in the television series "the simpsons", the plot was mimicked in the episodes "smart and smarter," in which lisa hides in a local science museum in embarrassment at finding her baby sister is smarter than she, and the episode "last tap dance in springfield" features bart and milhouse hiding out in the shopping mall for one week while on a camping trip. the movie "the royal tenenbaums" has a scene in which characters margot and richie hide in a museum; in the movie's dvd commentary, wes anderson states that this was an homage to the novel, the aquarium.