Review by Lak Rana
The Smackdown. After nearly 400 episodes and 18 years spent entertaining viewers of all ages on the small screen, America's favorite dysfunctional family finally gets the big-screen treatment in the aptly titled "The Simpsons Movie." In an industry dominated by flashy special effects and high-tech computer-generated animation, "Simpsons" nevertheless spares us the frills and keeps its animation style ever so simple--opting instead to deliver satirical storylines laden with witty pop-culture references. However, "Simpsons" is not the only clever, crudely animated television series to make the leap onto the big screen. Another little, bare bones animated series by the name of "South Park" paved the way to theaters with "South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut" almost 10 years ago--only two years after first premiering on television screens across America. So which series made a stronger transition from television to big screen? You'll find out in a few minutes...so... just don't have a cow, Man!
"Keep moving forward and narrowly escape death from the hands of an angry mob, or go back and fry up some nice bacon...Marge, I'll be right back!"
The Challenger. The town of Springfield is in a state of environmental chaos after somebody illegally dumped toxic pig droppings into Lake Springfield. EPA Chief Russ Cargill cunningly convinces president Arnold Schwarzenegger to quarantine the town in a giant glass dome to contain the problem. When the town residents discover that their beloved Homer J. Simpson is the one to blame for all their troubles, they form a mob and force the Simpson family to flee from the bubble and become fugitives. While the Simpsons are trying to start a new life in Alaska they discover that the EPA and the president have one last plan of action for the Springfield situation--eradicate the town by blowing it up! Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie decide to abandon Alaska immediately and return to save Springfield. However, stubborn Homer is still preoccupied with his selfish rituals and refuses to leave the comforts of Alaska. When he later realizes that he is nothing without his family and friends he charges back to Springfield and saves the town from its calamitious fate. The one draw back is that there sadly isn't enough time in this fast paced movie to explore the many characters and places that audiences have come to admire from the television series.
Holy Cow! The MPAA is really serious about its rating system. Kids, don't sneak into R-rated movies or the world will come to an end!
The Defending Champion. "South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut" takes us to the tiny little suburb of South Park where a group of parents are in an uproar because "the boys" sneaked into an R-rated movie (starring their favorite Canadian comics Terrance and Phillip) and emerged with potty mouths that quickly infect all the other kids in town. The parents launch a wild protest against the morally corrupt movie and eventually the United States is forced to declare war on Canada. The plot gets even sillier as we intercut to lovers Saddam Hussein and Satan in the underworld as they scheme to take over the planet. "Park" takes full advantage of its R-rating by bombarding the audience with the rich, over-the-top, no holds barred raunchiness that we'd naturally expect from gifted writers Trey Parker and Matt Stone.
The Scorecard. It's no secret that the the writing for "The Simpsons" television show has gone a little stale since the famed family first hit the airwaves. For God's sake...the series has had almost 400 episodes so I understand why it would be tough to keep coming up with original show ideas at this point. Maybe that's why the plot of "The Simpsons Movie" came across as somewhat unoriginal: Homer does something really terrible, sees the error of his ways, and saves the day in the end.
The movie did have a strong opening sequence and first act, however the writers appeared to run out of ideas during the lazy second act and they definitely just threw some things together in the haphazard third act in a weak attempt to give the audience some semblance of closure. Though "Simpsons" was well written overall, it still did not manage to capture the color and energy of the early television series. This is not to say that the film was not entertaining because it did dish out bountiful servings of the sophisticated social and political humor that has made the television series a household name.
Not to be outdone, "Park" weighed in with it's own original satirical social and political humor which, because of its R-rating, it had the liberty to take further than "Simpsons." "Park" attacked everybody and everything and did so using an unbelievable barrage of profane words and musical numbers. The storyline was completely ridiculous and severly keen at the same time. Writers Parker and Stone skillfully satirized an issue that is undoubtedly near and dear to their own hearts--censorship. However, the film was not without problems as the story did get a tad bit bogged down by the more than 12 musical sequences.
And the winner is...
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