The Simpsons Latest Holiday Special Reimagines Three Classic Christmas Cartoons

Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for The Simpsons season 36's special “O C’Mon All Ye Faithful."

While The Simpsons season 36’s holiday special features an entirely original storyline, the double-sized Christmas episode also took the opportunity to parody a trio of classic Christmas specials. The Simpsons season 36’s changes to the show’s formula have seen the series garner praise. Despite airing over 770 episodes throughout its 36 years on the air, The Simpsons has proven that it still has plenty of creative juice with episodes that play with its format, rewrite its canon, and disregard conventions in favor of invention. As Vulture noted in 2023, The Simpsons is officially good again.

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While the show hasn’t gone back to the cynical, grounded tone of The Simpsons’ early holiday episodes, season 36 has managed to tone down the zaniness of recent seasons in favor of more character-centric writing. The Simpsons season 36’s Christmas special, the double-sized “O C’Mon All Ye Faithful,” is a stellar example of this approach. For the most part, this outing is a sweet story of Ned Flanders losing and regaining his faith at Christmas. However, The Simpsons found room in this emotionally resonant plot to parody a trio of iconic Christmas TV specials.

The Simpsons Turns Mr. Burns Into The Grinch

The Simpsons Spoofed The Grinch With Burns’ Change of Heart

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Only a few weeks after The Simpsons season 36’s second Treehouse of Horror special parodied Ray Bradbury’s work, the series took on another iconic 20th-century author with a spoof of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Written by Dr. Seuss in 1957, this festive classic was adapted in 1966 by legendary animator Chuck Jones. “O C’Mon All Ye Faithful” parodies this adaptation with a moment where Homer, convinced he is Santa Claus, gifts Smithers a thimble. Mr. Burns sees the gift and assumes it was meant for him, and his ensuing joy has catastrophic consequences.

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Like The Grinch, Mr. Burns’ heart grows three sizes as he takes on the familiar appearance of Seuss’s character. Of course, since this is The Simpsons, the resulting medical complications mean that Mr. Burns is rushed to emergency surgery to fix his rapidly swelling heart. This hilariously literal, gruesome interpretation of the metaphorical original line doesn’t stop Burns from smiling and spreading Christmas cheer as he is wheeled into the ER. However, this is far from the only parody of an iconic Christmas TV special included in “O C’Mon All Ye Faithful.”

Bart's Class Recreates The Peanuts Christmas Special

The Simpsons Spoofed Charlie Brown’s Iconic Christmas Dance

Later in “O C’Mon All Ye Faithful,” Bart admits to Lisa that he wasn’t really feeling the holiday spirit when he danced at school. The special then cuts to a sequence that recreates an iconic scene from 1965’s A Charlie Brown Christmas, with Bart, Lisa, Milhouse, Sherri, Terri, Janey, and Lewis dancing, while Richard plays the piano, Wendell plays the double bass, and Santa’s Little Helper plays the guitar. While one Simpsons Treehouse of Horror episode offered a goofy parody of "It’s The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown," season 36's homage was played surprisingly straight.

Bart eventually reclaimed his holiday spirit when he and Milhouse pranked the Flanders family.

Bart’s inability to access the Christmas spirit defined his character arc throughout the special, and this was met with the same sympathy as Charlie Brown’s plight in A Charlie Brown Christmas. Fortunately, Bart eventually reclaimed his holiday spirit when he and Milhouse pranked the Flanders family to convince them that the spirit of Christmas was invading their home. In a sweet nod to an earlier Simpsons Christmas special, Marge questioned the scariness of Bart’s chosen prank but thanked him for trying to spread Christmas cheer in his own unique way.

Homer's Impact On Springfield Reflects A Holiday Classic

Springfield Takes Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town’s Story Too Far

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Finally, The Simpsons season 36’s holiday special was also reminiscent of 1970’s Rankin/Bass stop-motion special Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town. Homer’s influence on Springfield as Santa was similar to Santa’s role in Santa's Is Comin' To Town, but Springfield inevitably took things too far and guest star Derren Brown was eventually forced to reveal to Homer that he wasn’t really Santa Claus after all. Homer’s failed attempts to reclaim the role further parodied the holiday classic.

Although Ralph sprang him from jail, Homer accepted that he was better off playing Santa to his own family.

Homer continued his attempts to play Santa in “O C’Mon All Ye Faithful” by filling a sleigh with toys and trying to deliver these with Ralph as his helper. The Simpsons season 36’s Ralph/Homer team up was cut short when Homer was immediately arrested by cops as Ralph escaped. Although Ralph sprang him from jail, Homer accepted that he was better off playing Santa to his own family. Thus, The Simpsons season 36’s Christmas special wrapped up with an ending that was not quite as sweet as the denouement of Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town, but still perfect for the series.

New episodes of The Simpsons air Sundays at 8pm on Fox.

Source: Vulture