Rated: PG-13 for irreverent humor throughout. Runtime: 87 mins. Director: David Silverman Writer: Matt Groening and James L. Brooks Cast: Dan Castellaneta; Julie Kavner; Nancy Cartwright... complete cast Tagline: See our family. And feel better about yours. Genre: Comedy/Animated Memorable Quote: "Look at that, you can see the four states that border Springfield: Ohio, Nevada, Maine, and Kentucky!" more quotes... Release Date: July 27, 2007 DVD Release Date: December 18, 2007 Distributor: Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation Official Site:www.simpsonsmovie.com/ View the Trailer:www.apple.com/trailers/fox/thesimpsonsmovie/
Reel commentary: ... everything we love about the series is here, but really nothing more and nothing less. If you're not a follower of the series, there's little here to change that. But long-time fans will enjoy wallowing in 87-minutes of all things Springfield ... full review
When explaining why it took18 years to bring America's premier dysfunctional family to the big screen, The Simpsons creator Matt Groening and the movie's writer/producer Al Jean, offer the following: "We wanted to create a story that demanded the scope offered by a film." In other words, they wanted to give us something on the big screen that we don't get from the TV series. If I correctly interpret the intended meaning of those words, then the film is not particularly successful. But if we look at the film as just another episode of the TV show, only longer, then The Simpson's Movie succeeds on a grand scale. After all, the Simpsons are still the Simpsons and the film's writers (made up of an all-star team from the TV show) remain true to what we've all come to expect throughout the years. Having said that, there are a few differences that'll catch you off guard as the filmmakers clearly take the PG-13 rating seriously. It's initially a bit startling to see Bart's penis, to watch Homer flip the bird (a two-handed, double-barreled bird in fact) and to hear Marge drop the GD bomb. But then again, when we watch The Simpsons, we expect edginess. And with The Simpson's Movie, that's what we get.
The premise of The Simpsons Movie is really nothing new either, as we watch Homer get in trouble due to another of his bone-headed decisions. But he does end up in much bigger trouble than ever before as he dumps a silo full of pig crap (don't ask) into a Springfield lake resulting in an ecological disaster big enough to call in an EPA environmental czar (voiced by Albert Brooks) who reports directly to president Schwarzenegger (voiced by show regular Harry Shearer). The entire city is subsequently placed under quarantine and encased in a giant glass dome to prevent the contamination from spreading.
In the Alaskan wilderness, Homer Simpson races to avert a catastrophe
The themes of the environment, political activism, parental neglect, and child misbehavior – all things we've come to expect from The Simpsons - are tempered by equal bits of comedy, action and emotion. James L. Brooks, executive producer of the TV series, was adamant about maintaining a balance and setting a tone for the film. An 87-minute barrage of joke after joke would eventually wear thin. So as the writer/director of Spanglish, As Good as it Gets, and others, Brooks realizes the need for human emotion – yes, even in a cartoon - which we get from a subplot that involves Bart and his search for fatherly love and affection that leads him to Bible-thumping neighbor, Ned Flanders.
The filmmakers resisted the urge to soup up the quality of the visuals and animation. Though still of the 2-dimensional hand-drawn variety, the animation has a slightly polished and updated look. With just one level of shading to the characters, everyone looks ever-so-slightly gussied up for the big screen, but not far enough away from their original iterations to become a distraction or to lose their charm. The canvas is bigger and wider allowing the animators to always have something going on in the background. You'll miss most of it upon first viewing, but little things like sports blimps with "binge responsibly" emblazoned on their sides make the viewing always fun.
It's not a stretch to proclaim that the TV series has shown a bit of fatigue and laziness over the last few seasons. Every good show experiences it. But the original TV show writing team appropriately brings their A-game for The Simpson's Movie. The jokes are sharp, timely and as biting as ever. As we watch, we notice we're seeing a finely tuned version of not only the cartoon itself, but the characters as well. The writers and animators clearly feel for the personas they helped shape throughout the years, and the tender loving care shows. The Simpsons Movie is a mile-a-minute laugh fest filled with irreverent humor, clever voice cameos, oddball pop culture references and edgy political satire. In other words, everything we love about the series is here, but really nothing more and nothing less. If you're not a follower of the series, there's little here to change that. But long-time fans will enjoy wallowing in 87-minutes of all things Springfield - which we now know is bordered by the four states of Kentucky, Maine, Ohio and Nevada.
"I'm Tom Hanks. Should you see me in person, then please, leave me be."
"More than two shakes and it’s playing with it?"
"Spider-Pig, Spider-Pig. / Does whatever a Spider-Pig does. / Can he swing / from a web? / No he *can't*, / cause he's a *pig*. / Look out! / He is the *Spider-Pig*! "
"He's not Spider-Pig anymore, he's Harry Plopper"
"I was elected to lead, not to read."
"You ever try going mad without power? No one listens to you."
Skyler McKenzie says:
Aug 30 2007 00:26
This movie was absolutely hilarious! Although I think I came in with the bar raised way too high, due of course to its reputation on tv. Despite my high expectations the movie gradually started to win me over with the unexpected hilarity we have come to know from the Simpsons. I thought the plot and overall theme was a little on the weak end but the endless one-liners and familiar humor crushed my doubts with reckless abandon. One of the opening scenes has Bart doing one of his regular skateboard routines. He is naked and the camera angles of the carefully cover his privates. Then, suddenly, in a stroke of comedic genius, a three second long glimpse of Barts poorly drawn genitals jumps off the screen where an uproar of laughter is sure to follow. This movie moves steadily toward the end in a momentum driven plot. It is refreshing to see the Simpsons in a large detailed plot that is fleshed out in more than a thirty minute format. Along with the killer spontaneousness that we all know and love this movie turns out to be well worth the anticipation and well worth the ticket.
Screen formats: Widescreen Anamorphic 2.35:1, and Full Screen 1.33:1
Subtitles: English, Spanish
Language and Sound: English: Dolby Digital 5.1; English: DTS 5.1 Surround; French: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Other Features: Color; interactive menus; scene access; audio commentary; deleted scenes.
Commentary
1- With Matt Groening, James L. Brooks, Al Jean, Yeardley Smith, Dan Castellaneta, Mike Scully and David Silverman
2- With David Silverman, Rich Moore, Steven Dean Moore and Mike Anderson
Deleted Scenes - 7 clips that didn't make the final cut
Featurettes -
Special Stuff - Includes Simpson appearances on Leno and American Idol.
Homer Simpson/ Itchy/Barney/ Grampa/Stage Manager/ Krusty the Clown/ Mayor Quimby/ Mayor's Aide/ Multi-Eyed Squirrel/ Panicky Man/ Sideshow Mel/ Mr. Teeny/ EPA Official/ Kissing Cop #1/ Bear/ Boy on Phone/ NSA Worker/ Officer/ Santa's Little Helper/ Squeaky-Voiced Teen (voice)
Scratchy/ Mr. Burns/ Rev. Lovejoy/ Ned Flanders/ Lenny/ Skull/ President Arnold Schwarzenegger/ Kent Brockman/ Principal Skinner/ Dr. Hibbert/ Toll Booth Man/ Smithers/ Guard/ Otto/ Kang (voice)
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