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"Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy" |
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| “ | I'd be mortified if someone ever made a lousy product with the Simpson name on it. | „ |
| ~ Lisa Simpson |
"Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy" is the fourteenth episode of Season 5.
Synopsis[]
Lisa challenges the makers of the Malibu Stacy doll to create a less sexist and pro-feminist doll. When they won't listen, Lisa enlists the help of Mr. Smithers to find the original creator of Malibu Stacy, Stacy Lovell. Together Lisa and Miss Lovell create Lisa Lionheart in an effort to positively influence young girls.
Full Story[]
The episode begins at the Grand Opening for the Center for Geriatric Medicine where Dr. Hibbert introduces a frail Ben Matlock to a crowd of excited seniors. But after seeing his idol mobbed to the ground by fans (with Jasper taking his heart medication, leading to Matlock getting rushed to the hospital), Abe becomes aware, perhaps fearful, of his future death and gives the family their inheritances early: To Lisa he leaves his lifetime collection of correspondence (one of which is a telegraph from Boris Karloff telling Grampa to stop harassing him via mail or he'll sue him) while he leaves to Homer and his family a box of old silver dollars. The family leaves to spend them at the mall right away.
At the mall, Lisa sees a number of girls mobbing a Malibu Stacy display in a toy store. She warns Marge that she may get a little crazy, then rushes the display, shoving aside everyone in her path. A few moments later, a stockboy begins putting out the new Talking Malibu Stacy doll, and the mob shifts its attention to the new toy.
Throughout the trip, Abe won't stop telling stories and spouting useless advice, and getting shunned by the family. He appeals to Homer for help, and while on the couch he sees an ad for Buzz Cola with dancing, scantily-clad seniors on a beach, inspiring him. Then he plans to drink the Buzz Cola Homer is drinking, but upon the drink touching his mouth, it burns his tongue and desperately tries to get some water.
Lisa is anxious to hear what Talking Malibu Stacy has to say, but is disappointed when it's all stereotypically feminine (and slightly sexist) phrases. Bart applauds the doll for it, but Lisa counters with a tirade about how toys like Talking Malibu Stacy are teaching girls that women are nothing more than shallow, vacuous ninnies who only care about their appearance and landing a rich husband. Lisa angrily hurls the doll out the window, which get caught in the spokes of the bicycle Grampa is riding in an attempt to be young. Grampa goes flying into an open grave.
Lisa is furious that no one else, even her friends and family, can see how damaging the doll is to young girls and how someone needs to step in and stop it. Marge, while proud of Lisa for speaking her mind, complains that Lisa has been standing up to injustices too much lately (one instance had Bart end up on the front page of a newspaper at a gay rights parade and Homer bemoans the fact that the family can't watch the FOX network because they own chemical weapon plants in Syria). Lisa is disgusted that her family doesn't have her back and would allow her to grow up in a world where someone like Malibu Stacy is considered a good role model to young girls. Marge assures Lisa that she had a Malibu Stacy doll as a kid and she wasn't affected by the doll's morals and messages (until Lisa pulls the string on the doll, which parrots Marge's line, "Now let's forget our troubles with a big bowl of strawberry ice cream"). Lisa calls the company to complain, and, after getting some resistance from Marge who wishes she wouldn't complain so much (because the last time Lisa went on a factory tour to complain in person, she threw red paint at the executives in charge of Keebler), she signs up for the factory tour. There she sees assembly lines with miserable workers and a video detailing the doll's history (including how Waylon Smithers has the biggest collection of Malibu Stacy dolls), as well as the sexist inner workings of the company.
Lisa and Grampa sit at the kitchen table, bemoaning how they are treated because of their age. In walks Homer, saying how glad he is to be a white male, aged 18–49 (everyone listens to him, no matter how stupid the ideas). Grampa plans to get a job, and Lisa chooses to find Malibu Stacy's creator.
Lisa visits Smithers, owner of the world's biggest Malibu Stacy collection and asks for help in finding Stacy Lovelle, the doll's creator. She bikes to Stacy Lovell's house (built exactly like Malibu Stacey's dream house), she says she wants Ms. Lovell to hear what Stacy is telling a generation of young girls and plays the doll's phrases over the intercom... the gate immediately opens.
Lisa and Stacy Lovell agree to create a new talking doll, Lisa Lionheart, voiced by Lisa herself and complete with her own encouraging phrases. The doll is quietly released, and even Kent Brockman (at the request of his daughter), spends his entire newscast talking about the doll, ignoring breaking news that the President was arrested for murder. However, the creators of Malibu Stacy view Lisa's doll as a real threat, and plan to sink Lisa Lionheart.
In the meantime, Grampa struggles at Krusty Burger, suffering a war flashback at the drive-in and losing his false teeth while making burgers. He soon gets complaints from his fellow seniors and then Grampa realizes that God makes them old for one reason: complaining about young people. He then quits and gets carried off by his fellow geriatrics before they crumble to the floor.
On the day the doll is officially released, numerous young girls (and Smithers) rush into the toy store at the Springfield Mall to buy Lisa Lionheart. As Lisa and Stacy watch, a cart of "new" Malibu Stacy dolls is wheeled right into the path of the group running for the Lisa display. Lisa appeals to them that it's just the same doll with a cheap new hat, but they all prefer to stick with Malibu Stacy (largely due to a phrase from Smithers, "but she's got a new hat!")... except for one little girl, who leaves with a Lisa Lionheart doll. Lisa remarks that even though they didn't sell out of the dolls, if the doll makes one little girl happy, it'll all be worth it. Stacy agrees, and mutters under her breath, 'as long as that girl spends $46,000 on that doll.' The episode ends with Homer, back on the floor keyboard that he broke earlier in the episode, playing The Simpsons theme on the floor keyboard and breaking it again as store security restrains him.