Eeny Teeny Maya Moe

Plot

Homer tries to spend more time with Maggie and brings her to Moe's Tavern. Moe is cleaning for a date and discovers a window previously hidden by grime. Outside is a playground, which Homer uses to watch Maggie while at the bar. He sends Maggie to play with other babies, but they are ruthless bullies.

Marge notices Maggie's discomfort after Kearney's strong baby nearly hurts her and worries Homer is neglecting her. After seeing a commercial for a surveillance camera in a teddy bear's eye, Marge buys a spy camera attached to Maggie's hair band and sees the gangster babies bullying her. Marge is surprised, but then sees Homer, who discovered the truth, rush to rescue Maggie. Homer is beaten up by Kearney's son, but Maggie jumps to his defense.

Homer says he loves both her and Marge, and Marge tearfully calls him a wonderful father. Meanwhile, Moe's internet date Maya is a little person. Moe loves her but worries about his friends' opinions. He takes her on a double date with Homer and Marge, who do not care about her size.

Homer suggests Moe marry her, but Moe's jokes about her height insult Maya and she rejects his proposal. Lenny and Carl advise Moe to do something risky to win her back. Moe seeks surgery to become shorter; Dr. Hibbert refuses, but Dr. Nick Riviera agrees. Maya stops Moe before surgery, wanting someone who sees her as beautiful, not short.

Moe ignores her and she leaves. Homer consoles Moe, saying he found love once and can again. Moe wonders how a small woman could make him feel so big.

Cultural references

The title parodies the children's rhyme "Eeny Meeny Miny Moe." Kearney's son banging bottles on his fingers references the 1979 film The Warriors. A play on a Philip Glass score theme plays during a commercial about leaving kids unguarded. Moe references Tarzan and The Berenstain Bears. His phrase "Oh, frabjulous day, calloo callay!" alludes to Lewis Carroll's "Jabberwocky." When Moe turns on Maya's television, it shows a scene from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory with Oompa Loompas singing.

Maya says her internet photo was taken at Legoland. Moe tears down a dwarf tossing advertisement and throws out a copy of Little Women. He asks Maya if her size is a "Benjamin Button deal." Moe states he is a snake handler, previously mentioned in the 1992 episode "Homer the Heretic."

Reception

Since airing, the episode has received mostly positive reviews from television critics. Robert Canning from IGN gave it a 7.6/10 and said Homer consoling Moe was "a sweet way to end this enjoyable episode." Erich Asperschlager of TV Verdict wrote that the episode hit a nice middle ground between focusing on minor characters and the family, calling it "a solid entry in a (thus far) solid season." Hank Azaria was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance for his role as Moe Szyslak in this episode, but lost to fellow Simpsons cast member Dan Castellaneta for "Father Knows Worst."

John Frink was nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award in the Animation category in 2010 for writing the episode. The Simpsons was the only show nominated in the category, with the other nominated episodes being "The Burns and the Bees," "Take My Life, Please," "Gone Maggie Gone," and "Wedding for Disaster," the last of which won.