Walking Big & Tall/References

Episode	References	Gags	Appearances	Gallery	Quotes	Credits

◄ The Musk Who Fell to Earth

Walking Big & Tall

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Trivia

• Bart briefly mentions about when he wrote a song with "Michael Jackson" (Leon Kompowsky) known as "Happy Birthday, Lisa" from "Stark Raving Dad". He also asks why Marge and Homer let him share a room with a crazy guy (whether it's a joke on Michael Jackson's alleged pedophilia or the fact that Leon Kompowsky was actually mentally ill and should not have been around children isn't known).
• Although Bart struggled to and gave up on learning to play the guitar in The Otto Show, he is shown playing one onstage for the new anthem, proving that he gave it another chance.
• It is revealed that Hans Moleman was the mayor of Springfield 30 years earlier. However, in "Duffless", he says that he's 31.
• "Not Trending" hashtags in the cellphone during the anthem presentation are:
  • #SpringfieldPride (mentioned in the song)
  • #C-Batteries
  • #OriginsofThePaperclip
  • #TrustFoxNews
  • #DateNightAtMoes
  • #BringBackLeno
  • #KrustyNudePix
  • #YogalsJustStretching
  • #TappedOutWorkingPerfectly

• In the flashback, Principal Skinner as a little boy is wearing in his sailor's suit. Principal Skinner had said in one-side conversation with his mother (who is not there), "Mother that sailor suit doesn't fit anymore!" in "Brother from the Same Planet".
• The other towns that had Springfield's same anthem are:
  • Tuscaloosa, Alabama
  • Austin, Texas
  • Oakland, California
  • Calgary, Alberta in Canada
  • Provo, Utah
  • Ulan Bator (now Ulaanbaatar), capital of Mongolia
  • Area 51 facility, Nevada
• This episode (along with "Boy Meets Curl") states that the ninth season episode, "The Principal and the Pauper" is considered non-canon as what Matt Groening said when he stated that episode was his least favourite in a DVD commentary.
• It is revealed that in the flashback, Moe's father wasn't the Yeti at all. He was a regular human who is Moe's real father. The Yeti being Moe's father is inconsistent with this episode.
• In this episode Springfield's anthem is different from The Simpsons Movie.
• Albert’s last words he said before dying were: “That’s right! I don’t need this scooter! All of you, follow me to the future!”

Cultural References

• The title of the episode is a possible reference to the 1973 American action Buford Pusser semi-biopic film Walking Tall.
• Multiple cities using the same song with slightly different lyrics may be a reference to the "Hello..." song created for local television stations by Frank Gari.
• One of the posters at Big is Beautiful is a chopped up snake with the words "Put bread on me" written on it. This references the Gadsden flag, a.k.a. "Don't Tread on Me" flag, during the Revolutionary War that featured a snake cut up into 13 pieces.
• The episode's plot could be based on fat acceptance groups who encourage pride in being overweight. Homer's quote about not buying into the lies taught by "big nutrition" is a reference to claims by groups like that that the diet industry forces others to conform to their standards of beauty. Albert saying that they don't use the word fat is a reference that groups like that choose not be called fat but other synonyms instead.
• The list of names Homer doesn't wish to be called anymore are:
  • chubby
  • chunky
  • blobbo
  • slobbo
  • Fat Bastard
  • Michelin Man
  • Stay Puft
  • Chumbawumba
  • It is Balloon!
  • Papa Grande
  • Augustus Gloop
  • beached whale
  • big boned
  • Wisconsin Skinny
  • butterball
  • dump truck
  • jelly belly
  • pudgy wudgy
  • lard ass
  • blubberino
  • Buddha belly
  • Hurry eat Tubman
  • one ton soup
  • Blob Saget
  • Chub hub
  • Calvin Cool whip
  • Manfred Mannboobs
  • 21 Lump Street
  • Walking 'Before' Picture
  • fatso
  • Harvey Milk Chocolate
  • Obese Want Cannoli
  • Mahatma Gumbo
  • Salvador Deli
  • Elmer Pantry
  • KFC and the Sponge Cake Band
  • Snackie Oneassis
  • The Foody Blues
  • Hoagie Carmichael
  • wide load
• Several references in the names are to Austin Powers, Michelin Man, Ghostbusters, Chumba Wumba, Papa Grande, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Buddha, Harriet Tubman, Bob Saget, Calvin Coolidge, Manfred Mann, 21 Jump Street, Harvey Milk, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Mahatma Ghandi, Salvador Dali, KFC, KC and the Sunshine Band, Jackie Onassis, and the Moody Blues.
• In the Brazilian Portuguese dub, Homer mentions Pumbaa from Disney's The Lion King franchise, Señor Barriga from the mexican sitcom El Chavo del Ocho and several common fat nicknames in Brazil during the "nicknames that Homer won't be called anymore" segment, in one of them, he mentions "Bolota" (which means "Acorn" in portuguese) who isn't just a common fat nickname in Brazil but it was also used for adaptated names for some characters in Brazil (like Bloat from Pixar's Finding Nemo), curiously, this was also Professor Pigskin's adaptated brazilian portuguese name that was used in The Bonfire of the Manatees (being called "Professor Bolota").
• The line Dr, Hibbert says: “Stick a forklift in him, he’s dead,” is a reference to the line: “Stick a fork in him, he’s done,” from the 1998 film He Got Game.
• In a future scene, Homer is seen obese and wearing his momo dress from the season 7 episode "King-Size Homer".

Goofs

• Patty and Selma appear to be close in age to Marge. In other episodes, they are around five years older than her.
• Homer's weight is very maligned in this episode as strangely, he was the only character to get stuck in the theater's seat while some fatter characters, like Chief Wiggum, didn't.
  • Also, if Homer was too wide to fit through the doors (as he was unable to escape) then how could he, or the fatter characters get into the theater?
• Marge's online scrapbook's URL and browser layout change between shots; initially, the URL displayed is "www.scrappedout.com/mar" with a small font that leaves a large space on its right, changing to "www.scrappedout.com/simpson" in the same small font when she deletes it, and finally, when she attempts to restore it, back to "www.scrappedout.com/mar" but in a sufficiently large font that further letters might be cut off by the end of the URL bar.
• There is discontinuity (some from previous episodes) between the flashback scenes at the Springfield Town Hall:
  • Manjula appears amongst the crowd when Bart and Lisa were toddlers, despite not arriving in Springfield until after the birth of Maggie.
  • Otto appears as a toddler in the flashback of 30 years ago despite being in his late twenties.
    • It could be possible he's 30 or more.
  • Ned Flanders appears as child at the same Homer and Marge when were children. However, it was revealed in "Viva Ned Flanders" he was age 60.
  • In the flashback young Krusty the Clown was shown to be growing up with his father Rabbi Hyman Krustofsky, but in "Like Father, Like Clown" he revealed that his father disowned him when he was a kid for becoming a clown against his wishes and he hadn’t seen him again until that time.
  • Carl Carlson is shown to be present as a child at the Springfield Town Hall, but in "The Saga of Carl" and "'Scuse Me While I Miss the Sky" he mentioned and shown that he grew up in Iceland.
• After Moe shows everyone a video of other city people singing the anthem, then Mr. Largo pushes his piano off the stage, but after Moe shows the rest of the clips of people singing the anthem, the piano is back on the stage fixed.
• During "Why Springfield, Why Not?", Milhouse's bowtie color changes from black to red.
• In flashback Seymour Skinner appears as a little boy but in Flanders' Ladder it is revealed he's 39 years older than Bart Simpson and thus is 49 in the present day. Thus 30 years prior to this episode Skinner would be 19.