For my money, “The Simpsons” is quite possibly one of the best television series ever created, with “Seinfeld” a very close second. “The Simpsons” and I have a long history together. I’ve been a hardcore fan since the Christmas premiere on FOX so many years ago, and I followed the series religiously up until its dissension into sheer mediocrity so many years ago. There’s only so much I can take in terms of being a hardcore fan, and it’s not a secret that “The Simpsons” have fallen in terms of wit and brilliance that spawned such a revered classic.
Watching the first minutes of “The Simpsons Movie,” I had a feeling that we were pretty close to the greatness that once appeared on television screens once upon a time. Watching Green Day be offed in the first five minutes with the Springfield church playing “American Idiot: Funeral Version” on an Organ, I had a feeling that I wasn’t going to be disappointed. FOX did a great thing, they re-united some of the best writers this series has ever had, and brought them together for what I can assume is a movie that’s been in the making for years. Gone are the cheap gimmicks, gone is the flat pop culture humor, and in are most of what made this series so great. “The Simpsons Movie” brings back most of what made us Simpsons fans so happy, and I had a blast.
Squeezing in its own environmental message, The Simpsons find themselves in the tail end of an environmental disaster plaguing their hometown, and this is thanks to Homer whose pet pig’s feces has polluted the local lake. The president, who is none other than Mr. Schwarzenegger, encapsulates the town in a transparent globe, and the adventure begins. As a feature length adaptation, “The Simpsons Movie” manages to perfectly extend its universe without ever watering down what makes such a fantastic universe. As a family, The Simpsons represent that inept consuming Nuclear family, in a town filled with clichés and of course a hefty helping of spoofing on society. Mostly under the magnifying glass are the government, and their brash solutions to this environmental problem.
And oh yes, there is Homeland Security who is given many a hilarious jab, including a take on surveillance. As usual, the voice work for this film is as fantastic as the series, with folks like Harry Shearer, and Dan Castellaneta are their top, giving “The Simpsons Movie” that particular kick in the keister it needs. They make this movie one for the fans, even if it’s also for the average movie-goer, and it’s invariably worth the wait. There are surprises abound, the laughs are pretty consistent, and of course, the series finally reclaims its genius once again. With much of the same fantastic writing, “The Simpsons Movie” hearkens back to most of the same glory that garnered such a humongous fan base. The voice acting is as top notch as ever, and the simpsons return to show they’re still the best.