Treehouse of Horror XII - Release and Reception

Release and Reception

In its original American broadcast on November 6, 2001, “Treehouse of Horror XII”, along with a new episode of the Fox program That 70's Show, made Fox the highest rated channel that night among adults ages 18 to 49, according to Nielsen Media Research. The preliminary Nielsen household rating and share and adult 18-49 rating on the Fox channel that night were 7.6 rating/11 share. Media Life Magazine described The Simpsons performance in the ratings that night as “superb”. On September 2, 2003, the episode was released, along with the episodes “Treehouse of Horror V”, “Treehouse of Horror VI” and “Treehouse of Horror VII” as part of a DVD set titled The Simpsons - Treehouse of Horror. The episode was released again as part of The Simpsons: The Thirteenth Season DVD and Blu-ray set, released on August 24, 2010.

Like many episodes from 21st century seasons, “XII” doesn’t present many significant flaws, but it also doesn’t ever really shine. Some good moments pop up here, mostly due to vocal performances. ...Nonetheless, the overall tone seems a bit lame. ...“XII” isn’t bad Simpsons, but it’s mediocre.

Following its television broadcast and the home video release of the thirteenth season of The Simpons, “Treehouse of Horror XII” received mixed reviews from critics. Casey Broadwater of Blu-Ray.com stated that the episode “is merely so-so entry in the show's annual Halloween anthology”, while Colin Jacobsson of DVD Movie Guide wrote that, while it “doesn’t present many significant flaws”, it also “doesn’t ever really shine”. He concluded his review by writing “'XII' isn’t bad Simpsons, but it’s mediocre”. Writing for Good Film Guide, Matt Wheeldon held a similar opinion, calling it “an average quality Treehouse of Horror episode” and described it as being “easily watchable” and “fairly memorable, but far from the best of the bunch”. Nate Boss of Project:Blu stated that the episode is “At times memorable, at times forgettable” and that it “kicks off Season 13 with a smile, whimper, and thud”. Ron Martin of 411Mania stated that, while he does not consider “Treehouse of Horror XII” to be the worst episode of the series, “as far as Treehouse episodes go, it has to be one of the weakest”.

Writing for Suite101, Dominic von Riedemann described the episode as a “disappointment”. Reviewing the episode for the Daily News of New York City before the episode's official broadcast, Eric Mink complimented it for being “fitfully funny”, however he added that the episode “seem short on the pop-culture digs and celebrity skewering that used to put a high gloss on the show's gleaming reputation”. Jennifer Malkowski of DVD Verdict however gave the episode a positive review, and referred to the episode, along with “Weekend at Burnsie's”, as the two best episodes of the season. She wrote that “ succeeds because of wall-to-wall laughs”, and cited several scenes and gags, in particular the “horrible vomiting frog ‘prince’ that Bart enchants”. She gave the episode an A– rating. Aaron Peck of High-Def Digest was also favorable, stating that the episode was “one of all-time favorite Treehouse of Horror episodes”.

“Hex and the City” garnered mixed responses from critics; Broadwater wrote that the segment was “a bit of a letdown” while Boss described it as “fairly poor”. Mink however felt that the segment was the best in the episode. “House of Whacks” was well received. Broadwater described the segment as “brilliant” while von Riedermann referred to it as being the best of the three. Boss, who was dissatisfied with the first segment, felt that “House of Whacks” “makes up for it”. Brosnan's guest appearance was praised; Jacobsson described the performance as “a surprisingly nice guest turn” while Boss referred to it as “killer”. Adam Rayner of Obsessed With Film wrote that the segment features Brosnan “giving his best acting turn since… ‘The Long Good Friday’?”. Particular scorn was aimed at “Wiz Kids”, the third segment of the episode. Jacobsson stated that “Wiz Kids” “ends the show on a drab note” while Mink stated that the segment “pretty much fall flat”. Boss was also critical, writing “Harry Potter, in my Simpsons? It may be more likely than you think, although, for sure, it really does stink”. Andre Dellamorte of Collider wrote that, even though he complimented the segment for being “bold” considering the film it parodied had not come out yet, he criticized the segment by writing “the depth of the parody stops with surface references”. Peck, however, described the segment as being “quite possibly one of the best and most clever spoofs of Harry Potter”.