The longest running prime-time comedy show in the US and syndicated all over the world, The Simpsons finally made the leap to the big screen this past summer in The Simpsons Movie.  The result is a hilarious film that takes all of the things that makes the TV show so successful and deftly expands them to fill a feature length movie.

When Homer takes a silo full of pig manure (well, mainly pig crap...he did help fill it a little himself) and dumps it into an already over-polluted Lake Springfield, he inadvertently creates an ecological disaster.  The EPA gets wind of what has happened, and the head of that organization, Russ Cargill (Albert Brooks) goes into action.  He orders a giant impenetrable dome placed over the city of Springfield, sealing off the poisoned lake, and the population, from the rest of the world.

As with the TV show, the plot is almost secondary, it's the gags, both large and small that are liberally sprinkled through the film that make it so hilarious.  From Bart's speeding through Springfield on his skateboard in the nude, with birds, hedges, bubbles, and an French fry serendipitously coving up his naughty bits to the revelation that Arnold Schwarzenegger becomes president the movie will have audiences laughing through most of its running time.

The reason that this movie is so funny, and why the show has done so well, is that the writers are able to parody America and American life mercilessly without being mean spirited.  With laser-like accuracy the show pin-points the foibles of the US and makes them appear funny.  From evil capitalists like Mr. Burns to the DMV workers who's only pleasure in life is making people wait, the country's flaws are poked at.  This movie has a great example:  when an environmental disaster occurs, the government goes to great lengths to ignore the problem, rather than trying to fix it.   They even remind everyone how the EPA doesn't really have much power or influence by making the agency so strong in the film with fleets of helicopters and more resources than they could possibly ever use.

The best scene in the movie is a short bit that's also rather telling:  When the giant dome is being moved over Springfield it starts to cast a giant shadow across the town.  As it passes over a church that is located next to a bar, the patrons of both run out, look into the sky, and then frantically run inside.  Not into the building they were in however, the other one:  the drinkers realizing it was time to pray and the religious folks needing a stiff drink.  Another light jab at religion comes when Grandpa Simpson starts having a vision in church, rolling on the floor and speaking gibberish.  Homer grabs a bible and starts flipping through the pages hurriedly and proclaims "This book doesn't have any answers!"

Popculture references abound too, and some of those are hilarious.  The infectious Spider-Man song from the 60's cartoon is turned into "Spider-Pig" when Homer sings it, and there's even an obnoxious scroll at the bottom of the screen promoting another Fox show.

Funny, entertaining, and filled with wonderful parodies, this movie is a winner.

Audio:

This film comes with a 5.1 DTS soundtrack as well as a DD 5.1 option.  (There are also Dolby Surround dubs in Spanish and French as well as English and Spanish subtitles.)  I screened the film with the DTS track and spot checked the Dolby audio afterwards.  Both sounded fine with good range and clear, crisp audio.  There wasn't as much use made of the soundstage, though the front was wide and open, the rears weren't as active as they could have been.  During several 'big' scenes, such as when the mob is chasing the Simpson family and when dome is lowered the room really fills with sound.  During the rest of the movie, not so much.

Video:

This review was written after viewing an advance screener copy of the film.  This is not the final product, and contained some fairly significant compression defects as well as the Fox logo which would pop up periodically throughout the film.  Because of this, I have not assigned a grade for the video.  When the retail version arrives I'll update this review.

Extras:

This disc comes with two commentary tracks.  The first one features Matt Groening, James L. Brooks, Al Jean, Yeardley Smith, Dan Castellaneta, Mike Scully and David Silverman and the second one includes David Silverman (again) Rich Moore, Steven Dean Moore and Mike Anderson.  Both tracks are excellent, with the first being one of the best commentary tracks I've listened to all year.  During these two tracks the creators discuss the many deleted scenes (the script went through 158 drafts and changed quite a bit), the genesis of the project, and the problems they encountered bringing the world's favorite dysfunctional family to the screen.  There are even sections where they stop the film in order to talk about a gag or moment that flies by too quickly.  It's a great touch that works well.

The rest of the bonuses are only mediocre.  There are 7 deleted scenes which are good for a few laughs, but none of the scenes are really gold.  Then there's a section called "Special Stuff" which includes Simpson appearances on a couple of TV shows; Leno and American Idol.  There's also a parody of the "Let's all go to the Lobby" ad that used to be shown in theaters.  Like the deleted scenes, these are all mildly amusing.  The commentaries certainly make up for the other extras.

Final Thoughts:

The Simpsons inhabit a world that is bizarre and off kilter, but not too different from the one we live in.  A place where conventions are ridiculed and stereotypes embraced so strongly that they appear as ludicrous as they really are; this world is a delight to visit.  The movie does a wonderful job expanding the TV show to feature length, and it never stumbles or falters.  If you enjoy the show, run out and get a copy of the film.  Highly Recommended.