Everything you'd expect and more

Rating: 8/10 (24 August 2007)

Being a Simpsons fan nearly all my life, I eagerly awaited a Simpson's Movie for many a long years. Then the show jumped the shark (It was the Nessie episode, and you all know it) and has since proceeded to zoom back and forth over the shark with total disregard to television laws. So when I heard about a Simpson's Movie, I was dubious. On the one hand, being a lifelong fan, I would pay to see a Simpson's Movie. On the other, I feared a two hour episode of the TV show that disregarded anything approaching plot, story, or jokes that were more than a cheap gag. I was pleasantly disappointed. The movie has an epic scope and feel, which is just right when one of the main characters is named Homer. They start off with a little Itchy & Scratchy cartoon hearkening back to the days when cartoons were shown in movie houses across the country. Then, at the end, Homer stands up "Why should we pay to see something we see at home for free on television?" This is the tone of the Simpson's movie, a movie that knows not to take itself too seriously (Like other animated movies based on cartoons, AHEM South Park, I'm looking at you.) The plot, while wholly ridiculous and overwhelmingly over the top, is grounded by a certain amount of silly seriousness as the characters actually, now hold your breath, remain true to their characters! When put in tense and stressful situations, they react with tension and stress. The serious moments push the plot along, and the comedy keeps it interesting, fully true to Simpson tradition. Along the way, the brilliant social commentary cuts apart everything Americans hold dear like television, mob mentality, incompetent presidents, laziness, greed, apathy, and the status quo. The artwork, too, is impressive. It's clear the production team wanted to make the animation really noteworthy, and not just, once again, a two hour long episode of the TV show. (Again, looking at you, South Park.) To write a synopsis would take too long, as there are at least six or seven things happening during the course of the movie, but rather than being several stories linked together, they're all integral parts of the unfolding story. So let me sum up: Grandpa Simpson has a vision in church of impending doom. No one takes it seriously but Marge. Lake Springfield is heavily polluted. Lisa attempts to get it cleaned up and falls in love with a young Irish boy who is also on an ecological crusade. Homer is a bad father, and winds up coming across a pig (Yes, it's "Spider-Pig" from all the commercials) that he loves more than Bart. Bart starts gravitating towards Flanders as a better father figure. Lisa and her beau convince the town to clean up Lake Springfield. Homer, because he's homer, winds up dumping all the waste from Spider-Pig (and himself) into the lake because he's got to get some free donuts. The lake becomes so over-polluted, the EPA must do something. The head of the EPA, yes, you guessed it, the villain, gets authorization from President Schwarzenegger to encase Springfield in a giant dome. The residents of Springfield are now trapped. A brief investigation discovers that it's all Homer's fault, forcing the family to flee through a sink-hole that Maggie discovered. This covers about the first thirty or forty minutes. The Simpsons then flee to Alaska where they enjoy some brief peace before it's discovered that the government intends to bomb Springfield before anyone else can escape the dome. Homer refuses to help those who chased him with pitchforks and torches. So Marge takes the kids and leaves him. He goes after her, but almost freezes to death before being saved by an Innuit medicine woman. During the inevitable and slightly cliché' vision quest, Homer realizes how selfish he's been and sets out to save Springfield. After several failed attempts to get Marge and the kids back (since they've been captured by the EPA shock troops,) Homer starts climbing to the top of the dome to get inside through the tiny hole they're lowering the bomb from. In the process, he foils the escape attempt of the citizens of Springfield and further alienates Bart. Finally, Homer calls upon his recently learned biking inside a dome skills to get the bomb out of the dome, simultaneously winning back Bart's Love and the town's. That's the SHORT story. I've left out a LOT. In short, this movie is definitely worth watching, especially if you're a fan of the show. Though, don't bring the kids. Seriously, there's some cartoon nudity, and a LOT of 'adult situations.' It's PG-13, guys, not PG-whatever-you-feel-like-and-the-kids-REALLY-wanna-go. Parental GUIDANCE, folks. Do some guiding.