This is one massive let down - D'oh. (The Simpsons Movie (DVD))

Member Name: yackers1

Product:	The Simpsons Movie (DVD)
Date:	06/10/09 (100 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It's a little better than pulling teeth

Disadvantages: Boring, too much focus on the Simpsons family, not that funny, few one liners

According to IMDb there are no less than 15 writers of "The Simpsons Movie", but the guys credited with the concept have to be Matt Groening, Mike Scully and James Brooks. The Simpsons first hit our screens back in the late eighties and has become one of 'the' cult cartoons that is enjoyed by children and adults alike.

It took years for the Simpsons to be made in to a feature length cartoon for the silver screen, but on 25 July 2007 the cinema going audience were finally treated to it.

****Plot****

The residents of Springfield are slowly killing the town, and after an episode starring a well-known punk band, Lake Springfield is cleaned up. In the meantime, Homer takes pity on a run away animal and adopts it as his new pet.

Unfortunately for Homer looking after an animal is not as easy as he first thought and a nappy just won't suffice. With the Simpsons' home slowly filling up with waste Homer finds a new dumping place. Springfield is considered a "no go zone" and EPA encapsulates the town in a large dome, and it's all Homer's fault.

Becoming the scum of the town, the Simpsons decide the only way is to start a new life in Alaska so they escape the dome and disappear. Home is where the heart is and after hearing what is in store for their beloved town Marge orders Homer to return to assist the residents from an uncertain future.

Is Springfield ever cleaned up? What happens to the residents? Can Homer really help? Are the Simpsons embraced back in to the community?

****My opinion****

"The Simpsons Movie" is simply a feature length cartoon of the Simpsons. All of Springfield's normal residents are present (I won't bother going through the entire character list, as I'm sure you all already know them), which is pretty much expected. That said, many of the supporting characters (many of which are extremely funny) had minimal roles and were almost non-existent, which is a pity. I appreciate there has to be lead roles and this was obviously going to be the Simpson family, but "The Simpsons Movie" focuses far too much on Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie.

The voices of Springfield's residents are still provided by Hank Azaria, Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Harry Shearer and Marcia Wallace, once again there are no surprises there, and the "guest" voices include Greenday and Tom Hanks amongst others I have not heard of. I was quite surprised by the lack of celebrities offering to provide a voice in this movie. The Simpsons has had some huge 'A' list celebrities and powerful politicians provide voices in the past so I thought there would have been no end of offers. It used to be a great privilege to star in the Simpsons, but it seems this is no longer the case and the celebrity presence just isn't there. Is the following of the Simpsons decreasing that much or is it that the cartoon has remained stagnant and tried to keep it late 1990's style? Hmmmm.

One thing that has kept my interest in the Simpsons is the strange and unpredictable story lines. An episode will commence with one subject and then suddenly go off at a tangent and finish with something totally different. Many times I have sat through an episode and thought "how on earth did they get from 'that' to 'that'? In my opinion, it is this unpredictability and uncertainness that has made this cartoon such a success. I never thought a cartoon could be so thought provoking. Since these tangents are an underpinning part of the success of the Simpsons, I naturally thought this would follow through to the feature length movie, after all I am a great believer in 'if it isn't broke don't fix it', but the producers have gone against the grain in, what appears to be, a bid to win over the cinema going audience. Personally, I don't like it and don't think it works but maybe it's just me. The fact that the feature length movie starts off with one story line, develops it and sees it through to the end just isn't right. There are no interesting quirks or any strange turning points, which was a massive let down.

Personally, I found the overall story line a bit boring, too mainstream, too topical and too realistic. Why not go for something totally off the wall and different? Southpark Bigger Longer and Uncut did just that and it was very successful, but the Simpsons just played it safe, and I think it definitely suffers as a consequence. The pace of this feature length cartoon varies throughout. Sometimes it is fast paced, and actually manages to hold the attention of the audience (like the old style Simpsons did) and other times the pace slows right down almost to the point where I started clock watching and wanting it to finish. This lack of consistency is yet another nail in the coffin of "The Simpsons Movie".

Historically, the Simpsons humour has been sarcastic and witty and full of memorable one-liners, which is my kind of thing, but this has not followed through to "The Simpsons Movie". There are some funny bits, but these are few and far between and it got boring waiting for the funny bits. On the whole the gags are shallow, slap stick and failed to crack a smile, let alone a rib aching laugh out loud session, which is very disappointing. The adult humour and risqué comments (that most children don't understand) is just not there anymore and in my opinion it is this that made the Simpsons appeal at all levels as there is something for all age groups. The removal of the adult humour has made this cartoon more for children than the adults, many of whom grew up with this famous family.

Overall this is a poor attempt. I appreciate that it was hyped up to the maximum and it was always going to be a challenge to exceed the expectations of the cinema going audience, but "The Simpsons Movie" didn't get anywhere close in my opinion. The plot was weak, the story focused too much on Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie, many of the supporting characters were non-existent, there was little humour, there were no good one liners and it got boring in places. Die-hard Simpsons fans that have been watching from the early seasons are going to be disappointed, just as I was. If this is a sign of where the Simpsons are going then I, for one, will start giving it a miss so I can look back at the glory days through my rose tinted glasses.

****Other****

Run time - 87 minutes
Certificate - PG
2 awards and 16 nominations, plus a Golden Globe nomination

Summary: Is this the demise of the Simposns?