FilmReviews: The Simpsons Movie

Published on August 9, 2007

Easily the biggest box-office champion in America right now, the long-awaited Simpsons movie has finally arrived, with a fitting blend of spectacular and outrageous humour.

For Simpsons fans the film has put the seal on the series, becoming an icon of hope and originality in a Hollywood packed with dull, unimaginative copycats.

Why does a movie like "Simpsons" attract so much excitement?

Like "Beavis & Butthead Do America" a decade ago, it pokes fun at middle America savagely but never thoughtlessly.

Here, Homer (voiced by Castellaneta) unwittingly pollutes the town of Springfield to the point where it has to be quarantined.

Things go from bad to insane soon after when the angry townsfolk burn down the Simpson home.

Without revealing more, Hanuman urges audiences to sample this rare and precious animated feature which took forever to make.

The project began in 2001, but because so much work and writing was required it's taken until now to reach cinemas.

In a way, time has only made the franchise more endearing. It has also tested its material, with a huge cross-section of American viewers coming to identify with the cartoon family.

Such is the impact of "The Simpsons'" Kwik-E-Mart and Crusty Burger jokes that 7-Eleven and Burger King outlets have joined the film's promotion campaign with a vengeance seldom seen since "Star Wars".

From unsavoury characters like Apu to the sinking of a floating "Green Day" concert, "Simpsons" dares to provoke laughter using material that may shock politically correct crowds.

See it twice because there's so much going on that you'll more than likely miss a few lines.

by hanuman