User Reviews

'Lisa the Vegetarian' is easily one of the best episodes in the history of The Simpsons. In the episode, the family take a trip to a children's amusement park where they visit a petting zoo. A cute, baby lamb that Lisa pets later comes back to her in her mind when Marge serves lamb chops for dinner, and Lisa realises she can no longer eat any kind of meat. Her newfound vegetarian beliefs are mocked by her family members, especially Homer and even including Marge. She is also ostracised by her teachers and classmates at school, which drives Lisa to try and force her newfound beliefs on all the residents of Springfield at a barbecue hosted by Homer. After receiving advice from Apu (the only notable town resident who is also vegetarian) and fellow vegetarians Paul McCartney and the late Linda McCartney (voiced by themselves), Lisa realises she was wrong to try and force her beliefs. She apologises to her dad for this, who in turn apologises for mocking Lisa.

What makes this such a great episode? For starters, it's an episode that focuses on Homer and Lisa's relationship, which is always a good start as it ensures an episode packed with heart as well as humour. But the real magical thing about LTV is that it teaches two very important lessons that everyone could really do with learning. First of all, the obvious one - it is wrong to unjustly criticise and ostracise someone just because they have beliefs that are different from your own. It Homer who learns this at the end of the episode when he realises how hurt Lisa is when she is driven to run away from home. But not just that, the episode also teaches that it is equally wrong for the 'victim' to attempt to force their beliefs onto other people who don't share them. Lisa is taught this by Apu and the McCartneys when it is revealed that Lisa and Apu's beliefs are actually different - Lisa is vegetarian whilst Apu is technically vegan, and despite this Apu does not force his view on Lisa.

Put simply, this is a wonderful episode in the middle of one of the Simpsons's strongest seasons, with plenty of humour and drama. Lisa gets a lot of hate because she has certain beliefs - this episode is essentially addressing this as it rightfully explains that hating on someone for believing in something you don't is a very wrong thing to do.

"Lisa the vegetarian" is another classic from the good years. It was another episode where something big (Lisa's vegetarianism) started which would continue to repeat itself in many subsequent episodes, such as Ned and the leftorium.

I liked the kiddie park bit with the way they made fun of how sometimes small amusement park type places are lacking in quality, such as the condition of the three little pigs, their obvious speaker mouths and unconvincing voices along with the house doing nothing but barely tipping over when the wolf blows on it. I also found funny how Maggie got scratched out of one of the sheep's fur at the petting zoo when Marge couldn't find her for a moment.

The sheeps and lambs at the petting zoo part of the park are the key things that get Lisa starting up her big concerns regarding eating meat while eating lamb chops the evening after seeing the lambs at the park (I noticed how the Simpsons were never seen eating lamb chops before this episode (it was often pork chops), but they suddenly decide to make them right after the visit to the petting zoo). Then Lisa's thought balloons showing meat coming from different animals (including a joke made on the rumors on what hot dogs are really made of) and Homer mentioning bacon, ham, and pork. Then Lisa responds "Dad, those are all from the same animal". Homer sarcastically: "yeh right, one magical animal". Homer saying pigs are magical animals there was kind of a joke on his love of pork chops and bacon, and also with the roast suckling pig Homer fondly presents later this episode. Then Lisa's imagining the lamb from the park saying "Lisa, what did I ever do to yo-o-ou-ou" in a lamb's voice, and then at school while disecting worms, Lisa imaging the worm saying the same thing in the lamb's voice, and Lisa saying "why does it talk like a lamb?". Then that causing Ms. Hoover to push the independent thought alarm, along with Lunchlady Doris pushing it too after Lisa complains about her serving meat in the cafeteria. Then, the hilarious Troy McClure "Meat and you" filmstrip with funny lines encouraging meat eating and little Timmy then saying at the end of the strip "wow Mr. McClure, I was a grade A Moran to ever question eating meat". Troy: "yes you were Timmy". Then Lisa saying right after "do they really expect up to swallow that tripe!?" followed by tripe in the classroom being offered to all the students and them all attacking it. You think grade school kids would ever be shown enjoying tripe other then here when they're only seeming to do it to make Lisa look bad?

Then come the great parts of Homer's big BBQ, all the main Springfield characters attending including Chief Wiggum and the Flanders. Lisa's fierce protesting, Homer's famous runaway roast pig from Lisa bulldozing it away (with Marge yelling "Bart! No!!", "oh, sorry Bart, force of habit. Lisa! No!!"). Smithers asking Burns if he'll donate money to the orphanage with Burns responding "when pigs fly", then Homer's pig flying past his window. I also loved the ending sequence showing the pig still flying to Paul McCartney's "maybe I'm amazed". Paul singing to the pig flying itself was sort of a homage to the psychedelic cartoon images to the Beatles singing in their films like "Yellow submarine". That and Paul McCartney's visit to Apu's roof garden when they all encourage Lisa to stick to her vegetarian ways without badgering people about it, and Lisa then agreeing to do so (sorry, there'll be no more flying pigs after this episode). Also the non-alcoholic beer joke, Apu's vegetarian shirt "don't have a cow, man" (Bart reference), and Apu finding even Lisa a monster because in spite of all her protesting this episode, she'll still eat cheese and dairy products but Apu won't. Apu being a full vegan and Lisa just being a ovo-lacto vegetarian, where you eat eggs and dairy but no meat, fish, or anything where an animal has to be slaughtered to eat it.

The bbbq scenes are hilarious and the start of Lisa becoming a vegetarian is good but I don't like her forcing her beliefs onto everyone but the bit with apu is good and so is the end.

This episode sets a good example on people that meat is wrong. That's because I'M A VEGETARIAN! This also marks the first time I've seen Troy McClure, one of my favorite characters. You might remember him from such educational films as "2-3= Negeative Fun" and "Firecrackers: The Silent Killer". Plus, Paul and Linda McCartney guest star as themselves. I dedicate this episode and comment to all vegetarians everywhere. This episode gives us a little bit to think about. The animals, the differences, the reason why Troy McClure can't star in a box-office hit. Thank you for reading. Oh, almost forgot Paul's not dead.

THE END, EVERYBODY! P.S. Seriously.

Linda McCartney is the only spouse of a Beatle to provide a voice in The Simpsons, and she does so in Lisa the Vegetarian, which also features the voice of Paul "Wings" McCartney. It happens that Paul is the last of the surviving Beatles to lend his voice to The Simpsons, however there is a caveat because you have other Beatles such as Pete Best and Jimmie Nicol who were drummers for the band (Pete Best pre-Ringo Starr and Jimmie Nicol when Ringo was ill during the Australian tour). Perhaps Family Guy could have Pete Best and Jimmie Nicol providing guest voices to give them due recognition init.