Bart's prank calls occur when Bart Simpson makes a prank phone call to somebody. Usually, it's Moe, but occasionally other people are involved as well.

Moe is the frequent target of Bart's prank phone calls. Usually, Bart calls Moe's Tavern and asks for an individual by his or her name. Unbeknownst to Moe, the name is a pun or double entendre, which Bart hides by saying the last name first when he tells Moe who he's calling for. The joke is revealed when Moe calls the person's name aloud, saying their first name (or initials) first, and the last name last, where his customers proceed to laugh at his expense. Curiously, Moe has heard Bart's voice several times and has of yet not been able to identify the voice when it calls him. That said, Bart has been known to alter his voice, or it could be phone static. In addition, Moe once implied that the sender of the calls often changed his name. Sometimes Bart plays the pranks by methods other than over the phone, but the general idea is the same. While this was a running gag in earlier seasons of the show, the gag became less common and would only appear on some occasions.

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Calls

Click on one of the prank calls, and it would take you to a YouTube video of the call in-action.

Other Media

Bart's prank calls in comic books, video games, etc.

Episode Name Pun Moe's Reaction Notes Fan-Tasty Island Lee V. Mediately Leave immediately Bart called the Tavern while on a plane to the island that held a chemical named DT-36 that Homer was to smuggle into the United States for Mr. Burns without knowing The Simpsons: Bart vs. the Space Mutants I.M. Adope I am a dope Huh? Why you little... Bart gives this prank call randomly when calling Moe to lure him out into the open so his purple shirt can be sprayed orange in the first level. Largely because of this, it's the only one where Moe actually tries to attack Bart rather than simply threaten him. The Simpsons: Bart vs. the Space Mutants Stu Piddiddiot Stupid idiot Huh? Why you little... Bart gives this prank call randomly when calling Moe to lure him out into the open so his purple shirt can be sprayed orange in the first level. Largely because of this, it's the only one where Moe actually tries to attack Bart rather than simply threaten him. The Simpsons: Bart vs. the Space Mutants Isabelle Ringing Is a bell ringing? Huh? Why you little... Bart gives this prank call randomly when calling Moe to lure him out into the open so his purple shirt can be sprayed orange in the first level. Largely because of this, it's the only one where Moe actually tries to attack Bart rather than simply threaten him. The Simpsons: Virtual Springfield Igor DaPinow I gotta pee now Wait a minute... if I ever catch you, I'm gonna use your head for a wastebasket! You know that?! Heard in Moe's Tavern The Simpsons: Virtual Springfield Avery Wunzboogerz Everyone's boogers Heard in Moe's Tavern

Aftermath

When Moe realizes that it's actually a prank, he gets mad and gives the caller graphic-sounding threats like:

"It's you, isn't it, you cowardly little runt. When I get ahold of you, I'm gonna gut you like a fish and drink your blood!"

"I'll shove a sausage down your throat and stick starving dogs in your butt!"

"Listen to me, you, when I catch you, I'm gonna pull out your eyes and shove 'em down your pants so you can watch me kick the crap out of you, okay?! Then I'm gonna use your tongue to paint my boat!"

"When I get ahold of you, I'm gonna use your head for a bucket and paint my house with your brains!"

"Listen to me, you little scum sucking pus bucket! When I get my hands on you, I'm gonna pull out your eyeballs with a cork screw!"

"You rotten little punk! If I ever get ahold of you, I'll sink my teeth into your cheek and rip your face off!"

"Why you... I'm gonna chop you into little pieces and make you into a Rubik’s Cube which I would never solve!"

On one occasion, Bart played a phone prank from his house, and right after Moe realized the call was a prank, Marge happened to pick up the phone and got an earful of Moe's threat. Bewildered by the harsh language that came over the phone as soon as she picked up the handset, Marge concluded that it must have been a crossed line.[1] He's done this often enough that when he made a similar graphic threat on the phone, Lenny, Carl, and Homer tried to guess what name the prank caller was using this time around before Moe made clear that it wasn't a prank call this time around, and if anything, he knows the caller "all too well."[2]

Sometimes, Bart passes the phone to someone when Moe realizes that he has been tricked and they get an earful of Moe's threat. This happened in "Principal Charming".

One of Bart's prank calls made Moe say, "I'm a stupid moron with an ugly face and a big butt and my butt smells and I like to kiss my own butt," in "Treehouse of Horror II"[1]

On some occasions, in addition to laughing for the prank call, the patrons will also give their own witty responses at the caller's expense. In Principal Charming, after Moe requested for "Homer Sexual", Homer proceeded to jokingly say, "don't look at me" before continuing to laugh at Moe's expense. In addition, in The Bart Zone, Barney comments "That's a new one.". In Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk, after Moe asked for Bea O'Problem, Barney yells, "Ya sure do!" before all the barflies proceed to laugh. In New Kid on the Block, when Moe asks if Amanda Hugginkiss is present, Barney, in the middle of the barf,lies laughing, proceeded to yell, "Maybe your standards are too high!". Similarly, in Lost Verizon, when calling the bartender at Crocodile Dunkee in Australia, one of the patrons told the barkeep to "better put it down then, mate!" before the bar proceeded to laugh at the barkeep's expense. In Donnie Fatso, Barney Gumble amidst the laughter yells, "Be careful what you wish for!" Love is a Many Strangled Thing has Barney saying "I see it, Moe!". The Simpsons Guy has Barney saying "Then you probably shouldn't be handling food!". The Serfsons has Barney saying, "That depends--How big is your dowry?".

Homer attempted to phone-prank Moe and it backfired, due to Moe repeating the name ("Eura Snotball") back to Homer. Homer, in typical fashion, interpreted it as an insult and threatened Moe: "If I find out who this is, I'll staple a flag on your butt, and mail you to Iran!"[3]

Another time when Bart had just finished a prank call, Marge told him to go to Moe's and pick up Homer. Moe didn't recognize Bart as the phone prankster, but he did think that Bart's voice sounded familiar.[4]

Bart once managed to take advantage of Moe's constant threats to ruin Jimbo's date with Laura, by addressing himself as Jimbo Jones and giving the Simpson Address after making the prank call. Moe easily fell for it, thinking that the kid fessed up, and then took out a knife (which was rusted and dull, which was perfect for him, implying that he only intended to scare the prank caller and not actually hurt/kill the prank caller), and then arrived at the Simpson residence easily scaring Jimbo and causing Laura to break up with him.[5]

The Swedish barkeep, after learning that Bart prank called him, said in an ominous tone, "Wait a minute... If I ever get ahold of you... I will thank you for showing me the futility of human endeavor." Although Denis Leary wasn't directly pranked by Bart, he did make a similar threat to Moe's threats due to Bart doing stuff like having him star in Everybody Poops and ordering New York Yankees memorabilia in his name (Leary is a Red Sox fan), where he proceeded to call Bart on what was originally Leary's cell phone, and then, after calling Bart a "little puke," threatening to yank out Bart's heart with two fingers like he did on his show if they ever met face to face.

When Marge was a teenager, she called Moe asking for Elvis Jagger Abdul-Jabaar, the name Homer used to laugh at. Moe turned to the camera and said, "And that's the origin of that." His aftermath was "hey, don't you try and prank ME with a fake name! I will rip out your intestines and use them to make a lanyard!"

It was also implied that Moe unknowingly threatened Fat Tony after he called for a Yuri Nator, a man he was legitimately trying to contact (Yuri Nator was the name of a Russian business partner of Fat Tony's). Fat Tony also indirectly refers to the usual culprit for the prank calls Moe gets by stating that, when calling his business associate, he "didn't expect to be screamed at like some 10-year-old punk making a prank call."

In the first level for The Simpsons: Bart vs. the Space Mutants, Moe's shirt is one of the purple objects the player needs to alter. In order to lure him outside to spray him, the player needs to use one of the coins to use a payphone right outside Moe's Tavern. Upon doing so, a cutscene will play where Bart call Moe and deliver a prank call (which name Bart gave and Moe's asking the barflies is generated at random with each playthrough). Afterwards, he then says "huh? Why you little..." and then steps outside as gameplay resumes, implying he saw Bart outside and deduced who was responsible, though this is non-canon.

Behind the Laughter

A similar gag was utilized in the Family Guy episode "A Fish out of Water", where Peter Griffin is tricked by Hennessey into telling a customer about fishing in a manner that indicated that he had sex with the fish.