Toon Zone Talkback - "The Simpsons Movie" DVD: Great Film, Great DVD

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This is the talkback thread for "The Simpsons Movie" DVD: Great Film, Great DVD.


What's amazing is that I'm a big Simpsons fan and I haven't gotten around to picking this up yet. Soon.

[ji taurus ji]

I got the DVD for Christmas, and since I didn't get to see the movie when it was in theaters, everything was a new experience for me. My thoughts on the movie itself:

[spoiler]
- I had always hoped that a movie version of "The Simpsons" would contain a full seven-minute Itchy and Scratchy cartoon at the beginning, and while that wasn't completely what happened, it was still a great opening. I particularly enjoyed Homer's spiel about everyone in the theater being a sucker for paying to see something they could see on TV for free (probably would have been funnier if I'd seen it in theaters, though).
- The animation in this thing is incredible, which I'd expect to happen, but I didn't expect it to be this awe-inspiring. For instance, there are some amazing camera angles in the scene where Homer and Bart are repairing the roof, and Homer's throat singing-inspired epiphany is a great exercise in surrealism. But the piece-de-resistance is when the sinkhole in the backyard expands to engulf the entire Simpson home - watching everything crumble and swirl into the ground is not only an amazing technical experience, but it's actually kind of emotional to see the family's house collapse.
- One of the gripes I've had with the show in recent years is that Julie Kavner's voice acting for Marge has become a little more stiff. Such is not the case in her video farewell to Homer - Kavner's acting in this scene is surely the emotional highlight of the film, and I say bravo to her on a job well done. Without the proper delivery, the scene could have fallen flat, but she pulled it off brilliantly.
- Speaking of voice acting, Albert Brooks once again steals the show. Every one of Russ Cargill's scenes is a hoot, and I daresay he got the most quotable line in the movie (yes, even moreso than "Spider-Pig") - "Of course I've gone mad with power! You ever tried going mad without power? It's boring, nobody listens to you."
- I do wish we could have gotten more, though. There are a few characters that I felt deserved more screen time (Burns and Smithers especially, even though I did love the scenes we did get with them), and it was a shame to see that a few characters got left on the cutting room floor entirely - I miss the Sideshow Bob sequence they mentioned in the pre-release press. They also could have used some more time to flesh out Lisa's subplot, which didn't really go anywhere. I suspect they put it in just so Yeardley Smith wouldn't have the least amount of dialogue.
- All in all, though, it's a great movie, and a fitting cinematic event for a series as long-running as "The Simpsons". It's epic, it's strong, the humor is well-timed and perfectly written, and the direction is absolutely stellar. Does it need a sequel, as Maggie implied during the ending credits? Probably not. But that's only because it holds its own so darn well.[/spoiler]

Next step is to listen to the two commentaries. If they're anything at all like the DVD commentaries for the show itself, I don't think I'll be disappointed.

[kbonier2007]

Yeah, I think the swirling house was one of the cooler things, and though it goes by kinda fast, you can see a lot of little easter eggs in the belongings that get sucked under.

[petchick]

I saw this movie in theaters, and I laughed quite alot at it, I even laughed out loud some...But...

I don't know if I could reallt call it a great movie. Something about it made it funny, but not memorable at all. Maybe it was the almost rabid environmentalism that felt so out of place in the Simpsons I know. I spent alot of the movie hoping Lisa would accidentally fall in the polluted lake and it would seal her mouth shut. But enough of that.

I really liked the movie, but it wasn't good enough for me to consider buying the DVD. In fact, after watching it, I now see what people mean when they say it's time for the Simpson's TV show to end. It used to be great, but now it's just a cliche of itself.

It's time to put the rifle to this old horse before it gets any sicker.

[Aaishaa!]

I got the DVD for Xmas, and I really like how they animated the continous loop of doughnuts falling off Homer's stomach. That... and Spiderpig swinging through.

I was annoyed however with the line quality of the actual movie. I have the widescreen film, and I'm watching it on a TV thats maybe 2 years old-- but the lines for the characters and such were really jagged. It looked like such a mess!

I don't know if it's just a matter of the TV or if it's an actual DVD player or DVD setting.

[totally_me_x33]

You thought a movie that suggested that it's not a good idea to dump enough garbage into a lake to turn it toxic enough to melt pants off people is "rabid" environmentalism? I know I swing left of center, but The Simpsons Movie didn't seem anywhere near as polemic as something like Happy Feet.



I didn't notice any jaggies like that when I was watching the DVD on my TV (which is a regular 4:3 tube TV from 2002 or something) or on my laptop screen, so I suspect it was either your TV or your DVD player. All the screengrabs in the review were from my laptop and shrunk down from their original 850x480 size.

-- Ed

[saad ahmed]

You're right. Perhaps rabid was a bit too much. Nevertheless, Lisa is one of the reason's I feel the Simpsons has outlasted itself, as she seems to do little more nowadays than be a voice for whatever political cause the writers are pushing. But perhaps that's just me.

[Isabella V.]

I saw the movie when it was in the theater {somewhat unusual for me,since I normally wait until movies come to DVD or TV to see them}....

I thought it was pretty funny....I liked Homer's rant at the beginning,about how anyone who pays to see something they could see at home for free is a sucker...

also,Homer flipping everyone in town off with both hands when the Simpson family escapes through the sinkhole...

and the "Spider-Pig" scene....despite seeing it numerous times,it still makes me laugh...

As for the serious stuff,I loved Marge's videotaped message to Homer {really awesome acting by Julie Kavner....you can really tell Marge is at her breaking point with Homer}...and that they kept that Homer and Marge's song is "Close to You"....

Bart bonding with Flanders was nice as well

[sunbeam98]

I saw it in the cinema, twice. :lol:

It's definately a good movie. The first 20 minutes are hilarious and I was literally in tears after Bart's escapades on the skateboard. It certainly seemed that this was indeed the pinnacle of 20 years of preperation.

However, everything kinda goes pear-shaped when the family move to Alaska. It seems like the writers either ran out of time for writing great jokes or they just stopped trying or something. My theory is that Matt Groening was putting more effort into Futurama: Bender's Big Score. Now there's a wait that paid off in my opinion.



I think Lisa did get somewhat sidelined in favour of Bart. (because she's my favourite)

Again, a good movie, but I think I'll be waiting for a drop in price for this DVD.

P.S. I'm a bit of a stickler for details but if I'm not mistaken, didn't Albert Brooks already play the CEO of a huge corporation that had dealings with the government? Hank Scorpio! "The first wealthy man in America to wear jeans with a sports jacket"

[Ava is Beastin <3]

Interestingly, some very early drafts of the script did indeed feature Hank Scorpio returning as the villain, but the writers wanted to make the movie accessible to people who don't watch the show much, and they felt that something like that would be too inside-jokey.