The Simpsons Movie (2007)

After Homer accidentally pollutes the town's water supply, Springfield is encased in a gigantic dome by the EPA and the Simpsons family are declared fugitives.

Director: David Silverman

Writers: James L. Brooks (screenplay), Matt Groening (screenplay), and 17 more credits

Stars: Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner and Nancy Cartwright

My opinion

I think the movie has a lot of great jokes, but, like all movies based on series, it has a poor screenplay. In my opinion, these films have an argument too heavy to make it more dramatic. The writers do not understand that the cartoon has become famous because of his scenes of daily life and its subtle humor caricaturing the contemporary society. The movie is very funny, but it could be simpler and better.

The Simpsons Quiz

Here you have "The Simpsons Quiz". I scored 87%!

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Abraham Simpson

Known near universally as "Grampa", he is the grandfather of the Simpson family (Homer's father). He lives in Springfield Retirement Castle and is a veteran of both World Wars. He is known for his long, rambling stories and incompetence. He is the typical old man that disagrees with contemporary society. He is Jewish, as his best friend Jasper.

Maggie Simpson

She is the youngest family member. She can't talk and her hobbies are sucking the pacifier and watching cartoons on TV.

Marge Simpson

She is the mother of the family and appears as a clear counterpoint to her husband: decent, fair and responsible. She necessarily has to be patient and a comprehensive woman to forgive all the follies and misdeeds of Homer and their children. Marge represents the ideal television mother in mid-century XX. She has not a known profession (although she unsuccessfully tries several jobs) and she engages with devotion to housework and family. She is a conventional woman, poor and feminine, subject to the stereotypes of contemporary society. Although she is a housewife, with the deficiencies of her husband she takes the great decisions in the family, all the Simpsons rely in her. Her role is essential, because of their support and her councils depends the happiness of the whole family.

Bart Simpson

He is the older brother of the family. He is a young rebel, thug and stupid (like his father). Bart is a bad student and he always has to stay in class after school, writing what should be done, punished by his teacher, Edna Krabappel. He is always accompanied by his best friend, Milhouse.

Lisa Simpson

Elizabeth (Lisa) Simpson is the second child of the three brothers. She is a child prodigy. She gets stressed in all subjects and plays the saxophone, she is vegeterian and environmentalist but she feels marginalized to be cleverer than the other children. She also fights with her brother Bart, plays with her dolls and watches cartoons on TV.

Homer Simpson

The main character of the cartoon is Homer Simpson. Married with Marge, he has got three children: Bart, Lisa and Maggie. He works in the nuclear plant, as a security inspector. He is lazy, guzzler and irresponsible. His hobbies are watching TV, bowling, drinking in Moe’s Tavern, eating and sleeping.

Our personal opinion

Martí

I see the cartoon every Wednesday and Friday and I have seen the original movie (in English).

I definitely think that The Simpsons is the best cartoon that has ever existed. It is a parody of modern society and each character represents a human value: Homer is the incarnation of the laziness, Lisa represents the intellect, Bart is the rebellion and the chaos, Mister Burns is the greed, Marge represents the woman who fights for her rights and the feminism... I admire Matt Groening to be able to create this complex society with the most important element is this cartoon: the humor and the mood.

Daniel

I see this cartoon every day, and I really love it. I saw for first time the serie when I was 9. Although I have seen most of the chapters, I do not care to see them again because they always get to make me laugh again and even I discover new things or I understand jokes that did not make me laugh before. I think that The Simpsons is the definitive cartoon, the perfect one, because everybody likes it. It appeals to all ages. In conclusion, we could say that it's a cartoon of a family for all families.

Some history...

The Simpsons were conceived in 15 minutes in an office reception. Matt Groening was the cartoonist of the comic strip Life in Hell, that caught attention to the producer James L. Brooks. He wanted to add a cartoons section to the program The Tracey Ullman Show on FOX TV channel. Groening finished conceiving The Simpsons while he was waiting to present his ideas to the producer. After appearing as a short in The Tracey Ullman Show, The Simpsons became independent and it began to present as a cartoon of half an hour long, transmitting in primetime instead of the weekend.

Set in Springfield (United States) and with a highly satirical tone of many facets of the stereotype lifestyle of United States (including beer, fast food, television, and organized religion), The Simpsons has been a massive success since then and it has had a massive popular following and critics of the then United States President, George H. Bush. Critics also showed interest in the program because of the appearance of celebrities and a lot of satire about contemporary and classic films, as well as subtle visual jokes showing a great appreciation for the sophistication of the audience. The cartoon has also special episodes like "Halloween Special", "World trips" (Brazil, Japan, Australia, England, Africa, etc.), "Christmas Episodes" and others. With this cartoon becames apparent the advantage of using cartoons for a sitcom, for the amount of secondary actors and stages, that a TV serie with real characters could not allow itself.

The basic framework of the cartoon focuses on the Simpson family, especially in Bart, Homer, Lisa, Marge and Maggie.

Although in the chapters the passage of time can be seen (through events like Christmas and birthdays, or references to specific years) the characters never get older and they always are the same age.

The Simpson family as they first appeared in The Tracey Ullman Show