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Left 4 Dead
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Read MoreThe Simpsons Movie Review
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I must admit, I wasn’t particularly enthused about The Simpsons Movie when I first heard about it. Most great TV shows don’t translate well onto the big screen and I thought it was another big studio cash grab that would ruin yet another show from when I was growing up. I mean, look at the trailer for Alvin and the Chipmunks…what kind of jackass thought that would be a good idea?
However, when I went to go see Transformers a couple weeks ago, I caught the trailer and…well, they had me at Spider-Pig. This is the kind of absurdity we’ve come to love from the show and The Simpsons Movie connects with plenty of awesome gags. Ralph Wiggum in particular is fantastic. He only has two lines (well, technically one) but both times he’s on screen are stomach-achingly funny.
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Luckily, there’s no ridiculous computer rendered crap on screen in The Simpsons Movie and it remains true to the half hour we’ve become so accustomed to for the last eighteen years. There is a bit of 3D depth in the animation which gives the movie a greater sense of size and scale, especially in the scenes that show hundreds if not thousands of the characters from the TV show.
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The story is also enhanced in size and scale. While the actual plot, which is basically Homer polluting the environment and causing the imminent destruction of Springfield, could probably have been stuffed into a half-hour episode, the writers do a good job of keeping it going for 87 minutes. However, if you’re not a fan of the series, it might not seems as funny to you. I felt the writing was a bit “inside-joke-ish” (yes, that’s a word) which will put a big smile on your face but won’t have you bursting out laughing. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of genuinely peeing-your-pants funny moments but I think the millions of Simpsons fans out there will find it a lot more funny than someone new to the franchise.
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The show does sometimes delve into a less crude world of family values and love stories and the movie sort of elaborates on this idea more than the 3 minutes of airtime a family hug usually gets on TV. You get to see slightly deeper into the personalities of the characters. It’s hard to critique acting when there isn’t any but the voice acting is, as usual, top notch. Julie Kavner (who’s the voice of Marge) is particularly good. When you get to the part of her video to Homer, you’ll see what I mean.
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The movie also claims to feature every character ever from the show…but I thought there were quite a few missing. I didn’t see Kang or Kodos anywhere, for example. It also features some…cartoon nudity, mild cursing and Homer flipping the bird and other than that last one, I felt it was all quite unnecessary. Bart skating around naked…well, the actual nudity seemed added on and sort of a “because we could” moment for the animators. It feels a bit unnecessary, really.
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The Simpsons Movie was surprisingly good and met my high expectations after I saw the trailer. It’s very clever and stays true to the spirit of the show. It’s just about all we could ask for as Simpsons fans.
Verdict: 8 out of 10
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- 11 Comments
- In Entertainment
Ralph easily had the two best lines in the movie.
Another character that I didn’t see was Mindy. Was she just a part of the mob? Naturally, Maude Flanders wasn’t included either.
ReplyI saw the movie last week and enjoyed it.
I also didn’t see Sideshow bob nor Patty, Selma and a couple of other characters but too be honest I didn’t really miss them.
ReplyI thought it was pretty good, but I was never laughing out loud during it. I could have probably waited until it hit DVD.
Replydidn’t she die in en episode?
ReplyI still think that some of their tv episodes were far more funnier than this movie, with that said it was still a good one.
Replyif you look on that image with the mob you’ll see patty or is it selma in the front, I guess everyone was included in that mob but hey who really pays attention to all those faces?
ReplyYes Maude died. That’s why I said “naturally” she wasn’t included. But where’s Mindy?
“Oh, Mindy. You came and you gave without flaking but I sent you Bengay.”
ReplyUm… when did the movie ever claim to contain “every character”? It would be almost impossible to fulfill a promise like that, which is probably why they didn’t really make that promise.
ReplyThis was definitely a dissapointment… It could’ve been ALOT better =/ I’d rather watch one of the old simpsons episodes than this whole movie…
Reply[...] arriving to a packed theater on Sunday for The Simpsons Movie, my friends and I decided to rent something and watch Homer be stupid on Monday rather than sit in [...]
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