Bill Oakley calls "22 Short Films About Springfield" his favorite episode. In 2019, Oakley said that the episode is one of the best episodes to watch on Disney+. "TV Guide" put it in its list of the top 12 "Simpsons" episodes. "Consequence of Sound" put the episode on number 5 of its list of top 30 "Simpsons" episodes. "The Guardian" named the episode as one of the 5 greatest episodes of The Simpsons. IGN called "A Fish Called Selma" the best episode of the seventh season but said "22 Short Films About Springfield" was "good competition".