The Simpsons are a monolith. Whether you're a huge Simpsons fan (me) or a casual one, whether you stand by the first 10 or so seasons (me) or still enjoy the new episodes, it's pretty hard to find someone out there that actually hates the Simpsons.
In 2007, the Simpsons went to the big screen for the first time with The Simpsons movie.
Harcore and casual fans alike came out to see the world's favorite yellow family finally go to cinemas. With a worldwide gross of around 530 million dollars, it was clear that was still a lot of love for the Simpsons. It was somewhat of phenomenon. It reignited many casual fan's love for the family, and garnered a lot of dicussion with the hardcore. It gained solid reviews, and generally speaking, the world seemed happy with the movie.
So for any type of Simpsons fan, what did you think of the movie? Then, and now?
For me, it's a bit of a mixed bag. On release I was very excited, but cautious. I hadn't kept up with the new seasons, but I was excited for this story. However, I knew I'd rather have them go to the big screen when the staff behind it was in it's prime, and was worried they would not be able to capture the original run's magic, and leave a strange impression on the world.
I saw it and theaters, and enjoyed it quite a bit. I actually ended up seeing it 2 more times in theaters with other people. I thought it was good. If anything, I thought it was the best Simpsons "episode" I had seen in ages. There were certain things I wasn't 100% on, but generally I laughed a lot and came back a few times for those trademark Simpsons jokes that should always keep giving no matter how many times you hear them. It had a decent amount of that.
Now? Now....it's weird. While I enjoyed my time with it on release, I still noticed issues then that have just become more prevalent now. One of my biggest complaints I've had with many of the newer Simpsons episodes I had seen at that time, was just that Homer was not that likable. What used to be a caring family man that no matter how many things he did wrong, he always yearned to do the right thing and would do it in the end, started becoming something weird and dark. In newer episodes, I noticed Homer's redeeming qualities fade for the sake of crude humor or forced story telling. I feel as though while not as strong in the movie, he had some of these darker traits in it. Where he just kept going so far, not thinking of how it effected anyone around him, until a strange ritual made him snap back. He didn't go TOO far to that weird dark Homer in the movie, but enough to make me a bit uncomfortable with how they were handling him.
Another thing, Russ Cargill. Albert Brooks is amazing, and did his work well with what he had, but....who was this guy? When you have Brooks voicing a villian and the villian is still extremely forgettable, you know you have a problem. Earlier drafts of the movie had the main antagonist as Hank Scorpio, (which if you don't know, please go watch "You Only Move Twice" right now it is possibly my favorite episode in the series period), and who of course would still be voiced by Brooks. This.... while it would take some plot adjustments (probably for the better), sounds so, so much better than what we got. Hank Scorpio in 22 minutes is infinitely more memorable and just a better character than what we got with Russ Cargill, and he had an enitre movie to show his character.
I could talk about it more, and keep in mind this is all coming from someone that hasn't seen it in years, (I think I'll watch it tonight), but wrapping up here, something about the Simpsons Movie is just....off. And it's not just about the humor, which I understand is subjective and I see it as a bit of a mixed bag of classic Simpsons humor and new Simpsons humor. I dont think the movie is bad, I definitely think there's enjoyment to be had. But for a series that is so, so dear to so many people for a multitude of reasons, the main problem with the movie is that it didn't leave as much of an impact as the series deserved. Sure it made a lot of money, but looking back now, even the story itself doesn't seem too far outside of a standard Simpsons episode. It didn't feel as though it warrented a movie, which is not what should be the case for a series that had been on the air for over 15 years at that point.
Even though it took them forever to bring the Simpsons to the big screen, it somehow still felt rushed. That I think was the biggest problem.
In 2007, the Simpsons went to the big screen for the first time with The Simpsons movie.
Harcore and casual fans alike came out to see the world's favorite yellow family finally go to cinemas. With a worldwide gross of around 530 million dollars, it was clear that was still a lot of love for the Simpsons. It was somewhat of phenomenon. It reignited many casual fan's love for the family, and garnered a lot of dicussion with the hardcore. It gained solid reviews, and generally speaking, the world seemed happy with the movie.
So for any type of Simpsons fan, what did you think of the movie? Then, and now?
For me, it's a bit of a mixed bag. On release I was very excited, but cautious. I hadn't kept up with the new seasons, but I was excited for this story. However, I knew I'd rather have them go to the big screen when the staff behind it was in it's prime, and was worried they would not be able to capture the original run's magic, and leave a strange impression on the world.
I saw it and theaters, and enjoyed it quite a bit. I actually ended up seeing it 2 more times in theaters with other people. I thought it was good. If anything, I thought it was the best Simpsons "episode" I had seen in ages. There were certain things I wasn't 100% on, but generally I laughed a lot and came back a few times for those trademark Simpsons jokes that should always keep giving no matter how many times you hear them. It had a decent amount of that.
Now? Now....it's weird. While I enjoyed my time with it on release, I still noticed issues then that have just become more prevalent now. One of my biggest complaints I've had with many of the newer Simpsons episodes I had seen at that time, was just that Homer was not that likable. What used to be a caring family man that no matter how many things he did wrong, he always yearned to do the right thing and would do it in the end, started becoming something weird and dark. In newer episodes, I noticed Homer's redeeming qualities fade for the sake of crude humor or forced story telling. I feel as though while not as strong in the movie, he had some of these darker traits in it. Where he just kept going so far, not thinking of how it effected anyone around him, until a strange ritual made him snap back. He didn't go TOO far to that weird dark Homer in the movie, but enough to make me a bit uncomfortable with how they were handling him.
Another thing, Russ Cargill. Albert Brooks is amazing, and did his work well with what he had, but....who was this guy? When you have Brooks voicing a villian and the villian is still extremely forgettable, you know you have a problem. Earlier drafts of the movie had the main antagonist as Hank Scorpio, (which if you don't know, please go watch "You Only Move Twice" right now it is possibly my favorite episode in the series period), and who of course would still be voiced by Brooks. This.... while it would take some plot adjustments (probably for the better), sounds so, so much better than what we got. Hank Scorpio in 22 minutes is infinitely more memorable and just a better character than what we got with Russ Cargill, and he had an enitre movie to show his character.
I could talk about it more, and keep in mind this is all coming from someone that hasn't seen it in years, (I think I'll watch it tonight), but wrapping up here, something about the Simpsons Movie is just....off. And it's not just about the humor, which I understand is subjective and I see it as a bit of a mixed bag of classic Simpsons humor and new Simpsons humor. I dont think the movie is bad, I definitely think there's enjoyment to be had. But for a series that is so, so dear to so many people for a multitude of reasons, the main problem with the movie is that it didn't leave as much of an impact as the series deserved. Sure it made a lot of money, but looking back now, even the story itself doesn't seem too far outside of a standard Simpsons episode. It didn't feel as though it warrented a movie, which is not what should be the case for a series that had been on the air for over 15 years at that point.
Even though it took them forever to bring the Simpsons to the big screen, it somehow still felt rushed. That I think was the biggest problem.
