It’s Christmas time in the Smith household, which means a delightful combination of awkward family gatherings and a hefty dose of Jerry’s misguided holiday spirit. Jerry, in his infinite wisdom, insists on promoting the idea of a “human holiday,” which he thinks will be a wonderful way to force his family to visit his parents. Naturally, this plan involves confiscating all of Morty, Beth, and Summer’s electronic devices, because nothing says “festive cheer” like ripping away teenagers’ access to their screens.
Just as Jerry’s holiday cheer reaches peak levels, Rick bursts in with a homeless man decked out in a Santa outfit—because what better way to celebrate the season than with a jolly old stranger? He introduces the man as Ruben, a surprise guest who will definitely make the holiday party a little more interesting, before he shuffles off to the garage to presumably continue his genius-level tinkering.
As the holidays roll on, Jerry’s idyllic vision of a cozy family Christmas gets derailed by the appearance of Jacob, his mother’s new boyfriend. Jacob, who is clearly living his best life in a three-way relationship with Jerry’s parents, becomes the apple of everyone’s eye except Jerry’s. While the rest of the family welcomes this new arrangement with open arms (and probably a few glasses of eggnog), Jerry’s insecurities bubble to the surface. He spirals into a pit of anxiety that makes him about as comfortable as a porcupine at a balloon party.
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Meanwhile, Morty stumbles upon Rick’s latest (and rather disturbing) invention—a Jurassic Park-style amusement park located inside Ruben’s body. Yes, you read that right. Rick shrinks himself and Morty down to microscopic size and injects them into Ruben’s chest cavity. Morty quickly realizes he’s now a tiny tourist in a place called Anatomy Park, where he meets the eccentric Dr. Xenon Bloom and an assortment of quirky characters who live in this fleshy wonderland.
Unfortunately, Ruben is not the healthiest host, and he promptly succumbs to a cocktail of bacteria and viruses that Rick’s genius has unwittingly unleashed. With Ruben now dead as a doornail, Morty and the crew must navigate the treacherous landscape of Anatomy Park to survive. As Morty fumbles through this bizarre adventure, he finds himself developing feelings for Annie, a park employee who initially seems indifferent to his existence but soon warms up to him—much like a slice of holiday ham.
As the chaos unfolds, we learn that Poncho, a disgruntled employee with a serious grudge against Dr. Bloom, has a scheme to compromise the park’s security. However, in a spectacular display of irony, Poncho falls to his death while trying to fight off the bubonic plague, because nothing says “bad day at work” like getting taken out by a historical disease. Meanwhile, another character, Roger, meets a rather unfortunate fate—drowning in a sea of, let’s say, not-so-pleasant bodily fluids. Yikes.
Back at the Smith house, Summer’s boyfriend Ethan barges in, upset because Summer has been ignoring his texts. Cue the classic teenage drama. After a heated exchange, Jacob, the family’s new addition, manages to extract the source of Ethan’s anger, proving that he might be more than just a boyfriend-stealing homewrecker.
Back inside Ruben’s now-defunct body, Morty, Annie, and Dr. Bloom find themselves watching an animatronic version of Ruben recount his life story. It’s a strange and somewhat unsettling moment as the body begins to deteriorate, prompting the trio to hop onto the “Bone Train”—a skeleton railway system that promises a thrilling ride to Ruben’s nipple. Talk about an anatomical adventure!
During their escapade, Dr. Bloom gets himself devoured by E. coli while attempting to operate the Bone Train, while Morty and Annie narrowly escape being eaten alive by Hepatitis A—thankfully, Hepatitis C swoops in to save the day like an unsung hero.
Meanwhile, back in the garage, Rick has not been idle. He’s taken Ruben’s body, along with the tiny Morty and the crew, and launched them into space. In an attempt to rid himself of the evidence, Rick activates a growth beam on the corpse, leading to nationwide panic over what the media dubs “naked sky Santa.” The ensuing chaos culminates in Ruben’s body exploding thanks to some dynamite Rick had carelessly stashed away, raining bloody chunks all over the United States. Nothing like a little holiday gore to get everyone in the spirit!
After the explosion, Rick, Morty, and Annie return home, where Annie reveals her impressive academic background. She’s studied Dr. Bloom’s work and has the knowledge to create a new version of him. Just when it seems like Morty’s luck is about to change, Rick, in his classic anti-hero fashion, pulls Annie back down to the depths of his chaotic world, leaving Morty heartbroken and grumpy.
In a post-credits scene, we see Rick chatting with Annie on speakerphone, where the new crew discusses plans to cancel Rick’s beloved ride, “Pancreas Pirates.” Naturally, Rick reacts like a petulant child and hangs up, venting his frustrations on Ethan instead. The episode leaves viewers on a cliffhanger, wondering how Ethan’s bizarre mutation via Morphixer-XE will impact the future of Anatomy Park and all those caught in its orbit.
Details and Trivia
This episode is the first in the series with a holiday theme, bringing a unique twist to the festive spirit.
According to the DVD commentary, the intended demographic for Anatomy Park was primarily other members of Dr. Xenon Bloom’s species. Talk about niche marketing!
Summer seems to have moved on from her previous boyfriend, Frank Palicky, and is now dating Ethan. It’s good to see she’s back in the game—just in time for the holidays!
While Morty usually crushes on Jessica, in this episode, he develops an interest in Annie. This love triangle gets messy when Rick, being Rick, pulls Annie back, leaving Morty a little heartbroken.
The episode’s title and concept parody Jurassic Park, and it’s not the last time we’ll see Rick and Morty draw inspiration from iconic films.
There are also nods to James Joyce’s Ulysses, with character names that mirror the novel’s themes of respect and betrayal. Who knew a cartoon could be so literary?
The plot also serves as a twisted take on Richard Fleischer’s Fantastic Voyage, flipping the original’s carefree adventure into a dangerous and somewhat gruesome escapade.
Fans of Disneyland will recognize the Anatomy Park ride’s song, “It’s a Small, Small Intestine,” as a parody of the iconic It’s a Small World ride.
Alexander, a character dressed as a dog, is a cheeky reference to Goofy, showcasing the show’s knack for pop culture callbacks.
Poncho’s rant about “people on the internet who only get excited by cartoons of Japanese teenagers” cleverly references the otaku subculture, providing a funny commentary on fandoms.
In a nod to other pop culture, Morty entering a corpse brings to mind the movie Osmosis Jones, while “Pirates of the Pancreas” pays homage to Pirates of the Caribbean.
Mistakes
A little slip-up occurs when Dr. Bloom refers to an “E. coli outbreak” while battling viruses; E. coli are bacteria, not viruses. Ironically, it’s actually Enterobacteria Phage T4 that are at play here.
Continuity errors pop up with the clock in the garage, which inexplicably shifts time settings throughout the episode. If only time travel worked this way in real life!
The geography of Ruben’s body in space is a little off, with Hawaii being placed way too close to the mainland.
And finally, in a classic mix-up, Morty claims he was 12 when it was actually Poncho who made that comment earlier. But hey, who’s counting?
In true Rick and Morty fashion, “Anatomy Park” blends humor, horror, and a healthy dose of absurdity, leaving fans eagerly awaiting the next wild adventure.