5 Iconic Movie Moments You Probably Saw Parodied On The Simpsons First

Part of the reason "The Simpsons" has become the longest-running primetime scripted series is because it appeals to pretty much every demographic. As Charles Soloman, former LA Times animation critic, said during the documentary "The Simpsons: America's First Family," the show "reminded us that something that's really family entertainment will appeal to the least sophisticated member of the audience and the most sophisticated member of the audience on different levels." If you were an adult, you appreciated the sharp satire and the often strikingly emotional storylines that typically made for some of the best episodes of "The Simpsons." If you were a kid, you loved Bart's irreverence and anti-establishment antics, as well as Homer's dimwittedness.

An added bonus of being a kid and watching "The Simpsons," however, was that its humor often made you feel smarter. You didn't always get the references to "H.M.S. Pinafore" or the math jokes that helped build Futurama's fanbase, but you felt smarter for watching a show that featured such jokes. What's more, "The Simpsons" was packed with cultural references, and some of its most memorable moments came from parodies of hinge moments in 20th Century pop culture. Many of these were parodies of TV shows and movies, and for a generation of kids that grew up watching the series, they ended up with a sort of rudimentary cinema road map courtesy of their familiarity with "The Simpsons."

I still believe that "The Simpsons," and not "The Fugitive," came up with the subplot wherein Milhouse dives into a dam after being hunted by the FBI. Of course, as we all got older, the references revealed themselves, but it means there's a whole contingent of '90s kids who grew up having their knowledge of classic movies shaped by a cartoon. With that in mind, why not take a look back at some of the most iconic movie moments we all saw parodied on "The Simpsons" first?

(It should be noted that some of the most memorable movie parodies might not have made this list as we probably all saw "Raiders of the Lost Ark" before we saw Homer barrelling down the Simpsons' staircase in that particular homage.)

When the season six episode "Bart of Darkness" debuted in 1994, the references to the classic Alfred Hitchcock thriller "Rear Window" pretty much went completely over the heads of the series' younger fans. But that didn't matter because the episode stood on its own as a classic, which I guess isn't all that hard to accomplish when you're following the plot of a celebrated Hitchcock film.

In the episode, Bart breaks his leg during summer vacation and becomes confined to his bedroom. Trapped inside, he begins spying on his neighbors through a telescope. The story is, of course, one big reference to "Rear Window," even down to the heat wave menacing Springfield. The film itself starred the great Jimmy Stewart as photographer L.B. Jefferies, who was similarly confined to his apartment following an injury. Aside from following the same beats of a shut-in becoming increasingly paranoid and convinced that his neighbor has murdered their wife, "Bart of Darkness" actually features a cameo by the character of Jeffries himself — although this version was voiced by the great Dan Castellaneta: "Grace, come here! There's a sinister-looking kid I want you to see."

As the episode goes on, Bart becomes convinced that Ned Flanders killed his wife, Maude, and things reach a climax when Lisa sneaks into Flanders' house to investigate whether his suspicions are accurate. This entire sequence is straight out of "Rear Window," in which Jeffries watches his girlfriend, also named Lisa and played by the incomparable Grace Kelly, sneak into salesman Lars Thorwald's (Raymond Burr) apartment.

Did we kids know what "Rear Window" was in 1994? No. Did we love the episode. Of course! We even loved this mysterious wheelchair user who freaks out after he sees the "sinister looking kids" coming for him. At the time, we had an inkling it was all some sort of reference, but it wasn't until we watched James Stewart "do nothing well" in "Rear Window" that we saw the true origin of Bart's paranoia-ridden summer vacation.

Stanley Kubrick is known for creating some of the most memorable moments in movie history, and "A Clockwork Orange" was no different in that regard. In the film, Malcolm McDowell's brutal delinquent, Alex, underwent what's known as the Ludovico Technique, a form of aversion therapy that saw the character's eyes held open with the use of a barbaric headset, forcing him to watch a montage of violent images while being fed a series of drugs. It was all designed to ensure Alex never committed another violent act in his life, and it worked for a time, only for the character to rediscover his barbaric impulses at the end of the film. This scene in particular was also part of the reason "A Clockwork Orange" changed Malcolm McDowell forever, leaving the actor temporarily blind. Still, the man suffered for what remains one of the most indelible images in cinematic history.

Of course, an entire generation saw a version of that same image in the season 3 episode of "The Simpsons" entitled "Dog of Death." In this installment, Bart's dog Santa's Little Helper escapes and is taken in by Mr. Burns, only to be turned into what the power plant owner refers to as a "vicious, soulless killer." Part of the poor pooch's conversion involves having his eyes held open by a headset similar to the one from Kubrick's film, before being shown a montage of clips that include dogs being manhandled in various ways, alongside footage of nuclear explosions and, for some reason, the Hindenburg disaster. It's the complete reverse of the movie scene, in which Alex was supposed to have his violent tendencies ameliorated by his exposure to horrific imagery. In "Dog of Death," however, Santa's Little Helper does indeed become a "vicious, soulless killer" as a result of his aversion therapy, only to return to his loving former self after he encounters Bart once again.

The scene where Bart's dog undergoes his conversion therapy might have seemed a little sadistic had we not really understood the reference. But that's the thing about these movie moment parodies. We might not have known which film the show was referencing, but there was something about the specificity of these moments that made it obvious there was at least some reference point. Hopefully none of us actually sat through "A Clockwork Orange" until much later, but for those of us that did end up watching Kubrick's film eventually, it made that particularly upsetting scene evoke a confusing mix of revulsion and nostalgia for Bart and his best friend.

If the season 7 episode, "A Fish called Selma," was just one long "Planet of the Apes" parody starring Troy McClure, that would probably be enough to make it a classic. Instead, the episode remains a beloved installment for many other reasons, but its "Planet of the Apes" parody is surely one of the highlights. "A Fish called Selma" — the title of which is a parody of Charles Crichton's 1988 heist film "A Fish called Wanda"— sees washed up movie star Troy McClure marry Marge's sister, Selma, as part of his plan to mount a comeback and distract from the possibility that he may or may not be weirdly attracted to fish. That comeback also includes a role in the delightfully silly musical "Stop the Planet of the Apes, I Want to Get Off!" which reimagines the 1968 sci-fi classic as a broadway-style show full of elaborate musical numbers. One of these, the "Dr. Zaius" song, has attained legendary status as the greatest musical moment on "The Simpsons."

For those of us who had yet to watch the original movie, "Stop the Planet of the Apes, I Want to Get Off" not only introduced us to some of the central characters, it basically ruined the ending of the film. The result of five crazy writers' room pitches, the "Planet of the Apes" musical was basically one big spoiler, culminating in a perfectly ridiculous performance by Troy McClure of a song that sees him sing the legendary line, "I hate every ape I see, from chimpan-A to chimpanzee," before a giant statue of liberty emerges from the scenery, revealing that his character had been on Earth the entire time. Any "Simpsons" fan familiar with the Troy McClure reveal who subsequently saw Charlton Heston's George Taylor falling into the tide at the end of "Planet of the Apes" surely had a hard time taking the legendary scene entirely seriously with "Chimpan-A to chimpanzee" ringing in their ears.

"The Simpsons" writers had a thing for Stanley Kubrick, creating multiple parodies and straight-up homages to the directors' films throughout the show's run. Aside from the aforementioned "A Clockwork Orange" reference, there's season 5's "Deep Space Homer," which contains multiple references to "2001: A Space Odyssey." We've also had full on recreations of that film's opening sequence, too, and "The Simpsons" has continued to pay homage to Kubrick throughout its 35-year run.

But the segment of "Treehouse of Horror V" entitled "The Shinning" ("Shh, you want to get sued?") is basically a micro recreation of an entire Kubrick movie (in case you haven't guessed it's "The Shining"). In the segment, we don't just get one impressively accurate recreation of a moment from the 1978 horror classic, but dozens of them. After Homer and the family agree to watch over Mr. Burns' hotel for the winter, the millionaire takes all the supplies of beer and cuts the cable, leading Homer to lose his mind and attempt to murder his entire family. Over the course of the segment we see recreations of the famous elevator blood scene from "The Shining," Jack Nicholson's legendary "Here's Johnny" moment, and the same ending as "The Shining" movie, which saw Kubrick scrap the book's original finale. Even the opening credits are taken from the film, which follow the Simpsons' car as it winds its way towards the hotel through the Colorado wilderness.

So thorough was the show's retelling of this Stephen King adaptation that even before young "Simpsons" viewers had seen the movie or read the book, they basically knew the entire plot. When we did finally watch Kubrick's movie, however, none of it was made any less horrific. However, I have to admit: every time I see the blood in the elevator scene I hear Mr. Burns saying, "Hmm, that's odd. Usually the blood gets off at the second floor."

Season 8's "You Only Move Twice" is one of the best "Simpsons" episodes ever made. It sees the titular family move to the new town of Cypress Creek so that Homer can start a new job for the Globex Corporation, which is led by charismatic CEO Hank Scorpio (voiced by Albert Brooks in his fourth appearance on the show). Scorpio also happens to be a supervillain, who between his affable interactions with Homer, plots world domination, culminating in a final set-piece that sees his secret lair attacked by government forces, while a lugubrious Homer tenders his resignation from Globex.

During this final scene, we get several allusions to the James Bond franchise, including an appearance by the Miss Goodthighs character from the 1967's parody film "Casino Royale." But the most straightforward parody of a Bond movie comes when the character of "Mr. Bont" is seen strapped to a table while an unnecessarily slow-moving laser approaches his nether regions, while Scorpio tells him "I don't expect anything from you except to die and be a very cheap funeral." This is, of course, a direct reference to the famous laser beam scene from "Goldfinger," in which Sean Connery's Bond is similarly strapped to a table with a similarly slow-moving laser threatening to slice him in two. Fans of the Bond franchise might have seen this moment prior to "The Simpsons" parody version, but for many of us whose main connection to the Bond saga was our love for the "GoldenEye" video game on Nintendo 64, this was the first time we'd seen this famous, needlessly sluggish Bond death trap in action.

In "The Simpsons," Mr. Bont escapes by flipping a coin towards the laser, which then zaps his shackles allowing him to flee. He's then tripped by Homer before Scorpio's goons dispatch him. By the time we all saw "Goldfinger," then we might have expected Connery's Bond to dig out a penny, but it's actually his mention of Auric Goldfinger's "Operation: Grand Slam" that prompts the supervillain to stop the laser, thereby saving 007 from a nasty death.