The following contains spoilers for The Simpsons season 36’s “Yellow Planet,” now streaming on Disney+TheSimpsons’season 36 wildlife riff flips the premise of a Ned Flanders episode from 19 years ago. “Yellow Planet” is a fun new special episode ofThe Simpsonsthat happens outside of the show’s main continuity. The anthology episode hops around the world in a parody of BBC and National Geographic nature documentaries by recasting theSimpsons and their assorted neighbors from across Springfieldas various forms of wildlife.
“Yellow Planet” a silly episode that isn’t afraid to go darkin some surprising ways, all while retaining pretty on-point with the show’s extended cast of characters. One of the best reimaginings focuses on Ned Flanders, who remains as much of a religious fundamentalist as normal even without being human. It’s a fun concept, and his segment of the episode actually feels like a fun flip from a previous Flanders-centric episode that nevertheless remains consistent with the characterization.
The Simpsons National Geographic Riff Turns Flanders Into A Mandril
Flanders And His Sons Are Still Themselves, Even When They Become Apes
The Simpsons' season 36 National Geographic parody “Yellow Planet"has fun transforming Ned Flanders and his sons into Mandrills but retains Flanders' anti-evolution beliefs. Among all the animals they could have been reimagined as,Ned and his sons Rod and Todd are transformed into a trio of mandrills in the African rainforest. Notably, Rod and Todd reveal that there is some debate among the monkeys that humans are connected to them on an evolutionary level.
Ned is furious with this idea, revealing that this version of Flanders still doesn’t believe in evolution and still believes that they were created in God’s image — only they believe God is a mandrill. It’s a short beat that ends with Flanders' frustrated by Rod and Todd picking up human traits like walking on their hind legs.This mimics the regular version of Ned being offendedand furious whenever his children buck his typical worldview.
How The Simpsons Season 36’s Flanders Gag Flips A Pretty Great Episode From 19 Years Ago
Flanders Previously Crusaded Against Evolution In Season 17
Making Flanders into a mandrill who doesn’t believe evolution could ever connect apes to humans is a clever riff on an established element of the character.It’s also a direct flip of one of season 17’s best episodes, “The Monkey Suit.“That episode was largely focused on Ned and Lisa, who were on opposing sides of the debate over evolution being taught in school. Ned is insistent throughout the episode that evolution is false, but relents when he can’t deny Homer’s ape-like behavior.
The mandrill Flanders in “Yellow Planet” is just as frustrated, which is a fun thematic connection between the two very different versions of the character. Both versions of Flanders are adamant about their view points, and are set off onto a tirade against evolution by the discovery that it’s an educational institution (the natural history museum in “The Monkey Suit,” one of the boy’s ‘poop throwing teachers’ in “Yellow Planet”). Given Flanders' history in the show,his reimagining as a monkey is a visual gag that fits the episode’s themewhile also reflecting the core of the character.
The Simpsons' Anthologies Prove How Enduring Springfield’s Cast Are
Springfield’s Citizens Still Feel Like Themselves Even When Living Different Lives
“Yellow Planet” is far from the first anthology episode ofThe Simpsonsto reimagine the cast as entirely different people or animals. The key to these episodes is that the show doesn’t lose sight of who the characters are at their very cores. Flanders can be a monkey or a person, but he still has to feel like Flanders. The fact thatThe Simpsonscan do that with the entire larger cast of supporting cast of charactershighlights just how defined the show’s universe isand how flexible it can be in presentation.
“Yellow Planet” does a great job of that, with the mandrill Flanders being a great example of howThe Simpsonssupporting characters don’t have to be themselves to be true to their character.
This is felt throughout much of the episode with new riffs on Homer, Marge, Bart, and Lisa, but this extends to the supporting cast too. Even as a completely different species, Ned Flanders is still the faith-driven (and subsequently judgmental) single father he has been for decades.The mandrill Flanders still feels like Ned Flanders, despite lacking many of the typical hallmarks of the character.
The Simpsons' anthologies as a whole, ranging from episode-long diversions like “Yellow Planet” to series mainstays like the Treehouse of Horror Halloween specials, require the show’s universe of supporting characters to be so distinct that they still feel in-character even reimagined in a whole new setting.They need to still be consistent with the characters who fans have spent decades falling in love with. “Yellow Planet” does a great job of that, with the mandrill Flanders being a great example of howThe Simpsonssupporting characters don’t have to be themselves to be true to their character.
