Rating: 4.5 out of 5
By Kylee Dawson
Juvenile inebriation, bong hits, flipping the bird, and a full frontal shot of Bart’s “doodle” are just a few things you normally wouldn’t see on your average Sunday night episode of The Simpsons. After nearly 20 years on the air it’s the most successful television series in history, but how does the first Simpsons movie stack up? Overwhelmingly well. Thank God.
Though it will prove true to diehard Simpsons fans the world over, The Simpsons Movie will engage and possibly convert Simpsons novices as well. This is easily attributed to the fact that, though more than 300 Simpsons characters appear in the film, only a select few are utilized as main characters, which keeps the storyline structured, clever, and, most importantly, hilarious.
However, unlike another Fox animated series’ straight-to-DVD movie, The Simpsons Movie is not merely three episodes strung together, as brought out by Simpsons producer, writer and showrunner Al Jean.
The Simpsons Movie plot, and you know it’s ridiculous, revolves around Homer’s steadfast idiocy, a pig, and a silo full of poop. What more do you need? This dangerous combination leads to Homer’s greatest blunder in Springfield history, leaving its townspeople vying for his blood and Homer & family on the lam.
But under such circumstances lies great humor. On any given episode, you can expect a few D’oh!s from Homer, or an embittered Bart to be critical of his father’s lack of parenting skills. But what you won’t expect is Lisa finding her soulmate, or Ned Flanders, Maggie, and Springfield itself playing primary characters in the story.
Also, don’t expect an overbearing barrage of celebrity cameos. Probably best remembered as evil genius Hank Scorpio (on the episode “You Only Move Twice”), Simpsons regular guest Albert Brooks loans his voice to characterize a new villainous type, Russ Cargill, head of the Environmental Protection Agency.
The film also bears a series of classic one-liners, such as “Well, for once the rich white man is in power,” from C. Montgomery Burns, and, “Why does everyone I whip leave me?” which Homer declares after his Alaskan huskies maim and abandon him to the tundra.
Like any highly anticipated blockbuster, The Simpsons Movie does have its limitations. It’s short length, for instance. After working on the film for nearly four years, it stands at a mere 87 minutes making it, in some regards, play like an extended episode. But what’s wrong with that? Not a dadblasted thing!
The evocative “Spider Pig” song may (or should) be immortalized as the shortest song in history to have the longest list of writing credits in history. At five lines, and inspired by the Spider-Man theme song, it goes as follows:
Spider pig, Spider Pig
Does whatever a Spider Pig does
Can he swing from a web?
No he can’t. He’s a pig.
Lookout, it’s a Spider Pig
Four years well spent, indeed.
To keep fans happy, the producers wisely chose to pay tribute to some of the classic episodes, including “Bart the Daredevil,” in which Homer attempted to jump the Springfield Gorge on Bart’s skateboard.
“That was one of our favorite scenes and we definitely wanted to pay tribute to that in the movie,” Simpsons creator Matt Groening says, at a recent press junket for the film.
However, the line dividing the series and the film was maintained, Jean explains.
“We weren’t really sure what was going to be in the movie and there are allusions to the film in the TV show,” Jean says, “but then what we wanted to say The Simpsons Movie is complete. You don’t have to then go watch the show. If you liked the movie, there’s a show that we can recommend.”
It may not be the Citizen Kane of animated films…yet, but The Simpsons Movie is undoubtedly a classic. And, all the pig poop in the world can’t take that away from it.
