Grift of the Magi
In the episode, mafia boss Fat Tony successfully extorts a large sum of money from Springfield Elementary School, forcing Principal Skinner to close it down.
Bart and Lisa decide to destroy all Funzos in Springfield but Gary Coleman, Kid First Industries' security guard, tries to intercept them.
As Principal Skinner considers a ramp for the school, mafia boss Fat Tony suggests that his construction company could build it.
After Lisa is sent to detention for doing math in marketing class, she discovers a secret room behind the blackboard; the company is using students for research to make a toy for Christmas.
When Bart and Lisa are back at home, they see an advertisement for a toy named Funzo, which has many features suggested by Springfield Elementary students during brainstorming sessions at the school.
"Grift of the Magi" was written by Tom Martin and directed by Matthew Nastuk as part of the eleventh season of The Simpsons (1999–2000).
[3] Martin got the inspiration for "Grift of the Magi" after reading a magazine article about how major companies were receiving permission to advertise their products in school students' textbooks.
"[6] In response to Scully's comment, Martin added that every year "the media would create this gigantic rush at the toy store for various things.
"[3] Guest stars in the episode include Tim Robbins as Jim Hope, Gary Coleman as himself, Joe Mantegna as Fat Tony, and Clarence Clemons as a narrator.
[2][6][7][8] Scully thought Robbins "did a great job" because the Simpsons staff wanted the character of Jim Hope to be "fun and upbeat and somebody the kids would love.
While reviewing the eleventh season of The Simpsons, DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson commented that the episode "feels like an amalgamation of elements from prior holiday programs and never really elicits much humor.
"[10] In his review of the DVD Christmas With the Simpsons, Digitally Obsessed critic Joel Cunningham wrote that the episode "comes from Season 11, well past the point when the series had sacrificed character for absurdist humor.
"[15] Adam Tyner of DVD Talk argued that the episode "has a couple of good gags (Gary Coleman chatting on the phone being my favorite) but is quickly forgettable".
