I'm a huge Simpsons fan. I have been ever since I first saw an episode around 1991. It's no secret that The Simpsons hasn't been as good as it once was for many years now and "The Simpsons Meet the Bocellis in Feliz Navidad" is no exception.
Set on Christmas Day, the family are opening presents and Homer gets Marge The Bocellis to sing for her as a gift.
This short film feels like an overlong music video. Simpsons fans have seen it all before. Celebrity guests being more important than plot. It's a real embarrassment to the franchise when there's been many memorable guest appearances that have enhanced the plot obvious ones like: Dustin Hoffman, Danny De Vito and Michael Jackson and even in later episodes Peter Frampton and Werner Herzog have added something. Here the Bocellis are wasted - very little in the way of gags or scripting.
There's a joke were Bart is trying to open a present that is obviously a Bike. Hasn't Bart received a bike as a present multiple times now? This would be funny if it was knowingly ironic and back referenced. There's some amusement at seeing Steamboat Itchy, but the meta humour is really played out in The Simpsons. I still love The Simpsons and think this is an okay and quite fun short, but it's nowhere near as entertaining or charming as the Maggie Simpson shorts and it only further highlights that The Simpsons is a shadow of its former self.
