Margical History Tour
Encyclopedia
"Margical History Tour" is the eleventh episode of The Simpsons
' fifteenth season
. The episode was first broadcast on February 8, 2004. This is one of several Simpsons episodes that features mini-stories.
takes Bart
, Lisa
, and Milhouse
to the library to study. When they go inside, they realize that the library has removed all the books except for the popular ones. Marge makes the best of this situation by telling stories about history.
(Homer
) is unhappy that his wife, Margerine of Aragon
(Marge) has borne him a daughter, Mary I
(Lisa). Unable to execute Margerine because her father is the king of Spain
, Henry attempts marriage counseling
. Henry then files for a divorce, which forces him to split his kingdom.
Wanting a son to inherit the throne, Henry marries Anne Boleyn
(Lindsey Naegle); nine months later, Anne tearfully apologizes to Henry for having borne him another daughter, Elizabeth I
, and is executed. Henry marries a total of six times, each time failing to produce a male heir, and executing all his wives except Margerine. Finally, after many years and executions, Henry is old and sick, lying on his bed, with Margerine by his side. He asks for her forgiveness for having locked her up in a dungeon and asks her to be his queen again. She accepts tenderly, but then violently smothers him to death with his pillow. Elizabeth then becomes queen of England
. In reality Henry only had two of his wives executed, Anne Boleyn
and Catherine Howard
, and he actually did have a male heir, with his first wife dying even before Anne Boleyn.
After the story, Milhouse leaves eagerly to start his report on Henry VIII, only to be tripped by Nelson
, who steals Milhouse's notes from Marge's story to use for his own report.
(Lenny) and William Clark (Carl) are assigned to explore the West
by President Thomas Jefferson
(Mayor Quimby
). They meet a tribe of Native Americans
led by Homer as the tribal chief, who offers them the guidance of his daughter, Sacagawea
(Lisa). Sacagawea gives them many tips on how to survive the land, including how to scare a cougar, but quickly becomes fed up with Lewis and Clark's antics and stupidity. Finally, she leaves them and sets off back home. She encounters a cougar, but before it can attack, Lewis and Clark save her using the advice she gave them. The party arrives at the Pacific Ocean and a heavy downpour begins, prompting Lewis and Clark to name the rain-soaked place Eugene, Oregon
. The two explorers reward Sacagawea by creating the Sacagawea dollar
which —Marge explains— can be exchanged at the bank for a real dollar
.
(Bart) is a big hit in Vienna
, playing sonata
s on the grand piano
. Antonio Salieri
(Lisa) is resentful of Mozart's good fortune, especially when Mozart wins the award for best composer. At Mozart's next opera
, Salieri serves the Emperor
(Montgomery Burns
) wine spiked with a sleeping potion. The opera (a humorous rendition of Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
), is a success until the crowd hears the Emperor snoring in the balcony. The failure of his opera leads to Mozart's fall from popularity, after which he develops a high fever and becomes deathly ill. Dr. Nick attempts to cure Mozart with leeches.
At Mozart's deathbed
, Salieri tells him she wanted to ruin his life, not kill him. Mozart confesses that he thought highly of Salieri's work, believing that it would be remembered more than his — but his youthful death ensures he and his music will be immortalized forever. He then dies, but not before saying "Eat my pantaloons
." The next day, Salieri visits the Emperor's court to submit Mozart's Requiem
as her own, but the court is already focused on Ludwig van Beethoven
(Nelson
). Befuddled, Salieri throws the Requiem away. Then she hails a carriage to the mental asylum in which she gets in and laughs hysterically as the carriage draws away.
Lisa realizes that Marge's telling of the lives of Mozart and Salieri is not the real version, noting that Mozart and Salieri had better relations in their time, and says that the story is based on the movie Amadeus
. Homer says that Tom Hulce
starred both in Amadeus and in Animal House
, and he sings an inaccurate rendition of the Animal House theme from that film over the credits.
: The Movie, Yu-Gi-Oh!
Price Guides, and Itchy & Scratchy
books on tape.
Many of the episode's puns derive from popular music. The episode's title is a take off of the song and film "Magical Mystery Tour
" by The Beatles
. When Homer tells Bart to "get out of my dreams and into my wife", it is a reference to the song "Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car
" (which in turn had been inspired by a line in the song "You're Sixteen
"). In direct reference to the theme of the mini-story, Homer also sings a variation of "I'm Henery the Eighth, I Am
". During this mini-story, a brief snatch of the English folk-tune "Greensleeves
" (which is popularly supposed to have been written by Henry VIII) can be heard.
The mini-story also makes self-reference to the series. Henry wipes his mouth with the Magna Carta
, an important 13th century document. In Make Room for Lisa
, he licks the Eighth Amendment
off the Bill of Rights
. Later, Reverend Lovejoy says "In the name Henry, the Hank and the holy Harry". The latter two are nicknames for men named Henry, and the first names of Simpsons cast members Hank Azaria
and Harry Shearer
. Otto
makes a cameo as Anne of Cleves
, one of the men in the Lewis and Clark Expedition
, and of the audience in Mozart's concerts.
In the Mozart mini-story, the opera Bart writes has the line "The Musical Fruit", which is a reference to both The Magic Flute
, a Mozart piece, and "Beans, Beans, the Musical Fruit
", a children's song. The music in Bart's opera is in fact Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
with lyrics referring to flatulence
. However, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik is not an opera. Later in the story, Nelson's laugh imitates the opening bars from Beethoven's Fifth Symphony
. In a more modern reference, the three "untalented" other brothers of Lisa are Randy, Jermaine, and Tito Jackson from the Jackson Five. A fragment from the movement Lacrimosa
from Mozart's Requiem can be heard while Bart is dying in his bed.
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...
The Simpsons (season 15)
The Simpsons 15th season began on Sunday, November 2, 2003 with "Treehouse of Horror XIV".The season contains five hold-over episodes from the season 14 production line...
. The episode was first broadcast on February 8, 2004. This is one of several Simpsons episodes that features mini-stories.
Plot
MargeMarge 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...
takes Bart
Bart Simpson
Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
, 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...
, and Milhouse
Milhouse Van Houten
Milhouse Mussolini Van Houten is a fictional character featured in the animated television series The Simpsons, voiced by Pamela Hayden. He is Bart Simpson's best friend in Mrs. Krabappel's fourth grade class at Springfield Elementary School....
to the library to study. When they go inside, they realize that the library has removed all the books except for the popular ones. Marge makes the best of this situation by telling stories about history.
Henry VIII
King Henry VIIIHenry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
(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...
) is unhappy that his wife, Margerine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon , also known as Katherine or Katharine, was Queen consort of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII of England and Princess of Wales as the wife to Arthur, Prince of Wales...
(Marge) has borne him a daughter, Mary I
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
(Lisa). Unable to execute Margerine because her father is the king of Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Henry attempts marriage counseling
Relationship counseling
Relationship counseling is the process of counseling the parties of a relationship in an effort to recognize and to better manage or reconcile troublesome differences and repeating patterns of distress...
. Henry then files for a divorce, which forces him to split his kingdom.
Wanting a son to inherit the throne, Henry marries Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn ;c.1501/1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of Henry VIII of England and Marquess of Pembroke in her own right. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the...
(Lindsey Naegle); nine months later, Anne tearfully apologizes to Henry for having borne him another daughter, Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
, and is executed. Henry marries a total of six times, each time failing to produce a male heir, and executing all his wives except Margerine. Finally, after many years and executions, Henry is old and sick, lying on his bed, with Margerine by his side. He asks for her forgiveness for having locked her up in a dungeon and asks her to be his queen again. She accepts tenderly, but then violently smothers him to death with his pillow. Elizabeth then becomes queen of England
Kingdom of England
The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state to the northwest of continental Europe. At its height, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and several smaller outlying islands; what today comprises the legal jurisdiction of England...
. In reality Henry only had two of his wives executed, Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn ;c.1501/1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of Henry VIII of England and Marquess of Pembroke in her own right. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the...
and Catherine Howard
Catherine Howard
Catherine Howard , also spelled Katherine, Katheryn or Kathryn, was the fifth wife of Henry VIII of England, and sometimes known by his reference to her as his "rose without a thorn"....
, and he actually did have a male heir, with his first wife dying even before Anne Boleyn.
After the story, Milhouse leaves eagerly to start his report on Henry VIII, only to be tripped by Nelson
Nelson Muntz
Nelson Mandela Muntz is a fictional character and bully from the animated TV series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Nancy Cartwright. Nelson was introduced in Season 1's "Bart the General" as a bully but later turned into a friend of Bart Simpson, who is best identified by his signature laugh .-Role...
, who steals Milhouse's notes from Marge's story to use for his own report.
Lewis and Clark and Sacagawea
Meriwether LewisMeriwether Lewis
Meriwether Lewis was an American explorer, soldier, and public administrator, best known for his role as the leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition also known as the Corps of Discovery, with William Clark...
(Lenny) and William Clark (Carl) are assigned to explore the West
Lewis and Clark Expedition
The Lewis and Clark Expedition, or ″Corps of Discovery Expedition" was the first transcontinental expedition to the Pacific Coast by the United States. Commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson and led by two Virginia-born veterans of Indian wars in the Ohio Valley, Meriwether Lewis and William...
by President Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
(Mayor Quimby
Joe Quimby
Mayor Joseph "Joe" Quimby, nicknamed "Diamond Joe," is a recurring character from the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta, and first appeared in the episode "Bart Gets an F". A member of the Democratic Party, Quimby is the mayor of Springfield, and is a...
). They meet a tribe of Native Americans
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
led by Homer as the tribal chief, who offers them the guidance of his daughter, Sacagawea
Sacagawea
Sacagawea ; was a Lemhi Shoshone woman, who accompanied the Lewis and Clark Expedition, acting as an interpreter and guide, in their exploration of the Western United States...
(Lisa). Sacagawea gives them many tips on how to survive the land, including how to scare a cougar, but quickly becomes fed up with Lewis and Clark's antics and stupidity. Finally, she leaves them and sets off back home. She encounters a cougar, but before it can attack, Lewis and Clark save her using the advice she gave them. The party arrives at the Pacific Ocean and a heavy downpour begins, prompting Lewis and Clark to name the rain-soaked place Eugene, Oregon
Eugene, Oregon
Eugene is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and the seat of Lane County. It is located at the south end of the Willamette Valley, at the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.As of the 2010 U.S...
. The two explorers reward Sacagawea by creating the Sacagawea dollar
Sacagawea dollar
The Sacagawea dollar is a United States dollar coin that has been minted every year since 2000. These coins have a copper core clad by manganese brass, giving them a distinctive golden color. The coin features an obverse by Glenna Goodacre. The reverse design has varied, from 2000 to 2008...
which —Marge explains— can be exchanged at the bank for a real dollar
United States one-dollar bill
The United States one-dollar bill is the most common denomination of US currency. The first president, George Washington, painted by Gilbert Stuart, is currently featured on the obverse, while the Great Seal of the United States is featured on the reverse. The one-dollar bill has the oldest...
.
Mozart and Salieri
Wolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
(Bart) is a big hit in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, playing sonata
Sonata
Sonata , in music, literally means a piece played as opposed to a cantata , a piece sung. The term, being vague, naturally evolved through the history of music, designating a variety of forms prior to the Classical era...
s on the grand piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
. Antonio Salieri
Antonio Salieri
Antonio Salieri was a Venetian classical composer, conductor and teacher born in Legnago, south of Verona, in the Republic of Venice, but who spent his adult life and career as a faithful subject of the Habsburg monarchy....
(Lisa) is resentful of Mozart's good fortune, especially when Mozart wins the award for best composer. At Mozart's next opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
, Salieri serves the Emperor
Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor
Joseph II was Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 to 1790 and ruler of the Habsburg lands from 1780 to 1790. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Francis I...
(Montgomery 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...
) wine spiked with a sleeping potion. The opera (a humorous rendition of Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
Eine kleine Nachtmusik
The Serenade No. 13 for strings in G major, K. 525 was written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1787. The work is more commonly known by the title Eine kleine Nachtmusik. The German title means "a little serenade", though it is often rendered more literally but less accurately as "a little night music"...
), is a success until the crowd hears the Emperor snoring in the balcony. The failure of his opera leads to Mozart's fall from popularity, after which he develops a high fever and becomes deathly ill. Dr. Nick attempts to cure Mozart with leeches.
At Mozart's deathbed
Death of Mozart
The composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died at 1:00 am on 5 December 1791 at the age of 35, following a short illness.-Illness and last days:...
, Salieri tells him she wanted to ruin his life, not kill him. Mozart confesses that he thought highly of Salieri's work, believing that it would be remembered more than his — but his youthful death ensures he and his music will be immortalized forever. He then dies, but not before saying "Eat my pantaloons
Trousers
Trousers are an item of clothing worn on the lower part of the body from the waist to the ankles, covering both legs separately...
." The next day, Salieri visits the Emperor's court to submit Mozart's Requiem
Requiem
A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead or Mass of the dead , is a Mass celebrated for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, using a particular form of the Roman Missal...
as her own, but the court is already focused on Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
(Nelson
Nelson Muntz
Nelson Mandela Muntz is a fictional character and bully from the animated TV series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Nancy Cartwright. Nelson was introduced in Season 1's "Bart the General" as a bully but later turned into a friend of Bart Simpson, who is best identified by his signature laugh .-Role...
). Befuddled, Salieri throws the Requiem away. Then she hails a carriage to the mental asylum in which she gets in and laughs hysterically as the carriage draws away.
Lisa realizes that Marge's telling of the lives of Mozart and Salieri is not the real version, noting that Mozart and Salieri had better relations in their time, and says that the story is based on the movie Amadeus
Amadeus (film)
Amadeus is a 1984 period drama film directed by Miloš Forman and written by Peter Shaffer. Adapted from Shaffer's stage play Amadeus, the story is based loosely on the lives of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri, two composers who lived in Vienna, Austria, during the latter half of the...
. Homer says that Tom Hulce
Tom Hulce
Thomas Edward "Tom" Hulce is an American actor and theater producer. As an actor, he is perhaps best known for his Oscar-nominated portrayal of Mozart in the movie Amadeus and his role as "Pinto" in National Lampoon's Animal House. Additional acting awards included a total of four Golden Globe...
starred both in Amadeus and in Animal House
National Lampoon's Animal House
National Lampoon's Animal House is a 1978 American comedy film directed by John Landis. The film was a direct spin-off of National Lampoon magazine...
, and he sings an inaccurate rendition of the Animal House theme from that film over the credits.
Epilogue
The episode ends with a facetious epilogue that reads:Cultural references
Some items seen in the library are Everyone PoopsEveryone Poops
Everyone Poops is the title of US editions of the English translation of , a Japanese children's book written and illustrated by the prolific children's author Tarō Gomi and 1st published in Japan by Fukuinkan Shoten in 1977 within the series Kagaku no Tomo Kessaku-shū Everyone Poops is the title...
: The Movie, Yu-Gi-Oh!
Yu-Gi-Oh!
is a Japanese manga created by Kazuki Takahashi. It has produced a franchise that includes multiple anime shows, a trading card game and numerous video games...
Price Guides, and Itchy & Scratchy
The Itchy & Scratchy Show
The Itchy & Scratchy Show is a show within a show in the animated television series The Simpsons. It usually appears as a part of The Krusty the Clown Show, watched regularly by Bart and Lisa Simpson...
books on tape.
Many of the episode's puns derive from popular music. The episode's title is a take off of the song and film "Magical Mystery Tour
Magical Mystery Tour (song)
"Magical Mystery Tour" is a song by The Beatles, the opening track and theme song for the album, double EP and TV film of the same name. Unlike the theme songs for their other film projects, it was not released as a single.-Composition:...
" 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...
. When Homer tells Bart to "get out of my dreams and into my wife", it is a reference to the song "Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car
Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car
"Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car" is a number one single by singer Billy Ocean. Part of its popularity lay in its cutting-edge video, which featured cartoon mixed with live-action sequences. The song went to number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and the Hot Black Singles chart. It also...
" (which in turn had been inspired by a line in the song "You're Sixteen
You're Sixteen
"You're Sixteen" is a song written by the Sherman Brothers . It was first performed by American rockabilly singer Johnny Burnette, whose version peaked at number eight on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in December 1960....
"). In direct reference to the theme of the mini-story, Homer also sings a variation of "I'm Henery the Eighth, I Am
I'm Henery the Eighth, I Am
"I'm Henery the Eighth, I Am" is a 1910 British music hall song by Fred Murray and R. P. Weston...
". During this mini-story, a brief snatch of the English folk-tune "Greensleeves
Greensleeves
"Greensleeves" is a traditional English folk song and tune, a ground of the form called a romanesca.A broadside ballad by this name was registered at the London Stationer's Company in September 1580 as "A New Northern Dittye of the Lady Greene Sleeves". It then appears in the surviving A Handful of...
" (which is popularly supposed to have been written by Henry VIII) can be heard.
The mini-story also makes self-reference to the series. Henry wipes his mouth with the Magna Carta
Magna Carta
Magna Carta is an English charter, originally issued in the year 1215 and reissued later in the 13th century in modified versions, which included the most direct challenges to the monarch's authority to date. The charter first passed into law in 1225...
, an important 13th century document. In Make Room for Lisa
Make Room for Lisa
"Make Room for Lisa" is the sixteenth episode of The Simpsons tenth season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 28, 1999. In the episode, while visiting the Smithsonian expedition, Homer Simpson meets a businesswoman who convinces him to build a cell phone...
, he licks the Eighth Amendment
Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution is the part of the United States Bill of Rights which prohibits the federal government from imposing excessive bail, excessive fines or cruel and unusual punishments. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that this amendment's Cruel and Unusual...
off the Bill of Rights
Bill of rights
A bill of rights is a list of the most important rights of the citizens of a country. The purpose of these bills is to protect those rights against infringement. The term "bill of rights" originates from England, where it referred to the Bill of Rights 1689. Bills of rights may be entrenched or...
. Later, Reverend Lovejoy says "In the name Henry, the Hank and the holy Harry". The latter two are nicknames for men named Henry, and the first names of Simpsons cast members Hank Azaria
Hank Azaria
Henry Albert "Hank" Azaria is an American film, television and stage actor, director, voice actor, and comedian. He is noted for being one of the principal voice actors on the animated television series The Simpsons , on which he performs the voices of Moe Szyslak, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Chief...
and Harry Shearer
Harry Shearer
Harry Julius Shearer is an American actor, comedian, writer, voice artist, musician, author, radio host and director. He is known for his long-running role on The Simpsons, his work on Saturday Night Live, the comedy band Spinal Tap and his radio program Le Show...
. Otto
Otto Mann
Otto Mann is a fictional character on the animated TV series The Simpsons, voiced by Harry Shearer. He is the school bus driver for Springfield Elementary School...
makes a cameo as Anne of Cleves
Anne of Cleves
Anne of Cleves was a German noblewoman and the fourth wife of Henry VIII of England and as such she was Queen of England from 6 January 1540 to 9 July 1540. The marriage was never consummated, and she was not crowned queen consort...
, one of the men in the Lewis and Clark Expedition
Lewis and Clark Expedition
The Lewis and Clark Expedition, or ″Corps of Discovery Expedition" was the first transcontinental expedition to the Pacific Coast by the United States. Commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson and led by two Virginia-born veterans of Indian wars in the Ohio Valley, Meriwether Lewis and William...
, and of the audience in Mozart's concerts.
In the Mozart mini-story, the opera Bart writes has the line "The Musical Fruit", which is a reference to both The Magic Flute
The Magic Flute
The Magic Flute is an opera in two acts composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a Singspiel, a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue....
, a Mozart piece, and "Beans, Beans, the Musical Fruit
Beans, Beans, the Musical Fruit
"Beans, Beans, The Musical Fruit" is a schoolyard saying and children's song about the capacity for beans to contribute to flatulence. The song is also variously known as "Beans, Beans, the Magical Fruit", "Beans, Beans, the Miracle Fruit", and "Beans, Beans, the Wonderful Fruit"...
", a children's song. The music in Bart's opera is in fact Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
Eine kleine Nachtmusik
The Serenade No. 13 for strings in G major, K. 525 was written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1787. The work is more commonly known by the title Eine kleine Nachtmusik. The German title means "a little serenade", though it is often rendered more literally but less accurately as "a little night music"...
with lyrics referring to flatulence
Flatulence
Flatulence is the expulsion through the rectum of a mixture of gases that are byproducts of the digestion process of mammals and other animals. The medical term for the mixture of gases is flatus, informally known as a fart, or simply gas...
. However, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik is not an opera. Later in the story, Nelson's laugh imitates the opening bars from Beethoven's Fifth Symphony
Symphony No. 5 (Beethoven)
The Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67, was written by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1804–08. This symphony is one of the most popular and best-known compositions in all of classical music, and one of the most often played symphonies. It comprises four movements: an opening sonata, an andante, and a fast...
. In a more modern reference, the three "untalented" other brothers of Lisa are Randy, Jermaine, and Tito Jackson from the Jackson Five. A fragment from the movement Lacrimosa
Lacrimosa (Requiem)
The Lacrimosa is part of the Dies Irae sequence in the Requiem mass. Its text comes from the 18th and 19th stanzas of the sequence. Many composers, including Mozart, Berlioz, and Verdi have set the text as a discrete movement of the Requiem.-Latin Text:...
from Mozart's Requiem can be heard while Bart is dying in his bed.