Grift of the Magi/References

Episode	References	Gags	Appearances	Gallery	Quotes	Credits

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Grift of the Magi

Little Big Mom ►

Cultural references

• Milhouse sings "Sisters are doin' it for themselves!", a song by Aretha Franklin and the Eurythmics and covered on The Yellow Album by Lisa, Ann and Nancy Wilson and Patty and Selma.
• The toy, Funzo, is a parody of the popular Furby dolls (although the Furby dolls were mentioned in the story line as an example of a popular toy).
• Gary Coleman once worked as a security guard in real life. Coleman spoofed Arnold's (Coleman's character in Diff'rent Strokes) catchphrase, "Wha'choo talkin' 'bout, Willis?", three times.
• At the end, the narrator says Mr. Burns was visited by three ghosts in the night which showed him the error of his ways, a homage to A Christmas Carol.
• The narrator also says that Moe, in his annual suicide attempt, was shown what the world would be like without him after sticking his head in his oven. This is a reference to the 1946 film It's a Wonderful Life.
• When Bart and Lisa discovers that Funzo is programmed to destroy other toys to eliminate competition, Bart commented, "You mean, like Microsoft?", which is a reference to the corporate takeovers conducted by Microsoft in the 1990s to eliminate competition.
• This episode's title is a pun on O. Henry's short story The Gift of the Magi.
• Funzo's metallic frame maybe a reference to the endoskeleton of The Terminator.
• The part where Homer steals the Funzos is a reference to How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
• Ralph as Dr. Stupid could be a reference to Stimpy's moronic scientist alter ego from The Ren & Stimpy Show.

Trivia

• Fat Tony can hide behind a tree which is thinner than him.
• Funzo laughs almost like Nelson does. In fact, Nelson may have been an unknown co-developer for Funzo as well as the other kids.
• This was the final episode to be aired in the 1990s, meaning the last episode of the 20th century.
• If you listen very closely, you can hear christmas bells during the 20th Century Fox logo for this episode, This has also been proved by the Alternate Credits Guide.
• Looking at the setting and time of this episode, the episode starts around November, and end in December on Christmas day.
• This is the last episode to air in 1999, and by extension, the 20th century.

Goofs

• Maggie is shown with a red ribbon on her head, but after Dr. Hibbert touches Bart's butt, her red ribbon becomes blue.
• Even though Bart said he wouldn't bring a toy to school, he is shown with a Krusty doll. He clearly changed his mind.
• Lisa says that Homer is supposed to steal everyone's favorite toy to save Christmas. Instead, he steals all the Funzos. Funzo is everyone's favorite toy.