The Simpsons Movie (2007)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

David Silverman

Writers:

James L. Brooks (screenplay) &
Matt Groening (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

27 July 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy

Tagline:

See our family. And feel better about yours.

Plot:

After Homer accidentally pollutes the town's water supply, Springfield is encased in a gigantic dome by the EPA and the Simpsons family are declared fugitives.

Plot Keywords:

Pig | Silo | Lake | Dome | Alaska

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 2 wins & 16 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Fri. July 10

11:00 AM

MAX

Cast

Dan Castellaneta	...	Homer / Itchy / Barney / Grampa / Stage Manager / Krusty the Clown / Mayor Quimby / Mayor's Aide / Multi-Eyed Squirrel / Panicky Man / Sideshow Mel / Mr. Teeny / EPA Official / Kissing Cop / Bear / Boy on Phone / NSA Worker / Officer / Santa's Little Helper / Squeaky-Voiced Teen / Groundskeeper Willie (voice)
Julie Kavner	...	Marge Simpson / Selma / Patty (voice)
Nancy Cartwright	...	Bart / Maggie / Ralph / Nelson / Todd Flanders / TV Daughter / Woman on Phone (voice)
Yeardley Smith	...	Lisa (voice)
Hank Azaria	...	Professor Frink / Comic Book Guy / Moe / Chief Wiggum / Lou / Carl / Cletus / Bumblebee Man / Male EPA Worker / Dome Depot Announcer / Kissing Cop / Carnival Barker / Counter Man / Apu / Drederick Tatum / Sea Captain / EPA Passenger / Robot / Dr. Nick (voice)
Harry Shearer	...	Scratchy / Mr. Burns / Rev. Lovejoy / Ned Flanders / Lenny / Skull / President Arnold Schwarzenegger / Kent Brockman / Principal Skinner / Dr. Hibbert / Smithers / Toll Booth Man / Guard / Otto / Kang (voice)
Pamela Hayden	...	Milhouse / Rod Flanders / Jimbo (voice)
Tress MacNeille	...	Sweet Old Lady / Colin / Mrs. Skinner / Nelson's Mother / Pig / Cat Lady / Female EPA Worker / G.P.S. Woman / Cookie Kwan / Lindsey Naegle / TV Son / Medicine Woman / Girl on Phone (voice)
Albert Brooks	...	Russ Cargill (voice) (as A. Brooks)
Karl Wiedergott	...	Man / EPA Driver (voice)
Marcia Wallace	...	Mrs. Krabappel (voice) (credit only)
Russi Taylor	...	Martin (voice)
Maggie Roswell	...	Helen Lovejoy (voice)
Phil Rosenthal	...	TV Dad (voice)
Billie Joe Armstrong	...	Himself (voice)
Tre Cool	...	Himself (voice) (as Frank Edwin Wright III)
Mike Dirnt	...	Himself (voice) (as Michael Pritchard)
Joe Mantegna	...	Fat Tony (voice)
Tom Hanks	...	Himself (voice)

Directed by
David Silverman

Writing credits
James L. Brooks		(screenplay) &
Matt Groening		(screenplay) &
Al Jean		(screenplay) &
Ian Maxtone-Graham		(screenplay) &
George Meyer		(screenplay) &
David Mirkin		(screenplay) &
Mike Reiss		(screenplay) &
Mike Scully		(screenplay) &
Matt Selman		(screenplay) &
John Swartzwelder		(screenplay) &
Jon Vitti		(screenplay)
Joel Cohen		(consultant writer) &
John Frink		(consultant writer) &
Tim Long		(consultant writer) &
Michael Price		(consultant writer)
James L. Brooks		developer: television series "The Simpsons" (uncredited)
Matt Groening		creator: television series "The Simpsons" (uncredited)
Matt Groening		developer: television series "The Simpsons" (uncredited)
Sam Simon		developer: television series "The Simpsons" (uncredited)

Produced by
Elise Belknap	....	animation associate producer
James L. Brooks	....	producer
Katherine C. Concepcion	....	animation associate producer (as Katherine Cullano Concepcion)
Peter Gave	....	associate producer
Matt Groening	....	producer
Al Jean	....	producer
Claudia Katz	....	producer: Rough Draft Studios
Jay Kleckner	....	co-producer
Joel Kuwahara	....	animation line producer
Karen K. Miller	....	animation associate producer (as Karen Miller)
Amanda Moshay	....	associate producer
Felicia Nalivansky	....	associate producer (as Felicia Nalivansky-Caplan)
Matt Orefice	....	associate producer
Richard Raynis	....	supervising producer
Richard Sakai	....	producer
Mike Scully	....	producer
Nelson Shin	....	animation producer: Akom Production Co.
Loren Smith	....	digital line producer
Craig Sost	....	animation co-producer
Geraldine Symon	....	digital line producer
Nikki Vanzo	....	executive producer: Rough Draft Korea
Hyejoon Yun	....	supervising producer: Rough Draft Korea

Original Music by
Hans Zimmer

Film Editing by
John Carnochan

Art Direction by
Dima Malanitchev

Production Management
Jeannine Berger	....	post-production supervisor
Brian J. Carey	....	production supervisor
Jaspreet Dhillon	....	production manager
Julie Peng	....	production supervisor: Film Roman
Penelope Parr Thornton	....	production supervisor: Film Roman

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Bob Anderson	....	sequence director
Mike B. Anderson	....	sequence director (as Mike Anderson)
Crystal Chesney	....	assistant sequence director
Ray Claffey	....	additional assistant sequence director
Chris Clements	....	additional sequence director
Christianna Lang Daley	....	additional assistant sequence director
Matthew Faughnan	....	additional sequence director
Bryan Francis	....	assistant sequence director
Pete Gomez	....	assistant sequence director
Nancy Kruse	....	additional sequence director
Lauren MacMullan	....	sequence director
Steve Markowski	....	additional sequence director
Rich Moore	....	sequence director
Steven Dean Moore	....	sequence director
Rob Oliver	....	additional sequence director
Lindsey Pollard	....	additional assistant sequence director
Ralph Sosa	....	assistant sequence director
Gregg Vanzo	....	sequence director

Art Department
Brad Ableson	....	storyboard artist
Debra Armstrong	....	key art assistant
Dominique Blaskovich	....	digital background painter
Fitzy J. Fitzmaurice	....	artist: story reel revisions, Stacked Animation Laboratory
Michael Humphries	....	visual development artist
Mike Inman	....	visual development artist
Ashby Manson	....	digital background painter
Philip Phillipson	....	visual development artist
Christian Roman	....	storyboard artist
Phillip Vigil	....	effects animator
Colin Heck	....	storyboard artist (uncredited)
John Rice	....	storyboard artist (uncredited)

Sound Department
Kevin Bailey	....	assistant sound editor (as Kevin N. Bailey)
Anna Behlmer	....	sound re-recording mixer
Jeffrey Biggers	....	additional sound recordist
James Bolt	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Jim Bolt)
Derek Casari	....	adr engineer
Derek Casari	....	sound engineer
Richard Chung	....	dialogue coordinator
Blake R. Cornett	....	sound recordist
Luke Dunn Gielmuda	....	sound effects editor
Sean England	....	foley mixer
Sean England	....	foley recordist
Will Files	....	assistant sound designer
Erik Foreman	....	assistant sound editor
Sue Fox	....	foley editor (as Suzanne Fox)
Kevin Globerman	....	digital recordist
Josh Gold	....	assistant sound effects editor
Craig Heath	....	sound recordist (as Craig 'Pup' Heath)
Ellen Heuer	....	foley artist
Louise Jaffe	....	voice recording coordinator
Stuart McCowan	....	sound effects editor
Chuck Michael	....	sound effects editor
Shannon Mills	....	sound effects editor
Tom Myers	....	additional sound re-recording mixer
Nathan Nance	....	sound re-recordist
Cheryl Nardi	....	dialogue editor
Al Nelson	....	sound effects editor
Andy Nelson	....	sound re-recording mixer
Ronald G. Roumas	....	sound re-recordist
Christopher Scarabosio	....	additional sound re-recording mixer
Christopher Scarabosio	....	sound designer
Robert Shoup	....	sound effects editor
Christine Sirois	....	dialogue recordist
Mac Smith	....	assistant sound effects editor
Kent Sparling	....	sound effects editor
Randy Thom	....	sound designer
Dennie Thorpe	....	foley artist
Jana Vance	....	foley artist (as Janna Vance)
Eric Taylor Williamson	....	sound recordist
Gwendolyn Yates Whittle	....	supervising sound editor
Greg Zimmerman	....	adr recordist

Visual Effects by
Danny Albano	....	digital compositor: Technicolor Digital Services
Stuart Allan	....	CG artist
William L. Arance	....	animator
John Allan Armstrong	....	visual effects animator
Scott Ballard	....	character technical director
Mark Barrows	....	additional visual effects animator
Ross Blocher	....	digital compositor
Dennis Bonnell	....	digital scene planner
Brent M. Bowen	....	CG artist
Brent M. Bowen	....	compositor
Kevin Carney	....	digital artist
Ruben Chavez	....	digital background painter
Anthony Davis	....	digital compositor: Technicolor Digital Services
Darrin Drew	....	compositor
Harry Eisenstein	....	additional CG
Harry Eisenstein	....	pre-visualization
Ty Elliott	....	additional visual effects animator
Dee Farnworth	....	additional visual effects animator
Jose Antonio García Villameriel	....	visual effects animator
Peter Gend	....	lead CGI artist: Forum
Al Holter	....	visual effects animator
Jeff Howard	....	additional visual effects animator
Julia Kalantarova	....	digital background painter
Don W. Kim	....	CGI artist
Bike Kinzle	....	digital background painter
Alisa Loren Klein	....	digital artist
Cynthia Neill Knizek	....	visual effects animator
Jon Krummel	....	CG artist
Nick Lenard	....	digital compositor
Rosanna Lyons	....	visual effects animator
Brice Mallier	....	lead visual effects animator
Ashby Manson	....	digital background painter
Michael Montague	....	CG artist
Beth S. Morris	....	digital compositor
Rick Moser	....	digital scene planner
Mark Myer	....	visual effects animator
Cafe Noir	....	title design: trailer park
Mark Orme	....	CGI artist: RoughDraft
Masa Oshiro	....	visual effects animator
Jason Plapp	....	scene planning and compositing
Dave Scarpitti	....	digital compositor
Dave Scarpitti	....	digital scene planner
Edwin Shortess	....	digital scene planner
Chris Stover	....	CGI artist
Jeff Topping	....	visual effects animator
Carol VanHook	....	visual effects
Scott Vanzo	....	director of computer graphics
Erika Isabel Vega	....	After Effects artist
Grant Viklund	....	CGI lead
Charlie Winter	....	cg artist
Andrea Yomtob	....	CGI artist
Alex Zabolotsky	....	digital background painter

Animation Department
John Achenbach	....	story artist
Ivaylo Anguelov	....	animator
David D. Au	....	character layout artist
Abe Audish	....	character layout artist
Rasoul Azadani	....	layout supervisor
Marianne Cheng	....	color modeler (as Marianne C. Cheng)
Moon Choi	....	animator
Caroline Cruikshank	....	animator
Manny A. DeGuzman	....	character layout artist
Anthony de Rosa	....	animator (as Anthony Derosa)
Ernesto Elicanal	....	character layout artist
Luis Escobar	....	story artist
Rick Farmiloe	....	animator
Edmund Fong	....	story artist
Tricia Garcia	....	additional storyboard artist
Richard J. Gasparian	....	timing director
Mike Girard	....	character layout artist
Joshua David Gorczyca	....	animator
Lucas Gray	....	story artist
Joe Healy	....	additional storyboard artist
Colin Heck	....	storyboard artist
Jennie Hoffer	....	character layout artist
Richard Hoppe	....	character layout artist
Robert Ingram	....	timing director
Jay Jackson	....	character layout artist
Todd Jacobsen	....	animation clean-up
Arlan Jewell	....	layout artist
Jeff Johnson	....	animator
Julia Kalantarova	....	digital background painter
David S. Karoll	....	color modeler (as David Svend Karoll)
Ernie Keen	....	character layout artist
Megan Kelly	....	character layout artist
Eric Keyes	....	character designer (as Eric S. Keyes)
Bert Klein	....	lead animator
Eric Lara	....	character layout artist
J. Nate Lowe	....	character layout artist
Frank Marino	....	timing director
Gary McCarver	....	overseas animation director
Jennifer Moeller	....	character layout artist
Kevin Newman	....	character designer (as Kevin M. Newman)
Philip Pignotti	....	character layout artist
John Pomeroy	....	animator
Silvia Pompei	....	animator
Alex Que	....	character layout artist
John Rice	....	story artist
Dane Romley	....	character layout artist
Eddie Rosas	....	character layout artist
Stephen Sandoval	....	story artist
Melody Severns	....	character layout artist
Richard Smitheman	....	key assistant animator
Steve Socki	....	animation timing director
Shane Sowell	....	story reel revision artist
T.C. Starnes Jr.	....	background layout
George W. Stokes	....	background designer
Mike Swofford	....	animator
Viorel Voronca	....	character layout artist
Jason Warnesky	....	additional storyboard artist
J.C. Wegman	....	character layout artist
Wallace Williamson	....	layout artist
Chad Woods	....	layout artist
Glen Wuthrich	....	additional storyboard artist

Casting Department
Micah Dahlberg	....	casting associate
Barbara Harris	....	adr voice casting
Daniel Hubbard	....	casting: UK

Editorial Department
Elaine C. Andrianos	....	assistant editor
Michael Bridge	....	additional editor
Gary Burritt	....	negative cutter
John Currin	....	assistant editor
Jennifer Dolce	....	associate editor
Abe Forman-Greenwald	....	assistant editor
Terry Greene	....	additional editor
Ann Hoyt	....	rough draft editorial
Roger Injarusorn	....	film roman editorial
Daniel Kupresan	....	assistant editor
Esther Lee	....	digital intermediate producer
Jim Passon	....	color timer
Timothy Peeler	....	digital film colorist
Jeffrey Perlmutter	....	rough draft editorial
Chris Regan	....	color timer
Scot Scalise	....	additional editor
Mark Scheib	....	second editor
Vivek 'Vic' Sharma	....	assistant editor: high definition
Alexander Wu	....	editing coordinator
Mark Sahagun	....	digital intermediate editor (uncredited)
Everette Webber	....	digital intermediate editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Ryeland Allison	....	composer: additional music
Slamm Andrews	....	music scoring mixer
Slamm Andrews	....	score recordist
Lorne Balfe	....	composer: additional music
Steve Bartek	....	orchestrator
Jeffrey Biggers	....	additional recordist (as Jeff Biggers)
Tom Broderick	....	technical score engineer (as Thomas Broderick)
Elin Carlson	....	soloist
Sandy DeCrescent	....	music contractor (as Sandy De Crescent)
Brian Dembow	....	musician: viola
James Dooley	....	composer: additional music
Danny Elfman	....	composer: theme "The Simpsons"
Steve Erdody	....	musician: cello
Elizabeth Finch	....	orchestrator
Bruce Fowler	....	supervising orchestrator
Walt Fowler	....	orchestrator
Julie Gigante	....	musician: violin
Rick Giovinazzo	....	orchestrator
Nick Glennie-Smith	....	conductor
Kevin Globerman	....	digital score recordist
Endre Granat	....	concert master
Endre Granat	....	musician: violin
Dan Higgins	....	musician: saxophone
Henry Jackman	....	composer: additional music
Michael Jay	....	additional music editor
Jim Kanter	....	musician: clarinet
Katie Kirkpatrick	....	musician: harp
Steven Kofsky	....	music production services
Ken Kugler	....	orchestrator
Michael A. Levine	....	composer: additional music (as Michael Levin)
Charlie Loper	....	musician: trombone
Stephanie Lowry	....	additional music editor
Malcolm McNab	....	musician: trumpet
Jai Meghan	....	music assistant
Dave Metzger	....	orchestrator
Yvonne S. Moriarty	....	orchestrator (as Suzette Moriarty)
Blake Neely	....	conductor
Michael O'Donovan	....	musician: bassoon
Melissa Orquiza	....	music preparation
Atli Örvarsson	....	composer: additional music
Heitor Pereira	....	musician: guitar
Daniel Pinder	....	supervising music editor
Leslie Reed	....	musician: oboe
Peter Rotter	....	orchestra contractor
Ryan Rubin	....	music editor
Jacob Shea	....	music assistant
Peter Oso Snell	....	technical score engineer (as Pete Oso Snell)
Noah Sorota	....	music assistant
Geoff Stradling	....	orchestrator
Erich Stratmann	....	additional music editor
James Thatcher	....	musician: horn
Doug Tornquist	....	musician: tuba
Greg Vines	....	score assistant engineer
Jim Walker	....	musician: bass
Matthew J. Ward	....	assistant score engineer (as Matt Ward)
Booker White	....	head of music preparation
Mark Jan Wlodarkiewicz	....	additional music editor
Andrew Zack	....	score production coordinator
Michael John Mollo	....	music assistant (uncredited)
Michael Teoli	....	music assistant: Mr. Levine (uncredited)

Other crew
Dennis Adams	....	production coordinator
Josh Adler	....	assistant: Mr. Sakai
Matt Battle	....	production assistant
Mike Battle	....	production coordinator
Josh Bornstein	....	assistant: Mr. Brooks
Claudius Bruese	....	sample programming
Craig Cannold	....	production accountant
Stacey Cantwell	....	script coordinator
Shay Cunliffe	....	consultant
Christine Deitner	....	production coordinator
N. Vyolet Diaz	....	assistant: Mr. Groening (as Vyolet Diaz)
Matthew Dodge	....	production assistant
Zain Effendi	....	samples coordinator
Allison Francis	....	production coordinator
Ryan Garcia	....	production assistant
Jim Hasman	....	production coordinator
Marisa Ice	....	production associate
Dennis M. Johnson	....	asset manager
Benjamin Kaltenecker	....	production coordinator
Mick Kelly	....	assistant: Mr. Jean
Dave Kim	....	production coordinator
Mike Lane	....	client services
Matt Lathrop	....	production assistant
Daniel Lichtblau	....	assistant: Mr. Sakai
Alice S. Lin	....	production assistant
Amy Lodevico	....	production assistant
Danielle M. Mays	....	assistant: Mr. Silverman (as Danielle Mays)
Charles McCaskill	....	information technology
David Michie	....	adr voice group
Paul Ohrt	....	production executive
Leslie Pope	....	consultant
Leslie A. Pope	....	consultant (as Leslie Pope)
Rocco Pucillo	....	production coordinator
Ida Random	....	consultant
Joe Saunders	....	production associate
Ben Sigman	....	systems administrator
Peter Truss	....	digital production assistant
Lisa Walder	....	assistant: Mr. Brooks
Adam Wollenberg	....	production coordinator
Alexander Wu	....	production coordinator
Andrew Zack	....	production coordinator: Mr. Zimmer
Kent Carpenter Zambrana	....	production associate
Steffie Lucchesi	....	intern (uncredited)
Craig Saper	....	production assistant (uncredited)

Thanks
Julie Ansell	....	special thanks
Gregg Berger	....	special thanks
Maurice LaMarche	....	special thanks
Rick Polizzi	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation
• Gracie Films

Distributors

• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment Japan (2008) (Japan) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Italia (2007) (Italy) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Netherlands (2007) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox (2007) (UK) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox (2007) (Japan) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox (2007) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox (2007) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox de Argentina (2007) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox of Germany (2007) (Germany) (theatrical)
• FS Film Oy (2007) (Finland) (theatrical)
• FS Film Oy (2007) (Finland) (DVD)
• Fox-Warner (2007) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Gativideo (2007) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Gativideo (2009) (Argentina) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Gemini Film (2007) (Russia) (theatrical)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (200?) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (2007) (Philippines) (theatrical)
• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (2007) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (2007) (Philippines) (theatrical)

Special Effects

• Film Roman Productions (animation) (as Film Roman)
• Rough Draft Studios (animation) (as Rough Draft Animation)
• Akom Production Company (animation)
• Rough Draft Korea (overseas animation)

Other Companies

• 20th Century Fox Studios  post-production facilities (as Twentieth Century Fox Studios)
• Affinity Artists Agency  talent agency
• CIS Hollywood  thanks (as C.I.S.)
• DeLuxe Laboratories  prints
• Dolby Laboratories  sound mix
• Extreme Music  soundtrack
• Newman Scoring Stage, Twentieth Century Fox Studios, The  score recorded at (as The Newman Stage, Twentieth Century Fox)
• Pacific Title  titles
• Remote Control Productions  score mixed at
• Rhino Records  soundtrack
• Skywalker Sound  post-production sound services
• Technicolor Digital Intermediates  digital intermediate
• Toon Boom Animation  thanks

Also Known As:

Los Simpsons - La película (Argentina) (Chile) (Mexico) (Peru) (Venezuela) [es]
Les Simpson - le film (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
Os Simpsons - O Filme (Brazil) (Portugal) [pt]
Симпсоны в кино (Russia) [ru]
A Simpson család - A film (Hungary) [hu]
Die Simpsons - Der Film (Germany) [de]
I Simpson - Il film (Italy) [it]
Simpsoni (Serbia) [sr]
Simpsoni film (Croatia) [hr]
Simpsonite film (Estonia) [et]
Simpsonlar: Sinema filmi (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Simpsonovi ve filmu (Czech Republic) [cs]
Simpsonowie - Wersja kinowa (Poland) [pl]
Simpsons filmen (Finland: Swedish title) [sv]
Simpsonu filma (Latvia) [lv]
The Simpsons - filmen (Sweden) [sv]
The Simpsons: I tainia (Greece) [el]
The Simpsons: Movie (Japan) [ja]

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for irreverent humor throughout.

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Netherlands:6 | Argentina:Atp | Ireland:PG | UK:PG | Finland:K-7 | Singapore:NC-16 | Australia:PG | Germany:6 | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Portugal:M/6 | Sweden:7 | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Denmark:7 | Norway:7 | Hong Kong:IIA | Singapore:PG (cut) | South Africa:PG | USA:PG-13 (certificate #43622) | France:U | Chile:TE | South Korea:12 | Brazil:12 | Malaysia:U (cut) | Taiwan:PG-12 | Peru:PT | Japan:U

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Director David Silverman had Julie Kavner do over 100 takes of a monologue in which Marge makes an impassioned plea to Homer.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Lisa is standing outside the dome talking to Colin she puts her left hand on the glass, but after she punches Bart she puts her right hand on the glass.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Scratchy: [having just landed on the Moon] We come in peace for cats and mice everywhere.
[Itchy impales and beats Scratchy with flag pole]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Seth Rogen/Spoon (#33.2)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

(They Long to Be) Close to You

An unbiased and fair review from a long time simpsons fan

It seemed inevitable that one day, a simpsons movie would wind up on the silver screen. It was surprising that it took 18 years or so after the families conception for it to happen, but it did, and it couldn't have come at a better time.

Most Simpsons fans have realized that the quality of the TV show dropped tremendously around five years ago. While in the glory days of the show (seasons 4-8 in my opinion) almost every episode was an unforgettable and instant classic, and the show was widely regarded as the funniest, and perhaps the best thing on television. However, something happened along the way. Perhaps it was just the writers running out of ideas, or trying too hard to be funny, or a combination of both, but the simpsons lost its appeal to many fans. Once, watching The simpsons was once a joyous, weekly thing, now, it has become the kind of thing that happens every now and then, when your bored and don't have anything else to do after a watching a football game. Many feared that the movie would resemble the newer seasons, and with good reason. However, I kept optimistic and held my hopes for a great movie firm, and i got what I wanted. The Simpsons movie is clever, memorable, and truly funny with gags bombarding the audience seemingly several times a second. That being said, it is not without its faults.

The movie, as many of you have probably heard, is only around 90 minutes long- nowhere near long enough to fit the seemingly thousands of memorable characters fans have become attached to over the years. The creators definitely tried their best, though. While there may not have been enough Apu, or Burns or Skinner, they all make appearances and have their memorable lines. And, perhaps my favorite simpsons character, Ralf Wiggum, has what is likely his funniest line ever. Overall, the use of characters was satisfactory and I don't have many complaints, although some die hards may.

The plot of the movie is also damaged by the time constraints, and more severely than the use of characters. The plot definitely feels rushed- there's so many things that will leave you wondering, "Well, who started this whole thing? Why did this all just happen so suddenly with only a small bit of explanation?" This is where I just learned to accept it. I filled in the holes on my own, and allowed myself to be entertained by my favorite characters and the funny political satire flowing throughout the film. It's all as dead on and witty as it was in the golden days, and maybe thats enough for me.

So in conclusion, I must ask myself this question- Simpsons of the Glory Days, or the Simpsons of today? The answer comes quite easily: This movie is Old School Simpsons, for the most part. Yes, the movie does have some unfunny random humor, Yes, it does have a few too many "homer falls down" jokes, and yes, it tries too hard at some times. But, between all that, perhaps in spite of it, there are shining moments of greatness that allows the simpsons to stand amongst the funniest movies of the year- and thats saying a lot, considering we had Knocked Up back in June. And The Simpsons Movie delivers all of this hilarity with a plot line with messages about protecting the environment and corruption in our government, and sends those messages without too much in your face preaching. The whole movie left me wanting more, hoping for a sequel. Not because the movie was unfullfilling, but because i know that after this movie, the creators will have the skill and wisdom to create the perfect simpsons movie- they set themselves on the right track with this movie.