The Simpsons Movie

I really enjoyed the movie from start to finish, and I will absolutely be seeing it again. Oh, and for those of you who worry that the only funny bits are the ones put in the trailers so far? You haven’t even seen the tip of the iceberg.

Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Harry Shearer, Hank Azaria, Albert Brooks

So, on with the big question – is “The Simpsons Movie” possibly anywhere near what fans have expected ever since the show began, let alone since the film was first announced? Well, if you’re me (and I think most of you probably aren’t – ‘cause… that would just be strange), the answer is yes – the film does indeed live up to the hype.

But who am I, particularly as a “Simpsons” fan? I’m the kind of fan that rented “The Abyss” the first day it came out so I could be one of the first to see this strange short animated bit that the whole of the U.S.A. was raving about. I’m the guy that has watched every single episode to date at least 2-3 times, and enjoyed each & every one of them. I’m the guy that has listened to every commentary on every season set, and come back for more. So to set yourself at ease, if you’re a fan like I am, I think you’re gonna love this movie. If you’re one of those guys or gals that complains about the drop off in quality over the last few seasons, this may be the event that changes your mind just a little bit. But anyhow, after al the rumours and guesses, what is the film actually about?

“The Simpsons Movie” plays like any other episode for the first 20 minutes or so – Homer hurts himself a lot, Bart laughs at him & gets choked, Marge does her grunting of disapproval, Lisa meets a boy that she likes – basically typical fare all around – but still very funny. The majority of the film starts when Grandpa Simpson has an “episode” in church, and starts spouting all kinds of biblical foreboding – “Trapped Forever”, “Beast with a thousand eyes”, and he repeats “ee-ba” over & over again – you see, the main lake of Springfield is so heavily polluted that the entire town is warned if dumping in the lake continues, it will mean catastrophe for everyone (as evidenced by a Duff Beer summer series concert featuring Greenday). You’ll know from having seen the previews that Homer is the culprit, and in a swift move of quarantine, the Environmental Protection Agency, headed up by Russ Cargill (Albert Brooks summoning “Hank Scorpio” to the maximum level) places a giant dome over the town of Springfield, leaving The Simpson family to figure out a way to save them all.

At any rate, that’s the general set up, and while giving away any more details would ruin it for the fans, I have to admit that the laughs came thick & fast throughout the run time, and it absolutely did the trick in my book. I was surprised to find a lot of things I was expecting were not a part of the film – especially some of the rumoured cameos (only two of them listed on IMDB are accurate), and to say that some of my favourites were mainly background characters is an understatement – but given that we are talking “THE SIMPSONS movie”, I guess that’s to be expected.

Anyhow, that’s enough rambling from me – I really enjoyed the movie from start to finish, and I will absolutely be seeing it again. Oh, and for those of you who worry that the only funny bits are the ones put in the trailers so far? You haven’t even seen the tip of the iceberg.

Rating :
Reviewer : Adam Weeks