Lately the Simpsons tv show has been, well, frankly not so good. When the movie (which, btw, is directed by the man who's made most of the Treehouse of Horror episodes) was coming close to it's release, I had a feeling that it would be better than the TV shows, though at the same time I didn't know if they'd be able to pull it off. In this review you'll see what I thought of the movie.
The animation is obviously something you shouldn't take into account while writing a review based on The Simpsons. You may've hoped that it'd be CGI, though to tell the truth (which you hopefully already know), it'd be the worst idea. Unless it's a video game (sometimes not even then though), it should no matter what always look the same, which in many opinions is simple and ugly compared to other hits, most notably Pixar's latest outing which would cause The Simpsons Movie to explode within one second if they were playing a "who's animation is better" contest. However, that doesn't mean it's exactly the same as the TV show, and has a noticeable upgrade in it, though nothing that would ever, ever wow you in any way...
The comedy is something that fans of the classic Simpsons should appreciate. Most of the jokes are funny, though sometimes it seems like it's already been done, and being a Simpsons product it's often predictable. An example of this would be when Homer is talking to the (as he calls it) "boob lady" - He takes a sip of some lava hot liquid, and his moth goes in flames, only soon later to take another sip. Also, while fishing with Bart, he takes a bite of an electrified fish, only to get shocked, and once again takes more and more bites (though I do have to admit, it was priceless seeing Bart's face and hearing Homer screaming).
Some of the jokes just tended to go on and on, and sadly many of them were the unfunny ones, such as when Lisa is going door-to-door tring to warn people of environmental danger, only to get every door she goes to closed on her within a second or so.
The plot is simple, yet actualy kind of funny. Springfield has been deemed the most environmentaly dangerous city in the country, so the government covers the whole city up with a giant, transparent dome, thanks to Homer dumping "pig crap" into the lake. Once word gets out that Homer is to blame, the whole city goes after him with pitch forks, and plans to hang the whole family (including poor, innocent, Magie). I'll leave it there, and won't spoil the rest for you, though I'm sure you could guess what doesn't happen to the family...
While the show definitely (in most cases, atleast) succeds in doing comedy right, it often falls short when it tries to be emotional. I didn't come to see a darned Simpson movie to be sad (which, despite the writers dubious efforts, I wasn't), I came here to laugh for god's sake. Thankfully the South Park movie was all comedy and no pathetic emotional moments that ultimately always fall flat in most animated products unless it's a comic book or something similar to that...
While it's great to see my favorite childhood TV show get a film, it's just hard not to notice that it almost seems like nothing other than an expanded TV show. If you've come to the conclusion that there was never such as large event in a Simpsons episode, then I'm betting you've either forgotten or never watched the simply outstanding episode in which Monty Burns blocks Springfield from the sun. Despite the gripes I've mentioned, I'd still watch it if I were you, and surprisingly I'm going to watch it again - both in theaters for a second time and on DVD.
7.5/10
