The Simpsons Movie
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"In a time where computer animation brings us worlds of unsurpassed beauty, one film dares to be ugly..."
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The Simpsons Movie (or stylized as The Simpsons Mđ©VIE) is a 2007 American animated comedy film based on the 1989 Fox television series The Simpsons. It was released in between Seasons 18 and 19. The film was directed by David Silverman, and stars the regular television cast of Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer, Tress MacNeille, Pamela Hayden, Maggie Roswell and Russi Taylor, as well as recurring guest star Albert Brooks.
Plot
Homer Simpson (Dan Castellaneta) finally messes up big time when his misguided attempt to dispose of a pig waste-filled silo ends up causing Springfield to be encased in a giant glass dome. With the entire town baying for his blood, it's up to Homer to save his family and stop EPA agent Russ Cargill (Albert Brooks), who plans to nuke Springfield off the face of the Earth so he can create a "New Grand Canyon".
Why It Deserves Some Donuts
- Stays 100% faithful to the TV series. It also brings back the charm of the first 10 seasons (the show's golden age) and is an improvement over Seasons 11-31. However, The Simpsons would eventually return to its charm as of Season 32.
- Outstanding and charming animation that is a pretty big upgrade from the show's animation, with strong and bright colors, painted backgrounds and 2D animation mixed with 3D animation, in a similar fashion to Titan A.E., which came out 7 years prior to this film.
- Loads of hilarious moments and gags such as Homer trying to scare off an angry mob by imitating chainsaw noises and Russ Cargill ranting about going mad with power, and that's only the tip of the iceberg.
- Incredibly hilarious characters that definitely match the tone of the movie.
- The dialogue is top-notch and hilarious, with standouts being Ned Flanders' "Don't forget to thank the lord for this bountiful... PENIS?!", Homer screaming "D'OOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHMMMMEE!", "No, Plopper, if you push that, Daddy will die." and the famous "Shut up, FlandersÇ"
- Fans of The Simpsons were finally able to see a movie adaptation after so many years of waiting.
- Russ Cargill is one of the vilest, most despicable villains in the entire Simpsons franchise, arguably even more than Mr. Burns or Sideshow Bob.
- Plopper/Spider-Pig is an interesting and amusing side character.
- The plot and story of the movie are really outstanding and faithful to the series, so faithful that it's got one of the best plot from any TV-based movie ever made.
- Itâs very faithful to the original characters, who all have their lovable personalities in this movie.
- This is the perfect movie for people who want to see what the show is like thanks to the tone and writing allowing newcomers to the franchise to get well acquainted with the world of the show without really being locked out of the loop.
- The ending where Homer accidentally nails a row of shingles to his thigh and runs across the roof of his house screaming was really hilarious.
- Green Day's take on the theme song was rocking.
- The moment where Bart apologizes to Homer when they think they're going to die is a touching moment.
- It also has a humorous and memorable 20th Century Fox logo where Ralph sings along to the TCF music.
- The famous Spider-Pig song. Enough said.
- If season 18 was the final season of the TV series, this movie would have ended the show perfectly.
"D'oh!" Qualities
- The humor is noticeably cruder than in the show. Also, some of the jokes aren't suitable for a PG-13 rated film, like the infamous scene where Bart briefly flashes his penis while riding the skateboard, along scene where during the Simpson family's escape from the angry mob, Homer literally gives said mob the middle finger with both his hands as he slowly sinks into the sandpit sinkhole. Thankfully, both of these scenes have been cut and/or censored in numerous countries and TV airings.
- The pacing is a mixed bag.
- While the characters are faithful to the show, a few of them have issues:
- Although Lisa is more tolerable in the movie, her flanderization is still present, as she nags the whole town about the lake being polluted. To be fair, this can be a little justified as it is dangerous for people and animals to drink polluted water.
- Homer (before his character development) tends to show his "Jerkass" side in certain parts of the movie, as certain plot points are driven by his selfishness and stupidity (such as not caring about Bart's well-being after the latter is apprehended for public nudity and dumping a silo of pig waste into Lake Springfield after it had been cleaned just to get some donuts, the latter causing the main conflict of the movie).
- The citizens of Springfield can also be unlikable in certain parts of the movie as well. The mob scene is a good example, as despite Carl saying they just want to kill Homer, they are shown targeting the other members of the Simpson family as well, despite them doing nothing wrong.
- While the CGI animation looks impressive, it can look dated at times compared to the standard traditional animation.
- False advertising: On the Burger King bags, Snowball V is shown, but she isn't seen anywhere in the movie.
Trivia
- The reason why the movie was able to get away with the infamous scene with Bart was because the scene was not live action and was portrayed very cartoonishly.
- The movie's production ran from 2001 to 2006, which means the movie took five-to-six years to be completed on time.
- This film holds the record for being the second highest-grossing traditionally animated film (behind Walt Disney Animation Studios' The Lion King), and the highest-ever grossing film based on an animated television series.
- As of 2018, the sequel of the first movie, along with a Family Guy movie, were both announced after Disney purchased a large part of FOX's entertainment back in 2017, with the deal finalized on March 20, 2019.
- However, Al Jean stated that the sequel could be made depending on the box office results of Inside Out 2, but since Inside Out 2 was a massive success, the chance of a sequel are higher than ever.
- As a promotion for the film, twelve 7-Eleven stores across the United States and Canada were transformed into Kwik-E-Marts, and sold Squishees, Buzz Cola, Krusty-O's Cereal and Duff Beer (energy drink).
- In the Season 25 finale episode, "The Yellow Badge of Cowardge", the couch gag is the family at a Comic-Con style Q&A. Comic Book Guy proceeds to ask if there will be another Simpsons movie. The cast has by then disappeared, with the exception of a very confused Maggie. Al Jean stated on his Twitter that this was the best answer that could be given at the time. It is implied that there is a possibility of another movie, but may not come into production until the entire series has finally ended and finished up its story, which may take a while.
- A teaser trailer for the film was attached to the film Ice Age: The Meltdown from March 31, 2006 onwards; the same trailer was then broadcast during the April 2nd broadcast of The Simpsons' seventeenth season episode "Million Dollar Abie".
- It was banned in Burma, as the color yellow (which is used by opposition groups in that country) is featured prominently throughout the movie.
Reception
The Simpsons Movie was released on July 27, 2007 and received positive reviews from critics, audiences and fans alike. The film currently holds an 87% "Certified Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 223 reviews with an average rating of 7.5/10. The critic consensus reads, "The Simpsons Movie contains the hearty laughs, biting satire, and honest portrayal of an American family that makes the show so popular. And it boasts slicker animation and polished writing that hearkens back to the show's glory days." Metacritic calculated a score of 80 out of 100 based on 36 critics, meaning "generally favorable reviews." Roger Ebert commented on the film "There's something about the Simpsons that's radical and simple at the same time, subversive and good-hearted, offensive without really meaning to be. It's a nice balancing act." Fellow critic Richard Roeper stated that the film was "definitely worth your money."
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