Blame it on Lisa/References

Censorship

 * Rio de Janeiro protested against this episode and its portrayal of Brazil and the city. After James L. Brooks' apology, the city also said that no city was so much satirized as Rio in The Simpsons. The episode itself was banned from airing after being shown three times and it would take years before the episode would ever air again (including putting the episode out on DVD).

Cultural references

 * The blond host of the risque children's variety show Bart calls "Teleboobies" (a play on Teletubbies) is a reference to Brazilian entertainer Xuxa. Xuxa is referenced in another episode (Marge Be Not Proud) wherein "Xoxchitla" stars in a Krusty the Clown special.
 * A sign seen on top of an all-you-can-eat meat-on-a-sword restaurant, called Churrascaria ("steak house") in Portuguese, mistakenly uses the plural, Churrascarias.
 * On the airplane Bart studies Spanish so he can understand the local people. Marge informs him that Brazilians speak Portugese. Brazil is indeed the only non-Spanish speaking country in Latin America.
 * The sign Aeroporto International de Galeão is a misspelled reference to Rio's international airport, Galeão—Antônio Carlos Jobim International Airport (also known as Aeroporto Internacional do Galeão).
 * The Simpsons go to their hotel while they join a conga dance. This is not a popular dance in Brazil.
 * Homer and Bart sing the Chiquita Banana song, butchering the lyrics with "I'm Chiquita Banana, and I'm here to say, I will eat this Toblerone and I will not pay!".
 * The title "Blame It on Lisa" is a reference to the movie Blame It on Rio.
 * The Itchy and Scratchy cartoon that opens the show has a parody of A Trip to the Moon.
 * After Itchy drives Scratchy's head into the moon, he drops several dollar bills onto Scratchy's carcass, referencing Rodney Dangerfield's character in Caddyshack.
 * Marge mentions the people here in Brazil "love soccer", whereupon the hotel personnel plays soccer with luggage. Soccer is very popular in Brazil. Pelé, the internationally most famous soccer player, is Brazilian.
 * At one point Homer says "Don't you know the boys from Brazil are little Hitlers? I saw it in a movie whose name I can't remember", although ironically, he says the title of the movie in that line. This is a reference to the film The Boys From Brazil, which revolves around Josef Mengele raising clones of Adolf Hitler. Homer also forgot a film title despite accidentally saying it in The Springfield Files.
 * The book Lisa is reading on the plane, titled Who Wants to Be a Brazilionaire?, is a reference to the game show Who Wants to be a Millionaire?.
 * When the kidnappers and Homer are riding down the Amazon River, the theme song from Miami Vice plays.
 * The song playing just as Homer and Bart are strolling down the beach is the 1939 tune Aquarela do Brasil (usually just known as "Brazil" around the world), previously featured prominently in the film Brazil.
 * Homer's swimming pants who shrink to a shorter size are a reference to the world famous Brazilian "bikini bottoms".
 * When Lisa mentions the slums have been painted so that the tourists are not offended a stream of multicoloured rats run out in front of them. Homer claims they look like Skittles.
 * Homer believing that nuns can fly comes from The Flying Nun.
 * The family on a lift in Brazil is possibly a reference to Moonraker.
 * Rolando mentions that he makes as much money as Malcolm in the Middle.
 * The scene with cableway is a parody on the popular scene from the movie Moonraker, where James Bond fights his assassin Jaws.