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Yes! Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes! The Simpsons Movie is finally here and thank Mother of God it doesn’t suck—in fact, quite the opposite. It rocks. After eighteen years of waiting, Simpsons fans will be relieved to know that the movie version does the show nothing but justice. The film starts out with the band Green Day playing a show on Springfield Lake. Unfortunately for Billy Joe and the crew, their fates are sealed as the pollution in the lake causes their barge to dissolve. Lisa, the ever eco-conscious eight-year old that she is, takes up the charge to have the lake cleaned and Springfield begrudgingly follows suit…except for one man. Homer, who is saddled with a silo full of pig crap and the order from Marge to take care of it, is faced with the dilemma whether to dispose of it responsibly or dumping it in the lake. He chooses to be responsible and takes it to a toxic waste site. PSYCH! Of course, he dumps it in the lake. The lake becomes toxic, the federal government gets involved, and things get complicated for our favorite yellow family.
What’s fantastic about this movie is that it feels true to the show in every respect. Unlike, say South Park, where the freedom to swear and be vulgar on big screen enhances the story, I was concerned that The Simpsons Movie would also embrace this freedom which would have been out of character for the show. I was happy to see that they keep it relatively clean, indulging in only a few visual jokes and one profanity that wouldn’t make it on TV. Also, with the cache of characters at their disposal, it would have been an easy error for Matt Groening and James L. Brooks to feel like they had to include all of Springfield’s residents, and thereby bog down the story. But they wisely choose instead to center the story on the family and let the background characters be just that. The jokes are the kind of sharp wit you would expect, with timely references (“Itchy/Hillary ‘08”) and there is plenty for both the avid fan and the casual observer to enjoy. The animation is sharp and it’s nice to see the old-school animation still has a place in this Pixar world. My ultimate verdict: Entirely worth the wait.
Bottom Line: See It Twice – Loved it can’t get enough
