The Movie We've Been Waiting For So Long

Rating: 10/10 (27 July 2007)

After years and years of rumors surrounding the unattainable Simpsons Movie, it has finally come. Was all the wait worth it? Yes. Yes it was.
The movie begins with the drum rolls of the 20th century company...before Ralph Wiggum walks out and sings with the drum rolls. You know this movie won't be like anything you've ever seen.
The movie moves along like a well oiled machine with every piece of the story being laid out very well. It is not like some of the Simpsons episodes where the beginning has NOTHING to do with the upcoming plot. In the light of environmental issues, the story revolved around the fact that pollution is destroying our world, and even Springfield (wherever it is) is in danger.
Now, we all know we will not go to this movie for the plot. After being introduced in 1987 on the Tracey Ullman Show, the Simpsons family has been through almost every imaginable situation (maybe Marge will become a robot in one episode). That being said, the plot is still a well plaid out one. There are not many moments where enjoyment is hindered by the lack of plot explanation.
The great minds behind the Simpsons deliver, and they deliver their very best. There were laughs throughout the whole auditorium every few minutes, if not every few seconds. My mouth was hurting from the smiling by the time I left the theater. There is a jab at fox, the ridiculous jokes where we cannot help but laugh at, and there is of course the playing with the audience's expectations (for example, the censorship that we have become accustomed to on the show is relieved and we forget this sometimes, and the writers take advantage of this to surprise us and make us laugh.) We came to love this humor and it is all there.
The tangible plot and hilarious jokes are included, and most people expect just those two things, if not only the jokes. But if you listen to the commentary on the Simpsons DVDs, you will know that the old time, and arguably best Simpsons writers love putting heart into their episodes. Do not fear, there is enough heart to go around.
It is an animated movie, so I will touch on that aspect. The animation is superb. It doesn't look like the old days, nor are the colors as warm and rich like in the aged seasons. But the extensive computer animation works in the favor of the movie; there are some fantastic sequences that will amaze you. In recent episodes, the clean cut and computer-aided animation seem to distract people (or, at least that is true for me). But this movie's jokes are so funny and top notch that the animation did not distract; it only enhances the film, like it should.
Going into this movie as, let's say, a die hard Family Guy fan, the whacky comedy of the Simpsons may not sit well with you. But if you love and embrace the old seasons of the Simpsons, that golden age that the fans embrace with both arms, this movie delivers with excellence. Homer doesn't play the saxamaphone, there is no monorail, and Ralph never does go to Bovine University. But what we are left with is the longest episode of the Simpsons ever, not that that is a bad thing; it is indeed also the funniest episode.