Blame it on Lisa

Season 13, Episode 15, Aired
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Episode Summary

The family receives a $400 phone bill for a phone call to Brazil. Marge and Homer go down to the phone office to get this error corrected, they didn't make the call. Their visit results in their phone service getting cut off. Homer tries to steal phone service, but gets electrocuted for his trouble. Lisa confesses to making the call and tells them of the donations she'd made for an orphan boy named Renaldo in Brazil, with whom she'd lost contact with. The family decides to make a trip to Brazil to find him. The family flies down to Rio, as Maggie takes care of herself, under the watchful eyes of Patty and Selma. They split up with Lisa and Marge looking on one side of town and Homer and Bart on the other. Homer gets kidnapped when he gets into an unlicensed taxi. The kidnappers take Homer up the Amazon. Marge reports the kidnapping to an uncaring police department and Homer tries to raise the $50,000 on his own. Lisa finds Renaldo working for the kids show that Bart has watched with great sexual interest since arriving in Rio. Renaldo is now wealthy, thanks to the new dancing shoes Lisa's donation purchased for him, so he gives Lisa the $50,000 that will let them get Homer from the kidnappers. The transfer is made and Homer is returned, but as we leave our friends in Rio, Bart is celebrating Carnival in the belly of a snake.moreless
8.0
out of 10
EPISODE RATING: Great
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Cast & Crew

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  • Julie Kavner

    Marge Simpson, Patty Bouvier, and Selma Bouvier

  •

    Harry Shearer

    Mr. Burns, Ned Flanders, Principal Skinner, Waylon Smithers, Kent Brockman, and others

  •

    Dan Castellaneta

    Homer Simpson, Grampa Simpson, Barney Gumble, Krusty the Clown, Groundskeeper Willie, and others

Fan Episode Reviews (8)

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  • The Simpsons (minus Maggie) head to Brazil to search for an orphan boy that Lisa had been supporting through charitable donations.

    8.0
    "Great"
    By meathead704, Sep 07, 2010 Report Abuse
    This episode is not one of the most memorable of the series. However I am giving it a high score because I laughed quite a few times during the course of the episode. It was pretty obvious that Homer would be rescued and that Renaldo would be found safe. What makes up for the predictable outcome is the many laughs. Hank Azaria reminded all of us of his hysterial performace in "The Bircage" with his appearance in this episode as the dance instructor. Homer's "ordeal" at the hands of his captors was very funny up until the end. Funny episode.moreless

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    0 0

  • Blame it on the Simpsons!

    1.0
    "Abysmal"
    By MrCleveland, May 26, 2010 Report Abuse
    This episode only has one word, dismal! This is almost as similar as Bart vs. Australia. And they could've extended the Brazilian stuff a little better. And Riotour should lighten up! Walt Disney took some of his writers and sent them to Rio and they caricatured a Brazilian and called him Jose Carioca. Now, Jose is more popular there and is a best known Disney character next to Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. This is the reason why I stopped watching the Simpsons. They're recycling their old shows and thinking that nobody will notice. Well, at least the smart ones do!moreless

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    1 4

  • The Simpsons go to Brazil in search of a lost orphan.

    9.5
    "Superb"
    By Hornets3, Aug 14, 2009 Report Abuse
    This episode was just hilarious. It was great to see the Simpsons still have its magic when it comes to them traveling to a different place. The whole idea of Homer being kidnapped was just amazing, and Homer on the beach in a speedo was just gross but hilarious. Also, the idea that Brazilian's are obssessed with soccer was just priceless, I was almost rolling on the floor in laughter. It makes you wonder when you see episodes like this how people say this great show has gone downhill. Watch this episode especially if you are of the Brazilian culture!moreless

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  • I loved it!!!!

    9.8
    "Superb"
    By Iverson82094, Jan 18, 2008 Report Abuse
    Marge is on a campaign to bring down the phone company because she's convinced they are billing them for calls the family didn't make. When Lisa sheepishly admits that she's been calling Brazil to check up on an orphan she's been sponsoring, the whole family decides to head down to Rio de Janeiro for a visit. Upon arrival, Homer is promptly kidnapped and forces the family to come up with ransom money. Not able to raise the proper capital, Homer begrudgingly calls Mr. Burns for the money and gets deeper into debt with his demonic boss. The family is finally reunited and the orphan it turns out is doing quite well and has a job performing at Carnival.moreless

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  • Yet another average episode.

    7.6
    "Good"
    By JohnnySeidz, Jul 17, 2006 Report Abuse
    Yet another "The Simpsons are going to..." episode. It wasn't bad, I just get the feeling it's been done too many times before, and when this very fact is pointed out by several characters, it really does start to get repetitive.

    There were several good gags in the episode, though, such as the inevitable stereotypes which go with this type of episode: the conga line; the soccer scene; and the bit about their money being gay to name a few.

    However, there were several of the annoying and unneccessary things which give new episodes such a bad name. Things such as the self-reference to which state Springfield is in, and the ending (with Bart dancing inside the snake) are silly and just degrade the show. The writers should just give up trying to add these silly self-references because they just get worse and worse. Other than this, it was a decent episode.
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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

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    • Homer: I have a bladder the size of a brazilnut! Kidnapper: Around here we just call them nuts. Actually, Brazilians call them by a name that specifies that they come from the State of Pará. Edit
    • When Marge reads the "Who Wants To Be A Brazillionaire?" book when they get off the plane, the front cover is different than when Lisa was reading it. Edit
    • "Ronaldo" has the same voice and body of Pepi in "Brother from the Same Planet," which aired almost ten years before "Blame It on Lisa." Edit

  • Notes

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    • This episode was nominated for the 2003 WGA Award (TV) for Animation. Edit
    • 'Simpsons' Producer Brooks Apologizes to Rio LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Don't Blame it on Rio -- James Brooks, executive producer of TV comedy "The Simpsons," apologized to Rio de Janeiro this week for a recent episode of the long-running animated show in which the city was depicted with rats and monkeys teeming on its streets. "We apologize to the lovely city and people of Rio de Janeiro," Brooks said in a statement on Friday. "If that doesn't settle the issue, Homer Simpson offers to take on the President of Brazil on Fox Celebrity Boxing," he added, clearly unable to resist having a little fun. "The Simpsons" is a satirical look at a modern American family. It airs on the Fox network, which has a reputation for pushing the envelope in programming, and "Celebrity Boxing" is one of its more recent shows to do so. A recent episode had stars of 1970s TV sitcoms "The Partridge Family" and "The Brady Bunch" battling each other in the ring. But the people of Rio de Janeiro weren't laughing at "The Simpsons" episode, titled "Blame it on Lisa," a play on the title of a 1984 movie, "Blame it on Rio." Rio's tourist board said on Monday it was considering legal action against "The Simpsons" producers for undermining its $18 million tourism campaign. In the episode, bumbling family head Homer Simpson is robbed by street kids and kidnapped by an unlicensed taxi driver after his family ventures to Rio to find a missing orphan that daughter Lisa sponsored. The family runs across rats and monkeys while looking for the orphan. When they find him, he has grown rich working on a television show and pays for Homer's release in gratitude for shoes Lisa had bought him to escape monkeys at the orphanage. Rio tourism board president Jose Eduardo Guinle asked the board's legal team to look into what action could be taken. "He understands it is a satire," tourism board spokesman Sergio Cavalcanti said at the time. "What really hurt was the idea of the monkeys, the image that Rio de Janeiro was a jungle. ... It's a completely unreal image of the city." Edit

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES
    • Taxi Driver: My American friend, I'm afraid this is a kidnapping. Homer: So that means I don't have to pay the fare. Taxi Driver: I suppose. Homer: Woo hoo! Taxi Driver: I'm afraid you don't appreciate the seriousness of the situation. Homer: Fine. Take me but let the boy go. Taxi Driver: I'm afraid he has already gone. Edit
    • Pilot: This is your captain speaking. The local temperature in Rio de Janeiro is hot hot hot! With 100% chance of passion! Co-Pilot: You make that joke every time! Pilot: It was that joke that made you fall in love with me! Edit
    • Homer: Wait, wait, wait, so in August it's cold? Lisa: That's right. Homer: And in February, it's hot? Lisa: Mm-hm. Homer: So it's opposite land! Crooks chase cops, cats have puppies! Lisa: No, Dad, it's just the weather. Homer: So hot snow falls up? Edit

  • Allusions

    ADD ALLUSIONS
    • Renaldo: I make as much money as Malcolm in the Middle. Renaldo refers to Frankie Muniz (and his paycheck as child-star), who played Malcolm in the FOX series: Malcolm in the Middle. The series debuted in January 2000 and stopped in May 2006. Edit
    • Book: Who Wants to be a Brazillionaire? The name of the book is a parody of the quiz show, Who Wants to be a Millionaire?. Edit
    • Homer's kidnapping in this episode borrows from the 2000 film "Proof of Life" starring Meg Ryan and Russell Crowe. In that film we learn that it is a common practice in South America to kidnap American businessmen since ransom is paid almost automatically by insurance companies. Edit

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