'Bart vs. Australia' | |||
---|---|---|---|
The Simpsons episode | |||
Episode no. | Season 6 Episode 16 | ||
Directed by | Wes Archer | ||
Written by | Bill Oakley Josh Weinstein | ||
Production code | 2F13 | ||
Original air date | February 19, 1995 | ||
Guest appearance(s) | |||
Episode features | |||
Chalkboard gag | 'I will not hang donuts on my person'[2] | ||
Couch gag | The living room floor is a body of water and the Simpsons swim their way to the couch. | ||
Commentary | David Mirkin Bill Oakley Josh Weinstein Wes Archer | ||
Episode chronology | |||
| |||
The Simpsons (season 6) | |||
List of The Simpsons episodes |
- The Simpsons Wrestling Homer Vs Bart Fight
- The Simpsons Wrestling Homer Vs Bart Station
- The Simpsons Wrestling Homer Vs Bart Simpson
'Bart vs. Australia' is the sixteenth episode of the sixth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 19, 1995.[3] In the episode, Bart is indicted for fraud in Australia, and the family travels to the country so Bart can apologize.
The episode was written by Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein and directed by Wes Archer. It features cultural references to films such as Mad Max 2 and Crocodile Dundee. 'Bart vs. Australia' acquired a Nielsen rating of 9.1 and was the fourth highest rated show on the Fox network the week it aired.
It received a mixed reception in Australia, with some Australian viewers saying the episode was a mockery of their country.
Plot[edit]
May 25, 2015 The Simpsons Wrestling is a fighting video game based on the animated television series The Simpsons and is based on the professional wrestling genre. The game was made for the PlayStation console.
Bart notices that the water in the bathroom sink always drains counter-clockwise. Lisa explains that water only drains clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere due to the Coriolis effect. Bart makes phone calls to various countries in the Southern Hemisphere to confirm this.
- 2020-2-28 The Simpsons is an American animated television 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 eponymous family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie.It is set in the fictional town of Springfield, and lampoons American culture, society and television, and many.
- The Simpsons Wrestling is a comedic professional wrestling style game starring the characters from the animated television show. Centered around exaggerated brawls between the cast of characters, the game featured the same voice talent heard in the series.
- Jan 09, 2009 When Bart Tries to Escape Homer - Duration: 10:35. I Love You Lisa Recommended for you. Lisa Simpson VS Bart Simpson In A The Simpsons Wrestling Match - Duration: 1:54.
- The Simpsons Wrestling is a fighting video game based on the animated television series The Simpsons.Developed by Big Ape Productions and published by Activision (Electronic Arts in Europe) for the PlayStation, it was first released in Europe in March 2001, followed by North America a month later.
When Lisa points out how expensive overseas calls are, Bart instead makes a collect call to Australia, where a boy named Tobias answers the phone. Bart impersonates an adult bureaucrat and is told the sink and toilet are both draining clockwise. Frustrated, Bart asks Tobias to check his neighbors' toilets. The call takes six hours to complete, since Tobias lives in the rural locality of Squatter's Crog and Bart fails to hang up the phone.
Three weeks later, Tobias's father Bruno is billed $900 for the phone call. Bruno calls Bart and demands payment, but Bart only taunts him. However, Bruno's neighbor is a federal Member of Parliament who reports the matter to the Prime Minister. After several letters from the Prime Minister and the Solicitor-General, Australia indicts Bart for fraud.
A U.S. State Department official arrives and explains that Bart has worsened already acrimonious Australia–United States relations. When Marge refuses to allow the State Department to imprison Bart for five years to placate Australia, the State Department settles on having Bart publicly apologize in Australia.
The Simpsons arrive in Australia and stay in the U.S. Embassy in Canberra. When Bart sees a sign prohibiting foreign visitors from bringing in invasive species, he leaves his pet bullfrog at the airport. A kangaroo puts the frog in its marsupial pouch, introducing it into the wild.
Bart makes his public apology, but an unsatisfied Parliament of Australia demands Bart receive a 'booting' — a kick on the buttocks with an oversize boot — as corporal punishment. Desperate, Bart and Homer escape and the family flees to the embassy, chased by a large, angry mob.
After a stand-off, the two governments propose a compromise: one kick from the Prime Minister, through the gate of the embassy, with a regular wing-tip shoe. Marge protests, but Bart agrees to the punishment. However, Bart dodges the kick, moons the Australians with the words 'Don't tread on me' written on his buttocks, and hums 'The Star-Spangled Banner'.
The outraged mob storms the embassy, and the Simpsons and the embassy staff are evacuated by helicopter. From the air, the Simpsons notice that Bart's bullfrog has reproduced and its offspring are wreaking havoc on Australia's ecosystem and farms. They gleefully laugh, unaware a koala has stowed away aboard their helicopter and may inadvertently be introduced to U.S. territories.
Production[edit]
The episode was written by Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein, and directed by Wes Archer.[4] The writing staff wanted to do an episode where the Simpson family traveled to Australia, because they thought everyone in Australia had a good sense of humor and that they 'would get the jokes'.[5] The staff had previously poked fun at several American institutions on the show and they thought it would be interesting to poke fun at a whole nation.[6] They designed Australia and the Australian people very inaccurately and many things were completely made up for fun.[4] The animators, however, got two Australian tourist guides to help them out with the design of the Australian landscape and buildings, as well as the US Embassy.[6] The writers did research on the Coriolis effect for this episode.[4] Lisa's explanation of the effect is incorrect; it affects global weather patterns and is caused by the spinning of the globe on its axis. The distances involved when a toilet or sink drains are much too small to be affected by it.[7]
In 1999, Fox Studios Australia in Sydney used a different version of 'Bart vs. Australia' as part of their The Simpsons attraction, called The Simpsons Down Under. They had contacted the Simpsons writing staff and asked if they would write the screenplay for a ride in their attraction, based on this episode.[6] The episode was re-edited and re-animated for the ride and new scenes were included.[6] The attraction featured motion capture technology, allowing audience members' faces and expressions to be transformed into moving cartoon characters.[8][9]
Cultural references[edit]
The bullfrogs taking over Australia in the episode and destroying all the crops is a reference to the cane toad that became a pest in Australia.
The plot of the episode is based on the story of Michael Fay, an American teenager who was caned in Singapore in 1994 for vandalizing cars.[4][10] This episode perpetuated a popular myth that the Coriolis effect affects the motion of drains in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.[6] In reality, the Coriolis effect affects global weather patterns. The amount of water in a toilet or sink is much too small to be affected by it.[11]
During the scene in which Bart calls various locations in the Southern Hemisphere, he calls a car phone belonging to a man who appears to be an elderly version of Adolf Hitler alive in Buenos Aires, referencing the popular conspiracy theory that Hitler faked his deathand fled to Argentina after the end of World War II.
When Bart is talking to the boy's father on the phone, he says, 'Hey! I think I hear a dingo eating your baby!', referencing the case of Azaria Chamberlain, a ten-week-old baby who was killed by dingoes.[12] The bullfrogs taking over Australia and destroying all the crops is a reference to the cane toad, originally introduced to Australia in order to protect sugar canes from the cane beetle, but became a pest in the country.[4]
When the Simpson family go to an Australian pub, Bart plays with a pocketknife at the table and a man asks him, 'You call that a knife?', and as the man draws a spoon from his pocket he says, 'This is a knife.' The scene is a reference to a famous scene from Crocodile Dundee, in which Mick Dundee is threatened by some thugs with a switchblade, and Mick takes out a bowie knife and says; 'That's not a knife; that's a knife!'[6] The Simpson family is shown a slide show by the US Department of State depicting a boarded up cinema with a marquee reading 'Yahoo Serious Festival', in reference to the Australian actor and director Yahoo Serious.[1][13] Wez, one of the characters from the 1981 film Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, is seen in the Australian mob that chases Bart and Homer to the US Embassy.[14]
The scene where the Simpsons family and the embassy staff get evacuated via helicopter is a reference to the helicopter evacuation of the U.S. Embassy to South Vietnam during the Fall of Saigon, with one shot referencing Hubert van Es's famous photograph of USAID and CIA employees being evacuated by an Air AmericaHuey helicopter from 22 Gia Long Street.
Reception[edit]
In its original broadcast, 'Bart vs. Australia' finished 56th in the ratings for the week of February 13–19, 1995, with a Nielsen rating of 9.1.[15] It was the fourth highest rated show on Fox that week.[15] The episode has since become study material for sociology courses at the University of California, where it is used to 'examine issues of the production and reception of cultural objects, in this case, a satirical cartoon show', and to figure out what it is 'trying to tell audiences about aspects primarily of American society, and, to a lesser extent, about other societies'.[16]
Since airing, the episode has received positive reviews from fans and television critics.
In a DVD review of the sixth season, Ryan Keefer said 'all the Australian jabs you expect to have here are present. Bart's international incident is hilarious, from top to bottom. The phone calls he makes to other countries (particularly Buenos Aires) are fantastic. This is one of the more under appreciated episodes in the series' run.'[17]
Vanity Fair named it the second best episode of The Simpsons in 2007.[18]
'Bart vs. Australia' was also nominated for an Emmy Award in 1995 in the category 'Outstanding Individual Achievement in Sound Mixing for a Comedy Series or a Special'.[19]
Reaction in Australia[edit]
The episode received a mixed reception in Australia, with some Australian fans saying the episode was a mockery of their country. Shortly after it had aired, the Simpsons staff received over 100 letters from Australians who were insulted by the episode.[6] They also received letters from people complaining about the Australian accents used in the episode that 'sounded more like South African accents'.[5]The Simpsons writer and producer Mike Reiss claimed that this episode is Australia's least favorite, and that 'whenever we have the Simpsons visit another country, that country gets furious, including Australia'. He claimed that they were 'condemned in the Australian Parliament after the episode had aired'.[20]
The Newcastle Herald's James Joyce said he was shocked when he first saw the episode: 'Who are the Americans trying to kid here? I agree Australia has its faults, as does any other country. But laughing in our face about it, then mocking our heritage was definitely not called for. It embarrassed and degraded our country as well as making us look like total idiots'.[13] Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, the authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, advised that the episode is 'best if watched with Australians who will be, perhaps understandably, aggrieved at their portrayal. After the attack on the French, this is a vicious, unkind, offensive and wonderfully amusing slaughter of Australian culture by the makers of The Simpsons.'[1]
David Mirkin, who produced the episode, responded to the criticism in an interview with The Newcastle Herald by saying: 'We like to have the Simpsons, the entire family, travel and this was the beginning of that. Australia was a fantastic choice because it has lots of quirky visual things. And it's a country that is really very close to America, very in sync with America. We are so similar but yet there are all these fantastic differences, familiar yet twisted. It was intentional to make it very inaccurate. That was our evil side coming out: We'll take our knowledge of Australia and we'll twist it around to stimulate an audience and annoy them at the same time.'[13] Despite being criticized for mocking the country, the episode received positive reviews from Australians, too. Jim Schembri of the Australian newspaper The Age named it the funniest episode ever.[21]
In the episode, Tobias' father refers to Australian dollars as 'dollarydoos', leading to a petition on change.org to change the name of the Australian currency to dollarydoos. The petition claims that the name change will stimulate the struggling Australian economy. When the petition had closed, it had received 69,574 signatures.[22]
References[edit]
- ^ abcMartyn, Warren; Wood, Adrian (2000). 'Bart vs. Australia'. BBC. Retrieved September 12, 2008.
- ^Richmond & Coffman 1997, p. 167.
- ^'Bart vs. Australia'. The Simpsons.com. Retrieved September 18, 2011.
- ^ abcdeMirkin, David (2005). The Simpsons season 6 DVD commentary for the episode 'Bart vs. Australia' (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
- ^ abWeinstein, Josh (2005). The Simpsons season 6 DVD commentary for the episode 'Bart vs. Australia' (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
- ^ abcdefgOakley, Bill (2005). The Simpsons season 6 DVD commentary for the episode 'Bart vs. Australia' (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
- ^Turner 2004, p. 331.
- ^Emmons, Natasha (November 1, 1999). '$261 Million Fox Studios Australia To Open Nov. 7'. All Business. Archived from the original on February 15, 2009. Retrieved October 5, 2008.
- ^Innes, Stuart (November 6, 1999). 'Lights, camera, ACTION'. The Advertiser. pp. M25.
- ^Tseng, Douglas (July 25, 2007). 'D'oh Spinner — A movie, eh? Mmmm, 18 years after The Simpsons wooed TV viewers — oh those chalkboard gags, couch gags and wicked one-liners — they are finally terrorising the big screen'. The Straits Times.
- ^Michel, Roger; Beth Teitell (April 28, 1996). 'Toilet Flush Goes with Flow the World Over'. The Boston Herald. p. 78.
- ^Alberti, John (2004). 'Ethnic Stereotyping'. Leaving Springfield: The Simpsons and the Possibility of Oppositional Culture. Wayne State University Press. p. 280. ISBN0-8143-2849-0. Retrieved October 25, 2008.
- ^ abcJames, Joyce (November 5, 2005). 'Cutting edge — feature'. The Newcastle Herald. p. 8.
- ^Sloane, Robert (2004). 'Duncan Stuart Beard'. In John Alberti (ed.). Leaving Springfield: The Simpsons and the Possibility of Oppositional Culture. Wayne State University Press. p. 280. ISBN0-8143-2849-0.
- ^ ab'NBC Stays Hot, Leads Sweeps Race'. The Associated Press. February 25, 1995. p. 10D. Retrieved on October 3, 2008.
- ^Thomas B. Gold (2008). 'The Simpsons Global Mirror'(PDF). University of California Berkeley. Archived from the original(PDF) on April 7, 2009. Retrieved July 18, 2011.
- ^Keefer, Ryan (August 29, 2005). 'DVD Verdict Review — The Simpsons: The Complete Sixth Season'. DVD Verdict. Archived from the original on December 25, 2008. Retrieved September 26, 2008.
- ^Orvted, John (July 5, 2007). 'Springfield's Best'. Vanity Fair. Retrieved July 13, 2007.
- ^'Academy of Television Arts & Sciences'. emmys.org. Archived from the original on October 14, 2008. Retrieved October 10, 2008.
- ^'Simpsons' secret is eternal youth'. The Age. February 27, 2007. Retrieved March 7, 2007.
- ^Schembri, Jim (July 26, 2007). 'What a difference a D'oh! makes'. The Age. p. 15.
- ^Iyengar, Rishi (October 16, 2015). 'A Petition Wants to Call Australia's Currency 'Dollarydoos''. Time. Time. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
- Bibliography
- Groening, Matt (1997). Richmond, Ray; Coffman, Antonia (eds.). The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family (1st ed.). New York: HarperPerennial. ISBN978-0-06-095252-5. LCCN98141857. OCLC37796735. OL433519M.
- Turner, Chris (2004). Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation. Foreword by Douglas Coupland. (1st ed.). Toronto: Random House Canada. ISBN978-0-679-31318-2. OCLC55682258.
External links[edit]
The Simpsons Wrestling Homer Vs Bart Fight
Wikiquote has quotations related to: Bart vs. Australia |
- 'Bart vs. Australia' at The Simpsons.com
- 'Bart vs. Australia episode capsule'. The Simpsons Archive.
- 'Bart vs. Australia' on IMDb
- 'Bart vs. Australia' at TV.com
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bart_vs._Australia&oldid=947017404'
(Redirected from Bart vs the World)
The Simpsons: Bart vs. the World | |
---|---|
Developer(s) | Imagineering (NES) Arc Developments (other ports) |
Publisher(s) | Acclaim Entertainment][a] Virgin Interactive Entertainment (Amiga, Atari ST) |
Designer(s) | Dan Kitchen Roger Booth Barry Marx |
Programmer(s) | David Crane Garry Kitchen Shen Jian Long Chung S. Lau Mark Morris Henry C. Will IV |
Artist(s) | Jesse Kapili |
Composer(s) | Mark Van Hecke (NES) Andi McGinty (Amiga, Atari ST, Master System, Game Gear) |
Platform(s) | Amiga, Atari ST, Game Gear, NES, Master System |
Release | 1991, 1993 |
Genre(s) | Action, platform |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
The Simpsons: Bart vs. the World is a side-scrollingplatform game based on the Simpsons franchise and features many aspects from the television series. It was released in 1991 for the Nintendo Entertainment System, and in 1993 for Amiga, Atari ST, Game Gear and Sega Master System. In the game, the player controls Bart as he travels around the world on a scavenger hunt while facing against Mr. Burns' family and agents. The game has received mixed reviews from critics.
Plot[edit]
The game is based on the animated television series The Simpsons.[1] On the Krusty the Clown Show, Bart Simpson wins the opportunity to participate in a Round-the-Worldscavenger hunt. However, the contest has been rigged by Mr. Burns' assistant, Smithers, in order for Burns to rid himself of the Simpson family for all the trouble they have caused him over the years. Burns sends his agents and fellow family members to take care of the Simpsons during the scavenger hunt. Bart travels through various real-world locations collecting items, with occasional cameos from the other Simpsons family members.[2][3]
Gameplay[edit]
The Simpsons Wrestling Homer Vs Bart Station
The Simpsons: Bart vs. the World is a 2D side-scrollingplatform game.[4][5]Single-player is the only mode available.[6] There are four major areas in the game: China, the North Pole, Egypt and Hollywood, and each has several stages to play through. The final stage of each area pits Bart against a boss — all of which are members of the Burns clan: third cousin Fu Manchu Burns, second cousin's grand-nephew The Abominable Snow Burns, maternal grand-uncle Ramses Burns and unspecified relation Eric von Burns.[3][7]
In each stage, Bart must navigate through the area, collecting items such as firecracker balls for self-defense and Squishees to restore health (Bart can take up to five hits before dying). By grabbing a cape, Bart can become his superheroic alter-ego, Bartman, and fly for limited periods. The most important items in each stage are Krusty-brand souvenirs. There is one in every stage, and Bart must find them all in order to get the best ending (as well as unlocking a bonus Hollywood level).[3][7][8] The other Simpsons also appear to give hints on where the souvenirs are.[3][7] There are also several mini-games in each area, with puzzles such as a matching-card game and a trivia game based on events in actual episodes (from the first two seasons only).[1][3]
Development[edit]
The game was first developed by Imagineering and published by Acclaim in 1991 for the home console Nintendo Entertainment System (NES).[4][9] It was the second The Simpsons game to be released for the NES, after Bart vs. the Space Mutants.[5] In 1993, Bart vs. the World was released for the home console Sega Master System (SMS), the personal computers Atari ST and Amiga, and the handheld console Game Gear (GG).[9] The publishers for these versions were Flying Edge (SMS and GG),[10][11]Virgin Games (Amiga),[12] and Acclaim (ST).[13] The developers were Arc Developments (GG and ST) and Virgin Games (Amiga).[11][12][13] The NES version of the game includes the theme song from The Simpsons.[1]
Reception[edit]
Reception | ||||||
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Reviews of Bart vs. the World have been mixed. GamePro gave the NES version an 80/100 rating, commenting that 'after running him through the rigors of a zany-but-strenuous Nintendo workout, the conclusion of this review became obvious: if ya loved Bart in Bart vs. the Space Mutants, you're gonna like him in Bart vs. the World. Despite a few shortcomings here and there, Bart's new cart is a world-beater!'[14]Tribune Media Services also gave it a positive review, writing that 'the storyline is great, the graphics, as Bart would say, are 'cool, man', and the action and control are terrific. This version of The Simpsons is a lot more complex than the first — not harder, there's just more to it.'[3]
AllGame's Brett Alan Weiss was more negative, giving the NES version 2.5/5 stars. He wrote that 'most of the puzzles [...] are childish and boring. Even younger kids will get tired with these silly little games after a while. [...] The Simpsons trivia is kind of cool; you'll find yourself remembering fondly several of the earlier episodes. However, the questions begin repeating themselves a little sooner than they should.' He added that 'once you are through toying around with the puzzles, you'll find that the meat of the game is lame as well. The level design is far from clever, the controls are sluggish, and the action is dull.'[1] A review in the Italian newspaper La Repubblica said the game was 'very playable, though not particularly original.'[15]
The Simpsons Wrestling Homer Vs Bart Simpson
The Dutch magazine Power Unlimited rated the Game Gear version 70/100, noting that it 'consists partly of boring platform worlds' that are 'not really worth the effort'. They added, however, that 'fortunately, there are also some simple puzzle games that are fun' and keep the game above mediocrity.[14] A Game Players review gave the Game Gear version a 62/100 rating. The magazine wrote that 'the twisted humor of other Simpsons games isn't there and the action segments could be from any game. Ignore it for home, but pack it for the beach.'[14]
In 2009, 1UP.com editor Bob Mackey reviewed the NES game in 1UP.com's official Retro Gaming Blog. He wrote that it had the same problems that Bart vs. the Space Mutants had, such as 'lousy jumping physics', and that it 'also manages to strip away the novelty that made the original Simpsons NES game worth checking out in the first place. The sequel is a straight-up, cookie-cutter platformer without any real Simpson-y touches to satisfy fans of the show; Bart finds himself wandering through generic side-scrolling levels, with a Simpsons character showing up every now and then to remind you that this is an actual licensed product and not just a ROM hack.'[5]
Entertainment Weekly gave the game a B and wrote that 'A nice multicultural touch — at one point in this travel-action game, Bart skateboards down China's Great Wall — puts this a notch above Acclaim's other Simpsons games, if not up to the standards of the irrepressibly subversive TV show.'[16]
References[edit]
- ^ abcdeWeiss, Brett Alan. 'The Simpsons: Bart vs. The World - Review'. AllGame. Archived from the original on November 16, 2014. Retrieved June 21, 2015.
- ^Imagineering (1991). The Simpsons: Bart vs. the World. NES. Acclaim.
- ^ abcdefCarter, Jonathan; Carter, Chip (1991-12-05). 'You can have fun with Simpsons, Toe Jam & Earl'. The News. Tribune Media Services. Retrieved 2011-08-04.
- ^ ab'The Simpsons: Bart vs. the World (NES)'. GameSpot. Retrieved 2011-08-04.
- ^ abcMackey, Bob (2009-05-31). 'Retro Revival Retrospective: The Simpsons Part 7'. Retro Gaming Blog. 1UP.com. Retrieved 2011-08-04.
- ^'Bart vs. the World NES'. IGN. Retrieved 2011-08-04.
- ^ abcSandler, Corey (1992). Ultimate Unauthorized Nintendo Classic Game Strategies. Random House Information Group. ISBN978-0-553-56124-1. Retrieved 2011-08-04.
- ^Video game manual for The Simpsons: Bart vs. the World. 1991.
- ^ ab'Search results for 'Bart vs the World'. GameSpot. Retrieved 2011-08-04.
- ^'The Simpsons: Bart vs. the World Tech Info (SMS)'. GameSpot. Retrieved 2011-08-04.
- ^ ab'The Simpsons: Bart vs. the World Tech Info (GG)'. GameSpot. Retrieved 2011-08-04.
- ^ ab'The Simpsons: Bart vs. the World Tech Info (Amiga)'. GameSpot. Retrieved 2011-08-04.
- ^ ab'The Simpsons: Bart vs. the World Tech Info (ST)'. GameSpot. Retrieved 2011-08-04.
- ^ abc'The Simpsons: Bart vs. the World'. MobyGames. Retrieved 2011-08-04.
- ^'Il mondo (interattivo) secondo Bart Simpson'. La Repubblica (in Italian). 1998-03-21. Retrieved 2011-08-04.
- ^'The latest video games'. EW.com.
- ^Released under the Flying Edge brand name on Sega systems.
External links[edit]
- The Simpsons: Bart vs. the World at MobyGames
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Simpsons:_Bart_vs._the_World&oldid=940132625'