Why the MVC?In a very Bart centric episode, he was a very compelling protagonist to follow and root for. Similar to Homer in the opening episode of the series, I love when the family members have rare moments of heart and spirit that shine through their... less than perfect personalities.
Best JokeBart walks into the retirement home and asks for “Grandpa”, when a hallway full of elderly men all pop out from their rooms.
Best LineBart: “Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, contrary to what you’ve just seen, war is neither glamorous nor fun. There are no winners. Only losers. There are no good wars, with the following exceptions: The American Revolution, World War II, and the “Star Wars” trilogy. If you’d like to learn more about war, there’s lots of books in your local library- Many of them with cool, gory pictures. Well, good night, everybody. Peace, man.”
Couch Gag
What happens:There… is no couch gag? I was slightly put off by this, as the intro starts off just as it normally would. However after the iconic title card, the song fades and we just see The Simpson house as the episode starts.
Episode Synopsis
After a series of run-ins with his school bully, Bart forms an army to stop his reign of terror for good.
S01E05
I was never expecting to get another perfect rating this early in the series, but “Bart the General” truly shocked me. This episode is not only incredibly well done with the plot and animation, but I really enjoyed how much it humanized Bart.
There’s a LOT of good happening here. Some great moments of sibling love (after the inevitable sibling rivalry) between Bart and Lisa. I loved seeing the differences in how Marge and Homer approach how Bart should respond to the bully. The animation is REALLY visually complex and interesting- especially in the montage of Bart training his army. It’s funny and has a great resolution to the episode. It feels like a feature length film in the short 22 minute runtime. I also really enjoyed Nelson’s sidekicks, and I wish that we would’ve gotten to see them more throughout the series.
My one critique is how much of a Bart centric episode this is. There’s small appearances from the other Simpsons, but it’s literally called “Bart the General”. I think that when done right however, Bart can be a really compelling character to follow. That is when you actually give him some redeeming qualities and don’t just make him the absolute worst.
I don’t have much else to say about this episode, other than my unexpected liking of it. I have no recollection of ever seeing this episode, and if I did then it had to be a while ago when I first started The Simpsons. It was funny but also quite heartfelt in a sense, and I simply didn’t expect to feel this satisfied after watching an episode of The Simpsons… especially with a plot as simple as this one.
KWIK-E-WATCHKWIK-E-WATCH.COM
EPISODES01 · E05
TITLEBart the General
MVCBart
BEST JOKEBart walks into the retirement home and asks for “Grandpa”, when a hallway full of elderly men all pop out from their rooms.
BEST LINEBart: “Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, contrary to what you’ve just seen, war is neither glamorous nor fun. There are no winners. Only losers. There are no good wars, with the following exceptions: The American Revolution, World War II, and the “Star Wars” trilogy. If you’d like to learn more about war, there’s lots of books in your local library- Many of them with cool, gory pictures. Well, good night, everybody. Peace, man.”
