It’s Oscar season, and there are some pretty interesting movies nominated for 2026. Cinephiles can prepare for the upcoming ceremony by watching the films they haven’t seen, but why not supplement that by watching some television too? Specifically The Simpsons. It just reached a new milestone (which some would call remarkable and others would call tragic): its 800th episode. Most of the material worth watching isn’t so recent, but one through line you can be sure of is that the writers often throw in references to movies all throughout the sitcom’s history. Inevitably, many of these come from Oscar-nominated feature films.
Even when the sitcom aired its first episode in 1989, there was a ton of Academy-worthy material to use for Simpson stories, and the writers likewise used a ton of it. Well, as the show kept getting renewed and renewed, more and more fantastic award-nominated and award-winning material became ripe for the picking. Of course, the giants of cinema don’t always lead to great jokes, but they often do in The Simpsons‘ greatest works. There are even some episodes that dedicate a large chunk of their plots to sending up one such Oscar-nominee. The following seven episodes arguably make up the best of the bunch, showcasing intriguing sides of the whole family: Bart (Nancy Cartwright), Homer (Dan Castellaneta), Lisa (Yeardley Smith), Marge (Julie Kavner), and even Maggie. These aren’t ordered by the quality of the movies or quantity of award nominations; having one nomination is enough. It does help for the episode to pay homage to more than one Oscar-nominee, but mostly these are just excellent episodes that use their source material to the fullest.
1
“Barthood”
Season 27, Episode 9
Season 27’s “Barthood” is the experimental Simpsons episode that’s based on the experimental 2014 film Boyhood by Richard Linklater. The movie was filmed over the course of about 10 years as all the actors got older, and it represents a fascinatingly realistic and heartfelt portrayal of a boy’s childhood. Similarly, “Barthood” jumps around to the most formative points of Bart’s upbringing. As it starts with him younger than he is in the canon (which this episode is not), this proves to be one of the strongest Simpsons episodes set in the past. “Barthood” is also unique in how it explores Bart’s life when he’s older, which likewise makes it one of the best Simpsons episodes set in the future.
Boyhood was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor for Ethan Hawke, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Film Editing. It even won an Oscar—the tremendous Patricia Arquette, specifically—for Best Supporting Actress. It’s also worth noting that Linklater has a 2026 Oscar-nominated movie with Ethan Hawke called Blue Moon, for those interested in checking that out before this year’s Oscar ceremony.
2
“Cape Feare”
Season 5, Episode 2
By far one of the most famous Simpsons episodes you can find, “Cape Feare” has a title that’s extremely close to the title of the film it parodies: Cape Fear. When Sideshow Bob (Kelsey Grammer) is unwisely released from prison on parole (despite having the hilariously menacing “Die Bart Die” tattoo on his torso), he goes after Bart Simpson. At this point in their rivalry, Bart has already had Sideshow Bob arrested for framing Krusty (Dan Castellaneta) and trying to blow up Aunt Selma (Julie Kavner)—so Bob has a bone to pick with him. He’s out for revenge, similar to how the antagonist of Cape Fear wants revenge on the lawyer who got him convicted.
J. Lee Thompson‘s original version from 1962 did not earn any Oscar nods, but Martin Scorsese‘s chilling 1991 remake sure did: Robert De Niro and Juliette Lewis were both nominated for their performances. No surprises there; De Niro, with a southern accent, is terrifying (as Killers of the Flower Moon makes even clearer), and Lewis puts in one of the best teenage performances of the decade. Alas, no wins. Still, the movie is worth watching. It also led to this Simpsons classic, which manages to capture some of the terror of Scorsese’s underappreciated thriller without sacrificing any laughter along the way.
3
“Marge on the Lam”
Season 5, Episode 6
Arguably the most impressive entry from Season 5, “Marge on the Lam” is largely about two women who grow a touching bond. The matriarch of the Simpson family befriends neighbor Ruth Powers (Pamela Reed), who is having a rough divorce. Marge isn’t the most adventurous person in the world, which is part of the original character’s charm, but this entry provides her with an arc that steadily uses the power of friendship to steer her onto the wild side. Without losing any of the sitcom’s trademark humor, it’s one of Marge’s best storylines by a mile.
Soon she and Ruth are on the run from the cops, which turns this into a magnificent parody of Ridley Scott‘s feminist road movie Thelma & Louise. While the pair of friends in the film are on the run for much darker reasons, the episode nonetheless marries humor with pathos in a way that adeptly touches on the movie’s themes. Thelma & Louise garnered six Academy Award nominations: Best Actress for its dynamic duo Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Film Editing. Screenwriter Callie Khouri wound up winning the Original Screenplay Oscar, and deservedly so.
4
“Bart of Darkness”
Season 6, Episode 1
The Simpsons‘ sixth season premiere is “Bart of Darkness,” a title taken from Joseph Conrad‘s novella Heart of Darkness. However, neither that nor Francis Ford Coppola‘s adaptation, Apocalypse Now, seem to have anything to do with the story. As Bart breaks his leg trying to dive into the family’s overcrowded pool, he falls and breaks his leg on the ground. Unable to swim and claim the glory of popularity that Lisa now basks in, he recedes to his room and watches with suspicion a very distressed Ned Flanders (Harry Shearer) next door. Bart is convinced this man killed his wife, and it’s both funny and suspenseful as he enlists Lisa to help him get to the bottom of this mystery.
Sound familiar? That’s because it’s based on Alfred Hitchcock’s incredibly well-crafted Rear Window, which somehow received only four nominations at the 1955 Oscars: Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography (Color), and Best Sound (Recording). And it won…none of them? Well, just another example of the Academy making mistakes. Granted, Rear Window had to compete with On the Waterfront, but the total lack of wins and meager number of nominations is still ridiculous. At least this Simpsons episode helps make up for that a little.
5
“Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington”
Season 3, Episode 2
When Lisa signs up for a national speech contest, she works her way into the final round. It’s held in D.C., hence the story’s title “Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington.” Sometimes an episode’s title doesn’t line up with the material in the story itself. Not the case with this season three gem, which bases its story off of Frank Capra‘s 1939 political masterpiece Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Just as Mr. Smith (James Stewart) goes from wide-eyed newbie to disillusioned critic, Lisa quickly and compellingly learns that American politics can be a brutal game indeed.
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is a giant of cinema, and it had a good run at the Oscars with a whopping 11 nominations: Outstanding Production (now called Best Picture), Best Director, Best Actor, Best Writing: Screenplay, Best Writing: Original Story (another old-school oddity), Best Supporting Actor for Claude Rains and Harry Carey, Best Art Direction, Best Film Editing, Best Music: Scoring, and Best Sound Recording. As it was up against Victor Fleming‘s titans The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind, our film only won an Oscar for Best Writing: Original Story. Nevertheless, neither of those movies ever did (nor ever will) get such a hilarious and cinematic treatment from The Simpsons.
6
“You Only Move Twice”
Season 8, Episode 2
“You Only Move Twice” is one of the greatest Simpsons parody episodes of all time. There’s so much packed into this story that there’s no time for things to make sense. Homer is quickly offered a better-paying job at Globex Corporation, and the Simpsons swiftly cast off their old lives for paradise at Cypress Creek. If you thought the Springfield Powerplant was problematic, you ain’t seen nothing yet! Homer’s boss (a famous Albert Brooks performance) is essentially a James Bond supervillain. As the audience witnesses sidesplitting action pieces, Homer casually walks around without even realizing what’s going on.
Given how this parody works more as a mix of Bond tropes than a focus on one specific Bond, and given how this story’s Mr. Bont is clearly a parody of Sean Connery‘s Bond, we’ll only list the Oscar-nominated entries in the franchise that starred Connery. 1964’s Goldfinger won for Best Sound Effects, 1965’s Thunderball won for Best Visual Effects, and 1972’s Diamonds Are Forever was nominated for Best Sound. Interestingly, the episode is named after “You Only Live Twice” (which also starred Connery), but that didn’t receive any nominations.
7
“A Streetcar Named Marge”
Season 4, Episode 2
Season 4’s “A Streetcar Named Marge” is absolutely stuffed with Academy-worthy allusions. As Marge tries out for the coveted role of Blanche DuBois in a local musical adaptation of A Streetcar Named Desire, her relationship with Homer is movingly compared to that of Stella (Kim Hunter) and Stanley (Marlon Brando). This was the first film to win three of the four acting Oscars, which is already amazing. But it also won Best Production Design, and received a whopping eight more nominations on top of that: Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Original Score, Best Sound Mixing, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actor (somehow Brando didn’t win), Best Director, and obviously, Best Picture.
“A Streetcar Named Marge” is such a parody-pallooza that even its subplot is based on a movie that got an Oscar nod. As Maggie and some other babies try to retrieve their pacifiers from an evil daycare woman, everything from the action to the teamwork to the music tells us this is a send-up of 1963’s The Great Escape (nominated for Best Film Editing). If that weren’t enough, the end of that plot thread features an epic reference to another 1963 classic called The Birds — which also received an Oscar nomination (for Best Special Effects). Needless to say, when it comes to Simpsons Oscar-movie parodies, “A Streetcar Named Marge” truly belongs on the podium.
The Simpsons
- Release Date
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December 17, 1989
- Network
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FOX
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Homer Simpson / Abe Simpson / Barney Gumble / Krusty (voice)
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Julie Kavner
Marge Simpson / Patty Bouvier / Selma Bouvier (voice)
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