Simpsons Movie, The Review

Simpsons Movie, The reviews

Movie

Simpsons Movie, The

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2007-07-30 23:45:18

Rating

2.5/5

Provider

CinemaSource

Review

Maybe we take the half-hour The Simpsons show for granted. The visually sophisticated 90-minute The Simpsons Movie clocks an extra hour of consistent laughs and comparable political jabs, but it's precisely what creators say it isn't: A long Simpsons episode.

Story

Trouble begins to brew for the Springfield clan when Homer rescues a pig from the butcher's guillotine. But Homer doesn't want to eat his new pot-bellied pet—he takes it home and showers it with affection. Seeing Homer be a doting dad to a pig pisses off Bart--and leaves him vulnerable to the niceties of neighborino Ned Flanders. Meanwhile, Lisa's grassroots efforts to save the polluted Lake Springfield have paid off: the Environmental Protection Agency erects a cement barrier around it to protect it from its residents. The EPA's cockamamie plan actually works--until Homer decides to dump a homemade silo filled with pig poop into it, creating a toxic cesspool. In a jab at FEMA and the New Orleans Superdome calamity, the EPA retaliates by isolating Springfield under a giant Plexiglas-like dome, leaving its citizens without food, electricity or a way out. When Springfield residents try to lynch Homer and exact revenge, the Simpsons escape the dome via a sinkhole in Maggie's sandbox. But while the Simpsons escape Springfield, they can't flee their conscience—and Homer must return to save his hometown from the mess he created. It's a classic Simpsons tale that ends with the show's trademark theme of redemption. It won't disappoint fans, but the story hardly warrants a feature presentation.

Acting

Surprisingly, producer James L. Brooks and creator Matt Groening didn't go to town with guest star appearances on The Simpsons Movie, something that often plagues the TV series. With the exception of an opening number by Green Day and a closing remark by a famed film star (OK, it's Tom Hanks), the actors who voice the Fox animated TV sitcom are the big-screen stars here, including Dan Castellaneta (Homer/Krusty the Clown/Itchy/Barney/Grampa/Mayor Quimby), Hank Azaria (Moe/Apu/The Sea Captain/Professor Frink/Comic Book Guy/Chief Wiggum/Lou), Harry Shearer (Principal Skinner/Lenny/Dr. Hibbert/Ned Flanders/Mr. Burns/Rev Lovejoy), Julie Kavner (Marge), Nancy Cartwright (Bart/Maggie/Ralph/Nelson/Todd Flanders), and Yeardley Smith (Lisa). And just like the episodic Simpsons characters, the feature characters do some uncontainable thing and eventually learn the error of their ways. But while Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie take center stage, other Springfield locals—such as Mr. Burns and Smithers--hardly make an appearance, let alone Patty and Selma Bouvier.

Direction

What separates The Simpsons Movie from the TV series is, according to director David Silverman, the production's scale. This translates to more characters in each frame, richer colors and textures, and greater latitude for camera movement. ''Normally, you have a crowd shot, the cut to a close-up,'' Silverman says of a scene in which a mob congregates outside the Simpsons' home. ''But I wanted to give the scene a lot of energy, so I kept moving the camera into the crowd.'' But while the feature is visually more dynamic than the series, it's hardly something Simspons fans will take notice of. The series has a following because of its political and social lampooning and its 22-filled-minutes of well-timed jokes; there are no Pixar-type expectations here. Yet the film's storyline, as well as the character's story arcs, is no more relevant than a TV episode. The emphasis, so to speak, is on the wrong syllable. Panoramic views of Springfield and an in-depth look a Milhouse's street and its one-level homes, are intriguing tidbits fans are more likely craving, and more of these should have been offered up in the movie adaptation. Show creators said they waited 18 years to bring The Simpsons to the big screen because they wanted to create a story that demanded the scope offered by a film, but after a year-and-a-half in the making, it doesn't live up to the hype.

Bottom Line

Hollywood.com rated this film 2 1/2 stars.

Copyright © CinemaSource 2007.

Movie

The Simpsons Movie

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2007-07-27 14:40:21

Provider

MRIB

Review

In 1987 The Simpsons first appeared on TV as a short crudely animated part of the Tracey Ullman Show in the States. 20 years on and television's most popular dysfunctional family finally reach the big screen with The Simpsons Movie.

The endearingly stupid Homer has emerged as the show's favourite character and it is he who has to save their home town, Springfield, from catastrophe. It is, of course, he who caused the situation in the first place.

After Homer brings home a new pet pig which he saves from the fate of Krusty Burger, he thinks it's a good idea to store the animal's droppings in a silo in the garden. When it fills up, he despatches it into the local lake, ignoring the dangers highlighted in an environmental campaign (including Lisa's Al Gore-style An Irritating Truth), creating a toxic disaster. D'oh! A state of emergency is declared and President Arnold Schwarzenegger decrees that the town should be covered by a huge see-through dome. The town's residents want Homer's head when they discover he's to blame, so, after baby Maggie leads the family to a way out of the dome, the Simpsons head to Alaska.

When Marge learns that Mr Schwarzenegger, now duped by the Environmental Protection Agency, is allowing Springfield to be blown up, she and the kids bid farewell to the less altruistic Homer and head back to their home town to save the people. They are captured and it's left to Homer to have an epiphany, via the 'epiphatree' and a native American woman with big boobs, to save the day.

Sub plots include Bart wishing Flanders was his dad and Lisa falling for an equally enthusiastic environmentalist. There are a fair amount of visual gags - Homer on a wrecking ball, playing with 'Spider Pig' hammering a nail etc. - with the whole thing being a spectacle worthy of cinema. There's also more drama than any TV episode, making it a perfect blockbuster.

While there have been more laugh-out-loud moments in previous Simpsons over the years than there are in the movie, it's still better than most comedies around and, like the small screen adventures, it will stand many repeat viewings.

Copyright © MRIB 2007.

Movie

The Simpsons Movie

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2007-07-25 00:00:00

Provider

MyMovies

Review

It's one of the eagerly-awaited films in years but can "The Simpsons Movie" shrug off the pressure of anticipation and actually deliver? Well the good news is that fans of the yellow-skinned family are in for a treat. The movie sees Springfield quarantined by a huge glass dome when it officially becomes the most polluted place in the country. You can guess who's responsible so soon the Simpsons are on the run. But with Springfield doomed, will the family be able to return, break in and save the day?

Right from the off, when Ralph Wiggum appears in the 20th Century Fox logo, you know this isn't going to be your average movie going experience. The laughs come thick and fast in the first ten minutes as creator Matt Groening tries to settle you in for the long(er) haul and you'll be in danger of laughing so much you miss vital plot points. Things do slow down a touch when emotional elements come to the fore but they soon crank up things up again for an explosive finale which sees Homer trying to redeem himself in an Evel Knievel style so don't be worried that the show may struggle to stretch out to feature length.

All of major characters get a look in - even Itchy and Scratchy feature - although some fare better than others. Ned Flanders lands a major role as he shows Bart how a caring father behaves but fans may feel a bit short changed when they realise that the fantastic Monty Burns gets less screen time than an anonymous special guest. Still maybe that's something that can be addressed in the all-but-guaranteed sequels… and speaking of which, hang around during the closing credits as you may just hear baby Maggie speak her first ever word!

Copyright © MyMovies 2007.