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The Simpsons Movie

Posted by michael on from the prepare-for-disappointment dept.

girish writes "Eonline is reporting that, finally, after more than 10 years since Matt Groening said that a Simpsons film 'is way down the line', a movie based on The Simpsons is being made. It's still in its early stages and is being planned to be debuted in the summer or during Christmas time of 2006. The Simpsons has been on FOX for 15 seasons and averages 12.9 million viewers this season."

4 of 435 comments (clear)

  1. Finally, the end by blorg · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I suspect that this film may mark the end of the Simpsons. I certainly hope so, and just hope that they go back to the roots and manage to make a fitting coda to what was one of the most important shows in television history, rather than just a mindless parade of celebrity voice-overs.

  2. Re:I'm Scared by ZaMoose · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The Simpsons: Hit and Run actually did quite well in the long format. It was fairly entertaining throughout.

    I don't know if one successful Simpsons video game necessarily indicates a successful movie implementation, but it does demonstrate that with clever writing and good pacing, a Simpsons storyline can be carried out well past the 1/2 hr. mark.

    --
    I wish I had a kryptonite cross, because then you could keep Dracula and Superman away.
  3. End of the Simpsons? by cyranoVR · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Ever noticed that with the sole of the exception of South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut - a television show usually peaks by jumping to the big screen. Decline and inevitable cancellation usually soon follow.

    For example: X-Files, Beavis and Butthead Do America, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm

    And don't forget all the children's shows:
    Transformers the Movie, GI Joe the Movie, Masters of the Universe, Pokemon, Power Rangers, Ducktales(!), Rugrats...
    (Ok, not all these shows were cancelled but someone could definitely make the case for "decline").

    I feel like I'm forgetting someting...help me out here people...

    Also, I Googled up this interesting article:
    The Challenges of the Big Screen Cartoon

  4. Re:Fan reaction... by rnelsonee · · Score: 5, Interesting
    You have a point about warming up to episodes when you re-watch them, but it's still safe to say the show has declined.

    I always liked the show until Season 9, when it started to show bad storylines. Shows like Apu having octuplets continued to demonstrate that the writers were 'running out of ideas', but it still had respectible writing. But then it just got worse and worse. When Ian-Maxtone Graham took over as exec. producer, we saw many things concerning the show that ruined the reputation The Simpsons once had:

    • The episodes have lost cohesiveness. Acts I, II, and III are rarely tied together anymore.
    • Computer-aiding drawing. Hand animators only draw key poses, and computers interpolate the rest. The result is very clean, but I think it's too clean. The Simpsons lost it's look and feel.
    • Other "look and feel" issues: The Simpsons' animators used to only use a limited palette of colors. We're talking one or two shades of light blue, and one or two shades of pink. Now, there's an overuse of colors. Classic examples include lighted/muted colors for background objects, and shadows everywhere - like the back of Lisa's hair - even when everyone's indoors!
    • Too topical: The Simpsons relies on jokes taken from current events. Yes, they did this in early seasons, but nowhere near as much as they do now. The timeless quality the writers put into the show in the past is gone now.