finish the first line of the refrain. The man who owns the music shop Homer visits is based on actor Wally Cox
Wally Cox
Wallace Maynard Cox was an American comedian and actor, particularly associated with the early years of television in the United States. He appeared in the U.S. TV series Mr. Peepers , plus several other popular shows, and as a character actor in over 20 films...
.
Reception
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
of 13.8, equivalent to approximately 12.7 million viewing households. It was the highest-rated show on the Fox network that week. "Lisa's Pony" was released with the episode "Treehouse of Horror II
Treehouse of Horror II
"Treehouse of Horror II" is the seventh episode of The Simpsons third season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 31, 1991. It is the second annual Treehouse of Horror episode, consisting of three self-contained segments, told as dreams of Lisa, Bart and Homer. In the...
" on a Video Home System (VHS) collection in 1999, called Best of the Simpsons. Homer's voice actor, Dan Castellaneta
Dan Castellaneta
Daniel Louis "Dan" Castellaneta is an American actor, voice actor, comedian, singer and screenwriter. Noted for his long-running role as Homer Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons, he voices many other characters on The Simpsons, including Abraham "Grampa" Simpson, Barney Gumble,...
, received a Primetime Emmy Award
Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming...
for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance is a creative arts Emmy Award given out by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. It is awarded to a performer for an outstanding "continuing or single voice-over performance in a series or a special." Prior to 1992, voice-actors...
in 1992 for his performance in the episode.
Since airing, the episode has received positive reviews from television critics. The authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, called the episode "good stuff" and praised the "nice flashbacks to Lisa as a baby." Bill Gibron of DVD Verdict said "Lisa's Pony" is a "priceless part" of the show because of its "meshing of old storylines with new experiences, combined with some of the best jokes in the series." Gibron gave the episode a perfect score of 100. Cinema Blend
Cinema Blend
Cinema Blend is a website founded and run by Josh Tyler dedicated to news and reviews of upcoming and currently playing films, movie projects, Television Shows, and a newly founded Music section which covers album reviews, band interviews and daily news from the industry. It combines gossip from...
's Bryce Wilson called "Lisa's Pony" one of the best Lisa episodes, and added that the only words to describe it are "funny as hell." Nate Meyers of Digitally Obsessed gave the episode a 5/5 rating, praising it for its references to The Godfather and 2001: A Space Odyssey that "film buffs will find uproarious." Meyers added that Homer and Lisa's relationship is "the heart of the episode, showing Homer to be more than just a brute." The episode's reference to The Godfather was named the seventh greatest film reference in the history of the show by Total Film
Total Film
Total Film is a British film magazine published 13 times a year by Future Publishing. The magazine was launched in 1997 and offers film, DVD and Blu-ray news, reviews and features...
The Star-Ledger
The Star-Ledger is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to The Jersey Journal of Jersey City, The Times of Trenton and the Staten Island Advance, all of which are owned by Advance Publications.The Newark Star-Ledgers daily...
named this episode's reference to 2001: A Space Odyssey one of their favorite references to Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career...
on The Simpsons.
Niel Harvey of The Roanoke Times
The Roanoke Times
The Roanoke Times is the primary newspaper in Southwestern Virginia and is based in Roanoke, Virginia, United States. It is published by Landmark Media Enterprises...
called the episode a "classic bit of Simpsonia," and The Baltimore Sun
The Baltimore Sun
The Baltimore Sun is the U.S. state of Maryland’s largest general circulation daily newspaper and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries....
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
Stark Raving Dad
"Stark Raving Dad" is the first episode of the third season of American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on September 19, 1991...
" make season three "pretty much [the] best season of any television show, ever." In addition, Molly Griffin of The Observer commented that "Lisa's Pony" is one of the season three episodes that "make the show into the cultural force it is today." DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson, however, gave the episode a less positive review, commenting that episodes "in which Homer has to redeem himself to others aren't a rarity, and 'Lisa's Pony' falls in the middle of that genre's pack. Homer's escapades at the Kwik-E-Mart definitely add life to the proceedings, and some of his other antics make the show good. I like 'Lisa's Pony' but don't consider it to offer a great program."
According to Greg Suarez of The Digital Bits
The Digital Bits
The Digital Bits is a DVD-related website, established in 1997 by editor Bill Hunt. It includes frequent news updates about upcoming DVD releases, images of upcoming DVD cover art, and DVD reviews....
, "Lisa's Pony" is considered a fan favorite. In a list of the show's top 10 episodes, compiled by the webmaster of the fan site The Simpsons Archive
The Simpsons Archive
The Simpsons Archive, better known as snpp.com or simply SNPP , is a Simpsons fan site that has been online since 1994...
and published by USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
, this episode was listed in seventh place. Paul Cantor
Paul Cantor
Paul A. Cantor is a wide-ranging American literary critic inspired by the Austrian School of economic thought.As a young man Cantor attended Ludwig von Mises' seminars. He went on to study English literature at Harvard...
, a professor of English at the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
, utilized "Lisa's Pony" as an example that The Simpsons does not promote negative morals and values, which some critics have criticized the show for.
External links
- "Lisa's Pony" at The Simpsons.com