20th Century Fox Starring: Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardly Smith
Directed By: David Silverman
Rated: PG-13
20th Century Fox
It's hard to believe that The Simpsons has been around for 18 years. When the show first started, I was very slow to jump on the bandwagon. I just didn't seem like it could be very funny--a father who habitually chokes his son when angry, a son who has no respect for his parents... Now, in my defense, that is the way the show came off in the previews. Then, one night, I sat down and I actually watched an episode--the one where Homer buys a camper and takes the family on a vacation, only to wreck the camper and strand them in the wilderness. Homer and Bart, who are trying to find help, set a snare to capture a rabbit for food. The rabbit hits the snare, and is catapulted over the horizon as Homer and Bart watch.
I couldn't stop laughing for five minutes.
From that point on, I was hooked on the show. It has definitely had its highs and lows over the years, though, and the last few years haven't been the best. I still maintain that the show peaked in the fourth and fifth season. (Monorail!) As such, I was extremely doubtful as to how good the movie could possibly be. I thought they had missed the mark and released it about 14 years too late. But apparently, they were just saving up 14 years of funny. The Simpsons Movie ranks right up there with the funniest episodes of the series.
The story starts, as most of the best ones do, with Homer doing something boneheaded. In this case, he manages to hideously pollute Lake Springfield. This prompts the EPA to put a dome over Springfield, trapping everyone inside and causing instant anarchy. The Simpsons manage to get out, but are declared fugitives. It's up to Homer to find a way to put things right.
The plot is simple enough for a half-hour episode, but turns out to be plenty for a 90-minute movie as well. All the characters we know and love are as funny as ever--and I do mean all the characters. Anyone who has followed the show throughout the years knows that there are easily close to 100 characters (if not more) that appear either as regulars, semi-regulars, or walk-in roles. The only two missing (that I noticed, other than the dead ones like Maude Flanders) were the space creatures Kang and Kodos who make an appearance every Halloween. (They're in the credits, but not in the movie as far as I could see.) Rainier Wolfcastle is also absent, but he's there in spirit--the President of the United States is Arnold Schwarzenegger, and he's basically just a brown-haired Wolfcastle. (More accurately, Wolfcastle is a blonde Schwarzenegger.) Stick with the film to the end of the credits if you want to see the one other conspicuously missing character.
There really isn't much more I can tell without ruining jokes. Suffice it to say, that this is one brilliantly funny film, and it was well worth the 18-year wait to get it into the theaters. It was so good, in fact, that I now have some hope that the upcoming 19th season will be able to get a renewed injection of humor from whatever source the movie was drawing on.
Bottom line: Easily as funny and clever as the best episodes of the series.