Bart the General (4 Feb. 1990)

School bully Nelson Muntz has been terrorizing his classmates, particularly Bart. Bart and one of Nelson's goons get into a fight at school (when Bart was sticking up for Lisa), and in the ... See full summary »

Director:

David Silverman

Stars:

Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Dan Castellaneta	...	Homer Simpson / Grampa Simpson (voice)
Julie Kavner	...	Marge Simpson / Receptionist (voice)
Nancy Cartwright	...	Bart Simpson / Nelson Muntz / Lewis (voice)
Yeardley Smith	...	Lisa Simpson (voice)
Harry Shearer	...	Otto / Principal Seymour Skinner / Jasper / Herman (voice)
Susan Blu	...	Weasel #1 (voice)
Jo Ann Harris	...	Weasel #2 / Richard / Lewis (voice)
Pamela Hayden	...	Milhouse Van Houten / Boy (voice)

Storyline

School bully Nelson Muntz has been terrorizing his classmates, particularly Bart. Bart and one of Nelson's goons get into a fight at school (when Bart was sticking up for Lisa), and in the aftermath Nelson accidentally gets a bloody nose. Nelson makes good on his threats to beat up Bart. Bart winds up having nightmares about Nelson stalking him, and later envisions his funeral. Finally, Grampa takes Bart to Herman, a Vietnam veteran who has had one of his arms amputated, to plan a strategy for getting back at Nelson. Bart commissions all his schoolmates whom Nelson has bullied and - in a classic parody of war movies such as Patton - trains them for their revenge. One afternoon after school, Bart and his army enact their operative, pelting Nelson and his goons with water balloons until he surrenders. The revenge is successful, and Bart and Nelson begin a grudging friendship.

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Plot Keywords:

2d animation | bully comeuppance | peace treaty | stuffed in trashcan

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Genres:

Animation | Comedy | Family

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 February 1990 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

20th Century Fox Television, Gracie Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Bart's sentence: none.

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Goofs

During exterior shots of the Simpson home in this episode, the tree house is never shown. Yet the tree house is used extensively in this episode.

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Quotes

Bart: Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, contrary to what you have 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. See you next week. Peace, man!

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Crazy Credits

This episode ends with a disclaimer featuring Bart in a library telling the viewers about the reality of war and saying that the only good wars are The American Revolution, World War II, and the Star Wars trilogy and advising viewers to go to the library and look up info about war. Also the end credits roll over an exterior shot nighttime of the Simpsons' home instead of a black screen.

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Connections

References Patton (1970)

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Soundtracks

"Headbanger Heaven"
written by Jim Jacobsen (as Peter Morris)
performed by Jim Jacobsen
under License from OGM Music

User Reviews

Patton!

This was one of the first "Simpsons" episodes, in which Bart decides to take a stand against school bullies and transforms himself into a type of modern-day Patton, armed with an artillery of angry, vengeful elementary schoolers and a scarred Vietnam War enthusiast (who suspiciously sounds very much like Ned Flanders).

Humor-wise, this is one of the few early episodes to display some of the cunning wit of later episodes (mainly 4th/5th season stuff). The whole riff on Patton is fantastic if you're a movie buff.

Homer isn't given much to do, but it's Bart's show, and one of the first episodes to really display the character's attitude.