The Simpsons Movie (2007)
Genre: Animated Comedy
Format Viewed: Theatrical Release
Filmography links and data courtesy of The Internet Movie Database.
Best. Movie. Ever.
Like so many other fans of Springfield, it just sort of goes without saying that I’ve been looking forward to this movie for a very long time! Some had doubts that it would be any better than Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story – the Family Guy “movie” that went straight to DVD a few years ago, but all of us true believers knew that The Simpsons Movie would be different. It had to be – it was The Simpsons! This was the cartoon family that most of my generation grew up with – we did the Bartman, we ate all of the crappy cereals for breakfast before school, and as we got older and actually had some money to our names, we pretty much proceeded to buy up every piece of merchandise that they could slap a yellow face on … or at least I certainly have over the years! And now video games and DVDs and t-shirts later, they’ve finally gone and given us what we’ve wanted to see for oh so long – Homer, Bart, Lisa, Marge, Maggie, and all the rest up on the big screen for an hour and a half of movie magic…
18 years after their debut, it just seemed like the time was right, now didn’t it?!
Despite doubts that this legend 18 years in the making should’ve also gone the way of straight to DVD, I was by far happy to say that it absolutely blew my expectations right out of the water and at least thus far, I don’t think it’s too bold to say that this is the best movie of the summer. It felt as though a Simpsons movie should – the same brand of comedy, filled with off-color jokes and ever-questioning the world around it from all angles possible, but instead of feeling like just several regular episodes stitched together into one longer storyline, instead they managed to raise the bar from that angle as well by including a lot of the same dramatic hooks that would be expected from any other summer blockbuster. There were ups, there were downs, and at one point we all sat on the edges of our seats, worried for the fate of our beloved Springfield possibly more than its citizens themselves – it was perfect. The animation itself looked just great up on the screen – I made it a point to make sure that we saw it in a digital theater, although I’ve yet to watch a film in either projection to see if I can detect any difference – but regardless, this was certainly a step up from what you’d expect to see Sunday nights sitting in your living room!
I think what I enjoyed the most about this film probably ranks along the same lines as to why a lot of people seem to think that The Simpsons simply isn’t as good as it was ten years ago … and I still don’t really understand that argument when I hear it because really, I think it’s even better than it was ten years ago because it’s one of the few shows that’s actually evolved along with the times. Bart may still be a ripe ten years old, with Homer working at the nuclear power plant on again, off again as each individual episode’s plot allows, but aside from that, they seem to have done quite well at progressing their style over the years to touch on the important issues of each time, while not entirely beating them into the floor (a la American Dad and even many episodes of Family Guy these days). Politics, religion, celebrity, race, sex – nothing is sacred enough as to find itself safe from at least a poke or two, and honestly, I think that’s still the biggest appeal for so many of us because our personalities are of that to be able to find at least a little bit of humor in just about anything. The Simpsons wouldn’t have lasted nearly as long if it hadn’t made at least some effort to touch on the current events that make us shake our heads in confusion every single day and even if it’s President Arnold Schwarzenegger making the confounded decisions instead of President Bush, sometimes the funniest things of all are those that are happening right around you every single day. So while those diehard fans of “classic” Simpsons fame might very well complain that this movie is no different than the episodes that they despise every week, that’s pretty much the same reason why I personally enjoyed it so much myself!
And of course, I simply can’t finish a column on this movie without making mention of the absolutely brilliant marketing that’s been done for it – namely, the Kwik-E-Mart! For the month of July, Fox partnered with 7/11 to convert a dozen of its stores into the very same “convenience store” that Apu runs in the TV show, from squishees to pink donuts and all! I was lucky enough to be able to visit the store over in Orlando (just outside of Walt Disney World) and it was pretty much the perfect way to get any real Simpsons geek geared up for the biggest movie of the summer! You can find pictures from the trip itself here – now if only we could see every 7/11 make this switch over time, I can guarantee you right now that they’d get every gas purchase of mine going forward by default.
…well, as long as prices don’t get too carried away, but still!
The animation was great, the quotes are too numerous to mention, and despite each of the trailers being absolutely hilarious, I was quite happy to see that none of them even came close to giving the actual plot of the movie away! When the unavoidable sequel will come out, it’s hard to tell … probably not another 18 years, though – I’d say … but either way, at least we can rest easy that The Simpsons Movie pulled off the amazing feat of jumping from television to the big screen without completely butchering the brand, and I for one still can’t wait for season #19 to air this fall. In the meantime, at least we’ll have a feature-length movie and ten seasons of the TV show on DVD to keep us entertained…
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