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Brick Like Me |
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Trivia[]
- When Homer realizes that he can't live in a fantasy, he recalls the activities he will never be able to do if nothing ever changes. This is ironic, however, because since they are on a floating timeline, nothing will change either way.
- This is the only episode of Season 25, and one of the very few episodes overall that does not have neither the Chalkboard Gag nor the Couch Gag in the Opening Sequence. This is because the writers wanted to get into the episode's story as soon as possible.
- The episode may have either been in celebration of the new Simpsons line of Lego (which was itself a celebration of The Simpsons' 25th anniversary), a parody of The LEGO Movie, or to celebrate the 550th episode.
- The overall plotline of this episode is a parody of The LEGO Movie, released just three months prior. This is confirmed when Lisa makes a meta-reference saying that it has been done before. Emmet and Wyldstyle from The LEGO Movie are then shown in the background. There are also two other references to the movie (listed in #References).
- Coincidentally, Milhouse appears in The LEGO Movie as a Master Builder.
- The episode is also similar to the 2013 spin-off of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, My Little Pony: Equestria Girls.
- Outside of the LEGO universe, Bart and Maggie do not appear throughout the entire episode. This would be the first episode without Bart since Four Great Women and a Manicure and Maggie's fourth absence, with the first three being Bart to the Future, Stealing First Base, and Flaming Moe.
- This is the second time Marge has hurt Homer's feelings in the theater; the first time being Colonel Homer.
- The Simpsons would later be revisited in LEGO form in the 2015 toys-to-life video game LEGO Dimensions, both in an original story exclusive to the game and as an adaptation of the Season 8 episode "El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer (The Mysterious Voyage of Homer)".
References[]
- The title is a reference to the novel, Black Like Me.
- Grampa is seen on the picture above Homer's bed.
- Krusty and Scratchy figures are seen on the shelf in the Android's Dungeon, as well as a poster of Radioactive Fig (a parody of Radioactive Man) and multiple books and films by Philip K. Brick (a play on Philip K. Dick) including Do Minifigures Dream of Plastic Sheep? (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?), Block Runner (Blade Runner), A Scanner Brickly (A Scanner Darkly), Sort My Pieces, the Policefig Said (Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said), Ubrick (Ubik), and Beyond Lies the Stub (Beyond Lies the Wub).
- There is a secondary plotline homage/parody that encompasses this episode as indicated by another book on the shelf which is The Three Brickmata of Palmer Elbrick (The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch). In this episode, Homer is similarly transported to an alternate reality (like in the said novel) by touching the box of "Perky Patty's Princess Shop". This is the main theme that runs through almost all of Philip K. Dick's science fiction; What is Reality and How Do We Know?
- Fictional Homer awakens one day as his normal (LEGO) self, only to stumble into another dimension that (we) the viewers recognize as his normal cartoon self, which of course is not real. This paradoxical and funny situation is typical of Philip K. Dick's writing and was the inspiration for The Simpsons writers. When Jeffery Albertson points to the sign on his wall, it reads, NO OUTSIDE REALITIES.
- There is a giant minifigure of Lard Lad.
- Bleeding Gums Murphy is seen on the picture in Lisa's bedroom.
- Maggie is a Duplo figure instead of a regular Lego figure (Lego produced the first official baby minifigure in 2016, two years after this episode). Due to Duplos being larger than regular LEGO minifigures, she is larger than the rest of the family.
- The Survival Games, the books and the characters are a parody of The Hunger Games:
- Braving Courage is a parody of Catching Fire.
- Destiny Daring is a parody of Mockingjay.
- Keendah Wildwill is a parody of Katniss Everdeen.
- Jason is likely a parody of Peeta Mellark.
- Joshua is likely a parody of Gale Hawthorne.
- The Struggle Dome is a parody of the Arena.
- Jeffery Albertson turning his face from good to bad is a reference to The LEGO Movie where the character Bad Cop/Good Cop can switch his face between either good or evil emotions. It is also a reference to the two-sided heads in many LEGO minifigures.
- The scene where Homer touches the castle box and has the visions is a reference to when Emmet touched the piece of resistance in The LEGO Movie.
- The duck seen on the stained glass of the LEGO First Church of Springfield is LEGO's wooden duck released in 1935, the first toy ever released by the company.
- The ninjas were the same as the ninja from the LEGO Minifigures Series 1.
- In the First Church of Springfield, an orange Brick remover is shown in the background as a cross.
- The closing shot that zooms out to the universe on a map is a reference to the movie Time Bandits.
- Lisa's Sparkly Unicorn is likely a reference to Twilight Sparkle from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, who also share the same coat color.
- My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is referenced when Jeffery Albertson thinks that Homer is an AMFOP (Adult Male Fan of Princesses) which is a reference to the fans of My Little Pony called "Bronies" and is perhaps a reference to AFOL's (Adult Fans of Lego).
- When encountering Jeffery Albertson, Bart says "You're going back from where you came... Denmark.", referencing the fact that LEGO is produced in Denmark.
- The Gracie Films logo has Marge's shushing instead of the Shush Lady.
- Homer's lines, "Kiss my flat plastic butt" is possibly a reference to Bender's catchphrase in Futurama: "Bite my shiny metal ass".
- Everyone in the Simpson family are seen both in LEGO form (in the LEGO segments) and in the regular form (seen outside of the LEGO segments), except for Maggie and Bart, who are only seen in Lego form.
- The heads of the characters in this episode resemble the standard Lego minifigure head, but the real Simpsons Lego minifigures have specifically made head sculpts.
- It’s Unknown what happened to Bart after his invention Collapsed as he is not seen escaping the Debris, he might’ve been buried in the debris and suffocated
Goofs[]
- In this episode, Lisa claims that she had never hung out with older kids. However, she previously did in Little Girl in the Big Ten, it's possible this may happen right before
- When Lisa constructs her "Perky Patty's Princess Shop", the walls go diagonally. No LEGO blocks go that way.
- While Bart is reconstructing the twelve schools, there is a pink house behind him that changes in distance and appears on the other side of the road. This changes and then disappears when all twelve schools are completely rebuilt.
- When Nelson is in pieces, he is seen with his normal legs, but when Skinner reassembles him, his legs are short.
Characters seen in the Advent Calendar[]
- December 1st - Ned Flanders
- December 2nd - Mr. Burns
- December 3rd - Moe Szyslak
- December 4th - Rod Flanders
- December 5th - Seymour Skinner
- December 6th - Krusty the Clown
- December 7th - Reverend Lovejoy
- December 8th - Milhouse Van Houten
- December 9th - Sherri/Terri
- December 10th - Lenny Leonard
- December 11th - Carl Carlson
- December 12th - Chief Wiggum
- December 13th - Mr. Teeny
- December 14th - Mr. Costington
- December 15th - Nelson Muntz
- December 16th - Lunchlady Doris
- December 17th - Waylon Smithers, Jr.
- December 18th - Apu Nahasapeemapetilon
- December 19th - Groundskeeper Willie
- December 20th - Abraham Simpson II
- December 21st - Homer Simpson
- December 22nd - Lisa Simpson
- December 23rd - Bart Simpson
- December 24th - Marge Simpson
- December 25th - Maggie Simpson