The Telltale Head (25 Feb. 1990)

Bart gets more than he bargained for when he saws the head off a statue of the town's founder.

Director:

Rich Moore

Writers:

Matt Groening (created by), James L. Brooks (developed by),

Stars:

Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Dan Castellaneta	...	Homer Simpson / Krusty the Clown / Barney Gumble / Angry Mob Member #2 / Usher / Radio News Reporter / Grampa Simpson (voice)
Julie Kavner	...	Marge Simpson (voice)
Nancy Cartwright	...	Bart Simpson / Kearney / Girlfriend in Movie (voice)
Yeardley Smith	...	Lisa Simpson (voice)
Harry Shearer	...	Rev. Lovejoy / Principal Skinner / Angry Mob Member #1 / Sportscaster / Jebediah Springfield / Waylon Smithers / Dr. Marvin Monroe / Otto (voice)
Marcia Wallace	...	Mrs. Krabappel (voice)
Hank Azaria	...	Boyfriend in Movie / Apu / Chief Wiggum (voice)
Pamela Hayden	...	Janey Powell / Milhouse Van Houten / Dolph (voice)
Tress MacNeille	...	Ms. Albright / Churchgoer / Jimbo Jones (voice)
Chris Latta	...	Mr. Burns / Moe Szyslak (voice)

Storyline

Homer and Bart are being pursued by an angry mob through the streets of Springfield,baying for their blood. It turns out that Bart,hoping to impress the town bullies,sawed the head of the statue of town founder Jedediah Springfield but,when he discovered how appalled they were to find the head gone,enlisted Homer's help in replacing it. After he apologizes to the crowd they forgive him.

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Plot Keywords:

angry mob | talking statue | 2d animation | decapitation of statue | priest

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Genres:

Animation | Comedy | Family

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 February 1990 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

20th Century Fox Television, Gracie Films, Klasky-Csupo

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Bart saying his story would take about 23 minutes and 5 seconds was a cheap line added by Jim Brooks about the length of their episodes (minus commercials of course).

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Goofs

When Bart is cutting off the head of the statue, he is sitting on the statue's right shoulder. But Bart doesn't appear in the shadow of the statue as the camera pans out.

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Quotes

Barney: How long is this going to take?
Bart: About twenty-two minutes and five seconds.
[the average length of an episode without the commercials]

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Connections

Referenced in South Park: Cartoon Wars: Part 2 (2006)

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Soundtracks

"The William Tell Overture"
(uncredited)
Composed by Gioachino Rossini

User Reviews

An Early Simpsons Morality Tale

The Telltale Head

This episode is in someways a strange episode for The Simpsons. Particularly in the layout where the "end" of the episode is placed in the beginning. The show seems to be getting comfortable with itself particularly the reference to the story length.

Much of the story is cleverly written with several good jokes. Homer has a lot of strong moments, particularly the football section in the beginning. The Sunday School scenes are also hilarious. Jimbo, Dolph and Kearney aren't as funny as future episodes and much more friendly, but are also good in their own way.

The main point of the story, the moral dilemma that Bart faces isn't exactly strong largely a parody that ends up flat, except for a few jokes. Overall, a lot of great aside gags but the main point isn't as strong.