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1[[quoteright:204:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lisa_the_b_queen.gif]]
2
3'''Original air date:''' 9F02
4
5'''Production code:''' 10/15/1992
6
7Upset over a caricature artist's picture of her, Lisa sinks into a depression about her appearance. To cheer her up, Homer sells his ride on the Duff Blimp (which he won in a school raffle) to pay for Lisa's entry fee in an upcoming child pageant for little girls aged seven to nine, but when Lisa wins the title of Little Miss Springfield,[[note]]The real winner was struck by lightning.[[/note]] she discovers that the title is a scam to get a child spokesperson for Laramie Cigarettes.
8
9!!This episode contains examples of:
10* AbhorrentAdmirer: The unflattering caricature of Lisa depicts her this way, wearing roller skates and chasing a terrified beau.
11* AnalogyBackfire: When Lisa sinks into a depression about her appearance upon seeing a caricature artist's picture of her, Marge tries unsuccessfully to cheer her up by singing ''The Ugly Duckling''.
12-->'''Marge:''' Lisa. I know a song that will cheer you up. ''(singing)'' There once was an ugly duckling...\
13'''Lisa:''' So you think I'm ugly?\
14'''Marge:''' No! No, I meant you were one of the good-looking ducks... that makes fun of the ugly one.
15* AnimalTesting: Mentioned by Barney when Homer asks him where he got the money to pay for the blimp ticket -- with labs less willing to do this, "a guy like me can really clean up" volunteering for experiments!
16* ArtisticLicensePhysics:
17** When Lisa is crowned Little Miss Springfield, the crown and sceptre handed to her are still giving off steam even though time has passed between Amber being struck by lightning and the crown passing to Lisa. If the crown was still hot enough to have steam coming off it, it should have burnt Lisa's scalp.
18** Lightning isn't actually attracted to metal, that's a common myth.
19* ArtShift: [[https://frinkiac.com/gif/S04E04/69018/72988/ The Couch Gag]] has more exaggerated and cartoonish animation than normal. Makes sense since the family overshoots the film and has to scramble back toward the couch.
20* AsHimself: Creator/BobHope. He hosts a local [=USO=] show and presents Lisa to the crowd. They aren't happy because they were expecting an ''adult'' pageant queen (or to put it more simply, "tits and ass"), and proceed to riot in a spoof of the USO ''Playboy'' performance scene from ''Film/ApocalypseNow''.
21* BadassTeacher: The Blue-Haired Lawyer makes the mistake of making Skinner, a former Green Beret, ''angry''.
22* BaitAndSwitch: Homer tells Bart that giving a woman constant compliments will get him benefits he can only talk about when Bart is older. A ThoughtBubble then appears showing Homer's daydream about lounging in a hammock while Marge mows the lawn.
23* BeautyContest: A full pageant example with a talent competition, Q&A, etc. No swimsuit competition, as they are little girls and that would just be creepy (though Bart does mention "taping your swimsuit to your butt" and "padding" as beauty contest tricks of the trade).
24* BigBrotherInstinct: Upon seeing her baby sister smoking, Lisa refuses to continue being Laramie Cigarettes' puppet.
25* BizarreTasteInFood: After watching Lisa put some petroleum jelly on her teeth for a better smile, Homer tries eating some himself. He proceeds to polish off the entire jar offscreen.
26* BondOneLiner: "Copyright expired."
27* {{Bowdlerise}}: Recent airings on Channel 4 in the UK cut out the audience laughing at Apu’s niece describing her intended act.
28* BullyingADragon: The Blue-Haired Lawyer and his goons try this at the beginning of the episode against Principal Skinner by threatening him with a FrivolousLawsuit. [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown It doesn't end well for the Lawyer and his goons, though.]]
29* CelebrityEndorsement: Lisa, to her horror, finds herself being forced into this for Laramie Cigarettes. Earlier, when the ad for the pageant notes that Krusty the Clown will be hosting it, it cuts to black-and-white footage of Krusty blankly stating "I heartily endorse this event or product!"
30* CheapHeat: Creator/BobHope makes sure to ask what the mayor's name is before hitting the stage so he can get laughs with a joke about how much Mayor Quimby stinks at golf. It works.
31* CouchGag: Maggie is already on the couch. Homer, Marge, and Bart run off the edge of the film strip and onto an empty white space until they quickly run back.
32* DarkReprise: Homer sings "Hey there, Blimpy Boy", to the tune of "Georgy Girl" by Music/TheSeekers, in anticipation of his Duff Blimp ride. Later, when selling his ticket has seemingly backfired, he dejectedly reprises the song while mimicking a flying blimp with a pickle.
33* DeliberatelyCuteChild: Amber Dempsey.
34* DerangedAnimation: The brief moment when Lisa looks in a spoon and thinks her face looks ugly, thanks to [[https://frinkiac.com/gif/S04E04/427059/430379/ the fish eye lens effect]].
35* DidntThinkThisThrough: Apparently Apu and Sanjay didn't think to either lock up the Kwik-E-Mart or have replacement staff before they went to the Little Miss Springfield Pageant, resulting in Jimbo, Dolph and Kearney robbing the place blind.
36* DisneyOwnsThisTrope: The opening scene has Principal Skinner confronted by Disney lawyers over the carnival being advertised as "The Happiest Place on Earth" (a famous slogan for Disneyland). Being an ex-Green Beret, however, he dispatches them easily.
37-->'''Blue-Haired Lawyer:''' Principal Skinner, "The Happiest Place on Earth" is a registered Disneyland copyright.
38-->'''Principal Skinner:''' Oh now, gentlemen, it's just a small school carnival.
39-->'''Blue-Haired Lawyer:''' And it's heading for a great big lawsuit! You made a big mistake, Skinner.
40-->'''Principal Skinner:''' [''Chuckles''] Well, so did you. [''Darkly''] [[PreAssKickingOneLiner You got an ex-Green Beret mad.]] [''Skinner [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown kicks the crap]] out of the lawyer and his goons.''] Copyright expired.
41* DisproportionateRetribution: The Blue-Haired Lawyer brings along the threat of a lawsuit and a pair of really big goons to force Skinner to change the slogan of his school carnival (the slogan is a Creator/{{Disney}} copyright, but it's overkill no matter how you see it). The goons he had used on a few previous appearance of the gag to vandalize whatever the Lawyer says is copyright-protected.
42* DisqualificationInducedVictory: Lisa is crowned Little Miss Springfield after Amber is hit by lightning, making her unable to "fulfill her duties" as Little Miss Springfield. The pageant's sponsor (Laramie Cigarettes) doesn't like her speaking out against smoking so they find a {{loophole|Abuse}}: on the entry form where it says "Do not write in this space" Homer wrote "O.K." Lisa is [[ExactWords disqualified]] and the title returns to the original winner.
43* {{Expy}}: Menthol Moose for Joe Camel, the RealLife mascot for Camel Cigarettes. At the time this episode was made, the company was accused of using the mascot to market cigarettes to children subtly. Some analysts believe that Joe Camel was just as recognizable as WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse to six-year-old kids.
44* ExtremeOmnivore: Homer eating the entire tub of petroleum jelly that Lisa was using on her teeth for that frictionless smile. According to the writers and producers on the DVDCommentary,[[invoked]] this was the grossest thing Homer had yet eaten.
45* EyelashFluttering: Amber's signature move, made even more alluring by her eyelash implants.
46* FrivolousLawsuit: The Blue-Haired Lawyer is ''usually'' smart enough to avoid something like this, but when he becomes ''too'' immoral and threatens to sue Principal Skinner for copyright violation (Springfield Elementary's carnival uses Creator/{{Disney}}'s catchphrase "The Happiest Place on Earth" -- just consider that for a minute) Skinner shows them what happens when you make a former Green Beret mad. "Copyright expired", Skinner says after handily taking out the lawyers.
47* GoodParents: After learning about Lisa's complex about her appearance, Homer willingly gives up his chance to go on the Duff Blimp so to enter her into the pageant and cheer her up.
48* GreenEyedMonster: Homer for Flanders after the latter wins SecondPrize at the carnival: a new shoe buffer. He even says he wants ''that'' shoe buffer when Marge points out that the Simpsons already own one.
49* HaggisIsHorrible: Groundskeeper Willie loudly offers haggis to everyone who passes him at the Springfield Elementary carnival, but his BrutalHonesty about the ingredients can't have convinced them to want it.
50* HiddenDepths: Bart is surprisingly good at walking in high heels.
51* HindenburgIncendiaryPrinciple: Barney is given a chance at the controls of the Duff Blimp, and ends up flying it into a radio tower, where it explodes into flame. Kent Brockman even exclaims "OhTheHumanity"
52* ImprobableAimingSkills: Skinner lobs a briefcase at a fleeing goon, throwing it so high it vanishes into the sky offscreen, but still manages to score a perfect headshot that knocks the guy out in the distance.
53* ItsAllMyFault: Homer blames himself for the LoopholeAbuse that disqualified Lisa.
54* JustPlaneWrong: The Duff blimp looks like a normal modern blimp on the outside, but on the inside it has a rigid metal framework and hydrogen gas cells, just like a zeppelin, and thus is revealed when Barney ends up flying the "blimp" into a radio tower and it explodes ala ''UsefulNotes/TheHindenburg''.[[note]]Semi-averted in the years since it first aired, since the modern-day Zeppelin company ''does'' make blimps with a semi-rigid structure. They're still not filled with hydrogen, though.[[/note]]
55* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: Considering that the Blue-Haired Lawyer brought along his goons, it's pretty heavily implied that he was going to force Skinner to change the slogan with a threat of brutality and hefty collateral damage if he had to (it's an occasional gag that the Lawyer asks someone to stop doing something trademarked and the goons destroy whatever items were being used), so we get to see one of the few instances in the show when someone made the Lawyer regret doing his AmoralAttorney schtick and the ''one'' time when someone made him TalkToTheFist.
56* LaserGuidedKarma: After teasing Lisa a little by offering her Little Miss Springfield sceptre then pulling it back, Krusty gets [[BoltOfDivineRetribution blasted by lightning]] [[TooDumbToLive attracted to the metal sceptre]]. Krusty freely admits he was asking for trouble.
57* LoopholeAbuse:
58** Lisa is disqualified from being Little Miss Springfield because Homer wrote "Okay" in a box marked "Do not write in this space" on Lisa's application form.
59** Also, Laramie Cigarettes sponsoring the pageant to circumvent the laws against advertising cigarettes on TV. This is a real life reference to cigarette advertising in American racing series including the NASCAR Cup Series being advertised as the Winston Cup.
60** Amber has eyelash implants. When Lisa asks another contestant if they are illegal, she says, "Not in Paraguay."
61* MagicSkirt: Averted at one point in the episode. When Lisa is hung upside down as part of an operation to transform her hair, her sundress wilts down to expose her panties.
62* MoodSwinger: Kent Brockman, when the Duff blimp crashes:
63-->'''Kent:''' OH, THE HUMANITY!!! ... Anyway, to turn on the store's "severe tire damage" spikes, here's Little Miss Springfield.
64* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: The School Fair is advertised has being the "Happiest Place on Earth", causing Disney Lawyers to harass Principle Skinner, and threaten to sue him. At which point, Skinner breaks out Green Beret training, beating the tar out of the Lawyers, and when one flees, hurling his briefcase at him and knocking him out. He caps this off with "Copyright Expired".
65* NoodleIncident: Possibly referring to [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanessa_Williams_and_Miss_America Vanessa Williams]] resigning over nude photos of her and another woman in suggestive poses being published in Penthouse.
66-->'''Krusty:''' And now it's time to name our runner-up, who if the winner doesn't fulfill her duties, blah blah wasa wasa wasa ... And don't say it'll never happen, because we all remember that thing with what's-her-name, [''Making camera gestures''] click, click, you know. [''Wobbles his hand''] -- Nudge, nudge, wink, wink.
67* PetTheDog: As Lisa deals with her self-image issues, Bart tells her for what it's worth he thinks she is "not ugly," and [[AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther she appreciates the gesture]].
68* {{Pun}}:
69** As Lisa [[SupermodelStrut struts]] past some boys in the school cafeteria, she coyly says:
70-->'''Lisa:''' Hi fellas.
71-->'''Chuck:''' Love that chewing gum walk.
72-->'''Ralph Wiggum:''' Verrry Wrigley!
73** The headline "Lisa kicks butt!", which shows Lisa kicking down the Laramie cigarette pack on the float.
74* RefugeInAudacity: Jimbo, Dolph and Kearney take advantage of Apu and Sanjay's absence at the pageant to rob the Squishee machine from the Kwik-E-Mart.
75* RibbonCuttingCeremony: The Simpsons are watching Little Miss Springfield inaugurate the new tire spikes in front of a big box store. There she is struck by lightning, leaving runner-up Lisa as the new Little Miss Springfield.
76* SchmuckBait: Milhouse approaches a run-down looking building far away from the school fair, with notorious bully Jimbo's name right on it, and decides to walk in. It's no surprise he gets beaten and robbed.
77* ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules: When Lisa realizes that her beauty pageant stunt leads to a promotion for smoking, which subtly targets children. Lisa realizes this, and doesn’t want to set a bad example for children everywhere, and announces her morals. Even though she gets screwed out of the pageant and possibly a high payment for her work, she doesn’t care and stands by her word.
78* ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: How did Amber get eyelash implants if they're illegal? "Not in Paraguay", says one of the other contestants.
79* ScrewThisImOuttaHere:
80** Kent leaves the newscast after the wrong footage keeps being played.
81** Otto quickly hightails it to Mexico after his meddling with ride controls (at Bart's urging) causes a ride car to go exploding into the roof of Springfield Elementary.
82* ShoutOut:
83** When Barney crashes the Duff Blimp, Kent Brockman shouts, "OhTheHumanity" The same line was said when by a reporter in 1937 when the ''Hindenburg'' crashed.
84** The scene of Lisa being sworn in as the new Little Miss Springfield parodies UsefulNotes/LyndonJohnson being sworn in after UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy's assassination.
85** Two to ''Franchise/StarWars'': One of the hairdos Lisa gets is Leia's "cinnamon buns", and Darth Vader is one of the celebrity caricatures at the caricaturist's booth at the carnival.
86** Bart demonstrating how to walk in heels, soon he starts to strike a pose where he could coquettishly shows off his backside and legs deliberately alluding to the famous pin up photo of Betty Grable.
87* SmokingIsNotCool: Little Miss Springfield is sponsored by Laramie's, a cigarette multinational that bald-facedly admits it only sponsors events for the intent of advertising its product on TV[[note]]Cigarette advertising on the airwaves was legally prohibited in the U.S. in 1971, while ''all'' tobacco advertising would be banned over all platforms in 1999, partly because of the Joe Camel scandal[[/note]] aside from promoting smoking among children. When Lisa realizes she is being exploited by the company she immediately rebels against them and uses her influence to provide more socially-admirable messages, such as making a stance that government money could be used for better education instead of spending it in sports[[note]]A touchy issue in the States, as sporting leagues there use the franchise system instead of the more common "promotion-relegation" system.[[/note]] (which caused a football team to be chased out by angry nerds).
88* SpecialGuest and CreatorCameo: Lona Williams (a staff member on the show who actually worked the beauty pageant circuit when she was a child) as Amber Dempsey.
89* SpellingSong: Krusty belts one out at the end of the pageant, though the scene changes after its opening lines:
90-->''L, the losers in her wake''
91-->''I, the income she will make''
92-->''T is for her tooth-filled mouth''
93-->''[[RhymingWithItself T is for her tooth-filled mouth...]]''
94* StrawHypocrite: Amber was Pork Princess ''and'' Little Miss Kosher in the same week (of course, the real hypocrite would likely be the one who represents her).
95* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome
96** Homer's ImagineSpot of what it would be like to ride the Duff Blimp is just him getting to see grass patterns from a sufficiently high altitude. [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] when it then takes a detour to a football stadium where the audience is cheering for him.
97** When Lisa reveals how funding is typically diverted to college football rather than towards education, a group of four nerds angrily attack the players, who run away in fear. Then the SpinningPaper reveals that the nerds got pummeled in the ensuing melee.
98* TakeThat: Laramie's mascot Menthol Moose (who is crushed when Lisa kicks over the large cigarette box prop) parodies the now-discontinued Camel cigarette mascot Joe Camel, who became controversial at the time because of his recognition level among kids.
99* ThisIsReality: Homer comforting Lisa after seeing the caricature that upset her.
100-->'''Homer:''' Oh, Lisa, this isn't real. It's just how you might look if you were a cartoon character.
101* TookALevelInKindness: Homer gives up his ticket for the Duff zep so Lisa could participate in the pageant. This was pretty much the first time in the series' history in which Homer doesn't have his crabby demeanor from the first three seasons (a trait that would disappear during this season).
102* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Barney is never seen again after [[HindenburgIncendiaryPrinciple crashing the Duff Blimp]], and how he survived is [[UnexplainedRecovery never explained]].
103* WholesomeCrossdresser: Bart Simpson demonstrates this by walking in heels, and surprisingly, he does it much better than Lisa.
104* WrongFootageGag: Kent Brockman gets this done to him ''twice'' in the finale: First, when throwing to footage of Lisa losing her Little Miss Springfield crown, and again for his interview with Pope John Paul II. Both times, it cuts to footage of a goat being fed milk by a bottle.
105--> '''Kent:''' That's it. I cannot work under these conditions. If anybody wants me, I'll be downstairs at [=McDougal=]'s. Call the weekend guy. I don't care.

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