Movie's plot will come as no surprise to fans of the series, and it's filled with lots of inside jokes
Photos courtesy of 20th Century Fox
After 18 seasons and nearly 20 years, TV's "The Simpsons" has finally made the jump to the big screen.
It's no accident that the series has enjoyed the success it has on television. The long-running series has always drawn its humor as much from satirizing pop culture as from Homer's idiocy or Bart's vandalism and pranks.
And that's the challenge The Simpsons Movie faces: Can the Simpsons' brand charm carry over into a feature length film?
Whether it can is still an unanswered question. Faced with the challenge, the producers of The Simpsons Movie chose to simply avoid the problem. The run time for the movie is only 80 minutes, just under an hour and a half.
Because of that choice, The Simpsons Movie feels less like a movie than an extended two-part episode of the series - a feeling that's reinforced with a 'to be continued' gag midway through the film.
However, feeling like a long Simpsons' episode isn't necessarily bad. In fact, it may actually make for a better film.
The movie's plot shouldn't come as a surprise to fans of the series.
Despite the town's efforts to ban dumping in Lake Springfield, Homer manages to thwart the "idiot proof" barriers and dispose of hazardous waste in the lake. Of course, an unprecedented ecological disaster occurs, leading the EPA to seal off Springfi eld, leaving the Simpson family with the task of saving the town and its inhabitants.
The remaining hour of the movie deals with the family's crosscountry flight and the resulting confl ict between their new life and the obligation they feel to help friends and family in Springfield.
That's possibly where the biggest flaw in The Simpsons Movie is found.
Sure, it's hilarious to hear Homer's 'catastrophe plan' (and no, it's not to live under the sea this time), and the growing hostility between Homer and the rest of the family is possibly the closest the series has come to real character development.
However, the bulk of the movie revolves around Homer, Marge, Bart and Lisa (even Maggie gets relegated to a minor supporting role).
With the exception of Homer's unwitting nemesis, Ned Flanders, the rest of the colorful supporting cast we've come to know over the years has been relegated to background objects and brief cameo scenes.
Given the short running time of the film, using cameos for the other characters was likely a necessity, but it presents potential problems. Sure, fans will know who Mr. Burns is and why imploring him to 'look into his heart' ends with him releasing the hounds, but those who aren't familiar with the series won't.
Those kinds of inside jokes could have a significant impact on how much you get out of the movie.
Fans of the series will find a lot to love about the movie and its numerous in-jokes and references to earlier seasons. For non-fans, the movie has some good gags, but the best humor will go unappreciated without at least some familiarity with the series.