The Great Money Caper - Cultural References

Cultural References

The episode's plot is loosely based on the American comedy film Paper Moon, which was also the inspiration for Bart and Homer's swindle of Ned Flanders in the episode. The title of the episode is a parody of the 1981 film The Great Muppet Caper. The title was pitched by Simpsons writer Matt Selman. The episode's ending lampoons the cliche of having twist endings at the end of heist films. ”Magic Palace”, the magic-themed restaurant that the Simpsons visit in the beginning of the episode, is a parody on The Magic Castle, a nightclub in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California. Marge's line "I didn't say that for clapping" is a reference to a speech given by John Wayne while he was intoxicated. At the end of the episode, Bart exclaims “Cowabunga!”, a catch-phrase of the main characters in the animated television series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. In the scene where Grampa joins Bart and Homer, Grampa mentions the film The Sting II.