Treehouse of Horror XXIV

"Treehouse of Horror XXIV"
The Simpsons episode
Episode no.	Season 25
Directed by	Rob Oliver Guillermo del Toro (only opening sequence)
Written by	Jeff Westbrook
Original air date	October 6, 2013 (2013-10-06)
Episode features
Chalkboard gag	"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" (written by Bart and scrawled on the walls by a deranged Stephen King)
Couch gag	A horror-themed opening done by Guillermo del Toro, featuring classic and contemporary horror and science fiction monsters.

"Treehouse of Horror XXIV" is the second episode of the 25th season of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons, and the 532nd episode of the series. The episode was written by Jeff Westbrook and aired on October 6, 2013 on the Fox Network.

Plot

"Treehouse of Horror XXIV" kicks off with "Oh, the Places You'll D'oh," a Dr. Seuss spoof in which Homer cuts a path of destruction as "The Fat in the Hat." Next, a decapitated Bart is forced to live on Lisa's body in "Dead and Shoulders." Finally, in "Freaks No Geeks," Marge and Homer are circus performers in love -- and Moe is the sideshow freak who wants Marge.

Production

In October 2013, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Guillermo del Toro spoke about directing the opening of the episode, saying: "The Simpsons titles are so iconic and yet they've never been riffed in this vein. I really wanted to land the connections between the [show's] set pieces and the titles and some of the most iconic horror movies, and intersperse them with some of my stuff in there for pure joy. For example the idea that Ms. Krabappel could be outside the school with Alfred Hitchcock which is a reference to the sequence in The Birds that happens outside of the school in Bodega Bay. To use Chief Wiggum as the Cyclops from Harryhausen, dipping the [Lard Lad] donut in a water tank, to have the nuclear spill from Mr. Burns' plant create zombies — all of this stuff seems to make sense to interconnect. If Homer really gets a radioactive isotope, he could turn into a reaper from Blade. Or the famous shot that is always in the titles — Maggie driving and then you pull back and there's Marge driving, right? But in this case Maggie is driving, and she's driving the car from the horror movie from the 70s called The Car, which is one of my favorite guilty pleasure B-movies. And what if Lisa is in the music class, but she's in the music class with every Phantom of the Opera ever made? It was a unique opportunity."

He also also spoke about the references in the opening, saying: "You as a kid could spend an afternoon on your bed with your magnifying glass going through a frame of Mad magazine and finding all these references to this and that. I integrate[d] Lisa falling through the couch like Alice in Wonderland but in the dress of the girl from Pan's Labyrinth, and instead of landing next to the giant toad in Pan's Labyrinth, she lands next to the Hypnotoad from Futurama. At the last minute I wanted to put a Mexican wrestler in there, but [casting producer] Bonnie Pietila said to me, "We've got to go! We cannot keep adding and adding stuff."

Cultural references

"Oh, the Places You'll D'oh" is a spoof of the Dr. Seuss book The Cat in the Hat. Another Seuss character, the Lorax, also makes an appearance in the episode, where he is seen promoting an SUV. Marge goes to attend a Halloween party in a Catwoman costume. When Homer, as the cat, is killed, he requests that he not be portrayed by actor Mike Myers.

The following references in the opening sequence include: -The Shining -The Birds -Blade -Hellboy -Alice in Wonderland

Reception

Critical reception

David Hinckley of the New York Daily News gave "Treehouse of Horror XXIV" three stars out of five, writing that "'Treehouse of Horrors' remains an honorable tradition, and if nothing else, it reminds fans that they don't have to wait for South Park to get some good old-fashioned animated mayhem." Dennis Perkins of The A.V. Club gave the episode a B, saying, "After the season-opening Homeland parody storyline in last week's episode and a "Treehouse of Horror" for its second, we have yet to see exactly what this season has going for it as The Simpsons soldiers on for its 25th season, as these premise-heavy episodes haven't left much room for character. Next week will be the real test, but for now, I'll take these first two installments as cause for hope." Tony Sokol of Den of Geek wrote that the episode was "nearly a classic". He felt the third segment was the best and wrote that "When The Simpsons commit to a joke, they commit."