The Simpsons’ 10 Best Kid-Friendly Episodes

Summary

• The Simpsons
  has some kid-friendly episodes that are incredibly light on the violence and adult humor, but most have subtle jokes for younger viewers.
• Classic episodes like “Marge vs. The Monorail” and “I Love Lisa” focus on younger characters, making them enjoyable for all ages.
• While
  The Simpsons
  can get dark, episodes like “Lisa’s Substitute” and “Wild Barts Can’t Be Broken” offer emotional messages for kids.

The Simpsons isn’t always suitable for children, but some of the long-running animated comedy’s best episodes are kid-friendly outings that center the show’s younger characters. The Simpsons might be a family sitcom, but that doesn’t mean that every episode of the series is free from violence, swearing, and adult humor. While The Simpsons is usually PG-rated, some of the show’s older outings include bracingly dark punchlines. For example, one infamous episode of The Simpsons ends with Homer’s enemy Frank Grimes accidentally electrocuting himself to death, only for his mourners to break into laughter at the character’s funeral as Homer loudly snores.

While the darkest jokes in The Simpsons might be confusing or distressing for younger viewers, these gags are few and far between. There is a lot of gory cartoon violence seen in Itchy and Scratchy episodes and the annual Treehouse of Horror Halloween specials. However, outside these instances, most of the adult humor in The Simpsons is subtle enough to go over the heads of younger viewers. Not only that but many great episodes of The Simpsons center on younger characters. Whether they are fast-paced adventures or moving dramatic stories, the best kid-friendly episodes of The Simpsons are all classic outings.

10 Marge Vs. The Monorail

The Simpsons Season 4, Episode 12

While most of the best Simpsons episodes for kids are those that focus mostly on Bart and Lisa, there are a few notable exceptions. A key one of these is season 4’s “Marge vs. The Monorail”, which is not only considered a classic episode, but it’s one the whole family can enjoy. While there are a few jokes that may go over the heads of younger viewers, the central plot of the town of Springfield being conned into building a dangerous monorail is simple enough that viewers of any age can grasp it.

What’s more, this episode of The Simpsons also has one of the catchiest musical numbers in the whole show. There are a few moments of more adult content, such as smoking and drinking being portrayed occasionally (as is the case with most episodes of The Simpsons), and a moment where Mayor Quimby makes an off-hand comment about adult playing cards. However, these moments are unlikely to be picked up on by younger viewers.

9 I Love Lisa

The Simpsons Season 4, Episode 15

Season 4’s “I Love Lisa” is perhaps one of the most memed The Simpsons episodes, and with good reason. Many adult fans of The Simpsons got into the show when they were younger, and “I Love Lisa” is most certainly an episode that’s proven to be absolutely hilarious even for children. The plot focuses on Lisa Simpson and Ralph Wiggum. After Lisa feels sorry for Ralph and gives him a valentine’s card, he falls head-over-heels for her, and it’s up to her to let him down gently without hurting his feelings.

Unfortunately, she ends up breaking Ralph’s heart when he backs her into a corner by professing his love for her on live TV. As with many episodes of The Simpsons there are a few moments when more adult content is mentioned in passing, but “I Love Lisa” doesn’t feature much that all but the most sensitive among younger viewers will find problematic.

8 Lisa’s Substitute

The Simpsons Season 2, Episode 19

The early seasons of The Simpsons get something of a bad rap, at least compared to the best seasons of the show that, in the eyes of most fans, came after seasons 1 and 2. The show’s Golden Age began in season 3 when the comedy writing of The Simpsons became more frenetic and the gag-per-minute rate skyrocketed. As such, the early seasons of The Simpsons can feel somewhat slow.

This episode saw Dustin Hoffman cameo as Mr. Bergstrom, a short-lived substitute teacher who made Lisa feel a little less alone during his brief tenure.

However, this gave the series room to focus on more poignant, emotionally resonant plots. Among these were the first LGBTQ+ Simpsons story as well as season 2, episode 18, “Lisa’s Substitute.” This episode saw Dustin Hoffman cameo as Mr. Bergstrom, a short-lived substitute teacher who made Lisa feel a little less alone during his brief tenure. Tender and thoughtful, “Lisa’s Substitute” is unmissable, and contains some great emotional messages for younger viewers.

7 Kamp Krusty

The Simpsons Season 4, Episode 1

The Simpsons season 4, episode 1, “Kamp Krusty,” could not be a more fitting introduction to the show’s Golden Age, and many younger viewers count this among their favorite episodes of the show. After the tear-jerking drama of “Lisa’s Substitute,” “Kamp Krusty” is a more absurd, over-the-top sort of story. When Bart and Lisa head to Krusty’s summer camp, they soon find themselves working in a sweatshop and subsisting on gruel.

This comes to an end when the kids stage a violent uprising and, in an attempt to bribe them into silence, Krusty takes them to Tijuana. While “Homer at the Bat” marks the beginning of the Golden Age, this season 4 premiere saw The Simpsons hit its bawdier, sillier stride. There area few more adult jokes thrown in, and the scenes where the kids take over Kamp Krusty feature a small amount of violence, but it’s nothing compared to (for example) the Treehouse of Horror halloween specials.

6 Lemon Of Troy

The Simpsons Season 6, Episode 24

Season 6, episode 24, “Lemon of Troy,” might be the best episode of The Simpsons, at least far as many fans are concerned. The episode sees Bart and his friends invade Shelbyville to retrieve Springfield’s prized lemon tree. This prompts Homer and the rest of Springfield’s parents to follow the boys, eventually becoming embroiled in their attempts to get back this all-important tree.

There is a smart satire of small-town prejudices at work here, but “Lemon of Troy” is mostly an uproarious parody of boys’ adventure stories. From Milhouse’s disguise kit to Martin and Nelson’s unlikely alliance, “Lemon of Troy” is a hilarious tribute to the misspent summers of childhood. This makes it an ideal episode of The Simpsons for kids, and like many episodes of the show that have proved popular with younger viewers, it doesn’t rely on adult themes or content for its laughs.

5 Bart On The Road

The Simpsons Season 7, Episode 20

Many of the most popular episodes of The Simpsons that are particularly enjoyable for younger viewers focus on Bart, and season 7’s “Bart On The Road” is among the best of them.The Simpsons season 7, episode 20, “Bart on the Road,” sees Bart and his friends take an ill-fated Spring Break road trip while Lisa bonds with Homer at work. The Simpsons originally focused on Bart, not Homer, and this outing makes it easy to see why. Resourceful but dim-witted, Bart is the perfect leader for this blatantly ill-advised escape from suburbia.

The antics of Bart, Milhouse, Martin, and Nelson make this episode endlessly re-watchable, but it is Lisa’s surprisingly sweet subplot that makes “Bart on the Road” so memorable. While the Golden Age got a lot more far-fetched, it didn’t deprive The Simpsons of the show’s heart. There’s no insinuation of any adult content in the episode too, with the only violence being when Nelson Muntz slaps the driver of another car.

4 Summer Of 4 Ft. 2

The Simpsons Season 7, Episode 25

Many kids dream of being cooler than they are, and in the schoolyard being popular is a primary concern for many young people. The Simpsons tapped into this concern perfectly, and the result is one of the most enjoyable and relatable episodes for younger fans of the show. The Simpsons season 7, episode 25, “Summer of 4 Ft. 2,” brought back the show’s heartbreaking dramatic edge for a story where Lisa sheds her nerdy persona and briefly becomes a cool slacker to fit in with new friends.

Bart’s jealousy soon gets the better of him, and he attempts to ruin his sister’s newfound popularity. However, a sweet ending ensures that this rare excursion from Springfield ends on a bittersweet note. Milhouse is also around for comic relief, although “Summer of 4 Ft. 2” also gets even more comedic mileage from Homer’s short-lived, misjudged adventures with illegal fireworks.

3 Das Bus

The Simpsons Season 9, Episode 14

There are many great episodes of The Simpsons that parody existing movies or stories, even outside the spoof-rich Treehouse of Horror specials. One of the best of these came in season 9, and even if kids aren’t aware of the source material being parodied, they’re still more-or-less guaranteed to find The Simpsons’ take on it hilarious. The Simpsons season 9, episode 14, “Das Bus,” sees the kids of Springfield Elementary dumped on a desert island thanks to a mishap involving a grapefruit and Otto the bus driver.

What follows is a loose parody of Lord of the Flies that proves the kids can’t quite sustain an entire society on their own. However, they make an impressive stab at it, and Bart’s promise of a tree house staffed by monkey butlers makes Gilligan’s Island look like Cast Away. The payoff of this Simpsons episode is the most impressive set-up in the show’s history, paying off a gag from over a year earlier.

2 Wild Barts Can’t Be Broken

The Simpsons Season 10, Episode 11

Another Bart-centric episode for the ages came in the tenth season of The Simpsons, and younger viewers particularly enjoy it because it pits the younger residents of Springfield against the adults. In The Simpsons season 10, episode 11, “Wild Barts Can’t Be Broken,” the adults and kids of Springfield end up at war with each other when Homer’s drunken antics are erroneously blamed on rowdy teens.

A surreal spoof of
Village of the Damned
, this fast-paced episode even crams a musical number and a twist ending into its storyline.

This results in the kids getting community service, prompting them to broadcast a radio program that exposes all the bad behavior of their parents. A surreal spoof of Village of the Damned, this fast-paced episode even crams a musical number and a twist ending into its storyline. While every episode listed here centers on the kids of Springfield, they are never more righteously angry at their parents than in “Wild Barts Can’t Be Broken.”

1 Skinner’s Sense Of Snow

The Simpsons Season 12, Episode 8

If there’s one time of year that’s beloved by almost all children it’s the Holiday season, so it’s no surprise that it’s a Christmas Special that ranks highest among the best episodes of The Simpsons for kids. The first Simpsons Christmas episode to focus on Springfield’s children instead of the titular family, season 12, episode 8, “Skinner’s Sense of Snow,” sees the school snowed in when Principal Skinner refuses to close shop despite a freak blizzard.

This comes back to bite him when the kids are trapped in the snowed-in school with their tyrannical principal, and they soon rebel. An anarchic episode that includes Bart and his principal battling for control of the school, Homer and Ned hallucinating, and the surreal movie “The Christmas That Almost Wasn’t But Then Was,” this is The Simpsons at its goofy, childish, charming best.