But The Simpsons already did that 24 years ago. Season 13, episode 14, “Tales from the Public Domain,” is a three-part anthology parodying three great works of literature. The second segment casts Lisa as Joan of Arc and the third segment casts Bart as Hamlet, but the first segment kicks things off with the first ever great piece of literature and casts Homer as Odysseus. The segment is called “D'oh, Brother Where Art Thou?” in reference to the Coen brothers’ Odyssey movie, O Brother, Where Art Thou?
The best thing about Nolan’s Odyssey is that it’s as much a commentary on Homer’s poem as a straightforward adaptation of it. Nolan follows most of the basic plot beats of the original epic, but he also brings in talking points and commentaries that came long after Homer composed the Odyssey. But The Simpsons did that, too — it both adapted and deconstructed the Odyssey at the same time — and it had just as much to say about Homer’s poem as Nolan’s movie did.
The difference is that Nolan took an exhaustive three hours to retell the Odyssey, and The Simpsons did it in just seven minutes. Nolan’s movie has some extraneous sequences, like the pointless trip in and out of the land of the giants, but The Simpsons didn’t have time for a single line or scene (or sight gag) that didn’t need to be there.
How Does The Simpsons' Odyssey Compare To Nolan's Movie?
Nolan and The Simpsons both adapted the Odyssey in broad strokes. They both follow Odysseus’ incredible 20-year journey as he ravages Troy and struggles to get home to Ithaca, stopping off at every island full of weirdos along the way. But it’s such a huge, sprawling tale, with such a long, drawn-out, episodic structure, that neither adaptation could possibly fit in everything.
Where Nolan plays the Odyssey totally straight, The Simpsons puts its signature absurdist comic twist on a lot of the poem’s most iconic scenes. It has the sequence where Circe turns Odysseus’ men into pigs, just like in Nolan’s movie, but in The Simpsons, since Odysseus has the appetite of Homer Simpson, he eats his entire army before he realizes what he’s done.
They both have a very different vision of Hades. When Matt Damon’s Odysseus goes to the land of the dead, it’s a barren wasteland where the spirits of the damned rise from the pitch-black soil. But when Homer’s Odysseus visits Hades, it’s a much more traditional hellscape. He sails across the River Styx (set to the song “Lady” by the band Styx), which is basically a lake of fire. The Simpsons has a much more traditional Trojan horse, too. Where Nolan buried his horse in the sand in a striking, cinematic image, The Simpsons put the Trojan horse on wheels (which fits more with the cartoon aesthetic).
Perhaps the biggest difference between Nolan and The Simpsons’ versions of the Odyssey is how they depict the gods. The Simpsons has the gods up in the clouds, looking down on humanity, as is tradition. But Nolan depicted the gods in human clothing, walking among us. His interpretation of The Odyssey leans heavily on Zeus’ law — the idea that a lowly beggar might be a god in disguise, so you should offer everyone you encounter fair hospitality — so Zendaya’s Athena is down on the battlefield, not up in heaven.
Release Date
March 17, 2002
Episode Number
14
Runtime
30 minutes
English (US) ·