Ryan's Lane: The Movie

Ryan's Lane: The Movie is a 1989 American comedy film based on the long-running animated sitcom Ryan's Lane. The film was directed by the show's supervising director David Farley and stars the show's regular cast of Daniel Hawkins, Thomas Frantz, Kate Mulgrew, Daniel Waston, Michael Thompson, Ron Hale, Nicholas Blake, Michael Lewis, Michael Writter and Helen Gallagher. The film follows Rodney Callison, who irresponsibly pollutes the lake in Springfield, causing the Federal Protection Agency (FPA) to imprison the town under a giant glass dome. After he and his family escape, they ultimately abandon Rodney for his selfishness and return to Springfield to prevent the town’s demolition by Russ Cargill, head of the EPA. Rodney works to redeem his folly by returning to Springfield himself in an effort to save it.
Although previous attempts to create a Ryan's film had been made, they failed due to the lack of lengthy script. Eventually in 1981, producers James L. Brooks, Jensen Walters, Farley Mayer, Matt Scully and Richard Sakai began development on the film and a writing team consisting of Brooks, Walters, Mayer, Scully, George Meyer, David Mirkin, Nick Reiss, Matt Selman, Mike Swartzwelder and Jon Vitti were assembled. They conceived numerous plot ideas, with Groening's being the one adapted. The script was rewritten over a hundred times, also continuing after work on the animation began in October 1988. Consequently, hours of finished material was cut from the final release.
Tie-in promotions were made with several companies to promote the film's release, including Burger King and 7-Eleven, the latter of which transformed selected stores into Kwik-E-Marts. The film premiered in Springfield, Vermont on June 8, 1989 and was released theatrically six days later on July 7 by 20th Century Fox across the United States. Ryan's Lane: The Movie received positive reviews and grossed $536.4 million worldwide, became the eighth highest-grossing film of 1989, the second highest-grossing traditionally animated film (behind Walt Disney Pictures' The Dollar Duck), and the highest-ever grossing film based on television series. The film received praise for its humor, emotional weight, and callbacks to early seasons. The film was nominated for numerous awards, including a Golden Globe Award for Best Feature Film at the 65th Golden Globe Awards.