Maybe I just expected too much...

Rating: 1/10 (26 July 2007)

Maybe I just expected too much. For the last two years I've been excited about The Simpsons Movie, I could hardly wait for it to come out. I grew up with the Simpsons and, as many others, have watched about every episode at least 10 times. Since I was so eager to see it, I went to the first screening on the day of release. I was so sure this movie couldn't be bad, since South Park and Family Guy made great feature versions of their TV-shows. I was wrong.
Right on from the beginning, I had to realize that the film would not come up to my expectations at all. It began with the Itchy and Scratchy scene, right in the beginning. The typical absurd brutality and violence of the Itchy and Scratchy Cartoons have been softened down, so that after getting stabbed the cat doesn't even bleed. It seems the makers of the film passed on the violence to get a lower rating. An understandable step on one hand but after 18 years of staying true to the Simpsons-Style, very disappointing on the other. However, next to this little detail that bothered me, the whole plot is constructed relatively poor. All the time, not knowing that the film is only 85 minutes long, I thought "Okay, now the film must start and come to it's point". This thought would stay in my head until the end. The story is everything but sweeping.
Also I didn't like that The Simpsons Family are about the only characters that play a part in the plot. There is just a little bit of Flanders but almost no Mr. Burns, no Moe, no Major Quimby, no Sideshow Bob, no Krusty and so on. They all have about a line and that's it. Instead of the already existing beloved characters, a pig is introduced, which disappears as inconspicuously as it was introduced. But, the most disappointing fact was the jokes. They couldn't be cheaper and more harmless . Missing the ambiguousness and depth of the the jokes in the TV-version, it seems as they have only been designed for a very young audience. The humor reminded me a lot of the one from movies like Ice Age (which would be okay if I weren't talking about the Simpsons).
Also, I missed a political level, as seen in the TV-series or the South Park movie.
All in all, since the plot and jokes are sloppy and faceless, I wouldn't recommend the film to anyone who likes the Simpsons TV-series.