Post by BIGFANBOY on Jul 25, 2007 2:15:31 GMT -5
THE SIMPSONS MOVIE
review by Mark Walters
After a few decades of cleverly written and consistently funny shows, THE SIMPSONS series has remained one of the most popular animated series of all time. Often imitated but never duplicated, Matt Groening's creation has not only endured the test of time, but has taken a special place in the hearts of television viewers all over the world. For several years now there has been rumor of a possible movie, which seemed like a natural next step for the incredibly popular franchise. But considering how long this show has been on, is it even possible for a movie to provide us with anything we haven't already seen? After all, THE SIMPSONS in on every week for us to enjoy freely in the privacy of our own homes. 20th Century Fox has been very secretive about the movie's storyline, even going so far as to not do advance screenings for critics... with the exception of yours truly of course. So here's what I thought about the big screen outing of America's favorite family.
I'm going to take for granted that most of you reading this are either fans of the show, or at least familiar with the characters.
The movie opens on the moon, and it's quickly revealed that we're watching another Itchy and Scratchy episode. But already there's a feeling of things being bigger, and more grandiose. Then we realize this is in fact a movie on the big screen being watched by the Simpson family in a theater. Homer boos at the screen, pointing our how ridiculous it is (for them) to be paying money to watch something on the big screen that they can see at home every week for free. He then turns around to chastise others in the theater... get it? It's that self-aware sarcasm that drives the rest off this film, and allows us as the viewers to take it for what it is. After Homer instigates an unfortunate event that results in a town quarantine, the citizens of Springfield become furious, causing the family to flee into hiding. While their new lives (conveniently outside of the quarantine) seem pretty darn perfect, Homer realizes that he must right his horrible wrong and hopefully save his hometown from further harm.
THE SIMPSONS MOVIE is quite simply one of the funniest episodes of the show you've never seen. As fans of the series (those of us who are) we're given several moments of immense satisfaction. Homer, Marge, Bart, and Lisa (and even baby Maggie) are given a lot of great scenes that will leave people talking for a while. But make no mistake, this movie belongs to Homer Simpson. It is Homer that makes a horrible mistake and puts his beloved town of Springfield into jeopardy, and it is he who must do everything in his power to make it right. The writers realize that he is the odds on audience favorite, and play to that as much as possible. In hindsight I realized that characters like Bart and Lisa aren't given as much to do as one might expect. In fact Bart's scenes stay away from his usually wild and rambunctious ways, and focus mainly on his public embarrassment, and personal feelings toward Homer's bad parenting skills. But all in all this is an enjoyable ride. I felt like the plot, while grand in scope, never quite reached the level of spectacular that it could have. There are definitely some moments of envelope pushing, in which the filmmakers go a little further then they ever could have on TV, but again only to an extent an then no more. Was the film not daring enough? Maybe. However it is still solid entertainment, and funny enough to keep viewers happy. Plus the short and sweet running time (under 90 minutes) is a welcome treat. I walked out very satisfied, and overall pleased, but ultimately felt like I had watched an extra-long slightly more daring episode of the show I've seen so many times before.
A few things I noticed - the animation is pretty much on the same level as the quality of the show, with certain exceptions. There are many scenes where shadows are used to make the characters pop a little more than usual, and a lot of the moving backgrounds are high quality computer (?) animation. But in other moments you'll see pretty much what's on the show every week in terms of quality. I also felt like some of the memorable characters from the series were either ignored completely, or barely used at all. While I realize it's hard to fit their large cadre of townsfolk into one story, I did miss seeing some of them.
In the end it's an incredibly funny treatment of the series, and a whole lot of fun to watch on the big screen. I don't know if a sequel is on the way, or even really necessary, but if this does remain the only theatrical treatment of the show, it's a pretty solid effort.
On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the highest, I give THE SIMPSONS MOVIE a 9.
