The Simpsons Movie

Rating

Director

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

Length

87 min.

Starring

Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Harry Shearer, Hank Azaria, Marcia Wallace, Tress MacNeille, Pamela Hayden, Albert Brooks, Russi Taylor, Maggie Roswell, Tom Hanks, Joe Mantegna

MPAA Rating

PG-13

Review

After eighteen seasons as one of television’s most irreverent comedies, The Simpsons finally hit the big screen.

What amounts to one of their biggest episodic adventures yet, Homer (Dan Castellaneta), Marge (Julie Kavner), Bart (Nancy Cartwright), Lisa (Yeardley Smith) and Maggie (Cartwright) Simpson embark on a quest to save Springfield from corrupt government.

The plot really is quite straight forward, which is saying a lot for the sometimes-obtuse series. The complexities of the TV series were left behind for a more audience-friendly version for the screen. All of the great characters from the show (except those voiced by the late Phil Hartman) make an appearance, even if it’s just as part of the angry mob coming to lynch Homer for getting them all trapped inside a giant dome after a squirrel becomes horribly mutated when it jumps into the too-polluted lake.

He and his family run for their lives, finding their way out through a secret exit from the dome. Once on the outside, they must decide whether to start a new life or risk their lives by trying to stop the government and rescue Springfield.

Considering the dozens of characters, you’d expect there to be a horrendously huge cast list. Well, when you consider that Castellaneta, Harry Shearer, Hank Azaria and Tress MacNeille voice more than 60 characters between them, there’s not much of a need for a massive list of stars. Nevertheless, Tom Hanks, Green Day, Albert Brooks and Joe Mantegna all guest star in this big screen episode.

What’s missing from the screen is something that’s been missing from the show for a number of years. While the television version remains topical, gone are the small bits of background humor that made early episodes so memorable. Sure, we still get a smattering of that today, but you wouldn’t know it from the theatrical release of the program. They do, however, take the time to make jabs at themselves and the audience in the film. Early in the film, Homer mocks all the people in the audience of Simpsons characters in which he’s sitting for paying to see something they get to watch on TV for free. That statement’s not far from the truth, but it sets the flick in the right comedic direction.

Whether it’s advertising Fox programs on the big screen or taunting the audience with a “to be continued…” message nearly half way through, the creators know their audience and entertain them. Even if it does feel like an extended episode of the television series, it is nevertheless an amusing experience that should delight fans and non-fans alike.

Review Written

August 4, 2007