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Simpsons on the Silver Screen

An anonymous reader writes "It looks like Matt Groening is going to actually go through with it. This article says that the cast of the Simpsons has signed on for at least 3 feature films. Hooray!" I hope they call them Episodes 4, 5 and 6.

53 of 433 comments (clear)

  1. Oh God! by SpanishInquisition · · Score: 4, Funny

    Worst story ever

    --
    Je t'aime Stéphanie
  2. Timeline.... by _ph1ux_ · · Score: 4, Funny

    Lets just hope that he is not on the George Lucas movie release timeline.

    1. Re:Timeline.... by EvilBuu · · Score: 3, Interesting

      So if they produce ~20-22 episodes per season, you're saying each season takes ten to eleven years of animation work to complete? I think not. Most likely it takes a single crew ~6 months to finish an episode, but they can have 15+ crews working simultaneously.

      --

      Green-voting, republican-registered, socialist-libertarian.
    2. Re:Timeline.... by luzrek · · Score: 3, Funny
      I'm probably screwing this quote up but...

      Very few cartoons are broadcast live, it's a horrable strain on the animator's wrists.

      --

      Galium Arsenide is the material of the future, and always will be.

  3. Inside the Actor's Studio?! by Viking+Coder · · Score: 5, Informative

    According to this, The Simpsons are going to be on Inside The Actor's Studio, on Nov. 18. How freaking cool is that?

    James Lipton: Homer, what is your favorite curse word?
    Homer Simpson: D'oh!

    Unfortunately, Nov. 18 is when they tape it, not when they broadcast it...

    --
    Education is the silver bullet.
  4. Will be feature James Woods? by saforrest · · Score: 4, Funny

    James Woods: Well, my work is done here, I'm off to fight aliens on a faraway planet.

    Marge: My, Mr. Woods, I'll look forward to seeing that movie!

    James Woods: (Chuckles, eyes dart nervously about) Ahh, yes...heh...a movie....

    1. Re:Will be feature James Woods? by unicron · · Score: 3, Funny

      James Woods: Wow, you're Apu, you are like THE guy around here. Is it true you once worked for 86 hours straight?

      Apu: Yes, towards the end I began believing I was a humming bird of some kind.

      James Woods: Oh yeah, I saw the tapes.(Cuts to tape of Apu vibrating his hands like a hummingbird on Ritalin).

      --
      Finally, math books without any of that base 6 crap in them.
  5. They say they want it to be feature-film quality by mmacdona86 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Like "The Itchy and Scratchy Movie"?

    (54% new footage)

  6. Pay To See - Simpsons by ackthpt · · Score: 3, Insightful
    Honestly, the show is good and if you tape them (like I did) and watch them back to back (like I also did) you can get the effect of watching a movie, provided you edited out the commercials (like I did as well.)

    So the only thing different? A further expanded plot. Ok... I'm not sure that makes any difference, in the grand scheme of things, but I'd probably go see it anyway.

    The downside is, unless Matt brings in a ton of animators or turns the background over to a Beowulf cluster (I can just imagine that...) of renderers, the show doesn't gain anything cinematic, so big screen, eh!

    Maybe they'll get lucky and score a hit like Blame Canada, eh!

    --

    A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
    1. Re:Pay To See - Simpsons by jeffehobbs · · Score: 5, Funny


      Very few animated movies are shown live, due to the tremendous strain on the animator's wrists.

      ~Roy

  7. Repeat? by gatekeep · · Score: 5, Informative

    Isn't this a repeat?

    No, wait.. this same rumor recirculates every few months, that's right.

    As much as I'd love to see it happen, I'll believe it when there's something resembling a formal announcement.

  8. This News Reaches Rigel 7... by tunabomber · · Score: 4, Funny

    spacey synthesizer music

    Kodos: The man-planet has produced a Simpsons movie!

    Kang: Set coordinates for the obscure, T-shirt-producing planet known as Earth!

    Together: AWAHAHAHAAHA!

    --

    pi = 3.141592653589793helpimtrappedinauniversefactory71 ...
  9. gahhhh by grub · · Score: 5, Funny



    All TV and no Silver Screen make Homer.. something.. something..

    --
    Trolling is a art,
    1. re:gahhhh by gatekeep · · Score: 5, Funny

      Go crazy?

    2. Re:gahhhh by mkarpinski · · Score: 4, Funny


      Don't mind if I do!

      --
      As below, so above and beyond, I imagine drawn beyond the lines of reason. Push the envelope. Watch it bend.
    3. Re:gahhhh by SimStupid · · Score: 5, Funny

      Don't mind if I . . . Oh my God! That dog has a puffy tail! Hehehehe. Here, Puff.

    4. Re:gahhhh by silvaran · · Score: 4, Funny

      Blaaah! Blaah! Blululululululu badoo boo! BOO!

    5. Re:gahhhh by Ubergrendle · · Score: 4, Funny

      This has to be a slashdot first -- a string of 4 post, 3 direct replies, all modded 3+.

      Never thought I'd see a score of 3 to a post of "Blaaah! Blaah! Blululululululu badoo boo! BOO!"

      --
      John Maynard Keynes: "When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do?"
    6. Re:gahhhh by dswensen · · Score: 4, Funny

      YOU obviously haven't been around here very long!

    7. Re:gahhhh by stefanlasiewski · · Score: 3, Funny

      Bah! But then you had to go and post something unfunny!

      That's so... Flanders!

      (/humor)

      --
      "Can of worms? The can is open... the worms are everywhere."
    8. Re:gahhhh by edrugtrader · · Score: 3, Funny

      now i'm just karma whoring... this is too easy

      ARE YOU A PHP DEVELOPER? WORK WITH ME AND MAKE MILLIONS!
      Web Developer II

      --
      MARIJUANA, SHROOMS, X: ONLINE?! - E
    9. Re:gahhhh by mobets · · Score: 4, Funny

      Wow, 6 +5 Funnys right in a row, now that is amazing. If I was creative, I would come up with something beter so say and get 7 in a row. But I'm not creative... oh well.

      --

      It was me, I did it, I moved your cheese
    10. Re:gahhhh by isorox · · Score: 5, Funny

      Hey, I want some of that karma too!

  10. Attention spa ... what was I talking about again? by Ezubaric · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I don't think that the Simpsons translate well to a feature film. Like the article said, they don't even fill a 22 minute show with quality. Even some of the best episodes were of the form BAA, where there was a five-minute substory to hook into the next two acts. So that's about a fifteen minute episode.

    Can they make a coherent movie eight times that long?

    I don't think so; let's not forget that the show started as 1 min shorts. I think that if they do make a movie, it should be in the form of "22 Short Films about Springfield," which (in an homage to Bach and a wonderful movie about Glen Gould) passed a semi-coherent theme back and forth between subplots. I think that The Simpsons could really do something creative and kinda tweak with traditional notions of film, linearity, etc.

    It would be like their sendup of Lola Rennt with three stories told from different perspectives (a later episode that was actually quality, even though the story itself was about seven minutes long).

    --

    ----------
    I am an expert in electricity. My father held the chair of applied electricity at the state prision.
  11. Re:Awsome by Eagle7 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    If you read the article, you'd know it was 14 years. Geesh.

    --
    _sig_ is away
  12. no way.. by gatekeep · · Score: 5, Funny

    A simpsons movie? That's unpossible!

    1. Re:no way.. by hitzroth · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I'm beginning to think all the producers have to do to find ideas for taglines and commercials for a Simpsons movie are read this thread.

      --
      In mathematics, one does not understand things, one merely gets used to them.
      --VonNeumann
  13. Will they even be good? by mcarbone · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Let's hope that the writers of the feature films are those that wrote during the Golden Age of The Simpsons (Seasons 3 - 7 give or take). Honestly, if the style and quality of the movie is at all similar to the show in the past few years, I'm not sure I'd be able to sit through the whole thing. Even the writers and producers admit on the Season 2 DVD commentary tracks that Simpsons today is a little bit more low brow, hyperactive and random, and with a lot less character and plot.

    Maybe some of you like this Family Guy-like style, but I think it has degraded an amazingly intelligent funny show to just an occasional funny show (I won't be a jerk and try to state that it's not funny anymore). Nevertheless, I hope the producers and writers consider these films more seriously than the show as it now stands, as I would love a great Simpsons movie. Otherwise, I'll just have to stick with Futurama (almost as good as the Simpsons when they were great, but not quite).

    --

    The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what we share with someone else when we're uncool. -Crowe
  14. Behind the Movie? by garcia · · Score: 3, Funny

    I can't wait to see the Behind the Movie about this one.

    Bart: Homer was too drunk to play his parts. He couldn't even remember his lines!
    Homer: Oh yeah you little... Do'h!

  15. Re:Death Knell for the Simpsons? by mcpkaaos · · Score: 5, Funny

    And god knows we all still miss 'My Little Pony' - the icon of both entertainment and education... a beacon in our miserable little lives.

    Wait, no.. I'm thinking of 'Care Bears'. Oh, the humanity.

    ...mmmm okay.

    --
    [McP]KAAOS

    --
    It goes from God, to Jerry, to me.
  16. Re:Troublesome... by mcarbone · · Score: 4, Informative

    1) A Simpsons movie is unlikely to run 2 hours. Most animated films (excepting Miyazaki) run about 90 minutes.

    2) There are around 22 episodes in a standard Simpsons season.

    --

    The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what we share with someone else when we're uncool. -Crowe
  17. Re:Framerate by spaceyhackerlady · · Score: 4, Interesting
    Btw: It's been more than 11 years but Maggie hasn't learned to speak yet. I hope she'll make the move in the movie. ;)

    She said "Daddy" once. But just one word doesn't count, I know. Even if Elizabeth Taylor said it.

    ...laura who feels The Simpsons are well past their Best Before date

  18. I hate to say it, but... by Man+In+Black · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The Simpsons have been going downhill for the last few years. I've been a devout fan watching even the reruns every day for the last X years... but recently I've decided to stop. You can only see that damn "elf jockey" episode so long before you realize they've mostly run out of good ideas. Granted, the show still manages to make me laugh once in a while, but it's definitely lost it's magic in recent years. To be honest, if they're having trouble making 30 minutes (or 23 minutes or whatever) funny, I simply can't see them keeping the show funny for a complete 90 minutes. I'd love to be proved wrong of course...

    It's really too bad that Futurama and Family Guy were cancelled. They were great shows with a great style of comedy behind them. I really hope someone realizes that all these so-called "reality" shows are retarded, and gives Futurama another chance. It has/had almost limitless potential.

    --
    -"One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man." -EH
  19. the real reason by leroybrown · · Score: 5, Funny

    d'ough!

    --
    Founder, Americans Allied Against Alliteration
  20. Where's Phil? by Wag · · Score: 3, Insightful

    If only he had done this when Phil Hartman was alive.:(

  21. Re:Attention spa ... what was I talking about agai by freakinPsycho · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Can they make a coherent movie eight times that long?

    Probably they can. And while this may not be the best example, look at Beavis and Butthead do America. While it wasn't anything that could be called great film, it was amusing and true to the original show.

    I think Simpsons can do something similar and be just fine.

    --
    "All the things I really like to do are either immoral, illegal, or fattening."
    - Alexandar Woolcot
  22. Assorted movie-related quotes by Wraithlyn · · Score: 5, Funny

    Hey McBain! Your last movie sucked!

    I know... we had script problems from day one.

    --

    Director: Up and atom!
    McBain: Up and at them.
    Director: Up and ATOM!
    McBain: Up and atdem!
    Director: UP AND ATOM!
    McBain: UP AND ATEM!
    Director: .. Better

    --

    We came here to make a movie. A simple movie.. a movie about a radioactive man. But you slick small town folk ruined it! We're going back to Hollywood, where people are still good to each other.

    --

    Homer: The important thing is.. it's got the perfect part for you.. either one of you. It's about a killer robot driving instructor, who travels back in time for some reason. Ron Howard's attatched to direct!
    Ron: I am not!
    Homer: Well. He expressed an interest.
    Ron: No I didn't!
    Homer: Did too!
    Ron: I did not!
    Homer: You lie!
    Alec: Yeah, Homer, most movie scripts are 120 pages. This has only seventeen. And several pages just have drawings of the time machine.

    --

    [sign on a closed-down movie theatre that reads: Yahoo Serious Festival]
    Lisa: I recognize all three of those words but that statement doesn't make any sense.

    --

    Lionel Huntz: This is the clearest case of False Advertising I've seen since I sued the movie The Never Ending Story

    --

    Reporter: Don't you think it's dangerous to send civilians into space?
    Homer: I'll handle this... the only danger in space is if we land on that terrible Planet of the Apes... wait a minute... Statue of Liberty... THAT WAS OUR PLANET! YOU MANIACS! YOU BLEW IT UP! DAMN YOU! DAMN YOU ALL TO HELL!

    =============

    Because any excuse to spread Simpson's quotes is a good excuse to spread Simpson's quotes :)

    --
    "Mind, as manifested by the capacity to make choices, is to some extent present in every electron." -Freeman Dyson
  23. Interesting to see how they do it. by Nathdot · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I mean come on, one of the things that so endearing about the simpsons is that they have carte blanche to do whatever in any given episode.

    No episode affects the next, with minor exception (eg. Maude flanders death), and because of that the creators are not limited as to what can happen; A fact they seem to relish, even mock with in-jokes: "Oh look, we've won a trip to Delaware"

    But major motion pictures are built on structure (ie. most commonly three acts, set-up - crisis - resolution)

    So it would seem that some major event (ie. The movie's selling point)would have to occur involving the Simpsons in the motion picture (Obviously the set-up doesn't have to be that lrge because these are characters we already know and love). And due to the scale of a film, wouldn't that major event have to be permanent/immutable, somehow affecting or tying into the series?

    So finally how is the film to work as a concept without fucking with the time-tested formula?

    1. Re:Interesting to see how they do it. by Saint+Nobody · · Score: 3, Informative
      No episode affects the next, with minor exception (eg. Maude flanders death), and because of that the creators are not limited as to what can happen; A fact they seem to relish, even mock with in-jokes: "Oh look, we've won a trip to Delaware"

      the general rule is that no episode affects the scripts of later episodes unless ther is a real world reason for it (except for occasional references, for instance referencing sideshow bob's previous antics whenever he gets out of jail). for instance, lisa stayed a vegetarian because it was a condition in the mccartney's contract when they appeared to be on the show. maude flanders died because the voice actress quit.

      --
      #define F(x) int main(){printf(#x,10,#x);}
      F(#define F(x) int main(){printf(#x,10,#x);}%cF(%s))
  24. What will Bart Write? by Amazing+Quantum+Man · · Score: 5, Funny

    What will Bart be writing on the blackboard?

    I will not sign major motion picture contracts without reading them first.
    I will not sign major motion picture contracts without reading them first.
    I will not sign major motion picture contracts without reading them first. ...

    --
    Fascism starts when the efficiency of the government becomes more important than the rights of the people.
    1. Re:What will Bart Write? by forkboy · · Score: 3, Funny

      hehe....or perhaps even:

      I will not download pirated movies from the Internet.
      I will not download pirated movies from the Internet.
      I will not download pirated movies from the Internet.

      --
      This message brought to you by the Council of People Who Are Sick of Seeing More People.
  25. Matt Groening confirmed... by TheTomcat · · Score: 4, Informative

    I saw Matt Groening in Montreal (here) a few months ago at the Simpsons Reading (Just For Laughs Festival). He confirmed that there would, in fact, be a Simpsons Feature.

    The show (reading) was pretty cool, too. (-:

    S

  26. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  27. For this article, you have a choice in comments: by Murdock037 · · Score: 5, Funny

    They are:

    1. "Woohoo!"
    3. Some more obscure quote from the show;
    2. Diatribe about the show's declining quality in recent seasons; or
    4. "Worst movie ever."

    Take your pick. (Of course, if anybody can figure out a Beowulf cluster joke to shoehorn into the topic at hand, I'm willing to add a #5.)

  28. Re:Awsome by zeno_2 · · Score: 4, Informative

    They first were on the Tracy Ulman (sp?) show as a little 5min crudely done cartoon. I can remember the first year it went from that to a 30min show, which has now turned into the greatest cartoon series ever created =).

  29. Re:Awsome by ciurana · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I have watched the simpsons for years, how long have they been on exactly? I can remember seeing episodes even when I was a kid.

    If you can't remember when The Simpsons started, then you still are a kid.

    Cheers!

    --
    http://eugeneciurana.com | http://ciurana.eu
  30. Icon by UniverseIsADoughnut · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Why doesn't the Simpsons have it's own slashdot icon for stories on them?

  31. Could be done by fermion · · Score: 3, Interesting
    I think it will be possible. First, the movie needs only be 70-80 minutes long. Second, the current format, as others have noted, is a nearly independent first act that sets up the motivation for the second and third act. The situation in the first act may or may not be resolved. In a feature length film, they wil have time to more fully develop and conclude the motivation, and still have time to have a complete story.

    A good analogy would be Beavis and Butthead. Each epi-choad of B&B had around 5 minutes of action. The movie was apparently developed by stringing together nearly independent, slightly expanded, episodes with several 'glue' scenes that essential comprised the overall plot. It was amazingly effective.

    --
    "She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
  32. The real trick will be... by theMightyE · · Score: 3, Interesting
    .. finding something new to base a story on. A bit ago, I noticed that after 14ish years the Simpsons had more or less covered every major (and most minor) memes in American culture. Think about it: Lack of diversity in policics? The John Jackson vs. Jack Johnson election. Drug legalization? Homer & Otto get stoned, "They call them fingers, but I've never seen them fing... Oh, wait. There they go." Crappy sitcoms? "See ya in a couple of seasons, Roy." Superflous third nipples? Krusty has one. You get the point.

    About the only things a movie format has to offer that can't be done in a TV show are (1) swearing, which really only means a half-dozen or so new words since the show really pushed the boundaries out in this area in the early 90's, (2) Nudity, which in cartoon form doesn't seem that popular outside of Japan, and (3) A longer format, which is dubious since they can always split an episode into two parts. None of this seems to really offer much in the way of new ground for them to cover.

    Sooo... I think the best we can hope for is a long version of a TV series episode, maybe with a bit more time spent in the writing phase than your typical TV studio allows. But given the string of crappy movies that have been out in the last few years, I guess the whole thing isn't really all that bad. I'll see it - especially if there's a Futurama short at the beginning.

  33. The Prayer by Perdo · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Please not like Scooby-Doo.
    Please not like Scooby-Doo.
    Please not like Scooby-Doo.
    Please not like Scooby-Doo.

    --

    If voting were effective, it would be illegal by now.

  34. This just in... by A+Guy+From+Ottawa · · Score: 4, Funny
    The titles of the first 3 Simpsons movies were just released:

    The Simpsons I - The Pickle Matrix
    The Simpsons II - American Cheese (64 Slices Of...)
    The Simpsons III - The Compuglobalhypermega-Net

    Bhay-gn-flay-vn! Mm-hai... Now that was some clever vhyving!!

    --

    using System.Awesome;

  35. Re:For this article, you have a choice in comments by msheppard · · Score: 5, Funny

    MMMmmm... cluster.

    M@

    --
    Krispy Cream is people
  36. Re:Awsome by vicviper · · Score: 4, Insightful

    If you read Slashdot, you'd know that no one reads the articles. Sheesh. :)