Bart's Friend Falls in Love - Production and Allusions

Production and Allusions

The episode was written by Jay Kogen and Wallace Wolodarsky, and directed by Jim Reardon. American actress Kimmy Robertson guest starred in the episode as Samantha. She recorded all of her lines separately, instead of acting them out with the cast of the show in the recording studio as it is usually done. Robertson said of the role: "I had no idea how popular I was going to be after I did that. All my friends think I'm the bee's knees now. I've made it." The physical appearance of Samantha is based on Wolodarsky's niece, who is also named Samantha.

The episode's opening sequence parodies that of the Steven Spielberg film Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). Bart, in the role of Indiana Jones, steals a penny jar (instead of a Fertility Idol) from Homer before heading to school on the bus. Homer stands in for the boulder and the Hovitos tribe and angrily runs after Bart, while Maggie fires suction darts (instead of arrows) at Bart. Bart is able to narrowly pass through the closing garage door and escape. As Bart steps onto the bus, Homer is seen the distance shouting after him. John Williams's theme song from Raiders of the Lost Ark, "Raiders March", plays throughout the sequence. The producers had to contact Spielberg in order to clear the rights for the song so that they could use it in the episode. Paul Wee was the layout artist for the sequence. Marge's voice actor, Julie Kavner, praised it for focusing on the animation and not having any dialog in it.

The episode's closing sequence in which Bart and Milhouse visit Samantha at Saint Sebastian's is a reference to the film Casablanca. One nun leads a group of children and sings "Dominique", a song by The Singing Nun. Cast member Maggie Roswell provided the voice of the nun, but did she not know the actual French lyrics to the song so she made up her own. The writers had difficulties coming up with an idea for the end of the episode. Executive producer James L. Brooks pitched the idea of Samantha getting shipped off to a Catholic school with "fun nuns" that are like The Singing Nun. Other references in the episode include a scene in which Lisa reads a magazine with the headline "The Year 2525 - were Zager & Evans Right?", referring to musicians Zager and Evans and their song "In the Year 2525". In reference to the play Romeo and Juliet, Milhouse says that Samantha and his relationship started like Romeo and Juliet, but ended in tragedy, unaware that the play also ends in tragedy. Milhouse's original line in the scene was "It feel like somebody gave my heart a wedgie." Milhouse has a poster in his room featuring an X-wing from the Star Wars franchise.