Release and Reception
In its original American broadcast on April 1, 2001, "Simpson Safari" received a 7.5 rating, according to Nielsen Media Research, translating to approximately 7.7 million viewers. The episode finished in 42nd place in the ratings for the week of March 26-April 1, 2001, tying with an episode of the television newsmagazine Dateline NBC. Later that year, the episode was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in the category of Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore). It ultimately lost to an episode of the science fiction series Star Trek: Voyager. Since its broadcast, the episode has been released twice on home video. On May 23, 2005, it was released along with the season 10 episode "Thirty Minutes over Tokyo", the season 13 episode "Blame It on Lisa" and the season 15 episode "The Regina Monologues" as part of a DVD set called Simpsons Around The World In 80 D'ohs. On August 18, 2009, the episode was released as part of a DVD set called The Simpsons: The Complete Twelfth Season. Mike Scully, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Matt Selman, Tim Long, Yeardley Smith, Mark Kirkland and Michael Marcantel participated in the audio commentary for the episode.
Former The Simpsons' showrunner Mike Reiss stated, at an April 2007 talk in Bristol, Connecticut, that "Simpson Safari" is one of two of the show's episodes that he dislikes. Following its home video release, "Simpson Safari" received mixed reviews from critics. In his review of The Simpsons: The Complete Twelfth Season, Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie Guide described the episode as "lousy". While he admitted that he found a couple of scenes funny, he argued that the episode over relied on broad gags and "never threatens to become inspired or amusing". He concluded by describing the episode as "disappointing". Writing for Bullz-Eye.com, Will Harris gave the episode a negative review as well. He argued that the premise was "ridiculous", and that the episode "remind longtime fans that the show's days of complete comedic perfection are behind them." On the other hand, DVD Verdict's Mac McEntire was entertained by the episode. Although he mostly enjoy episodes that are "down-to-Earth" and emphasize on the Simpson family, McEntire wrote that the "less realistic, more over-the-top crazy" episodes like "Simpson Safari" comprises the season's best episodes. DVD Talk's Jason Bailey wrote that "Simpson Safari" makes use of one of his favorite story elements that he called a "wandering storyline". "Their habit of using the first act as a red herring, only semi-connected to the rest of the show, is ingenious and hilarious", he wrote. "'Simpsons Safari,' for example, begins with an extended bit about a bagboy strike, which leads the family to desperate culinary measures, which then leads Homer to a box of animal crackers in the attic, which then leads to the discovery of a prize inside the box for the safari trip that encompasses the rest of the episode. They'd been doing this kind of thing for years, but it still plays".
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