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There’s something about the Bob’s Burgers (2011-) Thanksgiving specials that bring fans a lot of warmth and comfort. Since season three, the series has managed to put out a Thanksgiving episode every year. So fans are graced with another crazy yet wholesome story about the Belcher family’s Thanksgiving — which is often less than conventional and full of outrageous shenanigans that would ruin the day for most people. But, despite the crazy antics, there is something about Bob’s Burgers and its Thanksgiving specials that stand out from all the rest — and that is its constant emphasis on the importance of family.
The Art Of The Belchers’ Unconventional Thanksgivings
The holidays can be stressful for most regular folks, but the Belcher family’s holiday stressors widely differ from the norm. Bob’s Burgers is known for its interesting depictions of Thanksgiving. Despite Thanksgiving being Bob’s favorite holiday, something always seems to go wrong, leaving Bob to pick up the pieces (almost) every time. These aren’t minor mishaps either, as the family always seem to deal with the most absurd situations on Bob’s sacred day. Much like the Halloween and Christmas specials, the show has gifted fans with the most creative stories, leaving very rarely a dull moment.
Season three gave us Bob’s Burgers’ very first Thanksgiving episode, “An Indecent Thanksgiving Proposal,” in which Bob makes an unusual deal with his eccentric landlord, Mr. Fischoeder. He asks to “borrow” Bob’s family for Thanksgiving to pose as his own in order to win the heart of an old flame who is a known homewrecker. Bob objects at first until Mr. Fischoeder offers five months of free rent. Bob poses as the cook and attempts to keep up with family holiday traditions, only to find that his family was getting a little too into their fake family roles.
The entire episode is absolutely absurd, as Bob drinks away his disappointment with a bottle of absinthe he found while working in the kitchen. He goes through a pretty intense hallucination that involves a giant turkey and the summoning of a bean-stalk-like tower made of Thanksgiving foods. The scene is a reference to a scene from the classic Studio Ghibli film, My Neighbor Totoro, which the series replicates hilariously well. Bob ultimately gets too drunk and ruins the dinner, but not before getting hunted down by Mr. Fischoeder’s homewrecking guest, who is also a sharpshooter. Luckily Bob doesn’t get shot… but his turkey has seen better days.
This was merely the beginning of the Belcher family’s bizarre Thanksgivings, which continued to amuse fans every year since. From escaping a town full of runaway feral turkeys to Bob attempting to cook an expensive turkey in the alley, all of these episodes remain interesting and exciting, yet different each year. Certain things never change, though, such as Bob’s obsession with turkey. Whether undercooked, soaked in toilet water, or smoked in a dirty alley, Bob always tries his best to salvage the day and make the perfect Thanksgiving dinner.
Memorable Moments That Stick With Fans
The Bob’s Burgers Thanksgiving specials hold many memorable moments that are difficult to replicate. Linda’s famous “Thanksgiving Song” is one that fans automatically know and love, to the point where it became an anthem every holiday season. Coincidentally, the song was also birthed from the very first Bob’s Burgers Thanksgiving special, in which the voice actor for Linda, John Roberts, completely ad-libbed the song during recording. Even to this day, fans can’t hear the line “pass the cranberry sauce” without following up with the rest of the classically quirky song.
Speaking of quirky, another memorable and heartwarming episode comes from season seven’s “The Quirkducers.” In this episode, the Belcher children attempt to get out of a full day of school by taking over the Thanksgiving play. Though Tina is thrilled to share her story via the school play, Louise has ulterior motives. In order to get out of school early before the Thanksgiving holiday, Louise plans a disaster to happen in the middle of the play that would supposedly allow the kids to go home early. Meanwhile, Tina struggles with self-image and constantly worries about whether or not she is too “quirky” among her peers.
Unfortunately, the plan backfires when each of the kids’ turkey heads explodes, raining raw meat and gizzards all over the audience. Louise starts to second guess if her plan was a good idea upon seeing the gory mess around her. Before the show can be shut down, however, Tina steps up and improvises with a solo, taking attention away from the disturbing scene. Tina sings an endearing song about being yourself and having the guts to do so — pun intended. This was another episode that was downright outrageous in content but also held a very important message: staying true to yourself and that it is absolutely okay to stand out among the crowd.
Family Always Comes First
Though every Bob’s Burgers Thanksgiving episode may come with crazy antics, a positive message is always present. This reigns true for all of the Bob’s Burgers Thanksgiving specials as fans watch the Belcher family consistently reminds them of what is truly important during the holiday season, which is togetherness. The series does a great job encompassing family values, with one example being from season four’s “Tukey in a Can.” In this episode, Bob attempts a new three-day brine recipe for his Thanksgiving turkey, only to find his precious turkey cruelly dunked in the toilet every night.
While Bob tries to salvage Thanksgiving by buying more turkeys, he also tries to figure out who is sabotaging him. More stress is added with weird Aunt Gayle staying with the family, and even more when teenage daughter Tina keeps pressuring her parents to let her wear lipstick and sit at the adult table already. In the end, it was Bob who unknowingly sabotaged his own turkeys. It turned out that while sleepwalking, Bob would take the turkey and put it on the toilet, thinking it was toddler Tina from the days when he potty-trained her. Bob was also stressing about his kids growing up too quickly with the stress of having the perfect Thanksgiving.
This shows that Bob values his time with his kids, especially on Thanksgiving — his favorite holiday. And it most certainly is his special day, as he gets to combine two of the things he absolutely loves the most, which are cooking and family. This may very well have something to do with Bob’s broken childhood, as he lacked a mother growing up after her death — not to mention he and his father never saw eye to eye and remain somewhat estranged.
Perhaps this is a way for Bob to fulfill his dream of being a part of a whole family where he can spend time doing nice things with them. One of Bob’s favorite things is cooking, and he consistently wants to share that with his family. This also explains why Bob takes it so personally when he sees his family pose as someone else’s in season one’s “An Indecent Thanksgiving Proposal,” even though he was guaranteed five months of free rent. Spending time with family has always been Bob’s main priority on Thanksgiving (aside from cooking), which is why he hates any crazy setbacks. Despite these crazy setbacks, the Belcher family always manages to stick together in the face of adversity.
In season six’s “Gayle Makin’ Bob Sled,” Bob goes the extra mile (literally) to get Gayle back to the Belcher home for Thanksgiving so she can spend it with the family. Bob endures having to pull Gayle and her cat, Mr. Business, on a snow sled after not being able to drive in the snow — which was something he didn’t necessarily have to do but wanted to because Gayle was family. The Belcher family defines togetherness, even during the less dramatic setbacks. An example of this comes from season eleven’s “Diarrhea of a Poopy Kid;” Gene catches a stomach bug and spends all Thanksgiving in the bathroom, miserable for missing out on the holiday fun.
Even still, the Belchers continued to make Gene a part of it all by spending their time on the other side of the bathroom door, talking with Gene, and doing things to help him feel a little better while he recovered. This particular episode isn’t as crazy or bizarre as all the rest, but it shows the family dealing with an actual real-life issue that people can relate to. This episode is extremely heartwarming and shows what it truly means to be there for one another.
The Lasting Affect On Fans
Bob’s Burgers has absolutely delivered every year when it comes to holiday specials, and Thanksgiving has never been an exception. The show’s Thanksgiving episodes have become an iconic staple of the show, with trademark elements that can’t be replicated easily in other animated series.
And though the show is full of zany and ridiculous antics every holiday season, its message never changes. Bob’s Burgers reminds us of the importance of family and that even during the most frustrating setbacks, we still have our loved ones. Whether it be family or friends, Bob’s Burgers reminds us to be thankful for the good times spent with those we love most — with plenty of good food to go along with it.