Review: The Simpsons Movie

Family on the Big Screen


Genre: Comedy, 87 minutes

Directed by: David Silverman

Screenplay: James L. Brooks, Matt Groening, Al Jean, Ian Maxtone-Graham, George Meyer, David Mirkin, Mike Reiss, Mike Scully, Matt Selman, John Swartzwelder, Jon Vitti

Cast: Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Harry Shearer, Hank Azaria, Marcia Wallace, Joe Mantegna, Albert Brooks, Tress MacNeill


By MAJA MILOVANOVIĆ
from Belgrade, SERBIA


These guys don't need an introduction: everyone who has turned on his TV in the past two decades has enjoyed at least one episode of The Simpsons and knows very well why they have become a cultural institution! Now that the movie has come out, the question is whether or not the fan's expectations have been fulfilled, was it worth the long wait?

First of all, for those who have not watched the movie yet and want to be surprised - do not read on! The movie starts with the Simpsons family at the cinema watching an Itchy and Scratchy movie, and Homer's (already famous) opening line "Why pay for something you can see on TV for free?" The film-makers try to answer this question in the next hour and a half before the Simpsons appear in a movie audience again, this time watching the final credits (where they have to remain seated until the end because Lisa won't leave until she's seen the announcement that no animals were hurt during the making of the picture).

Like in the TV series, the film portraits the modern dysfunctional family, makes fun of the many things gone wrong in today's society and follows a conventional plotline of Homer screwing up and trying to fix the situation.

At the very beginning of the movie, Grandpa Simpson at the church supposedly has a "holy moment" and his words are taken very seriously by Marge and others who see them as a prophecy of doom for Springfield. Other than that, Grandpa is pretty much left out (I personally miss his falling asleep at all the wrong moments!).

The relationship between Homer and his family is well shown in movie when, for example, he dares Bart to skateboard naked downtown and refuses to take the blame when Bart gets caught by the local police. Bart starts to doubt the relationship with his father and starts looking up to neighbour Ned Flanders, especially after Homer adopts a pig and shows it more affection than he does to his own children. Homer's marriage is also in trouble when, after Marge tells him to get rid of the silo in which he was storing the pig's waste, he gets distracted by a local donut give-away and hastily dumps it in the wrong place, creating an environmental catastrophy that threatens the future of Springfield (polluting it so badly that an unaware squirrel jumps in and mutates into a multi-eyed creature).

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency captures the mutated squirrel, and gets newly elected President Arnold Schwarzenegger to decide the next step by offering him five alternative plans (none of which he actually looks at because he was "elected to lead, not to read"). They declare Springfield a biological hazard and quarantine the town, cutting it off from the rest of the world by lowering a huge glass dome over the city to contain its poisons. This leads up to an excellent scene where the panicked occupants of the bar and the next-door church pour out into the street and change places - the drinkers taking solace in religion and the religious finding comfort in drink.

When the people of Springfield find out that Homer is responsible for this disaster, they go after him and his family who somehow manage to escape to Alaska where Homer wants to start a new life. However, his family leaves him and goes back to Springfield (heartbreaking scene by Marge - amazing talent) which they feel is their only home. Finally (after having an epiphany) Homer comes to his senses and decides to return to get his family back and save the town.

As much as I enjoyed the movie - and I did, the 87 mins were worth my time (naked Bart skateboarding through Springfield, the absolute hit song Spider Pig, a couple of witty cultural references) - I think that the big screen doesn't add much to the "Simpsons" experience. The plot can fill a regular episode and apart from the better quality of animation, the movie amounts to a decent oversized episode - which isn't so bad because we love watching the show anyway!