Rosebud (The Simpsons Episode) - Plot

Plot

Smithers finds Mr. Burns having a nightmare in which he constantly murmurs the name "Bobo". In a flashback, it is revealed that as a child, Burns lived with his family and cherished his teddy bear Bobo, but he dropped it in the snow when he left to live with a "twisted, loveless billionaire". Meanwhile, preparations for Burns' birthday are underway and Homer is chosen to entertain the party guests with a comedy routine; however, Burns merely finds Homer's routine offensive as he moons the crowd and angrily orders his security guards to break up the party. Afterwards, Homer is left with a cracked skull and Bart is sent to the store to get some ice.

Burns reveals to Smithers that he misses his cherished bear Bobo and desperately wants it back but has no idea where it is. Another flashback reveals Bobo's history: after Burns drops it, the bear is washed downriver to New York where it is picked up by Charles Lindbergh and flown across the Atlantic Ocean in 1927. Upon arrival in Paris, Lindbergh tosses the bear out the window, where it is caught by Adolf Hitler. In 1945, in his Führerbunker in Berlin, Germany, Hitler blames Bobo for losing World War II and tosses him away. Bobo is seen again in 1957 on board the USS Nautilus headed for the North Pole. Bobo becomes encased in a block of ice until picked up by an ice-gathering expedition. In 1993, the bag of ice with him in it is sent to Apu's Kwik-E-Mart in Springfield. Bart Simpson buys the bag of ice, finds Bobo inside and gives it to Maggie to play with.

Mr. Burns starts looking for his bear, and Homer finally realizes that Maggie's new toy is Bobo. Homer negotiates with Burns and agrees to give it back in exchange for "a million dollars and three Hawaiian islands. The good ones, not the leper ones." However, when Maggie refuses to give Bobo up, Homer decides to stick up for his daughter and sends Burns away. Mr. Burns is outraged and promises vengeance on Homer unless he gets his teddy bear back.

Burns' first few attempts at retrieving Bobo fail, so he instead takes over every television channel and re-routes all of the beer trucks heading to Springfield, swearing he will not return them until Bobo is given back. This causes the town to rally, wanting their TV and beer back, but even an angry mob cannot bring themselves to tear the beloved bear from a baby's arms. At last, in desperation, Burns has Smithers literally beg Homer for the bear. Homer tells Burns that it is Maggie's now, and she is the only one that can return it. Burns decides to talk to Maggie and becomes deeply depressed and asks Maggie to look after his bear. Maggie, in an act of pity, lets the desperate Burns have the bear.

The episode ends with a Planet of the Apes scenario in one million AD, where a cyborg Burns (his head in a jar, on a robot body) and Smithers (his head on a robotic dog's body) once again discover Bobo and run off into the sunset.