Witty and funny, harkens back to Golden Age of The Simpsons

Rating: 8/10 (12 March 2019)

I recently watched this movie again as I was looking to fill up some time. While I've watched this movie, directed by David Silverman, probably 5 or 6 times before, it was still enjoyable. It features the common voice actors, Dan Castellaneta (voicing Homer Simpson, Abe Simpson, Krusty the Clown, Groundskeeper Willie, Mayor Quimby, Sideshow Mel, Mr. Teeny, an EPA officer, Itchy, and Barney Gumble), Julie Kavner (voicing Marge Simpson, Selma Bouvier, and Patty Bouvier), Nancy Cartwright (voicing Bart Simpson, Ralph Wiggum, Todd Flanders, and Nelson Muntz), Yeardley Smith (voicing Lisa Simpson), Hank Azaria (voicing Moe Szyslak, Chief Wiggum, Cletus Spuckler, Professor Frink, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Lou, Comic Book Guy, Captain McCallister, Bumblebee Man, and Dr. Nick), Henry Shearer (voicing Mr. Burns, Smithers, Ned Flanders, Reverend Lovejoy, Lenny, President Arnold Schwarzenegger, Seymour Skinner, Kent Brockman, Dr. Hibbert, and Otto Mann), Pamela Hayden (voicing Milhouse Van Houten, Rod Flanders, and Jimbo Jones), and Tress MacNeille (voicing the Medicine Woman, Agnes Skinner, Crazy Cat Lady, Colin, and Cookie Kwan). Additionally, long time Simpsons producer Albert Brooks whom is voicing the "mad with power" (as a fellow EPA worker tells him at one point) head of the EPA, Russ Cargill. I know some reviews of this film go down to even 2 stars, I'm rating this film 8 stars and I'll fully and completely explain why.
For one, while this film has annoying elements, like Lisa having a sort of boyfriend (an Irish boy named Colin, whom is also passionate about the environment), if it can make you laugh, then it is a victory. The film features Lisa, as the heart of the show, leading the charge to clean up Lake Springfield which is polluted by everyone in the town, which is sanctioned by Mayor Quimby who declares "code black." However, Homer, as you would think, it utterly impulsive, slowly fulfilling the prophecy that Grampa Simpson tells the shocked churchgoers (seemingly comprising most of the town of Springfield), after dumping the waste of a pig he adopted in the lake because he wanted to eat donuts. As a result, the EPA, led by a corporate hatchet man, Russ Cargill, quarantines the town in a dome to "contain" its pollution, which is sanctioned by President Schwarzenegger (which should have been Ranier Wolfcastle/McBain instead, as this ruins this longstanding Simpsons parody) in a glass dome, trapping the citizenry.
Soon, the Simpsons family (Maggie, Marge, Homer, Lisa, and Bart) are targeted by a torch-wielding "mob" comprising all of those in the town. Even Colin is in the "mob," although it is hard to say if he is there willingly or happened to be there. In fact, they would have gone to the wrong house had Homer not pointed out they were going the wrong direction. They escape the town thanks to a sinkhole, yet the town "mob" dumbly doesn't follow them while the Simpsons house is quickly destroyed by the sinkhole, apparently. From there, the Simpsons family is on the run from the EPA, which can't manage to track them when they go from Springfield to Alaska, which includes crossing international borders (the Canada-U.S. border two times). If we suspend belief, this narrative is otherwise compelling.
Meanwhile, Springfield has descended into "utter anarchy" in this dystopia. Soon, Homer selfishly wants to stay in Alaska, their new home, but Marge and the rest of the family go back to Springfield. It is here there is a hilarious criticism of the NSA as utterly incompetent, with the one analyst shouting "we finally found someone we are looking for!" Keep in mind this is before the Snowden revelations, showing that the concern for mass surveillance is nothing new to say the least. Another criticism I liked was of how Homer describes the fellow church people, saying that these pious people believe in their "phony, baloney god," knowing they will hear him, while publicly he puts on a face that he cares. This raises the question of how religious Homer is, after all, if it's all just a front of some sort. It reminds me a bit of The Miracle Woman (1931) by Frank Capra, especially of the beginning scene when Florence Fallon (played by Barbara Stanwyck) condemns her fellow churchgoers as hypocrites and liars, although she was much more forceful. The criticism of the rich is evident, with Mr. Burns saying at one point that "finally, the rich white man is in charge" (or something to that effect) when Dr. Hibbert, Apu, and Chief Wiggum ask for power to be supplied to the city, which he doesn't do. Clearly, Mr. Burns is representative of the evil capitalist, as he, in a credits scene, and has a dark side, as he is fine with watching someone commit suicide!
I'm not sure, personally about the depiction of indigenous people in this movie, represented specifically medicine woman, as it makes me feel a bit uncomfortable in that it seems to feed into a stereotype. But perhaps that's no surprise as Apu himself is a stereotype, even more so than the medicine woman. Even with that being said, I liked the fan service of the motorcycle, with Homer and Bart above it, jumping over the Springfield gorge, over which Homer and Bart had failed in their attempts to get across it in the past, and getting across thanks to Bart's slingshot.
While I have my reservations about this movie, especially wondering if this movie can be considered canon since it would mean that any episodes after this movie could get awkward since the house was utterly destroyed, as were their possessions, I would say that it is generally enjoyable and I would recommend it. If this movie is not canon, it would make sense because it would explain what happened to people like Russ Cargill, the President, Colin, and other characters just for this movie. I understand the criticisms of this movie, but I just have to disagree with them, as I've stated here. With that, my review of this film comes to a close.