A banner appears above the couch celebrating the show's 22nd season. A Fox executive approaches the family with a cupcake, takes a bite, and walks away, disappointing the family.
As Homer, Lisa, and her friends watch the announcement of the year's Nobel Prize winners, they are astounded to hear that Krusty the Clown has won the Peace Prize. Krusty picks Homer to accompany him to Oslo for the awards ceremony to ensure that his jokes will be met with laughter, and Homer decides to take Bart with him. Their plane lands in The Hague, and it is revealed that the Peace Prize announcement was a ruse to bring Krusty there so he could be tried by the International Court of Justice for his deplorable public behavior over the years, such as dropping a monkey from the Eiffel Tower in Paris, and stealing the act from a local clown in The Hague. Homer and Bart search desperately for any evidence to show that Krusty has made a genuine contribution to humanity, and eventually argue that his refusal to perform at Sun City because he wanted potato chips led directly to the South Africangovernment's decision to release Nelson Mandela from prison. Even though these two incidents are not connected in any way, the court accepts this argument and frees Krusty, who immediately seeks out the nearest place to buy marijuana — the courthouse cafeteria.
Meanwhile, Marge surprises Lisa, who is despondent about Bart attending the Peace Prize ceremony instead of her, by sending her to a performing arts camp for a week. She eagerly immerses herself there in music and theater, meeting several campers who love to break into song and two guitar-playing hipster counselors, Ethan and Kurt. When Marge takes her home at the end of the week, Lisa has trouble readjusting to normal life and looks for a chance to express her newly awakened creative side. She runs away from home and seeks out Ethan and Kurt in "Sprooklyn", described by the counselors as the "artistic hotbed of Springfield". However, she soon learns that they have grossly exaggerated the area, which is really a run-down slum, and that they actually work at a sandwich shop. They sing a song about the difficulties of being an artist, during which Krusty gets beaten up for accidentally announcing he is the prison snitch. Ethan and Kurt encourage her to return to her family and think about trying to make an artistic name for herself when she is older. As Marge arrives to take Lisa home, Ethan and Kurt show off a mural that they have painted in her honor, which takes up an entire side of a building.
Production
"Elementary School Musical" featured guest appearances from Glee cast members Lea Michele (left), Amber Riley (center), and Cory Monteith (right).
Yeah, we were over the moon. We don't play ourselves, because most people won't know who we are, but they'll look like yellow versions of ourselves. We play counsellors at an arts camp that Lisa's going to. It's pretty fun. We just went to a studio and recorded it, but, yeah, we were really flattered.[5]
"Elementary School Musical" was initially broadcast on September 26, 2010, in the United States as part of the animation television night on Fox. Upon airing, the episode was viewed by 7.8 million households. "Elementary School Musical" garnered a 3.7/8 rating in the 18–49 demographic, according to the Nielsen ratings.[8] "Elementary School Musical" ranked twenty-third in the 18–49 demographic for the week.[9]
Television critics were polarized with "Elementary School Musical".
Emily VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club gave the episode a 'C+' grade. Although she expressed satisfaction towards many aspects of the episode, such as the character development of Lisa Simpson, VanDerWerff criticized the songs performed in the episode. In response to the appearance of Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie of the Flight of the Conchords, she stated: "I have no idea if the writers wrote new songs for the two guys in Flight of the Conchords to sing [...] but the songs they sang were pretty weak."[7] Similarly, VanDerWerff was critical of the guest appearances of Michele, Riley, and Monteith, and stated: "Bringing in the Glee kids to sing a take on "Good Vibrations" that was, frankly, awful mostly just felt like an attempt to have guest stars in nothing parts so they could be promoted.[7]
In contrast, Brad Trechak of TV Squad felt that the "Elementary School Musical" was an enjoyable start to the twenty-second season of the series, and retorted that the appearances of Clement and McKenzie was the highlight of the episode.[6]
Similarly, Eric Hochberger of TV Fanatic wrote, "We actually loved Bret and Jemaine doing what they do best last night: playing characterized versions of themselves. Unlike the Glee kids, our favorite duo from New Zealand were given decent songs and some pretty great lines."[10] Hochberger gave the episode a 3.5 out of 5 stars.[10]
