Classic Television Makes the Transition
Directed By: David Silverman
Starring: Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, & Yeardley Smith
MPAA Rating: "PG-13" (for irreverent humor throughout)
The Simpsons has been on television since 1989, which means that it premiered the year I was born. So, I have never known a time without The Simpsons. Never being a devout watcher of the show, the thought of a movie was rather inconsequential to me. However, the effect the show has had on modern culture is undeniable. If nothing else, it changed the face of animation and even primetime television. Now, approximately eighteen years after its television debut, the yellow family and the entire population of Springfield have made their boldest statement yet: moving to the big-screen. Also along for the ride are even more biting satire and political undertones. "I can't believe we're paying to see something we get on TV for free!" Homer (Castellaneta) tells us, "If you ask me, everybody in this theater is a giant sucker! Especially you!" Well, my goodness, he may just be on to something.
We enter the famous town of Springfield (which inexplicably borders Ohio, Nevada, Maine, and Kentucky), home of the Simpson family. Apparently, it is the most polluted town in America, much to the dismay of the young and idealistic Lisa Simpson (Smith), who knocks on doors and hands out environmental pamphlets. No one wants to listen...especially not her own bumbling father, Homer, who is far too concerned with the newest member of the family: Spider-Pig. Homer even has a theme song for the beloved swine, one that makes the actual theme song for Spider-Man all the more ridiculous. After Lisa manages to successfully sway the local politicians to moderate the pollution, particularly in the local lake (with a speech entitled "An Irritating Truth," no doubt), only Homer is brave...well, dumb...enough to violate the probations and dump Spider-Pig's waste products into the water.
The Environmental Protection Agency decides that the only way to clean up the mess is to destroy Springfield and create the Grand Canyon Part 2. Homer and his family strike out to save their hometown. Now, no one goes into The Simpsons Movie expecting a thought-provoking plot...or even a plot that makes any sense whatsoever. This is fortunate, because they will not find any of that here. One can only wonder why a silo filled with pig feces is any more toxic than the years of pollution that had been dumped into the lake prior and why they could not just clean the lake up again...but it never really matters. In Springfield, logic and science have no place...and, frankly, it is refreshing. After seeing two very bleak horror films in two days (The Mist and Them), it was a wonderful relief to see straight-laced humor in all of its politically-incorrect, escapist glory. It is also great to finally see a television-adaptation that doesn't embarrass its source material, instead broadening it and expanding it to cinematic proportions.
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