Does something get better over time? Will the years age it or will it become better with time? With The Simpsons Movie time only made it more rewarding. 18 years in the making The Simpsons Movie is easily one of the best and funniest movies I’ve ever seen. The plot is so compelling and honestly emotional while the story still carries jokes. For those nay sayers who think that The Simpsons has lost it’s comedic edge, well you just have to see The Simpsons Movie. It’s so humorous. I’ll give the plot a run down. I was laughing so much that it’s hard to name every joke though. I don’t want to spoil it for you either.
The film opens with a space shuttle landing on the Moon. A Simpsons favorite steps out, it’s the death prone Scratchy. A few feet over is Itchy, holding an American flag. Scratchy thinks it’s a peace on the Moon between Itchy and Scratchy, does this cat ever learn? Scratchy seems to die in a gruesome fashion, which is honestly an improvement from the show in animation and humor. I won’t spoil it for you, but the “death sequence” is more drawn out that just a quick death. The shot pans out and you see Homer saying the Itchy and Scratchy film is boring, saying that only suckers would see something in a movie theater that you can see on TV for free. “Especially us.” And with that the classic Simpsons clouds appear with the title and a brand new “view through Springfield” experience. Mr. Burns falling over. Bart writing that he won’t download this movie illegally, breaking the fourth wall is always funny. There are a few other surprises but I won’t spoil it. With that the movie truly begins.
The film starts at the Duff Beer Concert Series in Springfield starring non other than psuedo-punk band Green Day. After three hours of playing Billy Joe asks the audience if he can talk about the environment, since apparently their barge is being destroyed in the Springfield lake. Yes, they were playing on the water. The never eco-fiendly towns people revolt, which results in the death of Green Day. So the townspeople got together in church for what apparently is “another rock band that died in Springfield.” The Simpsons, always fashionably late, cause sort of a problem though. When Rev. Lovejoy discusses talking to God to find what you need in life Grandpa Simpson turns all crazy old guy and flips out, spazzing and seizing all over the church. He’s speaking of terrible dangers, a twisted tail, and “ebba.” This scares everyone, but leaves a real impact on Marge.
Back in his castle Homer decides to do some chores, one of which is reshingling the roof. Bart decides to help, which essentially causes the rest of the movie to unfold as it does. Through a terrible, yet pleasing, yet also scarring to the viewer, father and son moment Bart and Homer get to Krusty Burger. While Bart tries to have a heart to heart with Homer, Homer sees a pig…wearing a hat. This pig is in a Krusty Burger commercial (which is oddly filming in the resturant) but after filming finishes up the pig is to be killed, Homer can’t have this because this isn’t a normal pig, it’s wearing “people clothes.” So being the animal lover he is (dogs, elephants, etc.) Homer takes home the pig, which he names Plopper. This sets Marge off because one of the terrible dangers Grandpa speaks of is a “twisted tail” which the pig has. She urges Homer to get rid of the pig but he simply can’t, and with some persuasion he gets Marge to lighten up and let Plopper stay.
During all of this Lisa has been on a rampage that would make any Greenpeace member happy. From nagging to her neighbors and meeting a nice little Irish boy who she falls in love with (I honestly believe he’ll be a regular character from now on) she eventually calls a town meeting together. Any Simpson fan would realize by now that the Springfielders aren’t the brightest bunch of people, so Lisa’s rant (titled “An Irritating Truth”) doesn’t connect with them. Knowing this she pulls a little stunt which gets everyone to be on her side. Her side being that they need to clean Springfield lake and close it off because just ONE more piece of trash will finish it’s complete pollution and will essentially doom them all.
Through a series of events Homer is the one that dooms everyone, who else would it be, Bumble Bee Man? Even though Marge constantly nags him (for a good reason) he just doesn’t listen, and pollutes the lake without thinking. This causes the government, led by Arnold Schwarzenegger, with the help of the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), to take drastic action against the polluted Springfield. Their solution is Option #3: Put a giant dome around Springfield. So with nearly one hundred helicopters a dome is placed around Springfield by the EPA aka the “ebba” Grandpa Simpson wildly screamed about. This dome will be on top of Springfield forver, until the townspeople eventually all perish from lack of supplies. With the help of a giant screen on the dome the head of the EPA tells the townspeople that their lake was infact polluted again, so this causes the townspeople to lead an investigation and they find that it’s Homer who put them in a dome prison. Understandably mad the townspeople revolt against Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. The family runs and gets out of the dome in a very creative way, which I won’t spoil for you. I’ll just say that Maggie basically saves the family.
Now at this point in the movie several things have happened. Bart has basically had it with Homer. He’s realized that a pat on the back feels much better than a strangling. He’s found a real father figure in Flanders. Lisa has basically fallen in love with the nice Irish boy who IS NOT Bono’s son. Marge is still trying to justify everything Homer does becuse she still loves him, but at this point she doesn’t know what’s going to happen. She’ll just take what happens and try to make the best out of it. The family as a whole, with no money and no transportation, decide to go to Alaska. It’s Homer’s option if the family ever got run out of town because of him, which has nearly happened many times during the show. So with that “one time” the family decides to go North. At a carnival Homer takes part in a carnies challenge to win a truck. He has to ride a motercycle in a death defying ball, which you can see an example of on The Simpsons Movie website in the games section. After winning the truck, and a great lesson from Lisa, the family embarks on their journey.
Finally reaching Alaska, and living their for a few days, the family notices a weird commercial on television. Apparently President Arnie was tricked by the EPA head and allowed for Spingfield to be blown up. So the commercial basically tells everyone of a “new Grand Canyon” that will appear next to Shellbyville. Of course the commercial features Tom Hanks, as himself, which adds a nice guest cameo to the movie. The whole Simpsons clan wants to race back to Springfield, even though they are wanted fugitives for fleaing the dome, but Homer. He likes being in Alaska and doesn’t care about the people back in Springfield. So even after a heart felt “please do it for me” speech from Marge, Homer decides not to go. When coming back to thier cabin Homer realizes the family left. He only sees a video tape, their wedding tape which Marge took from their on fire home, but it has a “play in VCR” note on it. At one of the most heart felt moments in the film Marge tells Homer that she simply can’t be with him anymore. She has put up with his nonsense and defended him for so long, because she loved him. That answer isn’t possible anymore, and with a single tear you can see that Marge truly doesn’t love Homer anymore. The tape cuts and you see the rest of the wedding tape with Homer and Marge dancing, with Marge saying she loved Homer. Honestly it’s such a heart felt moment, and it’s one of three that are within the film. One between the parents, one between Bart and Homer, and another between Lisa and her new crush.
The movie goes on for another act, the third act, at this point but I don’t want to spoil it for you. I’ll just give you my opion on the film. First off I’ll talk about animation. Obviously the style is much richer and deeper. You can notice a lot more objects in the background, more detail on houses, more color in peoples hair and wordrobes, and other things that make the film just stand out. It’s a great example of 2D animation that is as good, if not better, than all of the 3D movies out there these days. The humor in the film is the best The Simpsons has ever seen. A lot of people have been saying The Simpsons got too absurd and unfunny after the 10th season, well those people need to give The Simpsons Movie a chance. It’s easily the funniest film I’ve seen in a long time, and I honestly don’t remember a joke I didn’t laugh at. The film is non stop laughs, although there are true periods of emotion. Let me get into that now.
The main point of The Simpsons Movie is not to just make people laugh, it’s to show the amazing bond between the family. Watching the movie I got the sense of depth that the show rarely produced, although it never did it as well as the movie did. Throughout the film you see Marge trying to get Homer to stop being foolish, but he just wouldn’t listen. Being the idiot that he is he doesn’t care what Marge says. In one of the most amazing moments of the movie, which I’m only paraphrasing, Homer tells Marge that he only tries to make the day go by fast so he can lay in bed with her. It’s such a tear jerking moment. And although Homer appears to have changed his ways he doesn’t help Marge in her time of need. This is when she leaves him and gives us the most honest and saddening moment in Simpsons history. Just the look on her face, the cracking in her voice, the single tear from her eye, and the look on Homers face, put me on the verge of tears. I’ve sat though Titanic without so much as a frown, but when you’ve grown up on a show like I have with The Simpsons it seems only natural to feel a special bond with these characters.
I can’t even get into everything this film has to offer I just have to tell you to go see it. Go alone if you have to. The movie is full of tear jerkers, great plot twists, a compelling story, and most of all jokes. You won’t stop laughing unless the writers want you to not laugh. So you should all go see the film, it better win an Academy Award. In Animation and best acting. Julie Kravis, the voice actor for Marge, does a job that is so amazing. Dan Castellnete, for Homer, brings such depth to the drunken dad that we’ve never seen before. I could go on and on, but I’ll stop here. One last thing;
Go see The Simpsons Movie, right now!
