Los Simpson: La película

Just about everything I could have hoped for from a Simpsons movie including the heart the show has been lacking for several seasons now. If you like the easy breathing pace of the early years of The Simpsons you'll find a lot to like in the movie. The gags are leisurely and natural and even when they fail (Comic Book Guy comes to mind), another drops in to pick up the laugh. What's most surprising, in addition to a much needed return to consistent characters, is that the movie manages to balance the plot and the gags with near perfection. Regardless what you may think going in, it does feel like a "real" movie from beginning to end and not just an extended show. Albert Brooks once again steals the show as the Director of the EPA, though Tom Hanks does the best celebrity cameo the show has seen in ages. "tousle my hair Mr. Hanks!"

There was a time when "The Simpsons" stood for the funniest, most original comedy on the planet. Somewhere around season 8 the show passed its prime, though, and since then it varies from good to okay and sometimes even insipid. I was hoping that for the movie the writers would really push themselves and come up with some really clever and new ideas one more time, but for all the years of developing that supposedly went into this, the movie seems like nothing more than an extended TV episode of latter day "Simpsons".

I have to admit that I'm not really convinced of the concept of putting an animated TV series on the big screen in the first place. Even the "South Park" movie that tried to incorporate theatrical elements such as the musical numbers didn't really justify the need for a cinematic adventure. Most animated comedy shows have a very fast paced humor with quick editing. This works for an episode of 25-30 minutes, but in a movie with 90 minutes running time it would become too exhausting for the audience. Therefore the whole thing has to be slowed down, which in return takes away a lot of the show's comedic appeal. It's a lose-lose situation as they say.

As a consequence "The Simpsons Movie" is unusually slow at times. At the same time the storyline is not really stretched to cinematic proportions. Epic as it may be, similar topics have already been dealt with in the TV show (and better). It's been said before and it's true: nothing here tries to push any boundaries and except for the length of the whole thing (and maybe some annoying people in the theater who watch the movie with you) you would never realize that this is a "Simpsons"-motion picture.

Other flaws include the fact that some inhabitants of Springfield have only very brief cameos (Mr. Burns!) and that some ideas have been used in a fairly similar way before. As entertaining as the movie still may be, it is also pretty predictable at times. This kind of "underachieving", as some critic called it, may have its own charm, but in the end one would have hoped for this to be a bit more special. The movie is by no means a catastrophe, but by "Simpsons"-standards it's just not good enough.

"The Simpsons" have become a brand. People know what to expect and therefore applaud even a relatively average movie like this one. To rely on that is a bit lazy, however, and one wishes that producers put an end to Homer's adventures as long as we can still remember him and the other beloved inhabitants of Springfield as characters that completely revolutionized comedy at one point and not as money making merchandising props.

The Simpsons Movie (2007), directed by David Silverman, is definitely not the Simpsons at their best. Most of the things that make the Simpsons great on TV--the throwaway gags, the multiple plots, the zingers sent at the Fox network and at the U.S. government, and the incredible cast of supporting characters--are missing from the movie.

It's discouraging to realize how little David Silverman accomplished in the 87 minutes (basically four TV shows) with which he was able to work. Instead of giving us four times the fun, he gave us one quarter the fun. OK--the movie was overdue, and I guess any Simpsons movie is better than none, but this was an opportunity wasted.

After watching the film, I tried to understand what went wrong. The biggest single problem, in my opinion, is that the plot was too linear. The director and screenwriters forgot that we don't want the Simpsons plot to go from A to B to C. We want it to start at A and go to Q and W before it gets to C, if it ever gets to C at all.

Moreover, the movie makers chickened out. On TV they will take on any government institution. Here, the villainous government agency is the EPA. Plenty of government agencies are doing terrible things to the U.S., but I wouldn't exactly put the EPA at the top of the villain's list. As U.S. President, they chose a character meant to be Arnold Schwartzenegger. Now, there are plenty of ways to make fun of the Governor, but no one has suggested he's stupid and, furthermore, he's the one public character that can't become President. No real fun there.

So, if you're a Simpsons fan, and you have to see the movie, be warned. If you're not a Simpsons fan, buy the Season I DVD. Then, once you're hooked, you can safely see the film.

Just got out of the theater. Don't get me wrong, I was entertained throughout the duration of the film. But I rarely got any belly laughs out of it. And I just wanted it to be...well, smarter and funnier.

The animation and production values are awesome. Just seeing Springfield and all the characters on the big screen is enough to make this movie worth going to. But I was rather let down in terms of the comedy. It seemed like it was dumbed down to give it more mass appeal and that's disappointing. I also had annoying little kids sitting around me and their father refused to shut them up...which somewhat ruined the experience. The first 45 min are good, then it dips in humor.

In conclusion, while the South Park movie took advantage of the new medium by pushing the envelope and producing hilarious, brilliant satire...The Simpsons Movie seems to do the opposite, getting watered down in the process.

In this big-screen adventure featuring the lovable folk of Springfield, trouble brews for the Simpson family after Homer irresponsibly pollutes the local water supply with tons of pig manure. As a result of this thoughtless action, the town is encased in a huge dome by the Environment Protection Agency and, after angry Springfield citizens form a lynch mob, Homer and his family are forced to become fugitives.

How much you enjoy The Simpsons Movie will depend entirely on your opinion of the current Simpsons TV show: if you have loved the past few seasons, then you'll have a great time—the movie is as funny, if not slightly better, than your average episode of recent years. Those of us, however, who recognise that the show has long since passed its prime will feel underwhelmed: the movie is often amusing, but very rarely hilarious.

And that's just not good enough! When a series as successful as The Simpsons takes 20 years to make the leap from the small screen to the big screen, it had better be damn good—nay, it had better be exceptional!! Instead, this rather uninspired product just doesn't make the wait worthwhile.

5 out of 10, bumped up to 6 out of a misguided sense of loyalty to a show that has given me so much fun in the past.