The Simpsons Movie

July 27th, 2007 by James Cook | Source:

Directed by: David Silverman
Written by: James L. Brooks, Matt Groening, Al Jean, Ian Maxtone-Graham, George Meyer, David Mirkin, Mike Reiss, Mike Scully, Matt Selman, John Swartzwelder, Jon Vitti
Starring: Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Harry Shearer, Hank Azaria, Albert Brooks

Score: 8/10

I didn’t really know what to expect from The Simpsons Movie. I stopped paying attention to the show many years ago. It’s pretty well known that the show isn’t even close to being as good as it once was, but in the form of a movie would the Simpsons be able to bring back the greatness of the earlier seasons?

One great thing that the creators did do right from the start was bring back some of the best writers the show has ever seen. If you put Matt Groening, Mike Scully, Al Jean, John Swartzwelder, and James L. Brooks (just to name a few) in a room and tell them to write a ninety-minute episode, you know they won’t come up with crap.

The main plot of the movie is pretty straight forward – Springfield becomes the most polluted city in America so the country decides to put a giant dome over it, sealing everyone inside.

So is it funny? Absolutely, the movie opens with a bang and at first it’s everything a Simpsons fan has been waiting for. The jokes are coming from all different directions and you’re instantly taken back to when the show was at its peak.

The start of the movie is so strong that you’re kind of taken back when the main storyline does kick in. It begins to have those moments of Simpsons mediocrity that has driven the show downhill.

The biggest complaint of this is The Simpsons themselves leave Springfield and move to Alaska, after the town discovers that Homer is the main cause for the dome. Taking the family out of the town and away from the huge cast of supporting characters just felt wrong. In a single episode its fine, but on the big screen you want the interaction from the other characters, it’s the beauty of the show to draw from the citizens of Springfield. Some of the funniest moments the shows ever had have been from characters outside the family.

Not to say that there aren’t other characters in the movie that shine, because there are. It’s just that sitting in a theater and finally getting to watch a Simpsons movie I would have liked more. One character in particular is completely ignored – Mr. Burns. In a story that involves pollution and the town being sealed inside a dome you would think that Springfield’s number one polluter would have something more to do with the story.

Overall, it’s The Simpsons Movie. It’s hilarious and it was well worth the wait. Like any movie it does have its weaknesses, at the end of the day it’s just an extended episode, but after having almost ten years of crappy episodes it was awesome to have a ninety minute one that ruled.