New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and political analyst Lawrence O'Donnell appeared as themselves.
Lisa notices that the molding of the soldier toys resembles Grampa, then asks if the company that used him for the photos of the plastic army men paid him.
Grampa recalls that in 1947 he was paid to model for the original army men, including a promise of a royalty for each toy.
Executive producer Al Jean was thinking about why Grampa would hang a photo of Mona in his room.
Writer Michael Price had an idea about Grampa being the model for the toy army men and having a relationship with the photographer.
[6] Director Rob Oliver spent months creating the paintings in Philip Hefflin's gallery.
[7] Bryan Batt was cast as photographer Philip Hefflin partly as a reference to his Mad Men character Sal Romano, who was fired for being gay.
[10] Tony Sokol of Den of Geek gave the episode 3 out of 5 points ranking, stating "The Simpsons' 'Mad About the Toy' plays too far to the inside and tries to have it both ways.
Club gave the episode B+ ranking, stating "It's a risk—not for addressing homosexuality, but for putting the story in the hands of Grampa, a supporting character used most often for the sort of quick-hit swipes at reactionary codgery mocking internet memes were invented for.
But few characters on The Simpsons exist just as their initial stereotypes at this point, and there's a longer-than-most history of the show finding just the right touches of grudging humanity in the old coot to make 'Mad About The Toy' work.
"[12] Texas State Representative Poncho Nevárez tweeted, "If you ever wondered how Marfa would look like in the world of the Simpsons.