About ten years ago they would run a Simpsons version of the THX logo before movies. In it, the audio would be turned up so loud that everyone in the audience exploded - except for Grandpa Simpson, who would yell at the screen "Turn it up!" At twelve years old, my friends and I found that to be the funniest thing imaginable, and the first time we saw it we ended up talking about it more than the movie it was preceding. That really speaks to how big of a cultural phenomenon The Simpsons was in the mid 90's, something that seems to have faltered as the show trudged on, now nearing twenty years on air. Yet in spite of how long the show has been on, or perhaps because of it, The Simpsons Movie is a refreshingly funny and smart film. It's almost as if they used the past 18 years to really come up with something worthy of the big screen.When Homer Simpson befriends a pig, all hell breaks loose in Springfield. After an unfortunate mistake on Homer's part, the city of Springfield is quarantined inside a giant bubble. Although the Simpson clan is able to escape the bubble, the rest of the city is trapped, and it becomes Homer's duty to free the town before it's too late. In essence, it sounds like a run of the mill episode of the show, yet it isn't. In many ways, this feels surprisingly epic, like it deserves to be seen on the big screen. There's always the argument that TV shows turned movie won't work because no one wants to pay for something they can see for free every week (a fact Homer reminds us in the audience of in a not so subtle way). Yet this film overcomes that by upgrading the animation, creating a plot that really needs more time than 20 minutes will allow, and by trying to make us connect with the characters instead of just laugh with them.
The jokes are fast and furious here. I feel like I was at least chuckling throughout, and there were a number of laugh out loud moments (Bart's nude skating scene provided a great laugh, as well as reminded us why we love The Simpsons - they always mess with conventions). Also, a lot of characters get at least one good joke, either verbally or visually, which is impressive considering the number of characters this show has accumulated. It might have been nice to give some other characters more screen time, like Moe or Mr. Burns. Yet focusing primarily on just the Simpsons was probably a smart move as it made this feel more like a movie and less like a TV show with a lot of asides.
Honestly, if you like The Simpsons you'll like this movie. I was a little worried that it would just feel like a couple episodes cobbled together (like the Family Guy movie), yet it didn't. After seeing it, I actually kind of hope that Matt Groening and Co. realize that it's finally ok to let The Simpsons end on TV, because these characters feel like naturals on the big screen.
