529. The Simpsons Movie (2007)

Starring: Dan Castellanata, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright

Director: David Silverman

Running Time: 86 mins

The Simpsons Movie is an American film, based on the hit TV series, about the entrapment of Springfield in a giant dome, and the Simpson family’s escape from the town as they are declared fugitives after Homer ‘accidentally’ pollutes the entire town’s water supply.

Well, despite not being as outrageously funny as the classic series, this film definitely lives up to its TV equivalent in terms of its pure entertainment. With countless gags to keep you laughing throughout, as well as an oddly thoughtful and dramatic story, this is a whole lot more enjoyable than your average spin-off film.

There is pretty much only one problem that I have with this film: the environmental message. Whether it’s satirising the pushiness of environmentalists in the post-Inconvenient Truth era, or genuinely jumping on the global warming bandwagon that developed in the mid 2000s, it’s hard to tell, but that theme is quite prevalent in the whole story, and is actually very annoying to see so forward in a film that should be all about jokes and mockery.

However, the other parts of the story are surprisingly deep and thoughtful for a cartoon comedy. The tension and strain put on Homer and Marge’s marriage throughout is deeply emotional and often sad, and the finale, where the entire population of Springfield, people you’ve come to know and love since the series started, are close to meeting their maker, it all becomes very dramatic.

But don’t let all those underlying themes and atmospheres make you think that this film is too serious, it’s still a hugely good laugh on the surface. With Homer at his most idiotic, it’s incredible just how many things go terribly wrong in this film, but that classically farcical nature of the TV show is still there, which is an absolute delight to see.

Although the comedy in the film may not be as racy or satirical as the TV show in a bid to encompass younger audiences at the cinema, it’s still very simple, very very funny, and very very very stupid, which makes it a truly enjoyable watch for viewers of all ages.

Of course, there are parts of me that are slightly disappointed that a feature film version of the amazing TV series was not so hilarious, however I’m overall delighted that the makers managed to pull off a very entertaining and funny film, so that’s why it gets a 7.9.