The Simpsons Movie

I have been a Simpsons fan ever since the first episode aired back in Christmas 1989 and have seen almost every episode of the series at least once, many more than once for the ones in the golden age of the series with the first nine seasons. It's hard to believe then that it has now been ten years since The Simpsons Movie graced movie screens. Still going strong as it edges towards season 28 and renewed through season 30, it seems as though there is no end in sight. However, I thought it would be fun to specifically take a look back at Springfield's first family's thus far solo theatrical outing.

Homer Simpson finds himself on the outs with the entire town of Springfield when he causes an ecological disaster so severe that the EPA, led by Russ Cargill (voiced by Albert Brooks), manipulates the President into covering the entire town in a thick glass dome. The entire town riots, causing Homer and his family (wife Marge, son Bart, and daughters Lisa and Maggie) to flee the town through the one exit out of the dome, a sinkhole in their backyard. From there, they decide to flee to Alaska, but when they discover that Cargill intends to destroy Springfield once and for all, they have to race back to try and stop him and save their beloved hometown, even if everyone there hates them.

The idea of a Simpsons feature length film had been floating around with the series creators for a long time as they tried to come up with a suitably cinematic plot for the film, while still remaining true to the characters countless fans had fallen in love with. Various plotlines had been bandied about until finally they came up with the one that became the film we have. With most of the series writers contributing to the script, the film manages to capture the irreverent humor of the original series, although it falls just a smidge short of being equal to the golden age of the series. Nonetheless, it remains a very, very funny movie that at times indulges in the fact that it is free of the T.V censors without celebrating it in a way akin to South Park. 

The series voice actors all returned for the feature film and give great voice performances among the lot of them. The cast that includes Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer and Tress MacNeille voice hundreds of characters between them, which is all the more impressive since they are all such distinctive characters. Then they added in Simpsons guest star MVP Albert Brooks as Russ Cargill. Now, Albert Brooks (always credited as A. Brooks) has had some of the most notable roles over the course of the series. Whether it's as a bowling coach trying to seduce Marge away from Homer or as Hank Scorpio, the nicest super-villain to ever try and take over the world, Brooks' characters always made a memorable impression. Here, he's fantastic as well as the evil and conniving Russ Cargill seeking to destroy Springfield for it's heinous crimes against the environment and mad with power. The one thing that baffled me with the movie though is they have Cargill manipulating fictional President Arnold Schwarzenegger when the series has had the long established Arnold-esque Rainier Wolfcastle. It's a curious choice since the character in the film is essentially the same.

The film ups the ante in terms of animation, giving the film a suitably cinematic feel with more depth and detail to each frame, while also feeling like the series fans had known and loved. The film also opens with a special episode of the show within the show Itchy and Scratchy (about a warring cat and mouse) before revealing the Simpsons in a theater watching it as Homer mocks the other audience members (and us, in a nice meta moment) for paying to see something they could see for free at home before launching into a brand new opening in the style of the series opener. From there, both the animation and cinematography become much more ambitious than what they could pull off for a weekly television series giving the 90 minute feature a much more epic and cinematic feel. 

In the end, The Simpsons Movie is a unique and fun animated film that holds up against the series while also more or less standing on it's own. Although, how well it holds up for non-fans is difficult to answer as I have been a lifelong fan. But, as a fan I have always had a soft spot for this movie. It really worked well and was the big screen adventure I wanted for my favorite T.V family. It doesn't quite match the golden age of the series, but then again, I suppose that would have been hoping for too much. As it is though, it's still good and proper Simpsons and that's not bad.