The Simpsons Movie 435
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."
obligatory scene (Score:4, Funny)
Mmmm.... movies! (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Mmmm.... movies! (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Mmmm.... movies! (Score:4, Informative)
Actually looking at Jump the Shark [jumptheshark.com] it was the episode titled Gump Roast... which aired on 21 Apr 2002.
So The Simpsons jumped the shark between 8-8:30 PM EST on April 21st 2002.
Re:Mmmm.... movies! (Score:5, Funny)
Alanis Morissette and yourself, share a problem with the definition of irony.
Mere coincidence is NOT irony.
American, are you?
Aren't they doing that this season? (Score:5, Informative)
I swear I saw Homer jumping a shark on skis in the previews for this season. It made me crack up. I am actually surprised they haven't done it on the show yet. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if it became a running gag. I don't know if the Simpsons could ever truly jump the shark, they are all about the shark. :-)
For those who don't know about this phenomenon, "jumping the shark" is a term a guy coined to describe when a TV show (or anything for that matter) has started to go downhill. It comes from Happy Days, when Fonzie jumped a shark on water skis. It was made up to be a scary and serious episode, but was clearly very very lame. After that, the show was never the same. See jumptheshark.com [jumptheshark.com] for more info.
Re:Aren't they doing that this season? (Score:5, Informative)
See here [wordspy.com] for example.
Re:Aren't they doing that this season? (Score:4, Informative)
Q. What is jumping the shark?
A. It's a moment. A defining moment when you know that your favorite television program has reached its peak . That instant that you know from now on...it's all downhill.
The aforementioned expression refers to the telltale sign of the demise of Happy Days, our favorite example, when Fonzie actually "jumped the shark." The rest is history.
Re:Mmmm.... movies! (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Mmmm.... movies! (Score:4, Insightful)
All it takes is brilliant writing and any show can be made into a movie. Conversely, bad writing can make the best show into a piece of crap movie.
Already done (Score:5, Informative)
Well, it's already been done. In epsiode DABF22 ("How I Spent My Strummer Vacation") the "couch gag" was Homer waterskiing and jumping over a shark.
Re:Already done (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Already done (Score:5, Funny)
You are the real life comic book guy, aren't you?
Re:Already done (Score:4, Funny)
Worst.......Karma Whore.........EVER!
Re:Already done (Score:3, Funny)
simpsons is airing for 13 years, they already did everything!
I can only hope that (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:I can only hope that (Score:5, Insightful)
Contracted or optioned? (Score:3, Informative)
Conan O'Brien is overrated (Score:5, Insightful)
With that said, he came back to the show a few years ago and the show didn't get much better. So I still don't have very high hopes for this movie. The thing that made the Simpsons great was its loving, hilarious-yet-almost-plausible depiction of a small town and all of its quirky inhabitants. It stopped doing that a long time ago and started sending the main characters on ludicrous adventures crammed full of celebrity cameos -- in a nutshell, situational humor rather than character-based humor. It became just another cartoon. There have been ups and downs in quality, but I think it's pretty clear to everyone that the series has never been as good as it was during seasons 3-6.
I would like to believe that a feature length film would allow the series' greatest contributors to sit down and really focus on their craft again, and create a legacy that can be used to put the series to bed. More likely it will be used as an excuse for a plotline that's even more outlandish than usual. I'm not looking forward to it.
Re:Conan O'Brien is overrated (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Conan O'Brien is overrated (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Conan O'Brien is overrated (Score:5, Informative)
Conan O'Brien wrote or cowrote:
All very fine episodes, and obviously a staff writer will contribute to others' episodes. But that's just 3.3 episode credits. Conan was a contributor, but not a driving creative force.
George Meyer wrote or cowrote:
That's a much larger contribution. He's also probably got the most cameos on the show of any simpsons writer (he's the dirty looking bearded guy with the gilligan-style hat found in the unemployment line, in the writers' office at I&S studios, etc). And his tenure at the show is considerably longer.
But my best advice is to go here [snpp.com]. It's an archive of a new yorker article profiling Meyer. Conan is a great, talented guy. But don't assume that just because he's the only famous name on the Simpsons writing staff that he's the funniest one.
plausibility (Score:4, Interesting)
"Me too", i.e. that's certainly their golden age as far as I'm concerned.
The thing that made the Simpsons great was its loving, hilarious-yet-almost-plausible depiction of a small town and all of its quirky inhabitants. It stopped doing that a long time ago and started sending the main characters on ludicrous adventures crammed full of celebrity cameos -- in a nutshell, situational humor rather than character-based humor.
I think you've stated the stylistic change accurately, and I agree that the quality (or at least my interest) flagged in tandem with that change. It's interesting to muse on Futurama in this light. I like Futurama a lot; I suppose that could be because it's plausible in the sense that it's so far in the future that nobody can really argue that such things won't come to pass. Another possibility is that through its outlandish characters and depictions of technology and culture, the show never tried for a premise of plausibility... so it never transitioned to less plausibility and therefor never fostered the resentment of an audience that had come to appreciate plausibility. Food for thought.
Re:I can only hope that (Score:4, Funny)
I wonder who will play homer? (Score:4, Funny)
Re:I wonder who will play homer? (Score:4, Funny)
Re:I wonder who will play homer? (Score:4, Funny)
here comes the over-use of the "funny" mod (Score:3, Funny)
Re:here comes the over-use of the "funny" mod (Score:5, Funny)
Alas, I am too late.
FWIW, I think the Simpsons get funnier and funnier the older they get
Re:here comes the over-use of the "funny" mod (Score:3, Funny)
Oh yeah (Score:5, Funny)
Now, if they only get this quote in the movie somehow
Make it stop (Score:5, Insightful)
Jumped the shark a few seasons ago at least, as much as I hate to say it. This is one of those shows I wish they'd take off the air for its' own good.
Re:Make it stop (Score:4, Insightful)
While last season was pretty terrible, this season has improved. Hopefully it will continue
Re:Make it stop (Score:3, Interesting)
Bart's response was "If I had a TV show, I'd want to run it into the ground."
They will. But I still like it-- it gets more and more bizarre, but the entire universe of Simpsons-ness still exists out there to draw on, and I just don't get tired of it.
Re:Make it stop (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Make it stop (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Make it stop (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Make it stop (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Make it stop (Score:5, Insightful)
The answer is SO obvious. F U T U R A M A
Re:Make it stop (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Make it stop (Score:4, Interesting)
It is still better than anything else.... (Score:5, Insightful)
Ahh, but tell me exactly where they jumped the shark. That is the key. They haven't. They CAN'T. The nature of the show makes it impossible. Some would say that they did it when they did the 3D Homer episode - or it could be considered a classic! Maude dies? Risky, but no shark there. The rake scene? Classic.
Here is why the Simpsons amazes me. When I see a show in first run, I think it is OK or good, and sometimes bad. But it seems that when I see it in re-run, it gets better. I think some of the ones in the last few years are really good. In fact, I thought last week's was pretty funny.
Everyone has their favorite. Mine is an oldie - Selma's Choice. That is the one where Aunt Gladys dies, Lionel Hutz is the executor of the will, Homer eats the huge sandwich and gets sick, so Patty and Selma have to take the kids to Duff Gardens, where Lisa trips on the water and Bart tries on Beer Goggles. There is hardly a moment in that episode that I can't laugh at.
I still love their Halloween episodes, and when they go back and enact classic stories. Behind the Laughter was awesome. Their "milestone" episode show was brilliant, with outtake clips.
Re: Make it stop (Score:5, Funny)
I want them to shoot video of all of the actors doing the voices, and have a "commentary track" on the DVD, where you get to see a picture-in-picture window with the actors doing the voices.
Plus, I hope they swear like crazy. =)
let me be the first to say (Score:4, Funny)
WOO HOO! (Score:5, Funny)
WOO HOO!
I'm Scared (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:I'm Scared (Score:5, Interesting)
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.
South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut (Score:5, Insightful)
"You don't eat or sleep or mow the lawn, you just fuck your uncle all day long!" Inspired.
Finally, the end (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Finally, the end (Score:5, Interesting)
Welp, (Score:5, Funny)
Teehouse of Horror (Score:4, Interesting)
If they tried an extended episode then it'd be soooo full of padding and rehashing that you'd be better off at home with the dvd collection.
Beavis & Butthead (Score:3)
I would rather..... (Score:4, Insightful)
No Simpsons Topic? (Score:5, Funny)
nearlygod
Re:No Simpsons Topic? (Score:5, Funny)
Who will Star? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Who will Star? (Score:5, Informative)
Obligatory Informative Links (Score:5, Informative)
"The Simpsons" Semi-Official Web Site in the UK [bbc.co.uk] -- Brought to you by the BBC!
Fan Sites:
Last Exit to Springfield [lardlad.com] -- "For All Your Simpsons Needs" (Well, it looks very well done.)
nohomers.net [nohomers.net] -- "the center of all that is simpson"
Fun Site:
There are countless others. These are among the best I've found. Please link to others... I'm sure I haven't seen them all.
Re:Obligatory Informative Links (Score:3, Funny)
I'm Homer Simpson, WooHoo!
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D'oh!
Re:Obligatory Informative Links (Score:5, Funny)
Still on the web years after the in-episode joke.
Re:Obligatory Informative Links (Score:5, Funny)
episode quality (Score:5, Informative)
That said, it's still far, far away from the Simpson's glory days. I'm not talking about the story lines, I'm talking about the direction and 'cinematography' (if you can call it that) of recent episodes. The current eps watch like a sitcom. A couple of camera angles, some close ups, some pans, maybe a zoom or two. I watch eps from S1-3 (on DVD, woo hoo!) and it's a totally different world. Zooms, pans, moving shots, distorted angles, etc.
I don't know how much this is a budgetary concern (although with 13+ mln viewers you should have enough money) but it is something that has to be addressed in the movie.
Oh, and bring back Conan!
"El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Homer" (Score:4, Interesting)
But will it work? (Score:5, Interesting)
In a 1/2 hour comedy, like the Simpsons, the plotlines and characters tend to be simple, due to the necessity of telling a complete story in 24 minutes.
How can Groening translate the Simpsons formula to a 1 1/2 hour (or more) movie?
Re:But will it work? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:But will it work? (Score:4, Insightful)
"prepare-for-disappointment department"? (Score:5, Insightful)
Seriously though: Its easy to expect disappointment, it is notoriously difficult to switch from half-hour episodes to a full 90-minute movie. If the movie is just an extended cartoon then it would be a disappointment, it wouldn't work. This is why most movie attempts fail.
However there are some examples of very good quality movies from TV series' and if done well then these can be "excellent". I think few would dispute that South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut did the series justice, it took many jokes already in the series and resulted in a very good movie. Another classic example is M*A*S*H - This is I believe the only prime-time comedy which ran longer than The Simpsons has, however the movie-length finale was very memorable. A good series which closed with an even better film.
If they just try to do a long episode then the movie will fail. If they try to get a proper movie, set in Springfield, then they have every chance to pull off a masterpiece.
Re:"prepare-for-disappointment department"? (Score:3, Informative)
From IMDB:
MASH (1970) - the movie, Ring Lardner Jr wrote the screenplay, based on the book by Richard Hooker.
"M*A*S*H" (1972) [TV-Series 1972-1983] - developed for TV by Larry Gelbart.
So, it was a book, then movie, then TV show.
Re:"prepare-for-disappointment department"? (Score:5, Informative)
The final episode of M*A*S*H was movie-length. It wasn't shown in the cinema's, but it was done as a movie. Incredibly emotional and tops any episode.
From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M_A_S_H_(television)
The final episode was titled "Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen" and was first broadcasted on February 28, 1983. The episode was 2.5 hours long and was viewed by over 125 million Americans (77% of viewship that night) which made "Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen" the most watched television episode in history up to that time.
Re:"prepare-for-disappointment department"? (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:"prepare-for-disappointment department"? (Score:3, Informative)
Unless they made another movie... Which would be kind of silly..
Simpsons should think about it (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Simpsons should think about it (Score:3, Interesting)
I Hear that the sea captain.... (Score:5, Funny)
End of the Simpsons? (Score:5, Interesting)
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 [awn.com]
Re:End of the Simpsons? (Score:4, Insightful)
I think this goes doubly for cartoons, because of the aging audience. By the time you get a movie out, your audience is 3 years older, and is likely starting to outgrow your cartoon (only very occasionally does it seem that a cartoon can capture the next younger set of kids; Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles seemed to make occasional revivals, but it was never as big as it was when I was about 10). Of course occasionally there are exceptions, such as Transformers where they just spent too much money on the movie, and then had to farm out the animation for the third season to a cut rate animation studio. In that case it could be argued that the movie killed the TV show.
Dupe (Score:4, Funny)
</sarcasm>
End of simpson near? (Score:4, Insightful)
Southpark the movie came out, then it rode downhill ever since.
Transformers and GIJOE the movie did the same thing.
Is this the end of the simpsons coming? I can't think of any instance when movies were released and the show continue riding sky high afterwards.
Re:End of simpson near? (Score:5, Informative)
However, yes, the quality of the Simpsons has deteriorated somewhat, but it's still better than 99.9% of the crap on TV.
Re:End of simpson near? (Score:4, Informative)
I second that. If you haven't seen The Return of the Fellowship of the Ring to the Two Towers, it is truly one of the most carefully done parodies I've ever seen, right down to Cartman's mimicing of Gandalf's sigh at the council in Rivendel. More recently, All About the Mormons is one of their all time best, I think.
Simpsons I rarely watch anymore. Even if the writing hadn't deteriorated, it's like they talked about in the Itchy and Scratchy episode, the characters are just starting to get kind of boring. How many times can you really watch Homer say "d'oh!"
It's about... (Score:5, Funny)
Fan reaction... (Score:5, Insightful)
1998: Simpsons hasn't been funny in years. It's best years are behind us. No good shows are made anymore (Bart and Homer become carnies, Kidz Newz). It's such a shell of what it used to be.
2000: Man oh man do the episodes today suck. I mean, what happened to the quality episodes of yesteryear? Did you see last sunday's episode? Worst episode ever (Homer as a Food critic, Behind the Laughter, Apu has Octuplets)
2001: Wow. There haven't been good eps in years (Bart in a boyband, "Homer's Day/Bart's Day/Lisa's Day," Praiseland)
2002: Man, this show is SO unfunny now it's a joke. There hasn't been a good episode in like the last few years. The episodes today completely lack any humor (Homer smokes marijuana, "Angry Dad," "Springshield"). What happened to all the classic episodes, like "Homer as a Food Critic" and "George Bush as a Neighbor?"
2004: Wow. This show sucks today. Such a shell of what it used to be.
Can we stop with all the "Simpsons sucks!" rants? I mean, we get proven over-and-over that it's still top-notch. Point is, we've been hearing "The Simpsons Suck!" for years now, and yet it's simply not true. Every time fanboys say an episode sucks, I guarentee you 2-3 years later it's known as classic and now the new episodes suck.
I have a theory. Perhaps simpson fans are so into the show that we know nearly every episode since it's on everyday. When these shows rerun, we see them over and over, and pick up on so many more jokes. But when we see them new for the first time, we don't catch all the humor and therefore it "suffers." Pick any episode from 3 years ago and I guarentee you people ranted how bad it was the morning after it aired. But today we have at least 3-4 classic lines from it (Example: "Trilogy of error" - 2001's season finale... definately WAY INTO the era when fanboys said the show no longer had humor and was terrible):
Dr. Nick: Flammable means inflammable? What a country!
Bart: How'd you find this place? Milhouse: This is where I go to cry.
Homer: Lingro... dead? Linguo: Linguo is dead.
Soooo many others, just from that episode. Point is, before you say how awful the show is now, realize that once the current eps hit the syndication circuit, they'll be "classic" too.
Re:Fan reaction... (Score:4, Interesting)
I think it has something to do with a show's tendency to want to increase its ratings by appealing an increasingly large audience, and thus a lower and lower common denominator.
I've noticed a palpable change in style from a coherent and intelligent storyline to a more schizophrenic twelve-episodes-in-one style, which I can't stand. But I'm sure it's more popular with the media impulse-trained L[ower]CD.
Reminds me of Christopher Guest movies (Score:5, Interesting)
I never saw "Waiting for Guffman" in the theater, but enjoyed it a little when I first saw it on VHS. Was it as funny as Spinal Tap? Seemed like it wasn't on that level. Next time around, it really grew on me. "Best in Show" I made a point of seeing in the dark box, and it was -- eh, okay, I guessed. Then about a year later someone had the DVD -- and hey, that's really funny, you know? "A Mighty Wind" we all agreed wasn't quite up to par with the earlier movies that we now thought were classics... But it's amazing how often someone throws out a line from it now, for a beneath-the-radar movie.
I'd definitely connect Christopher Guest's humor to the Simpsons', somehow. Not sure what it is, but they're just satisfying in the same way. And they grow on you.
Re:Fan reaction... (Score:5, Interesting)
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:
Re:Fan reaction... (Score:4, Funny)
Gibson: You want me to replace the villain with a dog? I mean nobody will know what's going on.
Homer: They will if you set up that the dog is evil. All you do is have to show him doing this. [lowers eyelids and glances around in shifty-eyed fashion] The people will suspect the dog.
Homer: (from the press gallery) I second that motion. (holds up a rifle) With a vengeance! (tosses rifle to Gibson) (Catching the rifle, Gibson jumps up on a table and quips, "All in favor, say die."
Homer: "It's funny if you make everything fast-motion!" [cue opening movie in 3x speed, with 3x voices]
Robin [Burt Ward, to Adam West]: Shutup! We're not supposed to talk!
Executive #1: Oh my G-d! He's a Dummy!
Executive #2: Yeah, but he sells tickets!
(Test driving the electric car:) Homer: Salt water seems to be good for it. (The car blows up.)
"Liked it despite the abscence of flubber...Glaven?" - Mel Gibson reading Prof. Frink's review
Live action :( (Score:4, Informative)
And frankly, that sucks. I've been a fan of The Simpsons show since the first episode in 1989, so I've seen it decline. At this point, the movie might not suck if it was 2D. But live-action/CGI won't cut it.
South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut did well, because it was an extention of the show. Imagine if the South Park movie was live-action: it would've tanked.
Hopefully Groening and co. will pull this off, but I have my doubts...
If you're too lazy to google "jump the shark" (Score:5, Informative)
A. It's a moment. A defining moment when you know that your favorite television program has reached its peak. That instant that you know from now on...it's all downhill.
The aforementioned expression refers to the telltale sign of the demise of Happy Days, our favorite example, when Fonzie actually "jumped the shark." The rest is history.
www.jumptheshark.com
Re:If you're too lazy to google "jump the shark" (Score:3, Funny)
F-word (Score:3, Insightful)
Obligatory Homer Paraphrase (Score:5, Funny)
Now I finally know where Comic Book Guy went (Score:3, Funny)
Hand Drawn vs. Digital (Score:5, Insightful)
Digital seems to be the preferred method because you don't need a legion of Koreans (look at the credits of the original series) to draw/paint the cells, resulting in cheaper costs and scenes can be played over and changed to better suit the mood of the scene in almost real time.
I think this is the reason why the more recent seasons have not had the great "camera work" of the early ones and why Futurama looks so great in comparison.
Where this is leading is if Digital is taken advantage of (like Futurama) it means that there will probably be a different visual style to the movie (and the latest seasons) due to what digital composition allows. While this season's shows haven't really shown the advantages of digital, I wonder if the movie will take advantage of it to give us a whole new look on an old classic.
myke
Re:And homer jumps a shark on a unicycle (Score:3, Insightful)
It is not nearing cancelation.
Re:And homer jumps a shark on a unicycle (Score:3, Insightful)
Of course, I'll be in the theatre on its opening night anyway...
good point -- it also had to do with (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Season 1 vs Season 2 (Score:5, Informative)
Burns: Amazing, isn't it Smithers? This anonymous clan of slack-jawed troglodytes has cost me the election, yet if I were to have them killed, I would be the one to go to jail. That's democracy for you.
Smithers: You are noble and poetic in defeat, sir.
Best. Dialog. Ever.
My local WB affiliate is running through seasons 1 and 2 right now... brings back fond memories (even if I do have the DVD box sets).
On the other hand, I saw Bart the Daredevil again last night. I was really struck by how poor the animation was at certain points. One in particular is where the kids are watching wrestling on the TV and start throwing popcorn at the screen. The arm motions are totally wrong... I would have to say that, by the end of season 2, the animation was getting there, but not quite yet.
As for celebrity voice overs, the first episode with Danny Devito was in Season 2 (Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?) and the first episode where Sideshow Bob talks (Krusty Gets Busted) was in Season 1. Kelsey Grammar had been on Cheers for several years by then, although he hadn't yet spun that into Frasier.
The problem with the celebrity voice-overs (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Considering... (Score:5, Funny)
Can't be done, religion and science are to remain one hundred yards away from each other at all times...