Sidewalks On The Corner

Hard to believe, but The Simpsons has been on the FOX Network for eighteen years. (POP QUIZ: Do you remember that The Simpsons started as animated bumpers for the sketch comedy series, The Tracy Ullman Show?)

Follow up:

The animated series has produced four hundred episodes and won innumerable awards and honors, from a Peabody, twenty-three Emmys® to Time magazine calling it “best television show of the 20th Century.” Now, after years of talks, your favorite family – Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie -- has hit the big-screen in "The Simpsons Movie.”

In the film, without giving too much of the story away, Homer has to save his home, his city Springfield, and his relationship with his family when he creates a catastrophe. It’s a catastrophe so large that Arnold Schwarzenegger (who’s the President of the United States) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have to take action on Springfield (Ok, it has something to do with a pig’s and Homer’s “droppings” in a lake). The situation gets so large that the EPA enclosed Springfield in a huge dome to protect the rest of the world. When the Springfield residents discover it was Homer who did the evil deed, they go after the big yellow guy and his family. The Simpsons find a way to escape, but now, they are on the run from the EPA.

I have to admit I’m not a hardcore viewer of the TV series; I have seen a number of episodes out of the 400. Although it’s a type of series I could get into (I love its type of humor), it hasn’t been an appointment television for me on Sunday nights. No clue why, but I never made time to watch. I’m definitely a minority in this pop culture phenomenon, and I know I missed out. So my thoughts on the film are from the standpoint of a new viewer.

When I watched the movie with a fellow Sidewalks crew member, who is a major fan of the show (although he thinks the last couple of seasons are not as strong as the early years due to how long the show has been on the air), I laughed…and l continued to laugh. And when I looked over at my colleague, he was laughing, too. The humor was easy to follow. You definitely don’t need to watch a second of the FOX series, but you would miss out on certain jokes, some character relationships, and specific settings.

Do I think this is an expanded episode of the series? Yes and no. The animation looks like the TV series -- maybe with a little more shadows added. My Sidewalks colleague said it had a 3-D look. The story kept moving that you didn’t miss the commercial breaks, although the writers made TV-related jokes during the film. Lets just say, I had a smile on my face throughout the 87-minute run.

Since the film was rated PG-13, you would think the writers would take the opportunity to write material that could be nastier (such as fellow animated series South Park did in its feature film debut, "Bigger, Longer, Uncut”), but they didn’t. The writers – creator Matt Groening, James L. Brooks, Al Jean, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Mike Scully, Matt Selman, David Mirkin, Mike Reiss, George Meyer, John Swartzwelder and Jon Vitti -- did a first-class job that the whole family can watch, even though you may see a little more of Bart than you could on the TV series. Surprisingly, the writers also brought an emotional side to the story that works with the characters. By the way, don’t leave the theatre too early during the end credits. The writers have extra scenes and moments with The Simpsons that are very funny, as well as Maggie’s first word(?).

Fortunately, the voice actors from the TV series are all there: Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, one-time Sidewalks guest Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer, Pamela Hayden, and Tress MacNeille. Rock band Green Day, Albert Brooks, Harry Shearer and Tom Hanks make voice contributions in the film.

"I can't believe we're paying for something we get for free on TV," declares an angry Homer in the opening minutes of the film. All I can say is: if you are a hardcore TV viewer, you will want to watch it. For the average viewer, you should enjoy it without thinking you wasted 12 bucks at the box office. For the others, you should consider it as a fun DVD to rent or purchase. “The Simpsons Movie” isn't breakthrough as in animation or move the characters in a new direction; it's just a good old time with more yellow paint in front of you.