Movie Review

Movie Review - "The Simpsons"

The Simpsons have finally done it! Breaking into the big screens where 3D effects are a norm by way of a modest 2D showcase takes balls and that is how I liked it, as with all Simpson’s fans out there. It has been 18 years in the making, amassing over 400 episodes in the process [Trivia – an episode took 9 months to make while the movie took 18 months to complete], you would have thought creators Matt Groening and James L. Brooks must have been there and done that. But they come good when it matters, putting up a worthy movie debut which has all the elements of the good, bad and really ugly. I only caught onto the Simpsons bandwagon in their latter years but manage to catch all the earlier stuff from season one onwards till season 7. So suffice to say, I had a few years of Simpsons under my belt.
If you had NOT seen any Simpson’s earlier episode on TV, it would be advisable that you get hold of their DVDs and get acquainted with the eccentric family along with the quirky citizens of Springfield before watching the movie. The characters here are very diverse with associations to social groups we live with as well as spoofs too long to list in this entry. As long it is something worth poking fun of, rest assured that the Simpsons will pick it up and put their own spin on it. A brief bio - Homer J. Simpson is the head honcho cum craze-maniac of the family kept together by Marge Bouvier, a housewife of immense forgiveness and patience. The little ones are Bart Simpson, a mischievous brat and occasional evil genius. Lisa Simpson, the brain of the family who speaks her mind all the time and is the voice of reason. Last but no least, we have Maggie Simpson, the baby girl who has the artistic expression of a mime. There’s also the dog called Santa’s little helper but like we care.
The animation fest begins with a cartoon within THE cartoon of Itchy and Scratchy’s trip to the moon [guess who gets killed in the end?], thereafter, Homer branded all movie goers ‘suckers’ for paying to see a cartoon available on TV but nonetheless, we happily acknowledge that fact with a good laugh for which the Simpsons will certainly provide. Grandpa Simpson aka Abraham/ Abe has a premonition from the Heavens of an impending disaster befalling on Springfield after he was jolted from a dozing slumber during church, conducted by resident pastor, reverend Lovejoy. The gibberish from the elder statesman mimics the speaking of tongues, horrified the church goers who tried in vain to decipher his words. Homer’s response to Marge’s worried words of “Do something!” was classic, flipping through the Holy Bible and letting out “This book has no answers!” is a good start to this laugh-a-minute animation. The next piece of unraveling comes in the form of Bart’s weenie [a first for the Simpsons] as he skates downtown to Krusty’s after a round of ‘Dare’ with Homer. Handcuffed naked to a lamppost, Bart’s hopes of reprieve were dashed in his face when Homer faints ignorance and puts the blame on our little troublemaker, clutching on what’s left of his dignity and modesty. The yearning love of a father does come in the shape of neighbor Ned Flanders who offered Bart a pair of shorts and a shoulder to lean on.
Environmentalist Lisa Simpson’s door to door preaching on saving Springfield from toxic waste dumping had fallen on deaf ear’s but it lead to chance meeting with Colin, a fellow environment advocate from Ireland. Puppy love turns our level-headed girl into a shy, sappy teeny bop, melting at his every word. Homer brings home a pig after Krusty the clown forsakes it after a commercial shoot. Strangely, brain deficient Homer bonded better with the pig than Bart, showering it with love and attention. I am still laughing at Homer’s rendition of Spiderman’s theme song “Spider-pig, spider-pig, does whatever spider-pig does” while holding the pig upside-down to walk on the ceiling. When Lisa finally knocked some sense into the town-folks and got the Mayor to stop dumping waste into the river, Homer’s sugar rush to nab free donuts undo her work and send his pig’s waste silo into the river, turning it into a mutating toxic concoction, alerting the attention of the EPA [Environmental Protection agency] headed by Russ Cargill who went with a radical ‘DOME’ solution to contain the problem and hold Springfield captive.
When the news broke on the perpetrator who was responsible for their state of imprisonment, it sets off a lynch mob against the Simpson family, in particularly, Homer. They escape public slaying but before they can settle down to a fresh start in Alaska, Marge and her charges decides to return to Springfield to save the town from certain annihilation. Homer realizes in time to act upon his epiphany to rescue the people of Springfield through his crazy methods. Of course, it ends on a right note with Homey saving the day, wins Marge back, reconcile with his boy wonder and ride into the sunset. My words have dried up and I leave you with the best ratings to date, a full 5 D’uhs out of 5!