The Simpsons: The Movie
 

After reading the recent postings on "The Simpsons" in the Futurama thread, I thought it might be time to discuss the "Simpsons" movie that's been in development for some time.

Some of the first real information on the project was revealed on this page over at Soundtrack.net, which confirms that Hans Zimmer is set to score the movie. Other, more unreliable information can be found here, at IMDB.

I've long held that "The Simpsons" has long jumped the shark; the new episodes are pale shadows of the old ones that manage just a few giggles apiece and are shameless in attemtping to revise the series' continuity or shamelessly cram guest stars into the roster. Despite watcing since 1996, I haven't seen the show regularly since 2003, and I had noticed the quality decile as early as early as 2000.

This film project represents the last chance for the series to redeem itself. If a big-screen product manages to capture the spark that the show already had, while perhaps updating it to compete with edgier shows, I can see a "Simpsons" film as much like the "South Park" feature--a success.

On the other hand, if the film is an extension of the series' current trends, I can see it as a bloated, celebrity-laden disaster that finally buries the show and scatters its core constituancy.

I have to say, though, that the announcement of Zimmer as the composer fills me with horror. Alf Clausen has worked on the show for 13 years; why not allow him to score the big screen version? OR why not get Danny Elfman, who wrote the theme? Having 800 people write 20 secs apiece and slapping Zimmer's name on it seems a step in the wrong direction.

Discuss.

I can see Hanz Zimmer making a good score for the movie, but then again, Elfman could also make some good songs.


As for the movie itself, I've been wanted to see in theatres for like the last 10 years, but I guess they haven't been able to do something major yet. I want to see some previews or spoilers or something so that I can see the plot. With South Park, just about anything would work, but with The Simpsons...err.... I don't know. I'm guessing Homer gets a job with the president somehow.

I've yet to hear a Danny Elfman soundtrack that doesn't have at least one track with a chorus of little kids going "ooooooh". maybe I have and I just forgot about it. whatever.
I will see this movie in a heartbeat, as I feel the Simpsons has definately gotten better with recent seasons.

I wonder if a live-action Simpsons could ever be successful...

What I like most about some of the more recent plots is when the episoded ends somewhere almost completely different from it started. Given two hours, I'm sure the writers could include all kinds of twists and turns.

I doubt the movie will be anything that special. The show did so well after so many years that people don't expect too much from it but just watch it as some sort of ritual.

I can't see them having any motivation for making it a great and hilarious movie. Just Homer going "D'oh" would make thousands of americans flock to theaters. The simpsons are like a religion, even in its most worst episodes, people will still love and praise it so I can't see them going the extra mile to make it a wonderful film.

Two things, fuck anyone who thinks this movie is going to be good, and fuck anyone who thinks the show is still good.

The current writers on there should be kicked in the nuts and should have to pay me to watch the current show. I could honestly write a better show than the pig swill they've got on air right now.

Oh, and the teaser was pure shit too. So fucking stupid and Homer's line was "I forgot what I was going to say". Right, whatever the fuck you say Homer.

"definately" heh.

It's called the Pee Wee's Big Adventure Soundtrack... no chorus of "oooohs."

I'm just hoping that the writers have stocked away all the best unused material for this movie. When is the series supposed to wrap up?

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck Simpsons fuck fuck fuck. Shit.

Anyway, yeah, the trailer is a bit lacking, but I'm sure the movie will turn out to be entertaining at the very least. I wonder how many times they're going to play the guest star card on this one.

I doubt I'll see this. I haven't watched the Simpsons in years. A Futurama movie on the other hand....

It wasn't a trailer, it was a teaser. They haven't really done that much animation (if any) for the movie yet, so it would be kinda hard for them to make a real trailer yet. This was just meant to tell everyone who somehow didn't already know it was coming that it's coming out, along with telling everyone the release date.

Yes, teaser. I will edit that.

I'm just glad the series will be over after the movie is done. I'm a long time Simpsons fan and I agree that it has been suffering a steady decline in quality over the past few seasons. Better that it bow out now rather then keep it going for another 5 years and have it shrivel up and die without anyone noticing.

seconded, I love that show.

When did they say that the series would be over after the movie?

Oh, I seriously hope it ends. It just got worse and worse each episode.

I remember when I usually rushed to the channel Sunday Nights to see the show but now I'll just skip it and watch something else. Sometimes I can't even get a chuckle out of watching the show.

Now that Family Guy is on, it can carry the FOX Sunday spotlight.

Actually, it won't be. The show was renewed for two more seasons, meaning one will start this fall and run until next summer, then the movie will come out, and then another season will air the following fall. And I wouldn't be surprised if there were still more seasons after that.

Darn, oh well. It's still watchable but it's not a 'must see' show anymore.

even if the movie was just put on tv as a special... I can't say I'd watch it. Simpsons went downhill a long time ago.

The thing is, we don't know if it's a movie that isn't thought out well and just sells because of it's popularity

Or if it's a movie that they really try on.

I just hope that they have kept all the good jokes that weren't used in the last couple of seasons to make the movie.

I know the latest seasons (starting from the second half of the tenth season) weren't on-par with the first few seasons, but they're closing in on their 20th seasons now. They have to do shows about a family more than 20 times per year.

They should've stopped sooner, but at least the writers are still trying. Still, at least two episodes each year are very good.

New trailer is out, had me laughing :doh:

http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox/th...movie/trailer/

Awesome.

Better build up here then the other trailer, although I still see they're going with the "how much more stupid yet somehow invincible can we make homer look" :annoyed:

edit:

True that but that's not just true for simpsons, that's true for everything on the planet to ever have fanboys. Once they're hooked I swear their brains just switch off, and you know what they say you can't spell fanatic without fan...

Here alone is why The Simpsons movie will be successful regardless of the people blasting it in this thread:

You've watched it for years, despite its recent shortcomings (which I agree exist), and millions of people still watch it every week. It wouldn't still be on the air and they wouldn't still plan on making more episodes if they weren't getting the viewership.

I like how this trailer is What Has Been Wrong With The Simpsons Since Season 10 in a nutshell.

I also like how they say "in 2D" and it's full of 3D effects.

I was a big fan of The Simpsons back in 1989-1994. I collected The Simpsons magazines, Bart comic books, the Nintendo game and a couple of sweaters. The show was hilarious back then. I loved the good-feel environment too and especially the Halloween specials. Then, too many people started exaggerating and all of a sudden, the show didn't feel that special anymore. I haven't watched The Simpsons in a long time and I personally don't care about the movie all that much. It'll probably have a bunch of new fans talking about The Simpsons as if they've known the show forever. Whatever. The Simpsons had their time, but now they're dull.

New trailer is super duper, but omg still so long O_o

That new trailer has some clever bits, but the best parts won't be in the movie, obviously.

That slapstick ballet was a hoot, but then again slapstick is just about the only thing the Simpsons does well anymore. It is probably the lengthiest Simpsons media we'll see without a gratuitous celebrity cameo in the forseeable future, though.

A teaser 3 just out

http://www.comingsoon.net/films.php?id=13911

Seems they are going with the 101 ways Homer can hurt himself gags :deadhorse: :psyduck:

Yeah, I think it's pretty much time to abandon all hope that the movie will be any good, or reverse the trend toward unwatchable mediocrity in the show itself.

http://www.somethingawful.com/index.php?a=4290

Something Awful had a great parody of what the Simpsons Movie script would look like.

Sad thing is I could really see that happening.

Yes! All it needs is a gratuitous celebrity cameo on every page.

It would have ended up much better if the celebrity guests played CHARACTERS, not just themselves.

But then again, that wouldn't change all the other problems that the Simpsons has nowadays.

I think it will be an ok film. Its something I would go see even if it was a 101 ways of hurting Homer. I don't think you can give any real idea of what the film is going to be like by watching these small teasers. I mean, there hasn't even been a full trailer to tell any story. I would wait a little longer before trying to assume anything.

I don't think that this film will be any good at all. I think that it is FOX milking the cash cow for all it's worth. I really don't see how they will be able to put in a story that hasn't already been covered in the many, many series of this show.

They should of stuck to the orignal plan and made the Futurama movie.

I suspect the movie will just be a parody of the recent big summer releases.

Is that not coming out anymore? Or are they just making the new episodes instead?

I can't say I'm excited about this film. Even if it is The Simpsons.

Don't know, I assumed they canned it since they announced the simpsons movie, and the restart of the series.

The third trailer had much better slapstick. I'm sure it'll be a fun film but nothing astonishing like South Park The Movie Bigger Longer & Uncut.

If there's one thing that doing a billion Simpsons episodes has done for the show is solidify its animation and character design. The movie looks to flow very nicely in that department.

I don't like the whole "In 2D" garbage they're spouting since they are obviously using 3D elements in it. However, it is nice to see something that isn't completely 3D for a change.

I agree. I find that computer 3-D graphics has kinda taken away the 2-D style graphics. I have to admit, I like the change of style to 2-D for a movie. Not too many cartoon style films out there anymore.

coming out tomorrow, if you care :P

I am trying not to get my hopes up for this. I had high expectations for transformers and was really dissapointed.

I saw it yesterday, it's pretty good! The very beginning of the film is especially laugh out loud (LOLOLO) worthy. It pokes fun of itself and basically everything else, there's a fair few nods to jokes from older episodes and well, I dunno, nudity, drugs, the sort of stuff they wouldn't be able to do in a normal episode. It looks fantastic, the animation is smooth as a baby's animated baby bottom (??) and the backgrounds are extremely detailed. At first it's weird watching them walk around familiar locations of Springfield with such detail!

But like ooooh, the past few years of the series, there's no lines that'll stick in your head forever. But there is a SONG. THE BEST SONG. SPIDER-PIG. And don't leave the cinema when the credits start rolling.

So its actually better than the crap thats been churned out by the TV staff?

If so, I am SO gonna see it.

Apparently according to the family guy creator, Simpsons went down hill as soon as they started making the movie, he also went on to say that he would like to make a family guy movie, provided they find a way of doing so without making the tv show suffer, and its not about the family saving the world.

Anyways I loved this movie, I really wasnt expecting it to be that good (since the TV show just sucks now). But the movie had me laughing from begining to end. There jokes for everyone highly recommend seeing it!

So they shifted all the good staff to the movie, and the production lasted for around a decade? Cause it kinda started sucking at around season 8 or 9.

And Seth knows funny, that's for sure!

Hey umm I watched the movie today and I must say that while it wasn't a complete disaster, this:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0462538/

is freakin' ridiculous. Top 250? Fuck no. The movie had its moments, but I wouldn't watch it again.

Also: PG-13? Are you kidding me? It's not like this movie is some House of Wax sequel

You shouldn't care much about the Imdb rating. It's broken as hell. They have movies like Grindhouse and Hot Fuzz (which are good) but they don't have classics like E.T on the list.
It's just a popularity list for kids around 15 years old.

Caught the noon show, which was surprisingly packed, overall it was pretty much an 1 hour and 1/2 episode. Definitely wasn't great, but wasn't as bad as I was expecting it to be, it did keep me laughing.

And like Musharraf said it had it's moments.

Saw it today. As someone that's been watching since the very beginning, I felt extremely nervous going into the movie knowing how the recent episodes have been. The show could be hit and miss, and if a half hour of my sunday was lost on a nearly painful episode of the Simpsons, it wasn't so bad, but losing an hour and a half? Worrying, to be sure.

However my worrying (as it often is) was for nothing! It was pretty hilarious, and while I didn't care too much for some of the slapstick it was pretty much a solid movie. I was smiling pretty much the whole movie, and laughing for a lot of it.

Worth seeing if you're an old fan, and even if you're one of those fucks who wants it canceled because it's not how it used to be, it's STILL worth seeing. I guess you could see 'I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry' instead, but if you do, you're an idiot and should die.

I think IGN was right when they said the basic plot was too recycled to be a really great movie. Homer screws up, then has to do something really drastic to win back the family and the town's trust. But yeah, it was funny.

Its the Simpsons movie. A show that's been going on for 20 years. It ran of out of plots ages ago.

I didn't care about the plot and just wanted to be entertained, which I was.

I actually did feel a little teary eye at that one scene with Marge...



Also the brilliant gag involving Bart on Skateboard.

I never said I wasn't.

I just don't think "blol it's the simpsons" should be a get out of jail free card. A different example would be the Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie. It might have some funny parts, but that doesn't keep it from being an incoherent mess, or excuse it for directly insulting its audience the whole time.

I wasn't sure what to expect. But the opening scene (not the Itchy & Scratchy bit, but in the church) completely sold the entire movie for me.The rest of the movie was also pleasantly entertaining throughout.

I saw it last night and it was the first time I went to a theater to see a movie since Star Wars Ep 3.

After season 12, the show sucks, but I am glad to say that the movie was much better than the show is now a days.

It does not compare with seasons 1-12 though. Family Guys quick-scene humor or South Park's "make fun of people or an issue" cannot even compare with Simpsons seasons 1-12.

I agree. There are 20 minutes episodes that give me more reasons to laugh than the 90 minutes movie.

I was probably the only person I know who wasn't disappointed. I mean, Christ on a bike, have you seen anything they've put out over the last few years? The movie was surprisingly good.

And as if that weren't enough, there was a kid behind me asking, "Mommy, why are they doing that? Mommy?"

Umm I wasn't disappointed at all. Actually, I am contemplating going see it again. However, all the hype is only partly justified. Of course, if you compare it with the recent seasons (especially 13+), it's a major achievement. You might even think that they purposely fucked up the last few seasons to make the movie look like a masterpiece of animated movie history.

And I bet that one parent is gonna be pissed off and demand her money back, or worse, sue.

Its PG-13, Ma'am. :P

Still, I would laugh if that happened in my theater.

I was talking about people I know IRL.

If you've been a Simpsons fan for awhile now, you could definitely could tell all the plots that they've recycled throughout the years. I've seen episodes with Springfield in danger of destruction, Homer pretty much being a selfish jerk only to eventually mend his ways, and his family abandoning him only to come together at the end.

It's nothing new, but then neither is the Simpsons. This movie had been in development for a couple years now, and I'm not surprised they had to go back to some classic themes in order to make a movie out of it.

But it definitely delivered what I wanted, which was entertainment. I do miss that there wasn't much in the way of involvement of other characters, but then again, I didn't want the movie to be a 2/3 hour long episode of the Simpsons...I don't watch that much in one sitting. There were laughs (even some subtle ones! gasp) and I'll also admit, that one emotional scene with Marge was some of the best Simpsons voice acting I've heard in awhile.

I think the Simpsons movie is an animated comedy movie done right. By far much better than the Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie (mentioned previously), which pretty much prescribes you be under the influence of something to enjoy it (which is how the most recent episodes have been as well).

I didn't watch it yet but i heard that the commercials gave all the funny parts away. the rest is like a big episode >.<

I'm kinda surprised though that the trailers pretty much gave a lot of the film's gags away.

By the way they were advertising it, you'd have thought it was something that would be on a much more grander scale.

The reason why I liked the South Park movie a lot was because it did stuff that the TV series didn't normally do - uncensored swearing, an all out epic war, Satan, Saddam, Kenny's face, plus it was a musical!

It may have been everyone's cup of tea, but at least it was something that warranted a movie.
With the Simpson's Movie, the animation may have been great, and the plot may have been a little more bigger than usual, but it didn't justify that there should have been a movie made.

There were so many opportunities that were missed.

Personally, I think if the Simpsons movie went ridiculously extensive or complex in terms of plot or story, it would have failed miserably. The Simpsons is not known for its plots or stories, at least not in recent history. Groening himself noted that he doesn't believe people think "I'll watch this week's Simpsons because I like the plot". Rather, people just tune in to see what happens. That's the mindset I went in with the Simpsons movie and ended up being pleased with what I saw happen.

I was not expecting the Simpsons to push the envelope like South Park does. South Park is known for that kind of entertainment, which is why it is enjoys the popularity it does today. That's all good and well for them, but it is not something the Simpsons does. In fact, if the Simpsons movie tried to overreach just because of the simple fact that they had a movie to make, it would have been a disservice to the loyal fans who have enjoyed their more tame/subtle humor (in comparsion to South Park).

And then again, we do get a little taste of something we don't get on the TV screen. Frontal nudity! Come on now.

I gave it 3.5 out of 5. I was basically an extended episode where Homer goes on yet another Vision Quest and Marge leaves him (again) which had me yawning. But so long as there was interaction between the other Springfielders it was funny. I loved the suicidal Bomb-disposal robot.