When illegal dumping by Homer leads to an environmental disaster in Springfield, the town is covered by a huge dome that imprisons everyone inside.  The townspeople turn on Homer, who needs to figure out how to save the town as well as patch things up with wife Marge and son Bart.

CRITIQUE

The Simpsons Movie tackles the difficult task of trying to do something different and movie-worthy with a TV series that has already run for over 400 episodes.  The result is largely successful, a funny and emotional tale that, despite a couple of draggy spots, does a very good job staying true to the series while also scaling things up to make it succeed as a film.

The premise here has Homer adopting a pig, then having to figure out what to do with its waste, which leads to a toxic lake, Springfield being covered by a dome, and the Simpsons ultimately going on the run.  The storyline is really rather thin and functional, but it does provide many opportunities for gags, as well as for some solid running character storylines, in which Bart starts to see Ned Flanders as a better father than Homer, and in which Marge finally gives up on Homer as well.

A lot of writers worked on this, through a huge number of evolving drafts, but for the most part the all-hands-on-deck approach works, there are a lot of funny sequences here, some very amusing throwaway gags, and a very high laugh-per-minute ratio that would make this work on just that level alone.

But where the creators have done a very good job is in making this satisfying to devoted fans of the show as well as for those who aren’t as family with it.  Homer might be a dumb, selfish character, but he has an everyman feel as well, and as far-out as some of the story gyrations get here, one truly cares about whether it will all come out right in the end.

Aside from a supporting role voiced by Albert Brooks (who has done a string of Simpsons voices in the past) and a brief voice cameo by Tom Hanks, there are no big name-guest stars here.  But the series regulars do solid work, the adventures are involving even at almost 90 minutes long, and the result is a film that is liable to entertain most audiences.

THE VIDEO

The Simpsons Movie is presented in widescreen.  Though this is a screener copy, and not necessarily representative of the final product, the visuals looked good throughout.

THE AUDIO

The Simpsons Movie is presented in English 5.1 DTS, English 5.1 Dolby Surround, and in Spanish and French Dolby.  Dialogue, music and sound effects come through very clear.  There are English and Spanish subtitles.

THE EXTRAS

There are Two Commentary Tracks.  One features Matt Groening, Jim Brooks and a bevy of others; it largely focuses on how the script evolved through over 100 drafts, as well as how the actors had to stretch to bring the right emotion to their roles.

The other features director David Silverman and others on his team; it is also entertaining, and similarly focuses on some of the story changes, though the focus is usually on the animation.

There are four minutes of Deleted Scenes, mostly just trims from a late version of the movie.

There is a collection of “Special Stuff”, which includes an animated Tonight Show bit with Homer hosting, two animated American Idol riffs, and a version of the classic movie theater “Let’s All Go To The Lobby” refreshment pitch in which Homer eats the dancing hotdog.

There are five Trailers for the film, including some very early teasers.

FINAL THOUGHT

Fans and non-fans alike will find a lot to like here.