So, here are my two cents about the new Simpsons movie. I’ll start with a fact: I’m a Simpsons buff. I watch repeats and laugh from the same jokes a dozen times. I have a Simpsons poster right above my bed (note: I’m 27) and I have collected most of the videos ever released (including the shorts prior to the series.)
A couple of days ago I went to see the premier with a friend. We got a couple of tickets to the 1AM show, which was packed. It was very exciting and we couldn’t wait for the flick to start. Do not continue further if you haven’t seen the movie already, spoiler alert.
My judgment of film is biased. I was expecting the unachievable. And why is that, you may question yourself. I’ve been watching the tv show since day one (and still remember that lovely day.) I have noticed when the artwork changed, voice acting improved and plot became a template. A while ago I was asked, on a scale of one to ten, where would I put this movie. My friend was waiting for a typical “eleven” answer, but I replied with 7. Don’t get me wrong, this movie is incredible! It’s hilarious, it’s epic (all the way to Alaska), it’s clever and I loved every frame of it. So why the seven? Because it’s a 90 minutes episode. It had the same template from the tv series (start with something funny and unrelated, there’s an event that twists everything in one minute, and the rest is a moral story for all human kind.) FHM magazine noted that the first half hour of the movie is just pure genius. They based that on the first part of the template — being completely hilarious.
My problem with The Simpsons: The Movie, is that I was expecting it to do to the series the same thing South Park: BL&U did to its series. SP:BLU is by far one of the most incredible and best(est) movies ever made by a human (imho). What made it so great, is that the realized they have an opportunity to do things on the big screen that they are not allowed to do on tv. Curses, racism, anti-patriotism, sex offends, and generally PG13 material. It just blew my mind; it was intense and fulfilled every minute with grace. Simpsons, on the other hand, did the opposite. The series has always been on prime-time on Fox (which was relatively young at the time) and aimed for adults. It’s not that kids didn’t enjoy it, it’s just that there was an additional layer of story that appealed to parents with kids; to people with social difficulties, and to people who realize something is wrong with this world. When the movie was about to be released in Israel, Fox got it DUBBED to Hebrew. Note that no English shows have ever been dubbed (aside kids shows like Bratz and Pokemon, but this is a different age group.) And the reason they did that, is that they wanted the movie to appeal to the younger generation — read: buy Simpsons toys at McDonald’s.
I think I’ve ranted enough. Don’t listen to me. Go watch the movie; I can’t wait to see it again, and again, and own the dvd eventually. It’s movie well done. Eleven screenwriters (out of 14,) including David Silverman. Now, how can you go wrong?
(Thanks for listening. Sorry for bitchin’)
The Simpsons are quite the phenomena. They have been
able to get away with controversial opinions and have
injected politics under the radar that others just
can’t. And still have staying power and make oodles
of money! Groening from day one was like, “don’t
interfere†and “they†don’t. If only more mega
conglomerate tyrannies understood this novel concept
maybe we’d have some more artistic vision in the
market that’s actually fun and entertaining!
Another part of the phenomena is that they have a very
mixed demographic as seen on their syndication level
and by the fact that a third of Simpsons viewers
consider themselves conservative. And the rest of us,
well are mere slackers. Kids were targeted from the
early days, I remember coming home after school to
catch it at 5pm. They were doing “family friendlyâ€
way before family friendly was part of the pop culture
jargon/bandwagon.
I really liked the movie. I think a lot of people
expected some kind of mystery revealed type of movie.
Like how the fuck do they have this fountain of youth?
Or like how can the protagonists be so many different
ages? Be super smart sometimes and be complete morons
in others? Do they do some wicked voodoo or like time
travel? One mystery was revealed this year as to
where Springfield actually is on the map. I thought
that campaign was beyond brilliant. Oh, and I mustn’t
forget that Maggie can in fact talk and mutter
“sequel†☺
With all that said, I am really happy it was like one
long episode because I believe they snuck in some
really clever, witty, irreverent points about the
political climate in the United States and to me that
is very important.
To name a few the movie addressed Hurricane Katrina
and the whole Astrodome debacle. Also, the fact that
Bush appoints dumbfucks to head organizations i.e.
“Brownie†to FEMA, (Albert Brooks was awesome as he
always is) or that we elect cartoons and Hollywood
actions heroes to the government (Itchy & Scratchy
Bush and Schwatzenegger) oh, and that little issue we
call the environment and so the list goes on.
The truth is how many Americans are exposed and
actually go see movies that contain politics and
socially aware questions about this very society? Not
many. I know the Simpsons have fans all over the
world but honestly American’s are way behind the curve
than the rest of the world on this one. We trust our
media and government way too much.
It is ironic that Rupert Murdoch owns Fox and yet some
of the most truthful opinions are on the Simpsons and
they don’t get Dixie Chicked and called “unpatriotic.â€
They are just so fucking consistent that it’s mind
boggling in today’s day in age.
Am I putting wayyyy too much into The Simpsons or reading
between too many lines? Perhaps. But, goddamn it I
need the Simpson’s to set me straight and give me a
laugh.
Amen and long live The Simpsons!